For the accessories fan
Let’s kick things off with the girl who loves to accessorise every outfit. When I was in London recently, I popped into Kikki.K and spotted these gorgeous Kikki.K Bangles (£18 each here). There are two variations, which are both made from coated stainless steel, featuring a word to inspire. I loved them both, so I picked up the Rose Gold version that says ‘Breathe’ and the silver version that says ‘Dream’. They arrive in a printed drawstring bag, inside a beautiful box, which makes them the perfect gift. Another great place to go to for accessories is Cambridge Satchel Company, as they’ve recently expanded their collection to include lots of stocking fillers, including notebooks, keyrings and travel wallets. The Key Strap With Dog Clip in Saffiano Leather* (£15 here) is absolutely gorgeous and will look great on your keys or your handbag.
For the makeup junkie
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Hope, Freedom, Love gift guide without a splatter of beauty products and I’m in love with this year’s suggestions! First up let’s talk shopping at the airport – many of us travel to see family at this time of year, so why not finish up your shopping with a 20% saving? The gorgeous NARS Love Triangle Orgasm Set* (£16.70 from World Duty Free here) is practically sold out everywhere, but the World Duty Free stores still have them at a cut down price. Inside the gorgeous triangle you get a mini Orgasm Blush and a mini Orgasm Lipstick, which makes an amazing gift. My favourite hanging ornament this year is the Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Ornament* (£21 here). It arrives in a hexagon-shaped box, finished with a diamond shaped plastic lid. Once you get inside the box you find the Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator in the shade ‘Diamond Dust’.
No Christmas makeup look is complete without a bit of glitter, which is why I LOVE these NYX Glitter Goals Sets* (£15 each here). The sets are strictly limited edition, available in three different colourways. Inside the box you get three lustrous shades of Face & Body Glitter, one travel-friendly tube of our vitamin E-infused Glitter Primer to keep the sparkle in check! For the red lipstick fan, I’ve picked out the Burts Bees Naturally Red Lips Kit* (£19.99 here). It’s a lovely little box and inside you get a simple how-to guide, plus a trio of festive lip colour essentials. The set includes the Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm Hibiscus, the Burt’s Bees Lip Crayon Redwood Forest and the Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer Fig. If you want to gift more of a ‘complete’ makeup look, the Tanya Burr Jingle & Mingle Night Palette* (£16 here) is a fantastic option! It arrives in a festive burgundy box, which is decorated in silver details. When you flip open the lid you find lots of lovely products for a festive look – there are eyeshadows, bronzer, eye shimmer, lipgloss and an eyeliner!
We all know that I’m a huge fan of Stila, so I couldn’t do this gift guide without a little mention! This Christmas the collection is called ‘Colour Voyage’ – giving you the chance to spread Christmas cheer. The Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick Sets* (£20 each here) are available in three variations - ‘Play It Cool’, ‘Warm & Fuzzy’ and ‘Sheer Delight’. In each one, there are three Stay All Day liquid lipstick shades, which are designed to last all day (and night), with an award winning, lightweight formula. They are perfectly sized for a little stocking filler, or perfectly shaped for a festive bow!
For the girl who is always painting her nails
I can never resist a special edit for those of us who love our nails and this year I think I’ve found some real beauties! Every year I pick out something from Mavala, as they make beautiful stocking fillers! The Mavala Baby Pink Duo Set* (£13.59) arrives in a pretty pink box and includes two pink-hued Mavala shades – perfect for those of us who are pink obsessed!
For something a little different, I love the Nailberry Guilt Trip Collection* (£14.50 each here). This year’s Christmas collection is just two shades and is inspired by molton gold and the twinkle of the winter stars. There is Stardust (an iridescent pearl top coat) and Gold Leaf (a liquid gold shade). My final suggestion for nail fans is something that holds holy grail status in my collection – the Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File* (£12.50 here). I’ve been using crystal nail files for a long time, as they are much better than the traditional emery board. The Leighton Denny version is crafted with the finest lead crystal and is award-winning – Leighton Denny sell one of these beauties every 80 seconds!
For the person who needs a little pamper
We all know someone who needs to take a little bit of me time and these next few gifts are perfect! I want to kick things off with mentioning BuyaGift, who I’m a huge fan of. If you are stuck for physical present ideas, they have lots of ideas for gift experiences. The Three Course Meal with Glass of Wine for Two at Prezzo* (£30 here) is technically over budget, but you can always find it on offer! It offers someone the perfect excuse to go out for dinner, with a three-course meal from a set menu and a glass of wine each at a gorgeous Prezzo restaurant of their choice. This year BuyAGift have an amazing #buyaBETTERgift campaign, which focuses all ‘Gifts for Christmas, Experiences for Life’. So it's a fabulous place to find a gift that will matters and makes a lovely memory!
If you know someone who is a bit of pamper queen, but don’t want to gift them skincare products, I think the Aquis Lisse Luxe Headband* (£15 here) is such a sweet option. It allows you to hold your hair out of the way of your beauty regime, with a spa-link band which just velcros on and off. Of course, as it’s from Aquis, the band is creared from ultra-fine Aquitex fibers, and feels soft and luxurious to the touch.
When it comes to spa-link pamper, for me there is nothing that beats Comfort Zone. I was introduced to them this year and I’ve just not looked back! They have some really luxurious gifts this year, which I’ll share in later guides, but today I wanted to mention the Tranquillity Must Haves* (£17 here). It’s a fabulous little kit that includes the Tranquillity Body Lotion, Tranquillity Shower Gel and Tranquillity Hand Cream, all in mini travel-friendly sizes. They all have a scent of Sweet Orange, Damascus Rose and Cedarwood, for a scent that really destresses the mind.
We all know someone who is always crafting a spectacular bath and I often think that LUSH products can be a bit of a cliché gift. That’s why I love this year’s Zoella Brew Me A Bath Set* (£14, but currently £12 here). The beautifully packaged set includes everything you need for a perfect bath. Including the Bath Tea Bags, infused with the uplifting scent of Snowella and the Bath Milk Sachets. Everything has extracts of softening Peony, brightening Winter Cranberry and soothing Mint, which is just beautiful!
For the scent obsessive
If you’re looking for a gift that smells incredible, you can really get an incredible range of candles and diffusers between the £10 and £20 mark. I featured the Monsoon Home Fragrance Collection earlier this year and the range really impressed me. The Seaspray and Cotton Range* (£17 here) is an incredibly clean scent, which is perfect for when January starts and you just can’t handle any more cinnamon scents. The scent is available as a candle and a diffuser and they both have a really premium feel, featuring the iconic Monsoon metalwork pattern.
This year I have completely fallen in love with the mini Christmas candles from Crabtree & Evelyn. The first candle is the Mini Noël Candle* (£16 here) which is infused with the fragrance of fir tree branches studded with tangy citrus zest and mulled spices. The second candle I’m loving is the Mini White Cardamom Candle* (£16 here), which is are infused with winter warming sweet mimosa and mulled spice essences of cardamom. They are both made using cold extraction technology for the most authentic fragrances and make amazing stocking fillers!
The only fragrance I wanted to mention in this particular edit is the Zoella Snowella Pom Pom Perfume Body Mist* (£12 for 100ml here). It’s the yearly scent from Zoella, cleverly named Snow’ella – what a lovely pun! She says it captures the beauty of snowfall, with lots of light and pretty notes. It includes Peony, plus refreshing Mint and Pink Pepper. The perfect lift of fragrance so you can pretend to be in your very own Winter Wonderland!
The last thing I had to mention is the Merci Handy Disney Kit* (£14.90 here)! If you love great scents, you will love Merci Handy’s collaboration with Disney this year. From Mickey Mouse to Donald Duck, all the characters have been matched with hand sanitiser scents. They are all microbead free and really kind to the hands, thanks to a formula packed with Vitamin E.
For the person who is house proud
Speaking of Zoella, I have three great gifts from her that I wanted to talk about, which are each perfect for the home! I had to buy the Zoella Trinkets Tray (£12, currently £8 here), as I couldn’t get over how cute it is! It’s the perfect tray for jewellery and special trinkets, or the perfect blog photograph prop if you’re anything like me! The other thing I’ve bought myself (and actually a few people on my gift list – shh!) is the Zoella Inspire Desk Accessory (£12, currently £8 here). It’s a lovely statement paperweight, which looks great on your desk or in your living room.
The last gift in this edit is the Zoella Bento Station* (£12.50 here) - which is just too damn cute! It’s inspired with the little Bento Boxes, but instead of sushi and food, it’s packed with stationery. The set includes a ruler, two pencils, a rubber, some cute arrow-shaped paperclips, some washi tape in the leaf print, a pencil sharpener and the aforementioned notepad.
