Of course you want to bring joy to friends, family and everyone on your gift list, but the money just isn’t there. Maybe you overspent, or maybe you had important bills that had to be paid off first. Perhaps that holiday bonus just isn’t going to materialize, or you don’t have a job at all. Perhaps your loans have come due, or maybe you just have too many people you need to thank— or a million other reasons why this year big tickets gifts are just not going to be realistic. But everyone expects a little something and shop, you must.
One thing most people enjoy are things that will pamper them — those little luxuries they don’t really need so they don’t buy for themselves, but that they’d still really like to have.
You can spend a lot of money on pampering products (I am going to be suggesting a few that hover in the thousands), but since not everyone can spend like a millionaire (and how many of us really are?), here are ten pampering gifts of beauty under DoubleTEN or in other words, UNDER $20.00. Some of these are actually way under that price! And, most of them are easy to find in local stores or available online.
Let these perfectly pampering gifts save your holiday budget, and still spread holiday cheer to your nearest and dearest!
SOIL THEM WITH A SPA-QUALITY SCENTED SOAP: Scented bath and body products make great stocking stuffers, hostess gifts, secret Santa items, and they’re the sort of gifts that everyone likes and uses because they’re “pampering.” But there are scented soaps, and then there are truly luxurious, gift-worthy scented soaps. One that is truly a luxurious spa-style soap, beautifully packaged, richly scented, and good for your skin, is the any one of the Private Collection Body Soaps ($15.00/each) from Kat Burki. I’m suggesting the romantic White Orchid & Poppy as a can’t miss choice. The naturally foaming, triple-milled body soap offers a big chunk of cleansing joy at 7.\7 oz. It has a very mild, clean fragrance that’s more fresh than “girly” and that softens skin with very moisturizing and nourishing Shea and Cocoa Butters. Grapeseed and Olive Oils dissolve impurities. The vegetable Soap Base with glycerin is mild enough for every skin type. You can also get this in Tuberose, Lilac & Rosemary, and Freesia & Pink Grapefruit. If you want to really go all out, add the Kat Burki Body Cream 6 oz. $62.00. Check out our review of this product in our Advice Sisters Holiday Gift Guide For more information Visit the Kat Burki Web Site
BRING IT WITH A BIG BOX OF PAMPERING HAND CREAMS: Not everyone has the budget for high priced beauty booty, but a covet-able and nicely packaged gift of half a dozen beautiful body creams is within the reach of every budget. You will be happily shocked at the price of the Bodycology Holiday Body Cream Collection, that packs six lovely, 2 oz tubes of Bodycology’s scented body creams into a gift box, for just $9.99. Affordable and attainable, nicely scented, moisturizing body creams are something everyone wants to receive.
This collection features Cherish the Moment, Scarlett Kiss, Enchanted Forest, XOXO, Moroccan Sunset and Truly Yours Nourishing Body Creams, in a nicely boxed set with cello window. All you need to do is add a bow! I love travel-friendly body creams that you can pop into a purse or travel tote. It’s a great gift for just about any woman, and really impressive. If you are truly strapped for cash, split up the set and pop one of these six tubes into six stockings, or bundle sets of three with a ribbon—you’ll still be adored. Get these at Target starting now but hurry because at under $10.00 this set is going out very quickly. For more information visit the Bodycology web site
LOVE THEM WITH LUXE LIP TINTS: Lip balms and lip glosses are always good stocking stuffers, but really good ones that beautify and are affordable, are something extra. For example, the fragrance free Boots Botanics Tinted Lip Balm, $5.99 that not only adds a hint of tint to your lips, but moisturizes, hydrates and has rosehip oil (a rich source of Omega oils), which help improve suppleness and keep skin soft and healthy looking. Collaborated with the world’s leading experts in botany from the royal Botanics Gardens, Kew, Boots makes sure that every formula developed contains high quality active plant extracts. Now that the colder months are coming, hydrating lips are a must, so get this true beauty bargain for your friends and family in nice shades like Sheer Pomegranate for bit of bee-stung red, or try Sheer Guava for pink, or Sheer Toffee or Beech for peach and nude. For more information visit the Boots Web Site
SHOW HIM HE IS REALLY SPECIAL BECAUSE HE NORMALLY WON’T PAMPER HIMSELF: Normally, I’
d say that giving someone a deodorant for a gift sends a bad message, but if it’s something special, especially if it’s for a man you know well (like your special someone) and it’s gifted with another “spa-style” product, and it’s something that is high end, I’ll go for it. Men don’t always buy these types of products for themselves, and they really like pampering too, especially when the woman they love offers it to them. So for the man who has sensitive skin, who loves certified organic products, and who wants to be pampered, there’s a new product from the luxurious Jack Black line called Jack Black Cool CTRL™Natural Deodorant ($18.00). This product is aluminum free (aluminum can irritate sensitive skin) and also paraben and silicone-free. What it includes that is nifty is zinc salt and grapefruit extract (these ingredients protect against bacteria, fungus and odors to leave skin dry, protected and refreshed). The natural deodorant is no lightweight however, it has clinically-tested, time-released odor blockers that, combined with natural-anti-bacterial and anti-fungal ingredients, stop odors. But what guys will like is that is also leaves them cool and it will keep working for hours (up to 24, depending upon the the environment and what your special guy is doing). One more plus packed into this 2.75 oz. solid swivel up stick of softly fresh smelling deodorant is Corn-Derived Propanediol , a state-of-the-art, plant-based delivery system that provides a comfortable glide without tackiness or irritation and Vegetable Glycerin that works with the action and texture of the Propanediol, soothing and nourishing the skin. Glycerin is also a humectant for healthy-looking skin. One of two strokes (he doesn’t need to scrub it on) works. Availability: Cool CTRL Natural Deodorant is available at select department stores and at GetJackBlack.com
BUY BEAUTIFUL BRUSHES FOR BEAU-TISTAS! There are just some brands that, to me, signify “professonal” and “fashionista.” Japonesque has always been one of those. For the holidays, there is an amazingly affordable, and also limited edition, Japonesque Velvet Touch Brush Set ($20.00) that is truly a gift to covet. The nicely packaged with peek-a-boo window cardboard box showcases 4 of the most useful, most wanted sizes of professional quality makeup brushes with shiny, silvery handles that look festive, but do a serious job. The heads of the brushes are innovative synthetic fibers that are soft, and yet hold the powder you are applying and smooth it on evening. You get a Powder brush perfect for blush, bronzers, and setting powders; a fluffy shadow brush that’s a classic for applying eye shadow all over lids, and brow bones, a crease brush for adding definition into the crease and a lip brush for creating precise lines (especially important if you are using deep colors). I can’t believe how inexpensive this set is, and how lovely. Get one for yourself, too., but buy them soon, because these are only available November- January at Ulta & Ulta.com
WOW THEM WITH UNIQUE LIP BALMS THAT ARE FUN FOR EVERYONE: “Eos” is the name of the Greek goddesss of dawn who rose each morning to open the gates of heaven for the Sun to rise, but it’s also the fanciful name of a very exciting and beautiful collection of lip balms, created by fashion designer Rachel Roy, for the holiday season and for Eos Evolution of Smooth Skin Care. A cute, hard-sided “hatbox” contains three round lip balms that look so colorful you might just be tempted to look at them and roll them around or display them on your desk. But inside are limited edition lip balms that make the most chic stocking stuffers out there. Each pack includes brand-new, limited edition flavors Indian Summer, Orange Blossom, Aloha Hawaii Strawberry Kiwi, and St. Barth’s Sunrise Pink Grapefruit. USDA-certified organic and 100% natural with a Rachel Roy “wing” design embossed on each ball, this collection will please every girl and woman on your list (and some guys who love bold colors, too). But the best thing is that this limited edition EOS Rachel Roy Lip Balm collection is just $9.99 for the three . The flavors are “adult” not overly sweet or chemical-y and they smell wonderful. but the balm is trukt “the bomb” And we’re not talking waxy, wimpy lip balm either. eos organic lip balm is 95% organic, 100% natural, and paraben and petrolatum free and phthlate-free. It contains antioxidant-rich vitamin E, soothing shea butter and jojoba oil. It is Gluten-free, too. they feel great on your lips, look cool when you use them. Give the set (just add a bow) or pop one into three stockings.
Availability: September – January at Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Ulta, Kohls, drugstore.com and on the EOS Evolution of Smooth Web site
SHOW YOU LOVE WITH HAIR STYLING TREATS FOR TRAVELERS: Recently The Advice Sisters published a feature on how to do a great blow-out at home, including a video from a master stylist, and one of the products our reporter highly recommended was the blowPro Blow Back Time Spray is great. It’s a mix between a hairspray and a mousse. It comes out like a hair spray and goes on after you’re dried your hair, but works like a mousse to lift and give life to hair. There are, of course, plenty of other Blow Pro products that fans adore, but in full 4oz. or more sizes, they’re not easy to transport in your travel bag if it’s a carry-on. For the holidays, a nice gift, at just $9.50 (the 4 oz.size is $19.75) is the 1.5 oz. travel size of the blowPro Blow Back Time Spray. Also available in travel-friendly 1.5 oz. sizes are the very popular blowPro Textstyle dry texture spray and the blowPro Blow Out Spray. Get these and other travel-sized blowPro products on the blowPro web site
the Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter and Body Wash set is a great value at just $20.00
IMPRESS THEM WITH BEAUTIFUL BATH AND BODY TREATS: Have just $20.00 to spend on a great beauty gift and it has to look really good, smell really nice, and be beautifully boxed? It’s not out of reach. Get the new, Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter and Body Wash Set from Pacifica. For just $20.00 you’ll get this beautifully boxed set that has two of Pacifica’s signature products, a creamy and super-moisturizing body butter in a generously sized 8 oz tube, full skin loving shea butter, almond oil and safflower oil. The sulfate-free, lathering body wash can even be used for shaving. The gentle formulas are good for all skin types. And these products smell absolutely amazing: Blood Orange is offset with subtle Strawberry and Raspberry notes and grounded in fleshy Mandarin and Italian Sweet Orange. Guys love this fragrance as well as ladies. It is a fabulous value (also vegan, if you need a beauty gift for your vegan friends) and a great thank you gift for all those people who “do you a solid” during the year. The Advice Sisters have become real fans of Pacifica’s natural products. Read more of our reviews by using the search box in the right hand corner of every page of our web site, and type in “pacifica.” Visit the Pacifica Web site to get this bargain and many other beautiful goodies.
LOAD THEM UP WITH LOTS OF FUN BEAUTY BOOTY: For those who love a lot of little things in one package, there’s an under $15.00 gift set, impressively packaged, but with a lot of goodies that everyone wants. It’s the Holiday Best of Kit from Hard Candy ($14.88) offering up 9 pieces of Hard Candy glamour in one re-useable, and really cute, tin. The tin is navy blue with bright pink lettering proclaiming ‘hard candy” with the signature heart below. A peek a boo window lets you see all the bling: a volumizing mascara, a plumping lip gloss (in sheer baby pink) , a perfecting concealer, an ultra-light face primer, two shimmer eyeshadows *cases rimmed in complimentary colored glitter: silver or bright blue), a mini black eyeliner pencil, a bronzing illuminator in a tube that’s travel-sized, and a mini-sized, light and shimmery, baked bronzer/highlighter. There’s even a $1 off coupon under the tray of makeup items, as a bonus. Honestly, it might be inexpensive but it’s a fabulous gift.The Hard Candy collection is available exclusively at Walmart, and for more information visit the Hard Candy Web Site
COVER THEM WITH A NEW REASON TO HAVE CONFIDENCE: I am not one to suggest giving skincare for holiday gifting, because I think it sends a mixed message, but if you know someone (e.g. a teen) who might be clueless, or just not feel worthy of purchasing pampering or effective skincare for themselves, and whose skin is prone to breakouts, this AcneFree Deep Cleansing Duo (avg. $20.00) featuring a 1-speed facial cleansing brush plus an oil-free purifying cleanser, is truly a luxurious gift at a bargain price. While the cleansing brush that comes with 2 different heads (and is waterproof for use in the shower) and runs on 2AA batterings (included) is not exactly the same quality as a “C larisonic” it is still a cleansing brush that will help to gently remove dirt, oil and makeup in a way no hands, washcloth or scubby, can do. The AcneFree Oil-Free Purifying Cleanser (with 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide) fights acne bacteria to control breakouts. Together, they might really make someone’s confidence, soar as the new year gets started. Maybe that someone, is you? *note, as with all of these facial brushes, gentle is the primary word. Do not use it more than 60 seconds per treatment–that is more than enough. if your skin is sensitive, start with less time and work up to more and use just 2-3 times a week on low speed. You can get this in drugstores and mass market retailers. For more information visit the AcneFree web site
Need a little something and you want it to be boxed? The Limited Edition May Kay at Play Hail to the Nails Mini Nail Trio ($15.00) features three mini sized (.17 fl. oz) bottles of polish in trendy colors: Inky Blue, Silver Sparkle and Pink Hottie. Obviously, these are meant to be festive on their own, but you can also use silver sparkle as a top coat. What I like about this set is that all three colors are completely wearable and they’re the size you can pop into a purse or tote, or take on vacation for tuch-ups without having to lug a huge bottle. You can also use them for nail art. Need I say more?? For more information visit the Mary Kay Web site and find a representative as well.
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