Don’t panic
Perfumes or cosmetics make great presents for men and women. And there’s lots of gift sets out there
With Christmas hurtling towards us it’s time for most of us to panic about all the things that need to be done. By ‘done,’ I mean gifts that need to be purchased. If you are like me, you will leave it all till a couple of days before Christmas and then let true panic set in.
When you do finally get around to thinking about gifts, here are a few ideas if socks, underwear or woolly jumpers are not cutting it anymore.
Skin care, make-up and fragrance are a little personal, so unless you know exactly what someone wants or likes steer clear. But if you know someone loves cosmetics and beauty treats, you can buy an upmarket or salon brand body oil or body lotion and it’s sure to be met with a smile. All women need something gorgeous to rub into winter parched skin after the shower. Beauty salons and cosmetics counters are full of packaged gift sets at this time of year, so it is easy to find just the right set for almost anyone, including men.
Skin care gift sets for men are great, as many males nowadays are into taking care of their faces and usually love receiving face and body products.
If you want to buy beauty gifts from a salon some of the best brands on the market include: Thalgo, Decleor, Guinot, Dermalogica, Jurlique, Rosveda, Darphin, Clarins and Phytomer. For store brands look for names like: Guerlain, Chanel, Korres, Est?e Lauder, Lancome, Dior, Clinique, Shiseido and Nina Ricci, among others, but these are all excellent brands.
How about a voucher? That way the lucky recipient can go and choose for themselves. Another great gift idea is a Beauty Treatment voucher. You can purchase a lovely relaxing massage session or face or body treatment for a loved one and they will love you for it. My estimation is that an overburdened lady of the house will appreciate this more than anyone, especially if she spends most of her time running around after family or kids or has spent most of the holidays cooking and cleaning. Most salons provide vouchers so what are you waiting for?
Get glowing for the festivities
In an ideal world, a couple of days before Christmas we would spend the whole day in a serene spa or salon and get a mani-pedi, facial, back rub etc., followed by tint and blow dry. We would emerge Stepford Wife style from the salon or spa feeling and looking fresh, glowing, rested and gorgeous. However, in the real world, we may manage to squeeze a facial and blow dry into our busy schedule.
For the time pushed, here are a few tips on how to look and feel great within minutes.
Hairy legs Shave the blighters! It’s quick and it’s cheap
Armpits Ditto
Body Scrub from toe to top (no I didn’t get it the wrong way round), using a gritty body scrub or rough bath mitt. It will really energise you. Follow this by smothering body lotion or oil all over legs, chest, shoulders and arms
Nails Remove old polish before showering and push cuticles back using the towel while drying yourself. Apply a natural pinky clear polish if you’re in a rush or a very dark blood red if you have good eyesight, a steady hand and time to watch it dry!
Face Before you do any of the above, give yourself a pick me up facial to rev up circulation in the face and give it a glow. Simply cleanse and tone or wash face, use a scrub then apply your favourite mask and leave on for fifteen to twenty minutes. Remove mask, tone and apply serum and/or moisturiser. For extra glow or to feed really dry or dull skin, apply an aromatherapy facial oil to skin then apply your mask over it.
Try Guinot’s Masque Essential, which is brilliant on almost every skin type and perfect for use before a special night out (For stockists Tel: 22 879006).
If you want a great petro-chemical free scrub and mask, try Rosveda’s Apricot and Honey or their new Young and Brides skin scrub which is specially formulated for use before your wedding or special occasions. (From FaceWiz: Tel: 99 548338).
