Christmas for Him: Clinique for Men Essentials Kit

Christmas is right around the corner and if you're struggling to find the perfect present for a special guy in your life, I got you covered. I am the worst at buying presents for men! Whether it be for my dad, my cousins or that special someone, I'm always stuck on what to give them for Christmas. Of course I'll buy the usual Christmas boxers and obligatory chocolate, but this year I am on a mission to find the perfect gifts for men. 

My dad is into his skincare, and luckily for me, I know my way around the beauty department. I knew exactly what I wanted and Clinique had just the kit I needed. The Clinique for Men Essentials Kit* is a great all-round gift set and is a perfect stocking filler for skin care veterans and newbies. 

The kit comes with all of the basics -  face scrub, face wash, moisturising lotion and an anti-aging eye cream.  The face scrub is fairly abrasive and it will help tremendously with ingrown hairs, especially for men who shave! This kit is a great buy for those with oily skin as the face wash is an oil-free, gel consistency, which is going to help combat oily skin without drying it out as it has some moisturising properties. The face and eye-cream are perfect moisturisers for men as they are fuss fee as there is no noticeable fragrance and it will moisturise the skin without leaving it greasy looking. The sizing is also perfect, especially for those who travel a lot or don't have a lot of storage in their bathroom. The packaging is very clean looking and understated, which is typical of men's beauty products, but I think  it looks a lot less intimidating for those who are new to skincare. 

If you are a beauty girl and you are stuck on a mens gift idea, I highly recommend a skin care gift set! They are an affordable way to try something new and a great stocking filler.  Who knows, maybe your guy will love it tease you less about the amount of beauty products you own... Fingers crossed?

My top Christmas lipsticks

MAC Impassioned, Lime Crime Coquette, YSL Rouge Volupte Nude Beige, MAC Ruby Woo

Christmas is right around the corner, I have been so busy the past week I haven't been able to relax once. Monday was a night with the girls, Wednesday was dinner and a movie and two christmas parties back to back. All of us are doing last minuet christmas shopping, wrapping countless presents and trying to find the time to get dolled up for a Christmas party is the last thing on our minds. 

Luckily there is a quick fix out there, a product that within 10 seconds it makes us appear to have our lives together... lipstick. Lipstick can completely transform your daily makeup into a go-to party look. Whenever I am in a rush to get out of the house and have to look presentable, I throw on whatever lipstick I can find first, and i'm good to go. I could sit here for hours and go on and on about what lipsticks you could wear with what makeup looks and which ones are my favourites, but no one really has the time. So instead I have decided to throw a post together including my favourite lipsticks for the holiday season. 

YSL Rouge Volupte in 1 Nude Beige

YSL Nude Beige is a pink toned nude with high shine and a very silky finish. It applies so smoothly and has surprisingly long lasting power considering its formula. I like this shade because it complements a bronzed smokey eye look beautifully. Personally I like nude pinks with a bronzed look as I think its the prettiest and adds a subtle colour to the look. This is a great lipstick for when you are on the go, as it a has a glossy finish and its moisturising you don't need to carry several lip products around with you.

Lime Crime Coquette 

Coquette is my perfect nude lipstick, its doesn't wash me out too much, but tones down the colour of my lips to accompany an intense smokey eye. This time of year I really like to darken up my eye looks now and then and create a super intense smokey eye (especially for New Years Eve). Whenever I wear dark eye makeup I like to wear a nude lipstick, as I have darker lips naturally I like to use a product that will lighten my lip shade, but not add too much colour. 

MAC Impassioned

Impassioned is a great shade for adding a pop of colour to your makeup look. If I am in a rush, I love to use hot pink shades to brighten up a makeup look. Pairing a bright lip with a natural eye is a great way to add fun and colour to your makeup without going over board. If you are someone who doesn't like to wear a lot of colour on your eyes, a bright lipstick will tie your makeup together and It makes you look like you have made more of an effort.

MAC Ruby Woo

Of course I couldn't complete this post without adding a perfect Christmas red. Ruby Woo is my newest favourite lipstick, a cool toned red with a matte finish. Classic eye looks go perfectly with red lipstick, my favourite is a neutral eye with winged eyeliner. This shade works great with my skin tone and because of the cool tones, it actually makes my teeth look a little whiter. 

The Christmas Party

It's getting closer and closer to Christmas, and the Christmas parties are in full swing. Whether you are attending your works Christmas party or a friend's gathering, this is the time of year to add a bit of sparkle to your look. I absolutely love this time of year, when the decorations are up (a great excuse to bring out more fairy lights) and the Christmas songs are playing on the radio. Now, i'm not one to use a lot of glitter on a daily basis, but around this time of year I always love to add some extra sparkle into my makeup. For my works party next week I already know what makeup i'll be wearing (paired with a gold sequin skirt and a Christmas jumper, oh yes) 

For my base I am going to be using my NARS Sheer Glow foundation. I prefer a dewy look and this foundation gives my skin the perfect amount of coverage with an illuminous finish. As always I'll follow up with MAC pro-longwear concealer under my eyes and dust over with some NARS illuminating translucent powder (I wasn't joking when I said I like to add 'extra' sparkle) During the winter I prefer either warmed toned, natural blushes or a light pinks just to add a subtle flush to my skin. NARS Madly blush is a great pick for me as its a natural looking, peachy blush with a hint of shimmer. It adds the perfect amount of warmth to my face as I don't like to use a lot of bronzer during the cooler months. 

As I will be going to a Christmas party i'm going to be wearing a gold, smokey eye look. I'll start with my MAC painterly paint pot to stop my eye shadows creasing, then layer gold eye shadows on my lid and deep browns in my crease to give my eye's dimension. To intensify the gold i'm going to be using, wait for it ... glitter liner. Like most of us, I regret my glitter liner stages, a thin line of pink glitter across my lash line was never a good look for me. After using loose glitter in my eye looks, and having many tantrums when the fall out would make me look like Edward Cullen, I decided to use glitter eyeliner instead. Behold, a glitter eye look without any fall out! I'll be using my gold glitter liner from Collection, I'll apply it straight over the gold eye shadows and pat it with my finger to make it even. I'll do a layer or two extra to really intensify the glitter. A thin line of gel liner and a few coats of Magnifibres Mascara will give me that false eyelash effect with the hassle of applying those damn things. Magnifibres work with your favourite mascara to add length and volume to your eyelashes, making your eyes appear bigger and more awake. Of course, no Christmas makeup look with complete without a red lip, I'll be applying MAC's Ruby Woo, a matte, cool-toned lipstick that doesn't transfer easily and the undertones will make my teeth appear whiter.

Will you be going to a Christmas party this year? 

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Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Eye Palette Review

If you have been following by blog since the beginning,  you would know that I have a weakness for Bobbi Brown eye shadow palettes. For my birthday I received the latest palette from Bobbi Brown that has been released for Christmas, the Old Hollywood Eye Palette. There is no surprise that Bobbi and the team picked the perfect colours for the party season. It has a mixture of cool and warm tones with glitter and matte finishes, so this is a very versatile palette.

 I'm impressed with the entire collection, they have really embodied the 'Old Hollywood' idea and used very classic shades with both shimmer and matte finishes to create a very glamorous and beautiful range. 

L - R

Ivory (matte), Golden Pink (metallic), Gold (glitter), Opal (glitter), Fog (matte)

I am very impressed with the shade range in this palette. It has just the right colours to create many different looks, with the perfect amount of shimmer and matte finishes. I like how they kept the palette very neutral based so this will look with all different skin tones and eye colours. I think a lot of brands can go a little crazy during the holiday season and some collections aren't suitable for everyone. Some collections can be either too cool toned or warm toned with too many unwearable colours, but Bobbi Brown has got it spot on this year.  

L - R

Beige (matte), Chocolate Bronze (glitter), Candlelight Gold (metallic), Eclipse (matte)

The colours I have been using the most are Opal, Beige, Candlelight Gold and Eclipse. I don't necessarily wear all of these shade together at once, so I have been creating some beautiful eye looks with this palette. 

Opal is a beautiful glittery silver shade with a hint of purple undertones. It isn't the most pigmented so I normally pack it on over a base colour to make the glitter really intense and noticeable. Beige, for me, is the perfect crease and transition colours. If I am doing an intense eye look, I like to use this colour in the crease because its matte and very blend-able. Candlelight Gold is a very pigmented, champagne-gold shade with a satin finish. It is probably my favourite shade in the entire palette, it is a very easy colour to work with because its so pigmented and super blend-able. It works great as a base colour for a smokey eye or on its own for a wash of colour.  Eclipse is an intense matte black shade, perfect for smudging into the lash line and darkening up the outer third of the eye for a little more drama. 

Old Hollywood Eye Palette available here for £59