Fab Beauty Gift Sets For Holiday Gifts

I love giving gifts of products that my friends or family would not purchase for themselves. An eyeliner wardrobe, high-quality brushes, great skincare, fragrance and hair care — these are fun to get as gifts because they introduce you to something new and fabulous!

Here are some of my faves for the season:

tarte Eye Catchers 6-Piece SmolderEYES™ And Skinny SmolderEYES™ Collector’s Set ($39 USD) — A six-piece collection of full-size eyeliner favorites in universally flattering, must-have shades.

What it does:
These pure, powerful, and always-pretty smolderEYES™ liners glide on like butter and impart a precise line for a sleek look. Use the built-in smudger to go sultry and smoldering and enjoy the completely waterproof finish. Amazonian clay ensures longer wear, while nourishing lids, reducing surface oil, and improving overall texture. No matter how you wear these versatile shades, the rich pigments boast true, bold color.

This set contains:
– 5 x 0.056 oz SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Champagne, Gunmetal, Rainforest Black, Gold, Ash Violet
– 0.04 oz Skinny SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Onyx

Visit www.tartecosmetics.com to learn more and purchase.

Deluxe Travel Brush Collection ($95 USD)

Everything you need for flawless makeup application with 9 travel-friendly professional tools in a chic carrier case.

Brush up on beauty this holiday season with Laura Mercier’s must-have Deluxe Travel Brush Collection for flawless makeup application. Perfect for on-the-go, this sleek, chic brush case features a rigid, hard shell design with two pockets and a removable mesh pouch housing a combination of nine professional Brushes for face, cheeks, eyes and brows.

A $252.00 value. http://www.lauramercier.com

Pampering to go. Whether you’re heading across the country or just to the gym, this Moroccan Holiday collection brings you perfectly portable, pure Argan oil-infused products. The six travel-sized formulas help you achieve healthy-looking, glowing hair and skin. From Josie Maran.
Includes:

0.5-fl oz 100% Pure Argan Oil
0.5-fl oz Argan Cleansing Oil
0.5-fl oz Argan Oil Hair Serum
0.5-fl oz Argan Daily Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 40 Lotion
2-fl oz Argan Oil Body Butter in Vanilla Apricot
1.9-fl oz Argan Cleansing Body Oil
Made in Morocco/USA

Purchase at www.qvc.com.

Always a big hit for the holidays, TOCCA has introduced its newest Coffret Set in a festive green & gold with three new scents: Graciella, Violette and Giuletta. The fragrances are:

Giulietta: Green Apple, Pink Tulips, Vanilla Orchid, Amber

Graciella: Asian Pear, Casablanca Lily, Ylang Ylang, Cashmere Musk

Violette: Italian Bergamot, African Violet, Black Currants, Creamy Cedarwood

Tocca Coffret Set retails for $45 at Sephora & Space NK stores nationwide and online at www.tocca.com.

TIGI ELASTICATE DUO ($19.99) & RECHARGE DUO ($19.99) — Excite the adrenaline-junkie of the family with the latest from Bed Head. The NEW Elasticate Duo offers a supercharged formula for break-resistant hair while the NEW Recharge Duo eliminates the build-up of 2012 while adding high-octane shine Both NEW gift sets are available at a special holiday price.

Please visit www.tigiprofessional.com for a salon near you. Feel free to reach out should you need hi-res images or product samples.

Bath and Body Holiday Gift Guide

It’s holiday gift guide time! I have been testing and enjoying some fabulous gift sets that I want to share with you. Beauty sets are such wonderful ideas for holiday gifts. Here are some of my favorite bath and body sets:

Liz Earl Botanical Body Treats ($31 USD) — This soothing botanical bodycare delivers daily radiance with a delicate, uplifting fragrance. Includes Sheer Gold Shimmer for a touch of seasonal magic when the occasion demands it.

This gift is presented in a gorgeous signature blue box with a festive purple sleeve.

Visit http://us.lizearle.com to learn more and purchase

VMV Hypoallergenics Yule Love the Bubbles Kit ($15.00 at vmvhypoallergenics.com starting November): Ideal for the jet-setter or the bath-time enthusiast, this creamy bath set features three of VMV’s gentlest, yet luxurious bath essentials (each in TSA-compliant sizes). The set includes: Essence Skin-Saving Clark Wash Hair + Body “Big Softie” Shampoo – SLS, SLES and Allergen-Surfactant Free, this cleanser gently removes dirt without stripping hair and skin of their moisture. Essence Skin-Saving Conditioner – Rinses clean without leaving behind any dulling residue. Hair is left with a renewed bounce while also preventing acne and rashes on the scalp, face and body. Essence Skin-Saving Clear + Clean Body Soap –Enriched with light, skin-friendly oils and glycerin, this gentle soap is ideal for all skin types and helps prevent body acne and skin imperfections.

Kai Travel Set ($49 USD) — A reusable natural hemp bag filled with an assortment of Kai’s most alluring product combination, in travel-approved 2 oz. bottles: the recently released shampoo and conditioner, lavish body wash, luxurious bathing bubbles, soothing body lotion, and a vial of our perfume oil. Give the gift of relaxation to your special someone this holiday season with Kai’s travel-sized collection of products, all fragranced with Kai’s light and intoxicating blend of a gardenia top note wrapped in white exotics.

Purchase at http://www.b-glowing.com/kai-travel-set.

Gianna Rose The Monogram Collection ($22 Hand Wash, $11 Bar Soap), A personalized gift always makes a statement. Add a high-end touch to any kitchen or bath with a personalized bar soap or liquid hand wash. Infused with natural ingredients and scented with Green Tea and Bergamot, The Monogram Collection will make a sophisticated and thoughtful gift for anyone on your list.

Available letters: A, B, C, D, E, G, J, K, L, M, R & S

Available at www.GiannaRose.com

MyBody Pamper Me ($80 USD) — Includes a probiotic shower gel + probiotic lotion for the perfect fragrant layering experience

formulated with body-compatible ingredients including immune-boosting probiotics
each luxurious formula creates an uplifting sensory experience
custom aromatic essences evoke feelings of well-being
available in Rose Chamomile, Revitalizing Citrys Coconut and Energizing Bergamot Lime.

Available exclusively through medical offices; go to www.lovemybody.com to find a location near you.

‘Tis the season of supremely soft and supple skin. This holiday, pamper your loved ones with lush, moisturizing formulas from Melvita, France’s number one, organic-certified beauty brand. Choose from two gorgeous gift sets, housed in decorative packaging featuring Ryan McGinley prints, which feature some of the most popular offerings from Melvita’s Rose skincare line. And for that someone special on your list, give the gift of a luscious, hydrated pout with the covetedHoney Lips gloss.

The Rose Gift Set ($45 USD) includes:

· Rose Nectar (40 ml): An ultra-lightweight, sheer cream enriched with essential fatty acids, Rose Nectar infuses cheeks with a rosy flush that lasts all day. Developed with rose floral water, rose hip oil and wild rose petal extract, this luxurious formula conditions and nourishes fragile, dehydrated skin.
· Rose Shower Gel (200 ml): Lather up with this sweet-smelling blend of rose seed milk, rosehip seed oil and rose floral water that softens and soothes skin. The gentle formula is enhanced with natural fragrances, and preserves the moisture balance of even the most delicate skin.
· Rose Hand Cream (30 ml): Formulated with castor oil to strengthen skin, this ultra-hydrating cream combines rose floral water, rose seed milk and wild rose petal extract to moisturize your hands and condition your cuticles for primped and pretty results.

Available atwww.usa.melvita.com and through leading online beauty retailers.

Enjoy your gift giving! I will be back in a day or two with other great gift ideas!

What beauty gifts are you giving this year?

Crest 3D White Professional Effects Whitestrips

A little over a month ago, I received Crest 3D White Professional Effects Whitestrips complimentary through Influenster (Influenster.com).

From the #1 most awarded whitening brand by beauty editors, Crest 3D White Professional Effects Whitestrips remove over 10 years of set-in stains and “whiten 25X better than the leading toothpaste*”. Their motto is: If You’re Not Whitening, You’re Yellowing.

Crest 3D White Whitestrips Professional Effects is thin, flexible strips that are coated with a tooth whitening gel containing peroxide. Designed to conform to the shape of your teeth, they work by keeping the whitening gel on your teeth for 30 minutes once a day to get at stain build-up on and below the tooth’s surface. After 20 days, you’ll get long-lasting, professional-level whitening.

I have been loving these Whitestrips! I am almost done with my 20 days. My teeth are so much whiter! The only thing I don’t love is that they make my extremely sensitive teeth ache.

I would purchase these about once a year to keep my teeth white. Visit www.3dwhite.com to learn more!

A Note About Influenster:

Influenster is a fun site that you can sign up to review products. If you are lucky and work hard, you can receive free products to review. To sign up, you need an invite. I have three left. Leave a comment and I will send you one.

Enjoy!

Sparkly Holiday Nail Polishes to Give and to Enjoy!

I love sparkle nail polish for the holidays. And with all the cool glitter polishes out these days, you can really get a unique and festive look!

Here are some fun ones to buy for yourself or to give as gifts. They also make great stocking stuffer.

China Glaze Holiday Joy Nail Polish Collection Holiday Winter 2012

The holiday season: it is truly the most wonderful time of the year – for nails! From gorgeous glitters to rich crèmes, ‘tis the season to add sparkle and shine to any manicure and pedicure.

Celebrate the season in colour with the new China Glaze® Holiday Joy collection!

Bringing tidings of good cheer, the China Glaze® Holiday Joy collection features 12 merry crèmes, glitters and shimmers including:

Glistening Snow – Fine diamond-like silver glitter

Champagne Kisses – Bubbly rose gold glitter

Angel Wings – Delicate gold dust glitter

Winter Holly – Gold-flecked dazzling green glitter

Glitter All The Way – Exciting multi-color glitter

Pizzazz – Twinkling multi-dimensional glitter blend

Blue Bells Ring – Icy blue shimmer

Pure Joy – Fiery red glitter with gold particles

Red Satin – Silky blue-based red crème

With Love – Classic red crème with a hint of orange undertones

Merry Berry – Rich berry red crème

Cranberry Splash – Ruby red shimmer

Each polish retails for approximately $7.50. For more information, please visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook (@ChinaGlaze), Twitter (@ChinaGlazeOfficial) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/chinaglaze).

NCLA THE GLITZ ($39 USD) lacquer set contains ‘Hollywood Hills Hot Number’, a large flake silver/ multi color infusion glitter and ‘Miss Sunset Strip’ a large flake purple glitter. In addition each set will contain a super exclusive special edition rose gold large flake glitter like never seen before. The glitter particles in ‘High Above The City Lights’ are reminiscent of beautiful shards of rose gold metal – way ahead of the curve, a completely unique take on the glitter world!

All colors have a clear base and can be worn alone or over any color for full style points. Available at www.shopncla.com

Nails Inc The Fashionistas — Three mini special effects polishes add glitter, mirror shine or metallic for a show stopping look. These shades offer fantastic coverage, and will make your nails the talk of the holiday party. Shades include:

• Abbey Road – full coverage holographic shimmer

• Royal Opera Arcade – Amethyst nail jewelry

• Stratford –rose gold mirror metallic

Price: $16.50, Available at Sephora inside JCPenney

L’Oréal Paris “Diamonds” Holiday Cosmetics Collection — Celebrate your worth with brilliance this holiday season. In honor of the brand’s iconic tagline, “Because You’re Worth It,” L’Oréal Paris introduces Diamonds, a limited-edition cosmetics collection with dazzling beauty essentials for eyes, lips and nails. Perfect for holiday party primping, the products in the line fall within three inspiring color schemes:

• Love Diamond

• True Diamond

• Midnight Diamond.

Each offers exclusive shades of L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Nail polish. The shades are:

So Chill — Soft pink with silver micro glitter

Sparkilicious — Silver glitter

Lifetime Love — Cherry red with red micro glitter

Fancy Me — Red and gold glitter

Drop Dead Gorgeous — Black with blue micro gliter

The Bigger the Better — Clear with black and silver glitter

Price:$5.99, available for individual purchase at drugstores nationwide (beginning in November 2012 and until supplies last).

Enjoy!

Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin

The Goody brand is the most widely-recognized manufacturer of hair accessories and styling tools in the world. Through proprietary brands such as DoubleWear™, QuikStyle™, Simple Styles™, Slide-Proof™ and Ouchless®, Goody has introduced smart innovations like the exclusive Spin Pin and Quik Style Brush. With products inspired by the latest designer trends and innovative solutions, Goody offers an inspiring range of hair accessories and styling tools.

The Spin Pin does the work of 20 bobby pins! Easily achieve chic updo styles; simply twirl your hair up and spin the Spin Pins in for a perfect top knot, undone bun and side bun!

Steps:
1. Gather your hair at the nape of your neck (no ponytail holder needed)

2. Twist your hair into a tight bun and tuck in the ends

3. Spin one pin in from the top and the other from the base, taking care not to interlock pins.

I received the Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin ($7.29 USD) complementary from Influenster.com to test.

I love how easy these are to use. I have medium length fine hair and they work pretty well for me. I do fine that my hair starts to slip out after a couple of hours, but it is easy to fix. I have these in the darker color and they blend well in my hair.

Learn more about these at www.goody.com. Spin Pins are available at Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreen’s, Kroger, and Duane Reade.

Enjoy!

Kiss Ever PRO Lash Starter Kit

I don’t usually use fake lashes. Mascara formulas are so advanced now that they even make my short lashes look good. But I think it is good to have a pair of lashes around for special occasions.

I received a Kiss Ever PRO Lash Starter Kit ($4.99 USD) complimentary from influenster.com for testing purposes. Check the website out and let me know if you would like an invite by leaving a comment. It is fun to receive free products to test!

These lashes are made from highest quality human hair. Use with Kiss adhesive for optimal results. Latex free, odor free, waterproof, flexible formula for 24hr hold, easy applicator.

These lashes took me a little bit to get the hang of when applying, but I love the full lashes look! The included tool is really helpful in application. Also, they add a lot of length.

To learn more, visit www.everezlashes.com.

Enjoy!

Bath and Body Works Fall Mini Candle

I recently received a Bath & Body Works Fall Mini Candle in Black Pepper Bergamot ($3.50 USD) complimentary to test through Influenster’s VoxBox program. (Visit www.influenster.com to learn more and leave a comment if you would like an invite to join. I have a few left).

This is a highly fragranced candle exclusively developed and tested by a team of Home Fragrance experts, including the world’s best master perfumers. Made using the highest concentration of fragrance oils, an exclusive blend of vegetable wax and lead-free wicks for optimal performance.

I usually like fresher scents for my home, but this is a nice fall fragrance. It is spicy and warm. It also lasts for a long time and is highly frangranced!

Check it out at http://www.bathandbodyworks.com and Bath and Body Works stores.

Enjoy!

NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compact

I was lucky to recieve the NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compact in Dark Shadows ($4.99 USD) complimentary for testing and review purposes from Influenster. (Check out www.influenster.com to learn more and leave a comment if you would like an invitation to join!)

I was excited to try this shadow after loving the lipgloss I received in my Latina VoxBox!

I received the gray palette called Dark Shadows (I have brown eyes). I am not much of a fan of gray shadows, but these are nice. I use the lighter two shades, and they blend well and look pretty on.

My favorite part of this palette is the shadow base. It evens out the tone of my eyelid and helps shadows last! There is also a pan of cream illuminator. I like to use this under the brow bone and at the inner corner of the eye.

I would love to try this in a different color palette. It is affordable and a perfect travel palette!

Visit http://newyorkcolor.com/ to learn more and purchase.

Enjoy!

Boots No7 Beautiful Skin

Lately, I have been using Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Normal/Dry Duo of Cleansing Lotion and Night Cream. I received samples from Influenster complimentary for testing (check out www.influenster.com to find out how to receive free products and comment on this post if you would like an invite to join).

So what is Boots No7 Beautiful Skin? It’s the newest and easy to use two-step range of everyday skincare cleansers and moisturizers, tailored to your specific skin type eliminating the need for toners. Products are color-coded, making it easy to find just the right products for your skin type: Normal/Oily (Pink), Normal/Dry (Green) and Dry/Very Dry (Lilac).

No7 appreciates that busy lifestyles mean you don’t always have time for a lengthy skincare regimen. That’s why we’ve created Beautiful Skin. Discover radiant skin in 14 days with two simple steps:

Step 1: Cleanse
The first step to beautiful skin is clean skin. All Beautiful Skin cleansers quickly and gently remove all traces of dirt and impurities, leaving you with perfectly clean, healthy skin. Skin is so effectively cleansed that there is no need for a separate toner.

Step 2: Moisturize
Once cleansed, hydrate your skin with our nourishing day and night creams. All our day creams deliver SPF 15 and Broad Spectrum UV Protection, while our night creams work to promote optimum hydration while you sleep.

The products I have been testing are:

Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Lotion Normal/Dry
The light, refreshing wipe-off formula feels weightless on the skin, yet it’s very hard working, removing every last trace of make-up and grime. Packed with moisturizing agents like Glycerin, your skin will be left soft and refreshed. The oils are optimized to be the most effective at cleansing away dirt without removing natural and beneficial skin lipids.

I love that this wipe-off cleanser is creamy and moisturizing and no water is required as part of your facial routine. Best applied to dry skin, massage upward and across the skin using cotton or wool, avoiding the eye area, and wipe off.

Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Night Cream Normal/Dry :
Rest easy throughout the night knowing that your skin is getting the best possible care with this luxuriously rich night cream for all night moisturization, includes Cocoa butter for an additional boost. A nourishing cream with Glycerin and Shea Butter to energize and promote optimum hydration while you sleep. Designed to work in harmony with your skin, replacing lost moisture and leaving you with healthy looking radiant skin.

What I think — the cleanser is one of the best cleansers that I have used in a long time! I takes make up off like a dream without drying out the skin! It is also very mild and does not irritate my extremely sensitive eyes. The night cream give lots of moisture, but it is a bit heavy, so only use if you have very dry skin.

Learn more about these products at www.shopbootsusa.com.

Enjoy!

Influenster 2012 Beauty Bloggers VoxBox

I am so excited to have received the Beauty Bloggers VoxBox from Influenster.com! I received this free for the purpose of testing it and letting all of my fab readers know what I think of the products!

The products included are:

-NYC New York Color® IndividualEyes Custom Compact

-Kiss® Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit

-Bath & Body Works® Mini Candles

-Not Your Mother’s® Kinky Moves™ Curl Defining Hair Cream & Smooth Moves™ Frizz Control Hair Cream

-Goody® Simple Styles Spin Pin

-EBOOST®

Plus there were two bonus items that were given out by demographics. I received the Boots products:

-Boots No. 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Lotion, Cleansing Balm, & Night Cream

-Vitabath® Fragrance Mist

I have been trying all of the goodies and will be posting reviews in the next few days. Stay tuned!

Plus visit www.influenster.com to learn more. If you would like an invite to join Influenster leave a comment with your email address and I will send you one. I have four left to give out.