Beauty Vixen: gift sets

Gift Guide 2020

By Jill Oliver-Fox Tuesday, December 15, 2020 2020, body fantasies, brushes, dr teal, dr teal's, drug store, freeman, freemans, gift guide, gift sets, holiday, holiday 2020, perfume, real techniques, soap, yardley, yardley london

If you are still out searching for the perfect holiday gift, some stocking stuffers or even something just to spoil yourself with as the season hits high gear? Well, I have you covered. I've got a bunch of items that are both budget friendly and easy to find at drug stores. grocery stores and mass retailers.

Yardley London Eau De Toilette / English Rose / English Lavender /Lily Of The Valley / 50 ml / $18.99

Yardley has been been around for 250 years and holds two royal warrants, making it both legendary and timeless. I personally adore their body care lines and their scents. English Rose has been all time favourite of mine for quite some time and I always get compliments about when I wear it. This holiday season giving a bottle of one of their classic scents may make the perfect gift.

With three absolutely timeless options, English Lavender, English Rose, and Lily of the Valley, there is one to suit just about everyone.

Yardley London Soap / English Rose / English Lavender /Lily Of The Valley / 120g / $2.00

If you're looking for that perfect under $5 stocking stuffer, Yardley's soap may be the right gift. Who among us doesn't need more soap? We are all washing our hands non-stop and they actually work great for the body too. With the same rich scents as the perfumes these soaps accompany them very nicely.

I have the English Lavender here and it makes for a relaxing night time shower or bath soap. That being said the English Rose and Lilly of the Valley are equally as nice and for $2 they won't break the bank while filling a stocking up nicely.

Real Techniques Artist Essentials Brush Set / $29.99

Real Techniques has been in my brush collection since they first launched years ago, I still love their brushes and would recommend them to anyone looking for good quality brushes.

This set features some of their best brushes in one handy kit at a decent price. This one is great for any beauty lover, new to makeup or someone who you know just would appreciate some nice brushes.

The set contains 5 brushes, RT 217 Expert Edge Large, RT 421 Soft Accent Brush, RT 420 Spotlight Fan Brush, RT 317 Smudge Liner Brush, and RT 425 Lip Smudge Brush.

Real Techniques Sparkle On The Go Brush Set / $14.98

This brush set is perfect for any makeup lover in your life. At around $15 it makes a great gift or stocking stuffer.

You get three brushes in silver with mini handles, so it is great for travel, the gym, washrooms, desks with limited space, just about anywhere. It also comes with a limited edition purple Miracle complexation sponge. The brushes included are 406 Mini Medium Sculpting Brush, 407 Mini Multitask Brush, and 200 Mini Expert Face Brush.

Dr. Teal's Set / Relax & Relief / $9.97

Dr. Teal's is a staple in my house, I always have at least one of their salts and bubble baths in my house at all times. I love a relaxing bath and that is exactly what they deliver.

I picked up this set because their Relax and Relief line has been a favourite of mine and I really liked the look of this set. The Relax & Relief line features Eucalyptus and Spearmint.

You get 5 pieces in this gift set, 396 g Epsom Salt Soak, 88 mL Foaming Bath, 88 mL Body Wash, 30 mL Body Oil, and 28 g Body Lotion. Overall it is a great way to try out and get a little bit of everything from the line.

There also is a similar Sooth & Sleep Regimen 5 piece set, 5 pieces Eucalyptus Regimen set and a 3 Piece assorted Epson Salt set for the holidays and all for $9.97.

Freeman Purifying Avocado + Oatmeal Clay Mask / $4.97

Freeman is a brand that I have known, trusted and used for over 25 years. Whether it is for my face or body (have you tried their Bare Foot Peppermint lotion? so good), they manage to provide quality care for my skin at an affordable price.

Their Purifying Avocado + Oatmeal clay mask is a great deep cleaning mask that manages to hydrate at the same time. It is gentle on my skin but also really effective, which is why I think it would make a great gift for anyone's stocking this time of year. At about $5 it is affordable and also a really big tube.

Body Fantasies Gift Set / Pink Vanilla Kiss / $13.00

Body Fantasies make cute little gift sets that are sure to please without breaking the bank. I got the Pink Vanilla Kiss set which features a full size Body Spray, Body Wash as well as mini versions of the Body Spay and Body Lotion.

Pink Vanilla Kiss is a sweet vanilla scent that is not too overwhelming but also just really nice for the holiday season. I think this makes a great gift for anyone who you know loves fragrances, I personally know my mother in law would love it.

There is also a Twilight Mist version available.

Do you have all your gift buying done yet? What kind of beauty gifts do you like to give or get?

*This post features Pr samples as well as purchased by myself items. All views and opinions are my own. Some links may be affiliate links.

Too Faced Le Grand Palais Review and Swatches

By Jill Oliver-Fox Sunday, November 29, 2015 eyeshadow, eyeshadow primers, gift sets, holiday, holiday 2015, kit, le grand palais, Mascara, melted lipstick, set, swatch, too faced, too faced holiday

Too Faced is known for great holidays set, heck I have two from past years that I still use regularly. This year they released an exclusive to Sephora set, that I personally have fallen in love with.

Le Grand Palais, contains and adorable box that looks like present. When you open if up you discover diharama of beauty. With a faux stair case, and a cute little dress on a form and even a sephora bag filled with Toofaced goodies (I spy the Chocoalte bar palette). Nestled inside are 3 deluxe sized products and a removable palette.

The set contains:

18 Eye Shadows
2 Blushes
1 Highlighter
1 Bronzer
1 Deluxe Melted Lipstick in Peony
1 Deluxe Shadow Insurance
1 deluxe Better Than Sex Mascara

Now where do I even start with this fantastic set? I'll start with the shadows.

I love these shadows, once again Too Faced doesn't disappoint in its palettes. All textures are represented here, matte, shimmer, satin, even metallic shades. Not much to complain about here, I really like the variety of shades and festiveness of all the shades. I think it is adorable that they are either named after something Parisian or Christmasy (ie. Yule Log or Champs Elyees).

I do feel the shimmery or more metallic shades would be better off with a glitter primer under them and not just a normal eyeshadow primer. Otherwise fall out will most likely occur.

I do wish there were more matte shades in the set, I often wish this though, so it might just be me.

My absolute favourite shades are, Satin Sheets, Delightful, Wish List, Party Dress and City Lights.

The two blushes are really pretty. With Skyline being a medium pink with a semi-matte finish and Stardust being a coral with a matte finish, it gives you some good variety in colour and textures. Flush is a great highlighter, it is slightly golden in hue and has a great radiance to it...just such a pretty shimmer. Finally Sun bunny is a classic bronzer that is pretty iconic in the Too Faced permeant collection. It is bronzer that will work on many skin tones and has a fantastic shimmer to it.

The deluxe sized Melted lipstick in Peony is thick and opaque, everything I want ever in a liquid lipstick. Not a lot is needed to get full coverage of your lips, and because of that it sits on your lips matte and and thin, no goopy application needed. It is a light medium-pink that works well with my skin tone at least, and I think will go with any look you create using the palette.

The Shadow Insurance is an all time favourite of mine. For me it works better than most other brands and I still think that. I have quite a few hanging around from past sets, and considering how much shimmer and metallic shades are in this set I would have been nice to have had their glitter insurance in the set instead. That being said, I am always happy to have another Shadow Insurance in my possession.

The Better Than Sex Mascara is fanatic. I have had a few deluxe minis in the past (I got one last year in the Sugar and Spice set) and I cannot find anything bad about it. I love the hourglass shaped brush and the formulation. It is a good mascara to have.

Overall I really like this set, it makes for some good holiday looks and can be used all year round. It has a good mix of colours and textures in its shadows. Really the only thing you need to add is your foundation and eyebrows and you're good for the day or night.

This set is exclusive to Sephora so go get it while you still can.

Have you tried any holiday collections this year? If so what do you think of them?

*Products were sent to me for review, all views and opinions are my own.