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Gorgeous gift ideas this Christmas!

Its official, December is here and Christmas hysteria has taken over us all, once again! Sure, I fought it for a while; when October reared it’s cold ugly head it brought with it the start of wee reminders in shop windows, TV and food adverts (we’re all supposed to foam at the mouth at the mere mention of prawn satay with chilli sauce on a stick) to which I dismissed with the usual,

“Pah! Christmas? That’s ages away, can’t be bothered with it this year anyhow,” then I would chase the thought back to the ‘rather forget’ part of my brain as quickly as it had appeared.

Now I sit here, guilty of just blowing twenty quid on iTunes Christmas songs, all of which are irrelevant 11 out of 12 months of the year (I’m like a moth to a flame!) I’ve accepted Crimbo is coming and have subsequently caught the Christmas bug!

However, I’ve got the usual nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach: It’s December and I’ve bought a grand total of NO presents! Not even a box of Lindor chocolates, a mint candy stick or my usual weird and wonderful glittery ornaments from Murdo Maclean’s! (The slightest hint of last year’s glittery Penguin still makes my 25 year old brother shudder after he insisted it looked like Freddy Kruger!) But one thing I know is what I’m NOT buying for people – smellies! Gift packs with shower gel and body lotion – aghhhh, what a boring gift! Enough is enough!

It’s time to get some imagination and give your loved ones beauty gifts that they’ll actually use! Here are some useful ideas to kick start your shopping and put the fun back into Christmas without breaking the bank at the same time!

Mix and Match

First thing to do first for a mix and match present is to buy a gorgeous gift box or bag to pack your individual gifts in – Available in shops such as Murdo Macleans, Mosaic, Events at Christmas and Mackaskills home stores. Make sure you get a contrasting colour of tissue paper to add an element of surprise for when the persons opening it! Think about who you’re buying the gift for and think what they might like or actually need. Here are a couple of fun examples for you:

Bubbling bliss for someone that loves their baths: Arran Aromatics Moisturising bath oil with Lavender & Sandlewood* for £10; Dead Sea Spa Magik Bath Salts* for £5.79; Bath time – cleansing the body soothing the spirit CD* for £4.17; Yankee candle Christmas cookie jar* for £5 and a quality thick body moisturiser such as the Shea Body Butter (body shop) for £5! You’ve just spent about £30 for a thoughtful gift that will more than likely be getting used immediately!

Glitzy Glamour for your trendy friend: Fake Bake Body lotion* for £18; Silver Cascade Barry M nail polish* for £2.99; Bourjois Volume Glam Ultra Mascara* for £7.99 and Chanel AquaLumiere Sheer Colour Lipshine* for only £8.37.

Heavenly Hair for your loved one that just adores her (or his!) hair: Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo* for £4; Fudge Dynamite Rebuild deep conditioner* for £8.49; John Frieda luxurious Thickening Texture Paste* for £3.95; BaByliss Essentials Ultra Shine 2000 watt hairdryer* (Argos) for £9.99 and if you’re feeling flush add a gorgeous Pearl Sparkle Tiara* at £14.99 from Glitz4girlz.com!

*all products can be found through the Google search engine and prices stated were cheapest that were found on competitive websites

Spa days

Be it locally or away on the mainland Spa days are a gorgeous treat for your girlfriend, friend, fiancé or wife! At Hebrides Harmony I offer a Half Day Spa Indulgence package which is very popular for special occasions– this includes a full body herbal peel; a warm shower to wash off excess scrub; a relaxing Hot Stone body massage; then a hydrating Babor facial followed by a Deluxe manicure or pedicure and finishes with a glass of wine and chocolates all for £80! This is available in Harris and adapted treatments are available in Lewis.

I’ve lost myself in researching gorgeous Spa days away from home; an appealing offer is in Stobo castle in Peebles – The Winter Warmer Spa Day includes a full body massage; paraffin wax treatment on the back, neck and shoulders; an express facial and finishes with a three course lunch all for £149 per person – sounds tempting!

The Gleneagles hotel in Perthshire offers a half body experience with its Spa Retreat – this includes a welcome foot ritual; a deep back exfoliation; a back massage followed by a full ESPA Intensive Facial and finished with a 2 course lunch all for £135 per person – sounds even more tempting!

Vouchers

Vouchers are often deemed as a ‘give in’ gift but I can assure you are VERY appreciated and well received! With so many outgoings in our hectic lives some of us find little time or money to treat ourselves to a massage, manicure or facial which is why vouchers are so thoughtful! It gives the person in question something to look forward to and a memory that will last them forever (any client I have will always be able to remember their first ever beauty treatment!) So go on, give this easy yet effective gift a try!

Personal touches

Although not technically beauty related (okay, okay, it’s completely irrelevant to beauty!) I find that personal gifts are sometimes the most appreciated and bring the biggest smiles. You’ve got it in one - Pictures! On a good friends recent birthday my friends and I gathered round at her house and passed on our expertly wrapped presents all hoping for the best reaction (you know you do the same!) and weren’t surprised when a scrap book won the prize for the best reaction – it was simply print outs of pictures from over the summer glued into a scrap book and covered with glitter and hilarious anecdotes, it was brilliant and still has pride of place in on her living room mantle piece! Snapfish.com is a great website to digitally put photos into a scrapbook or album.

Be it expensive or inexpensive gifts don’t have to be boring – use your imagination and get your loved ones something to remember! Not the usual ‘smellies’ that will be found at the back of the hall cupboard years later.

Happy shopping and Merry Christmas!

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