Christmas Gift Guide Part 4: Under £50

It's now just 4 days 'til Christmas so here's my final part of my festive gift guide. I realise it's probably getting a bit late to be ordering things online, but hopefully you'll get a few good gift ideas for upcoming birthdays or New Year treats.

First up, skincare....

I've been a big fan of Karin Herzog since having a facial by the brand at Huddersfield's Alexandra House spa last Christmas. Since then, I've been back for 4 more facials - one with my Mum - and we've both enjoyed the products and their many benefits.

The Swiss brand has almost a cult following, having not had as much UK-based press as it so clearly deserves. But just recently, the brand got a thoroughly deserved plug, thanks to the revelation that Kate Middleton uses the brand's products.

KH products are designed to treat multiple skin issues, from acne, scarring, rosacea, cellulite and more.

But while products from KH aren't the cheapest on the beauty market, I believe you get what you pay for. I've seen pretty astonishing results after having the KH glyco rose facial (£25 from Alexandra House, Huddersfield), which is designed to combat marks and scars, as well as refresh and revive the skin.

But these two products (pictured below) are also among my most used beauty products.

Oxygen Face Cream (£35 for 50ml) and Vita-A-Kombi Oil (£23 for 14ml)

Stay tuned to A Lauren to Herself in the New Year too, as I'll be giving my subscribers the chance to put their skin care questions to Karin Herzog's Julie Cichocki. Julie is MD of Karin Herzog UK, Eire and USA and Global Treatment developer for the brand. You'll get the chance to ask Julie all your skin care queries and questions - and the girl who puts the best question to Julie will win a Karin Herzog product suited to them. And they don't come cheap! Watch this space.

Next up, a welly great gift idea.....(boom, boom).

These Wedge Wellies, as featured on TV's Dragons' Den earlier in the year have been sitting in my wardrobe for some months! I got them a little too late for the festival season but there's no better time to get these bad boys on than right now. Anyone who's in the UK will now that we've had a fair bit of snow in good old Blighty. Getting to work has become a real struggle, but I'm sure if I slip on my nifty pair of dog tooth style heeled wellies (wayhey!) it'll be an absolute doddle. Finally, wellies that are stylish too. This snazzy little pair  (below) cost around £35 from this site.

When it comes to presents, giving and/or receiving, I love a thoughtful, personal one. The gift doesn't have to be an expensive one, just something that's taken a little bit of thought. That's why I've been making some of my friends and

family Christmas hampers this year.

And despite working for a company that sells hampers (sorry, boss!) this year I've made mine from scratch - carefully selecting goodies I know the recipient will love. This one (below) is for my boyfriend's Mum. I've filled it with her favourite treats; Turkish Delight, Thornton's chocolate, jam, M&S chutneys and Earl Grey, stuffed it with sparkly red strands and wrapped it with cellophane. I'm tres impressed with my effort. This cost me little more than £30 but you can fill yours with as many treats as you like.

What do you think?

A friend of mine always visits her parents for Christmas (who live a few hours' drive away) so we always make sure we go out for a spot of food and open our presents from one another early.

I know it's probably bad luck to open your gifts before December 25, but there's nothing better than seeing someone open a pressie you've bought them.

And what a thoughtful gift she got me this year. Despite us being well into our 20s, she made me a cute little party bag (the old skool kind you used to get at kids' parties) and stuffed it with quirky little treats. I was well chuffed! What do you think?

Check out this lovely little lot: Make your own Panda set, Jelly Belly Bubblegum lip balm, Cup Cake wet wipes, Cute retro purse and Mario Kart-esque mini rubbers in a giant rubber mushroom!

What have you treated your friends and family to this Christmas? And what are your beauty recommendations for Christmas gifts?

FTC Disclaimer: I have not been sponsored to do this blog post. Some of these products have been provided with this Gift Guide in mind, while some are genuine gifts purchased for friends and family.

WIN: Bag a Cosmopolitan Brush Set, Worth £135!

How would you like to win the full collection of Cosmopolitan™ beauty products and accessories, worth a whopping £135?

Nodding your head frantically? I've teamed up with the beauty experts from the world's number one glossy magazine, Cosmopolitan™ to offer the prize. All you need to do to win is to create your ultimate smokey eye look. You may like to try using the Cosmopolitan™ Smokey Eyes brush set - RRP £5.95 from Superdrug (pictured below) to complete your look, or you're free to use any brushes you currently own.

Simply create your smokey eye look, email me your photo explaining how you achieved it and I'll feature them on my blog to be judged by myself and the beauty team at Cosmopolitan. What could be easier?

But to give one of my followers a head start, I have one of the mini sets (above), worth £5.95 to give away.

All you need to do to win the set is comment below telling me which one make-up tool you couldn't leave home without. A winner will be chosen at random this Friday (December 17) at noon (UK time)
If you could Tweet my contest with the words: 'I entered laurensloves.blogspot.com contest to win a Cosmo make-up brush set, worth £135', that'd be just fan-dabby-dozy.

Thanks and good luck!
The closing date for emailing me your smokey eye looks (at laurenholden6@gmail.com) is January 1 2011, which means you can send me in your snaps of your Christmas parties. YEE-HA!

The Best Kind of PR?

As beauty bloggers, many of us are lucky enough to receive free goodies; for reviews, giveaways or even sponsored posts. But perhaps the best kind of beauty PR (for me at least) is the unexpected kind - a surprise gesture which never fails put a smile on your face.

The folk at Target recently did just that - and sent me (without warning) a Merry Christmas message and a Spa Paradisa coconut lip butter. Yes, this is a PR exercise...but it's a thoughtful one. There wasn't a press release in sight, neither was there a note telling me how great it would be if the product featured on my blog.

So there you have it....their friendly little PR exercise/Goodwill Gesture has paid off regardless. And the lip butter couldn't have come at a better time. My lips are sore and chapped and this Spa Paradisa lip butter, available at Debenhams, works a treat.



What do you think of this kind of PR? Thoughtful or quietly cunning?

Christmas Gift Guide Part 3: £20 and Under!

With just 13 days till Christmas, here's part three of my Christmas Gift Guide. Featuring presents for her, all these suggestions are just £20 or less.

First up then...something smelly.

I'm a big fan of Lush's natural approach to skincare and perfume. Anything that's free from harsh chemicals is definitely worth a try, as who really knows what we're really slathering on our skin day in day out.

That's why I was chuffed to bits when the brand brought out a range of perfumes. I've tried their Vanillary scent in the past and since stocked up on anything I could get my hands on with the same sickly sweet scent. Body lotion, talcum powder, solid perfume...you name it, I've tried it.

So when a couple of sample atomisers of Lush's new Gorilla perfume range dropped through my letterbox I was more than keen to have a good whiff.




Picture sourced from Google/ The atomisers (middle) proved difficult to photograph

 And you have to agree that scents are one of the things Lush do best. How many of us nip into the shop to pick up a bath bomb, have a quick whiff, before picking up half a dozen more and doing the same.... Before promptly putting the lot in your basket and merrily skipping out. It's addictive I tell thee....

At £20 each for a handbag sized atomiser for this high street brand of perfume, though, these are not cheap. But the lasting power of these little chaps is brilliant. Two quick sprays in the morning and I could still smell the scent at 3pm the same day.

'The finest rose absolute', Lush's Imogen Rose atomiser perfume smells like real Damask roses and comprises orris butter for a soft baby power note that captures true innocence." In short, it's a whiffy one - but a powdery sweet one at that. But if you love anything rose, you'll love this.

Lust is a strong concoction of pure jasmine, which 'warms on the skin to a seductive floral scent'. This is my favourite of the two and I've even been using it as a festive room spray. Lovely stuff!

Models Own are anotehr brand that never fail to pull out the stops with their collections (the amusingly titled 'Car Key' collection in homage to Chanel's Khaki set, anyone?) and their current range on their website is no exception. Pictured below are my three personal faves. Although these don't come in a collection, the polishes ( from left to right: Coral Reef, Raspberry Fool and Fuzzy Peach) are some of my most worn.

I'm also a big believer in wearing whichever colours you feel, despite the season. To be quite honest, I'm sick of the 'purples, greys and browns only' inkling as soon as it hits autumn. I say hip hip hooray to a bright and cheery nail polish, whatever the weather. What about you?

Models Own are currently offering up a couple of deals on their nail polishes via their site - buy 3 and save £3 or buy 5 and save £5. It's easy to navigate round the site too, with nail polishes categorised by colour and finish. There's even a section for the sparkly ones! And if you're not sure which colours your friend/sister/mum/cousin would go for, you can even get hold of gift vouchers on the site.

And finally, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas (for me, at least) without a brand new palette.

But while this palette isn't strictly new, it remains one of my favourites.

The Stila Talking Palette (available in different shade sets) is an absolute gem if you've not a dab hand at applying your make-up. Pefect for those starting out with cosmetics, the quad eyeshadow set is equally worth a try for any other make up lover. The shadows are super pigmented and long lasting and at less than £15 each, available from various online outlets, you can't really go wrong. That's less than £5 per shadow,  after all.




The Stila Smoky Eye Talking Palette

 

And here's where the 'talking' bit comes in...Simply press the button on the lid of the Smoky Eye palette and a pre-recorded voice tells you exactly how to do...um...a smokey eye. What's more, each colour is labelled so you know exactly where to put it: crease, lid, liner and base. It couldn't be simpler!

How are you getting on with your Christmas shopping where you are? And what are your festive beauty recommendations for her (or him)?

FTC Disclaimer: I have not been sponsored to do this blog post. Some of these products have been provided with this Gift Guide in mind, while some are genuine gifts purchased for friends and family.

These Little Bloggers Went to Market....

....and some were forced to (almost) stay at home, thanks to the blimming snow that came our way in grim old blighty over the weekend.

What am I talking about? The latest Aussie event, which saw Aussie Angels and their guests head to Leeds' The Loft for a day of festive fun.

The bloggers' market saw half a dozen or so talented bloggers host their own stall displaying their creative wares, from yummy cakes and biscuits, to cute knitted animals and quirky capsule wardrobes.

Bloggers were then invited to descend on said stalls, have a nosey and a good ole chinwag, as well as enjoying the special fun 30-minute sessions put on by Aussie organisers Emma and co. The Aussie gang had booked a number of speakers to come and entertain us rowdy lot, including flirt guru Elizabeth Clarke, catwalk coach Suzy Makin, photographer Carlo Nicora, Californian Bitch Buzz Editor Cate Seville and vintage fashionista, Lena Weber.

Much merriment ensued and we were all invited to step into the specially designed 'tribe salons' to have our hair crimped and curled.

What's all this about then? Want to know more about what it means to be an Aussie Angel, Aussie events and the brand itself, go to http://www.uncoveraussie.co.uk/

The day ended with photo booth tomfoolery (Yes, Aussie even brought a Photo Booth complete with a box of festive props - see below) and a goodie bag stuffed with Aussie products, given to us by 'sexy Santa'.

Without further ado, here's some pics from the event....

Top: the lovely Clare from The Thoughts of Mrs C (this girl is a hoot!), top right, Clare, me and Claire's sister in law Anna. Claire also came along with the beautiful May from May Loves Make Up and equally gorgeous Ruth from Ruth's Reflection.

Bottom Photo Book Photo: Moi and Anna. Hooray for the props box!

Clare getting her hair styled. She went for the below style, a volumised affair that really suited her

Clare and her lovely sister in law, Anna

Getting my hair done. 
 

Lovely Jen from Mizzworthy, the super cool Emily from Sparkle and Shade, and myself avec massively curly perm!

The lovely Liloo and her beautiful big curls



Stay tuned for part 3 of my Christmas Gift Guide. Thanks for reading!