XMAS BEAUTY GIFTS AND STOCKING FILLERS UNDER £10 - 2012

Not everyone has the luxury of having huge budgets at Christmas, so I thought I would help you all with some great beauty buys that are under £10! There are also some great ideas to help jazz up stocking fillers. Prices are just a guide line and may be different when you go to buy. It's worth checking out places like Boots for 3 for 2 offers! 

1. Models Own – Beauty Blender £8 Use damp to apply foundation for a flawless finish!

2. Nail Art Gold/Black Nail Set £7.50 

3. Topshop Lip Gloss Gift Set - £10 

4. Burt’s Bees Red Dahlia Tinted Lip Balm £5.99 

5. Maxfactor 2000 Calorie Mascara £7.99 This is probably one of my most loved mascara’s for creating big full lashes

6. Fearne Compact and Bijoux Mirror £8 A girl’s bag is never complete without a compact mirror!

7. Visit Wicked Nails for some great stocking filler ideas! Wendy has lots of Beautiful Nail Art gift sets available, at very reasonable prices! I love her Gold Gift Bag £4.50 Each bag includes Silver stickers, Gold stickers, Black 3d stickers, White 3d stickers, pot of mixed Rhinestones, 5 Hexagonal glitters in Silver, Gold, Red, Blue and Green and 2 nail files all supplied in a lovely draw string bag.

8. No7 Lift & Curve Eyelash Curler  £7.25 Eyelash culers are often over looked, but they are the best way to get the most out of your lashes, especially if they are very short.

9. Models Own Limited Edition Mini Nail Glitter Polish Trio Reduced to £6 online from ASOS 

10. No7 Mini Beautifier £10 This mini makeup palette with built in mirror, 3 eyeshadows, mini gloss, mini shimmer and mini mascara is great for travelling or to keep in your gym/hand bag for on the go beauty.

11. JK Jemma Kidd Air Kiss Duo Now only £4.50 online from ASOS! 

I appreciate that this would be quite an expensive stocking filler and is not under £10, but I had to include it because it’s awesome!

VictorinoxClassic Alox Swiss Army Knife– Mini manicure set swiss army style! £15.20 

I hope that this has given you some ideas for gifts this Christmas! Let me know what you found for under £10 or share your own ideas in the comments below. For more beauty Xmas buys, see my post for TOP 10 XMAS BEAUTY GIFT SETS 2012.

TOP 10 XMAS BEAUTY GIFT SETS 2012

Christmas is nearing kids, which means that there are all kinds of amazing beauty gifts in stores that should be on every girls wish list! It was so hard to pick a top 10 and I know that there are loads of great sets missing in my selection, so feel free to comment with products that are on your Christmas beauty wish list! Prices listed are just a guide line and could change by the time you go to purchase them.

So, my Top 10 beauty gift sets are (in not particular order):

1. NARS Andy Warhol Edie Set £54 I am in love with all of the NARS Christmas sets this year and would be more than happy for Santa to put any of them under my tree!

2. Ciate Cavier Mini Bar £20 Ciate nail varnishes are brilliant and this gift box displays them beautifully.

3. Bobbi Brown Uber Nude Lip & Eye Palette £36 Bobbi Brown never fails to put together some of the most amazing must have pallets around Christmas time, from nude and natural, to sparkly party colours.

4. Laura Mercier Signature Colour Essential for Face, Eyes andLips £45 I think that this might be exclusive to John Lewis as I can’t seem to find it anywhere else… Laura Mercier products are 100% in my top ten makeup brands! This is an amazing set that would suit almost every skin tone beautifully. It is really great value for money and I recently managed to persuade my Mum to buy it for herself and she LOVES it! My sister also took a liking to the lip gloss and it has now mysteriously gone missing!

5. Yves Saint Laurent Radiant Make-Up Set £48 Touche Eclat is a cult product and a beauty must have, especially around Christmas time with all the tired after party eyes! This is a real luxury product and a real treat!

6. O.P.I Limited Edition Bond-ettes Mini Set £12.95 Who doesn't want to feel a little like a Bond girl this Christmas?!

7.  Lancome Hypnose Mascara Christmas Set £21 Lancome mascars are about £21 on their own, so this is a great deal!

8. Clinique Lotta Colour Set £30.00 Cliniques chubby sticks are like tinted lip balms and are great for a sheer and moisturising hint of colour. Do you have a lot of friends to buy for this Christmas? Why not buy box set's like this and split them among your friends?!

9. Stila Brush Gift Set £20 Stila brushes are excellent and this gift set is a perfect mini collection.

10. Benefit Away We Glow Gift Set £29.50 Beautifully boxed beauty essential kit containing some of the best of benefit!

I hope this helps you find your perfect gift this Christmas!

RED LIPS: TIPS AND TRICKS

RED LIPS: TIPS AND TRICKS

One of my absolute fav red lipsticks is MAC’s Russian Red. It is a high pigment lipstick with a matt finish and lasts for hours!  Below are a few tips and tricks for creating the perfect red lip.

• Before starting your makeup apply a moisturising lip conditioner/lip balm and lightly exfoliate any dry skin using a tooth brush.
• When you are ready to apply your lipstick, take a tissue and blot off any oily residue left by your lip balm to avoid the lipstick slipping off.
• Apply a very small amount of your foundation over your lips to create a neutral base. This will make you lipstick colour more vibrate and help ensure a lasting finish.
• Just above your cupids bow, apply a small amount of pearlescent highlighter. This will make your lips look fuller and draw attention to the centre of your face.
• Starting at your cupids bow, create your desired lip shape using a red lip pencil. If you have thin lips or flat cupids bow, you can make them look fuller and create definition by taking the colour just outside of the lip line.
• After creating your desired shape, fill in the whole lip area with the liner.
• Creating a long lasting lip colour is all about layers! Apply your first coat of lip stick, gently pushing into your lip. Blot with tissue and repeat.
• Create a more defined lip and tidy up any mistakes using your concealer and small concealer brush.
• You can set your lipstick and create a matt finish by gently dusting over translucent setting powder.
• For a fuller and glossy finish, apply a small amount of red or clear gloss to the centre of you bottom lip, blend out and lightly put your lips together.

Vois là! Perfect red lips!