Bomb Cosmetics Countdown To Christmas Advent Calendar Gift Pack

RRP: £19.99 (and in case you feel like buying now and opening all the doors at once...or just keeping it for next year...currently reduced to £9.99)

--What does the promo say?--
“Bomb Cosmetics uses only the finest natural ingredients in an indulgent range of
handmade bath treats, body scrubs, essential oils and gift packs. The Power of Essential Oils – These little gifts from Mother Nature are found in each and every one of our products and are extracted from plants, flowers and fruit. They have to power to soothe the soul and are chock full of magic to heighten, change or enhance your mood. We use natural ingredients wherever possible. That’s right, we are changing all our glitters to a bio-degradable version made from plants and we don’t use microbeads either. We believe that neither animals, humans or the environment should suffer for our luxuries. We pride ourselves on making products that not only smell and feel wonderful on your skin, but also look beautiful too and made completely by hand thanks to our team of over 250 Bomb-er Lomb-ers! Moulded, mixed, rolled and piped entirely by hand, our gorgeous crafters ensure that each and every product is unique, but ultimately perfect in its own little way. (Just like you, you cheeky little Bombshell!). We even hand draw the designs on the gift wrap and the decorations on the blasters! We NEVER have and NEVER will test any of our finished products or ingredients on animals, nor do we employ a third party to do so on our behalf. As much as we’d love to extend our Bomb family past the 72 countries we already supply to, we simply refuse to add any country to this list that requires animal testing to be done by law. All of our soaps, candles and potted and bottled products are suitable for vegans, as well as a load of Blasters, Creamers and Mallows. Look out for the vegan symbol on our website.”

-- Packaging —
I treated myself to this Advent calendar on December 1st and, so far, I have not been disappointed. The packaging is fun – I chose the blue reindeer version rather than the pink one as I wanted to share it with my man. I know men can ‘do’ pink, but my husband prefers blue and it looks better in my green bathroom. The calendar is quite ‘thick’, meaning that you get a decent sized sample of a different product each time. Most of them virtually fill the space provided (3.5cms x 4cms – products around 1.5cms thick).

--Appearance--
The blasters in the calendar are small hearts and dense rectangles which fizz away (some into glitter) in the bath water (which sadly does not always remain on the skin). All products are lovely colours, with beautiful swirls in the soaps. Some mallows and creamers are embellished with small flowers, stars, or glitter. All in all, the presentation is colourful and fun.

--Scent--
The calendar creates wonderful fragrances in the bathroom as a different door is opened each day. The bath bombs it contains are full of Christmassy scents that smell authentic, natural, and in some cases, fabulously fruity. The tags on Blogger are limited to 200 characters (and a maximum of 20 tags!), so I couldn't put them all in, but they also include clary, citrus fruits, coconut, geranium, safflower, marjoram, carrageenan, and others. As good as the market leader easily.

--Texture and consistency--
Bath blasters leave no foam or bubbles, so if you want that, you will be disappointed.

--Effects on the skin--
The creamer from the calendar was magnificently smooth.

--Value for money--
Excellent value; would buy again.

perfect partners
Mistletoe Kiss Candle, £7.99
My Favourite Things Bath Blaster, £2.99
Holly Soaks Gift Pack, £17.99

by Sarah Cross

Beauty Byte: Umberto Giannini Advent Calendar

Fancy winning some gorgeous hair goodies this Christmas? Look no further than Umberto Giannini's generous advent calendar, located here. Their generous haircare gifts up for grabs include shampoo and conditioner duos, hair accessories, and much much more. The prizes are only set to get bigger as the month goes on, but check in each day for your chance to win. Have a hair-raising Christmas!

Have yourself a floral little Christmas

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We say it with flowers all year round, but it seems that we forget about flowers at Christmas once the rain and cold weather sets in. But this seems silly given all of the seasonal plants that are available to brighten those dull days: poinsettia, holly and mistletoe all feature, as do more unusual flowers like winter aconite, Christmas rose, and African violet. There's no reason to stop flowers being your gift of choice this winter, with Interflora offering a range of affordable combinations - such as one which uses holly, blue spruce, and snowed eryngium, to name just a few. 

But if you don't fancy purchasing actual plants, plenty of other ideal Christmas presents also contain winter flowers - particularly when it comes to beauty buys. Yves St Laurent's perfume, Cinema, contains amaryllis, which are very popular in winter due to their ability to bloom well indoors. Neal's Yard also makes a mahonia gel, which promises to clarify acne-prone skin thanks to mahonia's anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities. The cold-tolerant witch hazel is also widely used for the same purpose. And the reed diffuser set made by Wax Lyrical not only uses holly and ivy, but also white jasmine and rose, to create a truly Christmassy feeling throughout your home.

Interflora is helping to spread the word about how flowers can be part of your home and beauty routine all year round - hence why Christmas gift hampers from Interflora, featuring more unusual seasonal fare, are also now available. The company is widening its market, no longer offering just flowers, so that you can please all your relatives from a one-stop shop. Try their Heavenly Scents Happy Box (£50), which contains frangipani shower gel, lavender hand lotion, and a Coeur de Fleur citrus candle. The Divine Elegance box (£80) does not focus entirely on beauty, but includes an evergreen reed diffuser alongside elderflower liqueur and other Christmas treats (Prestat truffles, anyone?). Finally, their A Little Life Happy Box (£100) also manages to sneak in a floral fancy: recipients can enjoy a geranium hand lotion after a green tea bath, as well as Belgian chocolate, an embossed journal, and a cashmere eye mask.

In short, saying it with flowers this Christmas couldn't be easier. And thanks to all the other gifts they've thrown in, I have a feeling that plenty of people will be sending a thank-you note to Interflora in January.

Cosmetics Contemplations: Christmas Collections 2011

And on that highly alliterative note, let's begin.

 Giorgio Armani's Madre Perla Collection

Aiming to epitomise the glamour of the 1930s, this collection takes the art deco movement as its inspiration, exploiting pure lines, sophisticated colours and luxurious details to their fullest extent. The £95 Madre Perla palette evokes silk lingerie and is set off by lacquer and metal, while the more affordable Eyes To Kill eyeshadows (£24.50 each) come in glistening taupes, golds and silvers. The Gloss d'Armani capitalises on bolder colours - shown above are shades Rouge 404, Pink 507, Plum 603 and Plum 604, which at £21 each, would make a glamorous yet not bank-breaking gift.

Bath and Body Works All I Want Liplicious Collection

Despite being unavailable in the UK (sob), these look just too delicious to not feature here. Bath and Body Works' festive glosses combine holiday flavours with Vitamin E and jojoba oil, and are available in five cheekily-named variants: Gingerbread Giggle, Candied Smile, Peppermint Hug, Snickerdoodle Squeeze, and Cranberry Kiss. At $8 a pop (or $16.50 for the whole set of five), they're the perfect stocking-filler.

Get ready to party with MADARA Skincare

MADARA's Flower Dust Shimmering Body Lotion (£22) promises to turn heads at Christmas parties with its light-reflecting particles, as well as protecting skin from winter cold with its nourishing ingredients (including calendula, camomile, seaweed and rosehip). Its £25 Tinting Fluid uses St John's Wort, cocoa and plantain, among other ingredients, to allegedly help give you a natural dewy complexion while disguising imperfections and fine lines - but with only coming in two shades, I'd say that this tinted moisturiser is a bit of a gamble. The brand's Tinting Lip Glosses, priced at £9.90 each, may be a better bet, combining natural colours with moisturising properties using plant minerals, mica, soy beans, sea buckthorn and more.

Luxurious gifts from Chantecaille

Chantecaille's Swarovski-studded bottles and compacts are sure to glitter under the trees of those willing to cough up. Its Crystal Fragrance (of which there are 5 scents: Pétales, Tiare, Vetyver, Frangipane and Kalimantan), whose bottle was designed by artist Cimon, retails at £500, but even those with more modest budgets can also partake: its South Sea Pearl body highlighter, enclosed in a flow-through brush, costs £46, which while extravagant is not totally out of reach. The £75 Evening Duo contains two exquisite new eyeshadow shades, and is adorned with crystals aplenty.

Holiday Gifts from L'Occitane

The Holiday Confiserie comes in two different variants for L'Occitane fans this Christmas. The Rose and Violet collection (Délice des Fleurs) contains violet and rose leaf absolutes, and includes an eau de toilette, a solid perfume, a shower jelly, a body milk, a hand cream, and a lip gloss. The Délice des Fruits variant smells of lemon and clementine and offers customers a lip balm, shower jelly, body cream, perfumed soap, bath ball, hand cream, sweet candle, and home perfume diffuser. Prices start at £3.50.

Ellis Faas Winter Gift Set

To celebrate the season, Ellis Faas has devised a £60 gift set, comprising three best-sellers: Milky Lips L201, Creamy Eyes E103 for an easy smoky eye, which can also double up as a liner, and Milky Eyes E209 for fresh accents. Their bullet-like pens and refuse-to-budge hold never fails to impress.

With all of that to choose from, you certainly shouldn't be short of ideas now *cough*guys*cough*. There's something here for every style and budget, whether you prefer the edgy expense of Ellis, or the affordable offerings from L'Occitane. Wishing you a happy shopping season!

Arbonne Pampermint Gift Set

RRP: £31.50
--What does the promo say?--
"Nourishing cream and gentle scrub pamper your soles and your soul — a gift of cosy comfort right down to the tips of your plush socks. Set includes FootWork Foot Scrub (Net wt. 12 oz.), SoleMate Foot Cream (Net wt. 9 oz.) and Signature Socks in a holiday gift box."

--Packaging--
Apart from the box being a bit bashed around the edges by the time it got to me (but that's the French postal system for you), I have no complaints. In fact, I find the packaging and overall scheme positively inspiring: the combination of the peppermint scent with the red and white stripes suggesting candy canes is a perfect fit for the holiday season. In addition, the foot scrub and cream pots (plastic, with screw top lids) also come with little red snowflakes drawn on them. Brava! All incredibly sweet and festive.

--Application--
Rub the foot scrub into wet or dry skin as you prefer before rinsing off. Apply the cream onto dry feet before bed and then slip on the socks to seal in the moisture as you sleep.

--Appearance--
The socks are quite clearly the most dazzling thing appearance-wise about the entire set; even just looking at them makes you feel comfy and cosy with their baggy, fuzzy cheer. The foot scrub is an off-white, grey-green colour, in which flecks of exfoliant can be seen, and the cream is white and stiff, rubbing into the skin invisibly.

--Scent--
The peppermint smell is there one hundred per cent and really helps to wake you up on those cold winter mornings, as well as helping to calm you down on winter nights.

--Texture and consistency--
The cream is a bit 'blobby' and difficult to get hold of, coming out of the tub in white lumps. While it's still easy enough to blend in (even though it looks and feels stiff), I think most people would still prefer a more luxurious, creamier sensation. The foot scrub is better at this, and still washes off easily to boot. The socks are joyfully just as heavenly as they look, making you feel as innocent and comfy as a child waiting for Santa.

--Effects on the skin--
The socks alone are a really comforting and calming experience, possibly claiming the crown of being the softest, nicest socks I've ever worn. The cream and scrub, used together, also really help to minimise dry skin and restore softness.

--Value for money--
While this appears expensive at face value, it is better value for money than some of Arbonne's other gift sets, with the high-quality products evening out to be around £10 (and a few pence) each, which is no more than you would pay in other more widespread outlets such as The Body Shop. For a unique and wow-factor gift for the special lady in your life this Christmas (or hey - even just yourself) this Christmas, I'd say look no further. Tis the season!

perfect partner
Mint Latte Eyeshadow Palette, £42