Happy Monday! I’m so excited to bring you another week of Christmas Is In The Air. This week Christine and I chose the theme of Beauty. I have to say Beauty plays a large part in my Christmas, from items I am asking santa for to Makeup looks I go through to find the perfect one for holiday parties. Needless to say Beauty finds itself into every part of my life. I get tons of questions during the holidays on what to buy in terms of makeup from a variety of ages. I am partly my family’s go to for Beauty advise due being a MUA. For instance one of my cousins asked what Makeup Geek was and where to buy it for her daughter. After the shock I immediately dived in the spill of what basic items to buy from the brand and how to purchase them.
Let’s also say that I have to fully know what products I use to do my makeup, because there is no doubt I will be asked multiple times. I truly love this, in that this is the way I get to share my love of beauty. Now onto what I have planned to talk about today! I find buying Beauty products for other can be kind of difficult. I mean for someone that is not familiar with brands it can be quite overwhelming. I know as someone that looks for the perfect beauty gifts for others browsing websites and even a Sephora store can be quite the daunting task. So today I wan to help those of you needing help buy beauty gifts for others!
Makeup Geek & MAC Single Eye Shadows
Makeup Geek Shadows are a must-have for everyone. Every time someone asks me what shadows I recommend, I say Makeup Geek then MAC. I have tons of shadow from many brands in my collections. As far as single shadows goes these are the best. For instance Makeup Geek’s Corrupt is the blackest black on the market. I use it to set all my eyeliner if I am having an issue with smudging. This shadow is so intense that you really have to be careful with it. The same goes for MAC’s soft brown. I always recommend if you are looking to make a basics for someone that you have the following: Makeup Geek Corrupt, MAC: Soft Brown, Saddle, Brown Script, Deep Damson, Swiss Chocolate, and Mylar.
Tarte Tartlett Palette
I admit I have tried the Tartlette in Bloom and it doesn’t compare to the first Tartelette palette. I continue to go back to this palette due to how nice the shadows are in this palette. They are super pigmented and blendable. I think the shadows are not overly intense, so this is a great palette for those that like natural to smoky looks. Don’t get me wrong I have created some of the most sultry looks with this palette, but as far as a palette being well rounded and suitable for all this one hits the mark.
Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette
Know someone that loves the truly smoky look? This palette is perfect of creating the perfect smoky eye. I think what sets this palette apart from other palettes is that the colors just scream smoky! I literally use this palette alone all the time to create the perfect eye looks. I think this palette is perfect for someone that is a bit experience in makeup and that is really looking to broaden their collection.
Philosophy Purity Face wash
This face wash changed my skincare game. No joke! About 2 years ago my skin just changed. I never use to have sensitive skin and breakouts. All the sudden my face became super oily, sensitive as can be, and prone to breakouts. I guess this may be part of growing up, but I was not about to sit there and take it. I started using this face wash and found it changed my skin issue within a few washes. I use this along with my Clarasonic Mia II and find it helps to remove all of my remaining makeup. This face wash is super gentle and didn’t cause any issues with my troublesome skin. Sephora has small bottles of this that are perfect stocking stuffers! I think it is a great way to try this face wash since it is a bit pricey.
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder
Everyone and their mother raves about this powder. Yes it is quite amazing and can be use to dust of the face to set makeup or to “bake” your face! This is really some great quality powder if you are on the hunt for a great one!
NARS Blushes
These blushes are among my favorite formula. They are not super powdery and blend in effortlessly to your contour. Some shades that I recommend are: Amour, Torrid, Gina, and Lovejoy. They have everything from brights to neutrals and even iconic shades like orgasm. Regardless what you chose these blushes are fabulous! I will say the single pans tend to perform better than palettes.
NARS Dual Intensity Eye shadow
These are spectacular and very pricey! What makes them different is the formulation of them. Calipso and Dione are some of my favorites! If I had to say they are similar to any shadow formula it would be Makeup Geek’s Foiled Shadows. I mentioned the Makeup Geek in case you need a more affordable product that comes close to these.
Gwen Stefani x Urban Decay Eye Shadow Palette
Urban Decay releases some pretty amazing palettes, thus why I am mentioning them more than once on this gift guide. The packaging and quality of this palette is spectacular. I find this palette is one that you can create a multitude of eye looks with. This is I believe limited edition so pick it up while you can get it!
Gift sets from Sephora and Ulta
During the holidays Sephora especially sales some pretty amazing kits. I find this is a easy gift for anyone being that they have something every beauty lover will love for different price points. I think the kits from Tarte, Kat Von D, Beauty Blender,Fresh, GlamGlow & many more are perfection!
Gift Cards
Last of all! If you are still struggling with what to get someone that I suggest a gift card from Sephora, MAC or ULTA. Some think Gift cards are not as personal, but the way I look at it getting someone a gift card from and of the ones mentioned above just screams, ” I know you have great taste in makeup so here you go!” I know I am one that loves getting gift cards. They all me to knock a few items off my wish list.
And now for the rules:
1. Follow Life With A Side Of Coffee and Southern Beauty Guide
2. Write a post that goes along with the theme of the week and link up with us.
3. Visit a few other linked up posts and comment on their posts. Share the love people!
4. Make a new friend. That’s the best part of these anyway. This is more of a perk than a rule 🙂
What beauty gifts do you recommend? Don’t forget to link up your Beauty related post below!
Southern Beauty Guide is a Lifestyle & Beauty Blog written by Chelsee, a freelance makeup artist & life enthusiast. Chelsee is a self-proclaimed lover of all things Beauty and Life, who loves that makeup gives women confidence. She loves indulging in all the latest and greatest in Beauty, fashion, lifestyle trends, technology, and gadgets/services. At Southern Beauty Guide, there are tons of product reviews, DYI posts, and tips and tricks to make things easier for readers.