Christmas 2017 Makeup Gift Guide

L-R Row 1: Dior Pump & Volume Gift Set £25.50   / Stila Liquid Lipstick Collection Bright & Bold £15.30 / Clinique Chubby Sampler Gift Set £22
L-R Row 2: Tam Beauty Christmas Bundle £15/ Zoeva Opulence Eye Shadow Palette £17.50/ Tanya Burr Jingle & Mingel Night Palette  £10
L-R Row 3: Butter London Crown Jewels £16/ NYX Professional Makeup Love Contours All £20  /Soap & Glory Flatterbox £20

It's possible to be on a budget and still be able to buy a few gifts from luxury brands. Stila has bundled three of their famous mini liquid lipsticks for their Bright and Bold collection- it includes Beso (a nice red) and two limited edition shades Lumi and Viola for £15.30. I think it's nice to receive a gift that has a variety of shades to wear.  I've included the Dior Pump and Volume gift set in this category although it's actually £25.50. I was really surprised at the price point because it includes a mini eye shadow palette as well but I have not seen it in person to see how small the palette is. Butter London are known for their nail polishes, but their gift set allows you to try out other products in the range. The Butter London Crown Jewels contains four of their bestsellers: a Petite Plush Rush Lip Gloss in Fireworks, a Double Decker Lashes Mascara, a Glazen Eye Gloss mini in Frosted and a Fashion size Patent Shine 10X Nail polish in Ta-Ta (which claims to last 10 days.) I quite like the sound of their eye gloss it's like a gel but dries to a powder and is long lasting so that the sparkle won't budge. Another high end brand mini gift set is Clinique Chubby Sampler Gift set with 3 mini favorites a Chubby plump and shine lip gloss, a Chubby Stick roly poly rosy cheek colour balm (3.6g) and a Chubby Lash fattening mascara (4ml.)

The Tam Beauty Christmas Bundle contains a Make up Revolution Skin Kiss Highlighter in Champagne Kiss, a Makeup Revolution Rose Gold Lipstick in Chauffeur, Makeup Revolution Amazing Volume Mascara in Black and I Heart Makeup I Heart Chocolate Golden Bar. I love Makeup Revolution and all the products are full sized, popular products. Makeup revolution do highlighters well and the I Heart Chocolate bars are good Too Faced dupes and this one reminds me of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory! Not to mention that their Rose Gold lipstick in Chauffeur is always sold out!

Onto another gift set by Soap and Glory,  the Flatterbox contains: Soap and & Glory Thick & Fast HD mascara in black (10ml ) Supercat liner in black (1.6g) Glow all out Pressed Luminizing face powder (9g), 3 Soap & Glory limited edition lid stuff eye shadows in Copper, Choccy  Cream soda (each 0.8g.) There's also a mini Sexy Mother Pucker in Plums up.

I love Zoeva's brushes they're affordable, high quality that don't shed and last the distance but I've yet to try their eye shadow palettes. I have my eye on the Matte palette but the Zoeva Opulent palette looks stunning! The packaging is gorgeous and the shades are so beautiful. Their eye shadow formula is  enriched with vitamin E and is 100% free of parabens, mineral oils, perfume and phthalates. Another palette I've chosen to include is the NYX is the Love Contours All Palette (I love the name) it's an all in one palette for brows, cheeks and eye lids containing two brow powders, a highlight and contour shades and nine eye shadows. Finally there's the Tanya burr's Jingle and Mingle palette which contains a lip gloss, three eye shadows eyeliner, bronzer and eye shimmer pot.

L-R Row 1: Nars Survival Kit 1 Face Set £45/ Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Icons Set £55
Row 2: Kat Von D x Too Faced Better Together Ultimate Eye Collection £57 /Becca Apres Ski Glow Collection Eye Lights Palette £28/ Charlotte Tilbury Face Seductive Beauty Palette  £49
Row 3: Urban Decay Heavy Metals Eye Shadow Palette £43/Dior Eye Shadow & Lip Palette £65 /Estee Lauder Pink Ribbon Knockout Eyes Collection £45
Row 4: Benefit Cosmetics Bigger & Bolder Brows Gift Set £31.50 /Clinique Colour Craving Makeup Gift Set £55/

Dior is know for it's luxury so I had to include this lip and eye palette which comes in it's own
zipped case. The Becca Apres Ski Glow eye shadow collection has had really good reviews while Benefit Cosmetics are famous for their brow products. The Nars Survival Kit 1 is an all in one palette with two neutral eye shadows in Naïad and Kalahari II, blusher in Off Limits and Mata Hari, a Nars Party Girl Lip Gloss and Black Moon Audacious Mascara.

It's definitely worth looking at the Harrods website which still has the Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Icons gift set despite selling out everywhere else. Alternatively there is the Charlotte Tilbury Face palette which is basically an all in one face palette with 3 eye shadows a bronze, highlight and 2 cheek colours all helpfully numbered. Harrods is also selling the Estee Lauder Pink Ribbon Knockout Eyes, a limited edition set which supports the Breast Cancer Campaign. It's sold out everywhere except at Harrods.

I chose the Kat Von D x Too Faced Better Together gift set because it's rare to have a mash up between brands. (I know they sometimes do across brand gift sets in Sephora but we don't have any stores in the UK.)  The eye colours are wearable and it comes with a full sized Kat Von D liner as well as the much raved about Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara. I included the Clinique Colour Craving Makeup gift set because of the massive price drop from £90 to £55 almost half price, a real bargain! The Urban Decay Heavy Metals eyes shadow palette contains a whopping 20 exclusive shades, 10 on the neutral side and 10 in bright jewel colours a must for any eye shadow fans. 

Top photo credit: pablofalv Presents via photopin (license) Changes Made

44 D.I.Y Christmas Present ideas When You're on a Budget

Updated May 2020

Edible Gifts 

Edible gifts are generally well received and pretty cheap and easy to make. Chocolate truffles go down a treat. There's a recipe for it here on BBC Food and you can put them in Christmas themed tins. This year I'm going to try making Chocolate Bark using these recipes from Lindsey Love at Gardenista. Wrap them up in cellophane and ribbon. Gingerbread men and shapes are also very popular at this time of year and this Jamie Oliver recipe should go down well. I saw these swan biscuits on Pixabay and they look so beautiful. You can get a small swan cookie cutter here and use this recipe from  Linzer Cookies from A Fox In the Kitchen. 

PhotoTop Left: Lindsey Love 

DIY Jewellery 

Chokers and tassel earrings are still trending and luckily they're easy to make. The wrap around suede choker tutorial can be found on Sarah Najafi's blog.  The peach and gold tassel earrings are from Honestly WTF and look very elegant. I think this lanyard bracelet from  Love Maegan looks unisex and would make a good gift for a man as well. Did you know you can make a ring from a spoon? This printable step by step from Kirsten Danielle  will show you how.

Winter Accessories

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left Kirsten Danielle Top Right Sarah Najafi  Bottom Left Honestly WTF Bottom Right Love Maegan

These dragon finger less gloves are perfect for Game Of Throne fans. You can find the crochet pattern at Heart Hook Home here. If you're a knitter then this knitted beanie might be an ideal gift for someone. The pattern can be found at Knitted Patterns. There's an easy D.I.Y faux fur scarf tutorial over at Love Maegan. However don't worry if you can't sew, crochet or knit this infinity scarf  from P.S. Heart is really easy and doesn't even require a needle! 

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left Heart Hook Home Top Right; P.S. Heart Bottom Left; Love Maegan Bottom Right Knitted patterns 

 Bags and Cases

I think this denim makeup bag can also double up as man's wash bag, see how to make it at A Pair and a Spare. This d.i.y tablet case is very smart, practical and unisex and it can be made from leather or vinyl.  The tutorial is here at Brit + Co. For the sewing phobic there's a no sew blue clutch wallet from Hot D.I.Y Tutorial and a no sew black large clutch bag from Brit + Co.

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left : A Pair and a Spare Top Right: Brit + Co Top Right  Bottom Left Hot D.I.Y Tutorial
Bottom Right: Brit + Co

Hair Accessories

These faux pearl hair pins are really simple to make but add glamour to any up do. You can find the tutorial at Yes Missy. Love Maegan has quite a few d.i.y. hair accessory tutorials but I love these gold and black hair combs the best. You can find the tutorial here. I saw this beautiful ribbon on pintrest and realised it would be a easy d.i.y, just sew or glue beads, sequins and rhinestones on to a ribbon. It can be worn as a choker as well as a head band. Another quick and easy d.i.y are these rhinestone hair clips the tutorial can be found on the Consumer Crafts Blog.  

 

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left: Yes Missy Top Right: Love Maegan Bottom Left Pintrest Bottom Right: Consumer Crafts Blog

Photo Gifts

Photos are probably the most treasured possessions and are cited as the one thing you'd rescue in a fire. Going digital means that you can do more with your photos and create lots of  thoughtful gifts. You can turn your Instagram photos into fridge magnets (tutorial by Photojojo here) coasters (see The Frugal Girls here) and even on marshmallows courtesy of Boomf. You can individually frame an Instagram image or gather all your family photos and create a collage. Photos can be turned into candle luminaries (by Our Best Bites) and personalised calendars where you can choose photos for each month or for specific days like nan's birthday. You can check for cheap photo printing deals on Money Saving Expert here.   If there's film footage of family birthdays and holidays you can download them on to DVDs to give as gifts to grandparents.

PHOTO CREDITS Row 1: Top left Our Best Bites  Top Right Photojojo Row 2: Left The Frugal Girls Row 4: Bottom Right Boomf

Body and Bath products

These fun Starbucks style body scrubs and body butters were created by Elle Sees. Choose from Peppermint Mocha Sugar Scrub, Peppermint Body Butter, Peppermint Solid Lotion, Caramel Brulee Latte Sugar Scrub and Body Butter, Snickerdoodle Hot Cocoa Body Sugar Scrub and Body Butter. You can find all these tutorials here.  This cute snowman bath bomb is just like Lush (but cheaper) and can be found under Last Minute Christmas D.I.Y.s over at Elle Sees. The Christmas inspired Peppermint Candy Cane Body Scrub is ideal for winter and the ingredients are very cheap as well (except the  essential oil.) Find the tutorial at The Idea Room. Baths are a way to relax after a hard day and gifting an Oatmeal and Lavender Bath Soak salts will make it even more luxurious. Oatmeal will make skin soft and lavender is known for its calming qualities but the best thing is these are cheap ingredients and very easy to put together just follow the tutorial from Carolyn's Homework.

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left: Elle Sees & Top Left: Elle Sees Bottom Left Carolyn Homework Bottom Right The Idea Room

Candles

Candles are popular gifts especially in winter when you just want to stay indoors and be all cozy or as the Danish say- hygge.  This very simple bark candle tutorial can be found at Just a Smidgen and you can make it for very little money. Teacup candles are easy to do and can be fairly cheap. You can pick up a nice cup and saucer from a charity shop or elsewhere and follow the tutorial by Yes Missy. If you really want to impress then try marbling plain white candles they look amazing! You can find out how to do on Ela's Box Youtube video here.   These sea shell candles can be made from scratch and even if you don't live near a beach you can pick them up from Baker Ross. Just follow the tutorial from She Knows. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Top Left Just a Smidgen Top Right Ela's Box Bottom Left  Yes Missy Bottom Right She Knows

D.I.Y Marker Mugs and Etched Glasses

There are a lot of sharpie mug tutorials on the net but the best ones show you how to make your design waterproof. For this you need buy oil based sharpie pens as seen in Four Thirty Four's Sharpie Pen Tutorial. Alternatively try using Deco Art glass paint pens like those used in My Crafty Spot to ensure that the design stays on permanently. You can also buy porcelain paint pens which will make your design dishwasher proof. Sharpies can also be used on glass like these wine glasses in gold and silver from A Belle Vie which look absolutely stunning! 

Another option is to etch a design onto glassware. Love Maegan made these cute heart glasses while Be Spangled Jewelry used the technique to personalise these mason jars with an initial.

PHOTO CREDIT Top Right; Love Magean Top Right Bottom Left: Bottom Right:

Wall Art

Wall art is something that can be very quick and inexpensive to make and yet seem very thoughtful at the same time.You can create word cloud art using lyrics from someone's favourite song, poem or quote or even words describing the qualities your special someone has using  free websites in minutes. Then all your need to do is print them out and frame them. You can find nice but cheap frames from Poundland, Wilkinson's, Ikea and Matalan. I used word it out for my word cloud below  (using lyrics from Santana's 'love of my life'). Worldle is very popular as well. You can also create pictures and quotes on free websites like Canva and Be Funky and print them off and frame. Another option is to search 'free printable quotes' into Google, print and frame them. The free printable quote below 'Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselevs' can be found on the blog Collected and is in a free printable round up on  It's Always Autumn. You can also channel your inner artist by creating scrabble tile art with photos alongside or arrange letters like a crossword or as an acrostic.  For inspiration take a look at this hobbycraft post  or hit up Pintrest. 

Top Left HobbyCraft Top Right  lipstick drawer Bottom Left lipstick Drawer Bottom Right Collection

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation & Concealer Review

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light foundation is the lightweight sister of the popular Double Wear Foundation. It's a liquid foundation that has light to medium coverage. It has SPF10 protection and claims to have up to 15 hours wear. "Double wear is fresh, natural and comfortable. Controls oil, resists smudging and won't melt off through heat and humidity." It is oil free, photo friendly and fragrance free.

I've been using this foundation part of the summer and part of the autumn. At first I raved about it and loved it for the lighter wear and the fact that it actually matched my yellow toned skin which is very rare! I was matched to Intensity 1.0. (for reference I am the shade Warm Sand in Bobbi Brown and MAC NC15.) Normally my shade is in the middle but 1.0 is next to the lightest shade 0.5.  The shade selection is quite narrow with just nine shades compared with the original Double Wear foundation that comes in a whopping fifty shades! I'd be interested in the reasoning behind that. It does have SPF 10 which is good to have in a product but as it's so low it could be argued that it was pointless to include it. You should wear an additional SPF as the SPF10 in this foundation won't be enough.

Double Wear Light foundation has light to medium coverage. After using several brushes I found that Zoeva's Silk Finish brush was the best to use.  It dries to a matte finish. However if you use a Beauty Blender or a Real Technique's Sponge then the look is sheerer and a little dewy while the coverage is light. The colour doesn't oxidise on my skin. I have sensitive, combination skin and this never broke me out or irritated my skin. This foundation doesn't last the 15 hours stated on the packaging but it lasts a good 8-9 hours intact without primer. It doesn't crease and is transfer resistant.  It does cover the redness on my cheeks but may not completely cover acne.

The downside is that this foundation smells very strongly of chemicals however this does die down after application. I have asthma and it never got to the point where is was so overwhelming I couldn't use it. Another thing to note is that it has a very powdery finish and it definitely looks like you have makeup on. It's not really the natural look it promises but I think this can be remedied with a good finishing spray that takes away the powder look and makes the skin look more natural. When I tried to powder this foundation it seemed to take makeup off the skin rather than setting it- I'm not sure if this is a foundation that doesn't need setting? I have dry patches along my t-zone and I found it can cling on to dry patches.

As for the packaging it doesn't really scream I'm a luxurious £35 foundation! However the packaging is very practical since you can squeeze every last drop from the tube and even cut it up towards the end to use all the product up. The plastic tube is light and travel friendly unlike foundations in glass bottles. The gold lid makes it look a little more glamourous. I do wish that the bottle was a little transparent so you can see how much is left (although you can guess a little by the weight.)

I would buy Estee Lauder's Double Wear Light Foundation again, it matched me well, it's is oil-free and feels fairly lightweight on the skin. While it's on the pricier side with 30ml for £35, a little does go along way. It's also very accessible since most department stores around the world have an Estee Lauder counter.

On to Estee Lauder's Double Wear Stay In Place Concealer which I bought because I needed a lighter shade of  concealer in my stash to use with this foundation. The colour I have is 1W Light (warm)  but it's actually a bit too light for my skin. I apply this in upside down triangles from my eyes down to my cheek. However this concealer is incredibly hard to blend it feels dry and looks very chalky. I have found that the Primark toothbrush shaped makeup brush helps to blend this concealer the best. While this gives light to medium level of coverage (in the the photos you can see that it covers a light brown mole) when I applied it on my face I found that it didn't actually cover the dark circles around my eyes, even if I apply it in layers and with a corrector underneath. Perhaps my circles are darker? I feel that if I went and bought a darker shade I would still find this a nightmare to work with. I'm not a fan of the formula of this concealer it's difficult to use and it takes ages to dry and set. The good points of this concealer are that it's waterproof and contains spf even though it fairly low (spf10). My search for a good under eye concealer continues as I won't be buying this again.

Have you tried Estee Lauder Double Wear Light & Stay in Place Concealer? What did you think?

Also any recommendations for foundations for yellow toned skin would really help!