Our Favourite Christmas Beauty Buys

With the holidays right around the corner, we at The Amazing Blog have found some great and unique products that can make the perfect gift ideas for yourself, family members, or even friends. This whole week we will be featuring different beauty, food, fashion, pet and home products that are great buys for this Christmas. Today, we'll show you our favourite beauty picks that we are sure you will love. From day creams to nail polishes, these gift ideas are great to complement any woman’s daily routine.

This Christmas, the fresh and handmade cosmetic brand LUSH, has launched limited edition products that would be the perfect grab bag gifts for any Christmas party. Due to the popularity of LUSH’s Snow Fairy shower gel they are releasing this giftbox where you can find products that smell sweet and girly, just like their signature Snow Fairy shower Gel. The gift includes Snow Fairy Shower Gel, Shimmy Shimmy Glitter Bar, and Angel’s Delight Soap bars. The Snow Fairy Shower Gel can be used in your hair or on your body. The pink colouring and sweet scent is a hit with women worldwide - a true classic. The Glitter Bar not only moisturizes, but also leaves a trace of sparkle wherever you run it over your body. The Angel’s Delight Soaps are bursting with colour and have a sweet, fruity smell. The box is wrapped in paper with silver ribbon and an angel ornament that can be reused on your Christmas tree. The giftboxes sell for £11.95 each or you can buy the products individually from LUSH’s website.

Why not recapture youth, with Lulu’s Time Bomb Glory Days Day Cream this Christmas. This day cream not only combats dull, dry skin, but unlike other day creams, it locks moisture in and transforms skin into a smooth, radiating surface. The blend is a combination of glucose, borage oils, and white flower oils that help re-energize cells and leave your skin looking plump and tight, making it the perfect day cream for the winter months. Skin will instantly look and feel younger. A 45ml container of the Time Bomb Glory Days Day Cream sells for £25.00 and can be purchased at QVC, Amazon, and select department stores including Fenwick and their website.

Whether you like jewelled tones, or darker shades of black, try STRANGEBEAUTIFUL’S array of nail polish colours for the Christmas and New Year. The selection of polishes is great for an elegant gift idea, particularly for someone who likes to display their make-up. After all, what could be better for a fashion concious friend than to have on show these stylish on-trend selection of A/W '12 colours. These colours are a blend of beauty, science, and design and have more pigment than an ordinary nail polish. Not only are the colours elegant, but the packaging is too. Ten polishes come in a pack so you can try every shade of any colour of your choice. The 220 strand brush helps guarantee an effortless and even application. Individually, the colours sell for £18.00, and can be found for purchase in Liberty.

Looking for a new signature scent this season? Amber Perfume from Laboratory Perfumes is one of two new fragrances with a pure and modern scent that is for both men and women. This fragrance is extremely complex and lingers on the skin long after application. The combination of this tree resin, Amber, mixed with other unique ingredients makes for a very special fragrance.  This strong scent was one of our favourites and is definitely distinguishable from all of the rest. The Amber scent consists of natural ingredients that remind us of the outdoors. The perfume can be purchased on Laboratory Perfumes’ website for £48. Laboratory Perfumes believes the home should smell as good as you, so they also have created an Amber 2 candle that sells for £35 on their website. The other fragrance included in this collection is their Gorse  Perfume (we wrote about this here). This perfume evokes a strange sense of place; from the English coast to the surrounding countryside it leaves a rich and warm finish to any surface.This perfume along with its candle can also be purchased on Laboratory Perfumes' website retailing at the same prices. These fragrances are truly exquisite. Their packaging even mocks the laboratory theme as they are packaged in simple brown cylindric tubes, while the candles are encased in beakers. This line of fragrances and candles would make perfect Christmas gifts this festive season.

 

Weleda has launched multiple Christmas Duo ‘Handbag’ Gift Sets. Containing a luxurious Creamy Body Wash, and a new natural Body Lotion, these gifts sets would make the perfect gifts! Each set offers two full (200ml) products that will renew and nourish your skin. They come in four different scents: Citrus, Sea Buckthorn, Wild Rose (our personal favourite!), and Pomegranate. The Citrus gift set retails for £20.90, the Sea Buckthorn set retails for £28.85, and the other two flavours retail for £28.90. Not only will this body wash/lotion make your skin feel amazing, but they are also packaged in adorable ‘handbag’ boxes.

Who can resist these choices?! Come back tomorrow to see our Food and Drinks picks...

Korres - Myrrh & Oligoelements Nail Colour

If there's a brand that we love at The Amazing Blog, that is Korres. Their products never seize to amaze us - they smell natural and nice, they're free of nasty ingredients, they have the best packaging and they work. For us, Korres is one of those brands that never disappoints - from their Tinted Lip Balms to their amazing Shower Gels, Korres is a brand that we always go back to. We were rather excited when we heard that they were launching a Nail Colour range; bearing in mind the natural approach to beauty by the brand, we imagined that the formula was going to be designed to strengthen the nails and to keep them healthy. And nothing further from the truth, Korres has designed a stunning nail polish collection without comprimising the brand's natural philosophy.

Korres has come up with a collection of 20 beautiful shades, a Top Coat and a Base Coat. The formula is rich in Myrrh extract, Oligoelements and Provitamin B5 and works towards the nail's overall wellbeing. Myrrh extracts enhances Keratin for stronger and more flexible nails and it also helps boosting hydration levels in the under-nail area. Provitamin B5 provides elasticity and moisture; and Oligoelements, such as Silicium, are essential for the overall nail health, especially for soft and brittle nails.

The Amazing Blog's favourite shades are 88 Midnight Blue and 94 Light Grey. Midnight Blue (see picture) is a deep navy blue-almost-black colour, with a intense blue sheen through it. Perfect for those of you who find black to be too harsh. Light Grey looks beautiful on pale hands, it's a stunning grey shade with a slight taupey touch. These nail polishes are long-lasting - we haven't experienced issues with chipping and the colours are opaque applying just one coat.

The Nail Colour Collection, the Base and Top Coats retail at £9.00 from ASOS and Harvey Nichol's. However, you can now find the Nail Colour polishes for only £4.50 in ASOS... bargain!

Killer Nails

With the ghastly weather we've been treated to thus far this week, we at The Amazing Blog are hankering after duvet-days a-plenty with nothing better to do that indulge in copious amounts of chocolate and treat ourselves to some DIY pampering sessions. And with the torrentiol downpours here to stay, it's time to stock up on beauty treats for whiling away rainy days.

At The Amazing Blog the team does their very best to stay abreast of any new beauty products that we think our readers should know about and so I bring you Killer Colours. A brand-new nail colour collection, Killer Colours offer a capsule collection designed especially to tie in with the very latest fashion trends. Created in collaboration with fashion insiders and trend forecasters, Killer Colours brings you the very latest in nail colours and each polish is limited edition, meaning that once they're gone, they're gone!

Perfect for manicures, pedicures, or if you're feeling indulgent, both, Killer Colours have a great range of polishes this A/W. From the chalky pink Twisted Ice, to my personal favourite - the neo-nude Quicksand, as seen on the Valentino and Miu Miu catwalks at London Fashion Week, there's a shade to suit everyone's taste. All polishes boast a high colour pigment for a rich, intense colour with UV absorbers for serious staying power. They're also free of toulene, DBP and formaldehyde and are brilliantly British and made in the UK.

Costing just £9 with free p&p, Killer Colours can be bought online here.

Suncoat

If you're like me you're never without a lick of nail polish on your manicured hands. Whether it's OPI, Barry M, or Essie, I feel a bit naked if I don't have a bit of colour on my finger nails. But having perfectly painted nails all the time can be a hassle, especially when it comes to taking off the polish. And I've yet to meet a girl who likes the smell of acetone. Here at The Amazing Blog there's no shortage of nail polish, adhesive nails or nail polish remover, so we'll take any help we can get! So in steps Suncoat Nail Polish Remover Gel, which might seem like a strange concept at first, but you'll get used to it, trust me. This all natural nail polish remover is perfect for on the go girls, whether it's one nail or your whole hand. Of course, being all natural it's not as quick as swiping over your fingers, but what else do you have to do when you're sitting on the tube in the morning! It's made from corn and soy and it way more gentle on your nails than regular polish which along with taking off your nail polish, can sometimes strip away some of the natural oils on your nail. Suncoat works with all different nail polishes, is not tested on animals and is vegan friendly, so you have no excuse not to try it out! Just squeeze out a small amount (you don't need a massive amount) over your nail, let it sit for about a minute, and wipe it away with a cotton ball or a bit of tissue - simple. I use at least two coats of polish when I paint my nails and I've not had any trouble removing my polish.

Check out Suncoat's full range of natural nail polish, nail polish removers and more on their website and GentleBeauty.co.uk.

Nazila Love Glamour

As every girl will tell you, we don't need an excuse to accessorise, and our nails are definitely not an exception to this. With the varying brands of nail polishes and different sorts of treatments you can get, it can make doing your nails pretty complicated. So The Amazing Blog brings you Nazila Love Glamour's Nail Glitz semi-permanent nail sets. These bedazzled nail sets have been seen on celebrities and in most of the magazines you pick up weekly, so you know that you're spot-on trend with a Nail Glitz manicure. And with the Diamond Jubilee fast approaching, a Nail Glitz manicure will be sure to make you stand out this weekend.This Nail Glitz set in GB Rocks is a must-have for this weekend. If you're a working girl, or are just always on your phone like us, we recommend doing one or two accent nails - you can show off your patriotism and stretch your set out to last longer. All you Made In Chelsea fans will recognise Binky Felstead, wearing and posing with the GB Rocks set (above). Priced at £29.99 all Nail Glitz sets come with 24 pieces that you can use up to 4 times.If you still want to show your spirit but in a more subtle way, the Bejewelled Nail Glitz from Nazila Love Glamour is perfect for you. As seen on celebrity judge Amanda Holden during the recent finals of Britain's Got Talent, the Bejewelled Nail Glitz will add sparkle to any outfit. Available for £29.99 online.

And the final Nail Glitz we have for you is this amazing Your Royal Highness set. Complete with faux diamonds, and plenty of sparkly pretty things, these 3D nails are sure to make an impression wherever you rock them. Whether you wear the full set or just a couple of accent nails, this manicure is sure to make you feel like a princess. Available for £29.99 online.

With over 20 different sets on the Nazila Love Glamour website, you can custom make your own manicure, and have all your friends wondering where you got your nails done!