5 GIFT IDEAS FOR BEAUTY LOVERS

Whatever holiday you celebrate, hopefully my little series of Gift Guides, How To's and Wrapping Ideas will help you out this year!

This may be a little early for some of you, but this series will probably have quite a few parts to it so I kinda have to start now (haha I'm too excited). 

Anyway... If you're stuck for ideas for the beauty lover in your life, this one's for you. 

Number one is simple, but makes for a great gift. So here's the deal:

1. Get a makeup bag of your choice. I love a good MAC makeup bag, and Inglot does some pretty cool ones too, but you could always give ASOS or Urban Outfitters a search for one with a more fun and unique design. 

2. Set a budget. The things you put inside the bag will depend on how much you want to spend on this gift.

3. Get a few bits and bobs to put inside the makeup bag, they can be inexpensive or higher end (or a mix of the two), but try to make a good selection - maybe include a lipstick or gloss, a blush, an eyeshadow and mascara. Alternatively, you could also go for a more focused theme e.g. a makeup bag filled with just lip products - and include a lip scrub, a lip balm, lip liner, a gloss and lipstick. 

4. Consider a few extras. I like to add in some 'fun' stuff into my gifts too, maybe a lush bath ballistic, hand cream or some sweets and confetti - whatever you think suits your beauty lover most.

5. Put everything inside the bag! You could line it with some festive tissue paper first, and arrange everything nicely before closing it up!
This one is great because you can really personalise it for the receiver as well, as you're creating the gift set your self. 

Number two - for those who don't like the wrapping/organising fuss, is a LUSH gift set.
There's a huge selection at various price points, so there's something for everyone. The great thing is that they come wrapped with a ribbon on top so all you have to do is the giving. Simple. 

Three is another fave - Zoeva brushes. I haven't yet had a chance to try these out, but from all of the reviews I've read, they're amazing. I love the 'Classic Brush Set' which includes 8 brushes complete with a makeup bag, but if you want to go for something a bit bigger theres also the 'Makeup Artist Zoe Bag' set which includes 25 brushes and a bigger bag. Both are absolutely amazing and would make incredible gifts, but there's loads of other kits and single brushes to choose from as well. 

Number four sounds a bit boring but hear me out. I think if you're really stuck on what to get, a gift card to a beauty shop like SpaceNK, Debenhams, Boots or Selfridges is a safe bet. That way, they'll definitely get something they'll love and use often!

And last but not least... number five! Every year most beauty brands come out with holiday gift sets that contain a varying number of either mini or full size products, that usually come in some sort of festive packaging as well. A quick search on any beauty website will definitely give you some ideas. 

Here are some of my favourites this year that I think would make fab gifts for any beauty lover:

The Balm Auto Balm - California Face Palette // ASOS // £12.50

Eylure Lash Edit London Collection // ASOS // £12.99

'Benefits They're Real Steal' mascara + liner set // ASOS // £19.50

Dior addict lip maximiser gloss // Selfridges // £23

MAC Objects Of Affection / Pink And Plum Lip Glass Set // MAC // £26

MAC Keepsakes / Coral Lip Bag // MAC // £32

Urban Decay Ten 24/7 Eye Pencil Set // Debenhams // £35

Tom Ford lipstick // Selfridges // £37 

Benefit Beauty Bonbons Christmas gift set // Debenhams // £39.50 

'NARS ASOS Exclusive NARS Hearts Miami Set' // ASOS // £45 

So those are all of my gift ideas for the beauty lover in your life, up next are a few Secret Santa and Smaller gift ideas, but if you can't wait until then, here's a DIY gift idea from last year!

Thank you for reading,

NV

xoxo 

MAKEUP HAUL

If you follow me in instgaram you may have seen I posted a few pictures of my recent purchases so I thought a collective haul is now due, and since a few of you wanted to see more hauls, I hope you enjoy this one!

I recently popped into Boots to pick up a few new brushes, but of course a few extra things landed in my shopping basket too… I got a few things from Debenhams and Inglot as well, and I had to hunt down the MSF from MAC online as it was sold out on their website! So here’s what I got…

• Bourjois Liner Princeau liquid eyeliner
• NYX lip gloss '160 Tea Rose'
• Barry M liquid eyebrow marker 'Dark Brown' 
• Inglot glitter '53'
• Lush 'Bubble Gum' lip scrub
• Dior Diorshow Fusion Mono Matte '121 Céleste'
• Rouge Dior lipstick '775' 
• Vichy Dermablend foundation '25 Nude' 
• Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer 'Light' 
• Guerlain Parure Extreme foundation '04' 
• MAC MSF 'Stereo Rose' 
• Mavala nail polish '162 Rose Shell'
• Barry M Gelly nail paint 'Rose Hip'
• Ardell Demi Wispies
• Bourjois mascara twist up the volume
• NYX '817 Hot Red'
• Inglot lip pencil '33'

I also got some brushes - the Real Techniques Eye Starter Set and Inglot brushes 

(27P, 22T, 29PO, 32T, 13P)

Thank you for reading,

NV

xoxo 

BEAUTY TIPS (COLLAB POST WITH THE GLAM PACK)

I recently did a poll on my blog asking what kind of posts you would like to see, and I got the most votes on ‘beauty tips’, so I thought it would be a good chance to do a little collaboration post with the The Glam Pack (absolutely amazing beauty blog) - so here it is, hope you enjoy!

 I am super excited to be part of this guest post for Natalie Blogs Makeup. I am always on the look out for simple, beauty tips that I can use on me, and also when I'm doing makeup on someone else. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Sleeping: If I don’t have enough hours of sleep and wake up a little puffy, one thing that always helps is making green tea ice cubes. In the morning, I wrap the ice cubes with gauze, and lightly press them under my eyes; the cubes not only feel refreshing, but they also help me reduce puffiness...while also definitely waking me up!!!

2. Water, Water, Water: H2O is the key to a healthy skin. Hydrating is important, and you will be surprised how much drinking water will help you achieve the perfect canvas. The more hydrated your skin is, the less makeup you will actually end up using.

3. Cleansing: It doesn’t matter how late, or how tired I get home; there is no chance I will go to bed with my makeup on. When I am too tired to do my nightly cleanse routine, I use wipes that I keep on my night table and I remove my makeup. Your skin recharges overnight, it needs to breathe.

4. Hot Bath: When I work long hours standing up, there is nothing better to recuperate than a hot bath with epsom salt and coconut oil. Coconut oil is an amazing natural moisturizer. The magnesium in the epsom salt plays a number of roles in the body including reducing inflammation, helping muscle and nerve function, among others. Sulfate helps flush toxins, ease migraine headaches, and help improve the absorption of nutrients. There are many positive things your body receives from this amazing home remedy.

I consider these to be my basic beauty rituals. There are so many more tips for makeup, but the fundamental factor remains to be taking care of your skin. Do not take for granted hydrating and moisturizing. They seem like familiar topics, and everything I just shared with you, you’ve probably read somewhere else before; but that only means one thing... IT WORKS!! ;)

Hope you enjoyed this post.
It is always a great pleasure to collaborate with Natalie!

xoxox

Virginia

www.theglampack.com

Instagram: @celenediez

twitter: @glampack

Here are a few of my tips as well!

1. Now this happens to all of us once or twice - you buy a foundation, and put it on at home only to realize it's not quite the right shade. If you are a newbie, your best bet is to go to a counter and get color matched to a foundation that is best suited to your skin. I know No7 do a really cool matching service at boots stores too, so it might be worth a try. Another good way to test a foundation before committing to a full size bottle is to get a couple of samples. That way, you can try it out on yourself, and see how you like it at the end of the day.

2. Another basic tip is to find one place in your house where there is natural lighting. As I said, this tip is super basic but makes a huge difference to your makeup routine. It's much easier to do any makeup in better lighting, even if you're going for a very natural look.

3. This next tip is quite useful if you sometimes get mascara on your lids (btw I'm guilty of this too). A handy thing to do is to tilt your head back slightly, and then apply your mascara. That way, you're less likely to get it on your lids!

4. If you’re doing a sleek hairstyle and you want to keep your ‘fly-aways’ down, just use a clear inexpensive mascara to gently brush them down.

5. Doing a glitter/smokey eye? Put on your eye makeup first, then remove the fall out using a makeup wipe, and do your face makeup!

6. If you want your lips to look nice and full, you can quickly add some bronzer and highlighter to make them look a lot fuller instantly – for more details check out this post!

7. If painting your nails is often the last thing you do at night, try using Drip Dry by OPI (or any other products designed to make your nails dry faster). This means you’ll cut the time in half, and you’ll spend less time worrying about weird looking nails the next day.

Thank you for reading,

NV

xoxo 

MOO BUSINESS CARDS

I decided to get some business cards because I thought it would be handy if someone asks about my blog, as it means I don’t have to write the link down for them if they want to take a sneaky peak (and you never know, they might pass it on too!)

A few weeks ago I spotted the Moo Facebook business cards on their website, so I decided to try them out and order 50, so I thought I’d tell you all about my experience!

So first of all, whatever you need your business cards for; moo offers pre made designs (but you can also design your own), and they have different sizes and finishes of card you can pick from.  

All of this is great, as you have plenty to pick from and suit to your needs or budget, but it can get a little overwhelming sometimes, so I love that Moo will send you a free sample pack if you order one! (No hidden extra charges included). I think it’s handy if you’re not sure which card or size to go for as you can have a proper feel for them!

I decided to go for the Facebook design cards, which means I had to log in to my Facebook account as they add the link to your profile, and use your current profile picture and cover photos, but you can also include other information and a quote/extra writing at the top.

If you want to order some business cards for yourself, you can get 10% off  here!

http://www.moo.com/share/zfmjp2 

So here’s how mine turned out!

(They send them in a lovely business card holder too!)

 

 

 

Thank you for reading,

NV

xoxo 

£2.50 ESSIE NAIL POLISHES

Essie nail polishes are always mentioned by bloggers because of their great quality and shade range, but sometimes the higher price tag may stop you from trying them out.

If you’re looking to find Essie nail polishes at a lower price of £2.50, check out this website! They don’t always have the same shades in stock, but it’s handy to check back every so often to hunt down the shades you want. I think the postage is £1.99 for Standard Delivery so you’re still saving yourself a bit of money (I think I'll need to place an order myself soon too)!

Thank you for reading,

NV

xoxo