Luxurious Bathing, the gift of relaxation // Gift Guide, Part One

 I am a firm believer in giving Christmas gifts, and I think the best sorts of gifts are the things that you wouldn’t usually purchase for yourself. Being someone who is completely beauty obsessed means that I do tend to indulge in bath and body products quite often, but before I began blogging the only items I really used were those gifted to me. Luxury during a bath and shower can really help someone wind down after a long day at school or work (or shopping!) and these gifts would all make lovely, thoughtful gifts.

Even though I’m not a bar soap sort of person myself, the majority of people I know prefer them to shower gels . The fact that this product is made by the Scottish Fine Soaps Company (my family come from Glasgow!) makes it hold a special place in my heart, and the tins are stunning and reusable. They have tins with birthday, good luck, and other general messages on top, making them perfect as something sweet AND useful! $11.99 at David Jones.

The Clarins Eau des Jardins Uplifting Shower Gel is probably the nicest luxe shower gel I have ever used. The scent is beautiful, but hard to explain, and it lathers up in the most perfect way. The scent is made up of 10 different essential oils, including  zesty ones like grapefruit, right through to rose and cedar. The bottle itself is really cute as well, and the range contains a gift set which would make a beautiful gift. $42.00 for 150ml at Myer, David Jones, pharmacies and Adore Beauty.

 

As well making lovely face products, L’Occitane have a great range of bath and shower products that I really enjoy. I’m about to try the Almond Shower Oil (and am very excited by it!) but something I’ve been using for a while are these two shower gels. Captivant is definitely my favourite from this range, I also have it in cologne form and it makes for a very uplifting scent experience. A wander into L’Occitane is always a good idea at Christmas time, the packs they make are often better value than purchasing products separately. I know when I went to my local store for Christmas drinks I was taken with the packaging and value they have out at the moment! These shower gels retail for $28 for 250ml.

 

It’s no secret I am a massive Kiehl’s fan, and the new Aromatic Blends collection has really impressed me! I have been using my travel size samples of the Orange Flower & Lychee scent for a while now and love it, but I’ve also sniffed all 3 other variations in store and adore them as well! The range has lotions, fragrance sprays and body cleansers, so you can pick and mix to your hearts content. Prices range from $29 for the fragrances to $38 for the lotions, and the collection is available from Kiehl’s counters in Myer and David Jones.

 

I have another of these posts coming up soon as I just couldn't fit all of my bath and body loves into a single post. I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether or not you like to receive things like this for Christmas, or for birthdays or other celebrations?

 

 

 

 

These products were kindly provided for editorial consideration, so I had a chance to personally try all of these products. Honesty, always.

Beauty Tag // This or That

It has been quite a long time since I posted a tag on emmabovarybeauty. Since I am in the mood to ramble about makeup, today is the day! Feel free to copy this tag (which I saw on Thirteen here, and edited to my liking)

Blush or Bronzer? Original post here.

 

MAKEUP:

Blush or bronzer?

Blush is definitely my weakness, even though I'm having a bit of a love affair with my Clinique Superbalanced Bronzer. The biggest chunk of my makeup collection is blushes, and nothing gets my heart racing faster than a pretty blush colour.

Lip gloss or lip stick?

I would have to go for lipstick, glossy types like Burberry Lip Mist's can be just as shiny as some glosses so they have the ability to cover all bases. I definitely wear lipstick more than I wear glosses, so it is a no brainer for me.

Eye liner or mascara?

  I wear mascara every single day, but often neglect eyeliner so again, a no brainer for me. I like the look of my gel liner, especially when I use my essence Midnight in Paris gel pot, or my Australis 10 hr pencil liner in the brown and deep purple shades. To be honest, I'm too lazy to sharpen my pencil liners so I tend to wear my essence gel liner much more often.

Foundation, or Concealer? Original post here.

 

Foundation or concealer?

When I began university my skin went downhill, and even though it is much better now that I've changed contraceptive I am left with a lot of pigmentation and scarring. I need foundation (or at least tinted moisturiser) everyday to feel good about my skin, and because I like to wear fun makeup, an even base is crucial.

Neutral or color eye shadow?

I do wear colour quite a bit...neutral shadows are for lazy days for me, so I think I might go for colours to have more fun! I love trying out new colour combinations, today I tried one that failed miserably but I had lots of fun playing around with it all, and that is the main thing. Even if I just wear it around the house, it pushes me to be creative and makes me smile.

 

Pressed or loose eye shadows?

Pressed shadows are so much easier to work with, I love palettes too much to choose loose shadows. Even though some loose shadows are stunning and the colours are magnificent, a brand like Inglot have pressed shadows that blow my mind on a similar scale.

 

Brushes or sponges?

I don't think I own any sponges, they don't seem clean or useful enough for me. If my brushes are dirty, I'd prefer to use my fingers to warm up product and apply it. 

BODY:
Perfume or body splash?

I only own a few body splashes, and I use them most when I'm working from home and have the opportunity to keep reapplying throughout the day. I like the strength of perfumes, and if a scent fades before I get home from work it makes it harder for me to justify the repurchase. My favourite perfumes are definitely Guerlain's Champs Elysees and the men's cologne from Juicy Couture, Dirty English.

Lotion, or butter?

 

Lotion or body butter?

Lotions are more my thing, though I've just bought a stack of pumpkin butters from Haus of Gloi. I'm lucky enough to not suffer from dry skin on my body, so if I apply lotions fairly regularly my skin stays nice and soft. I'm using the Amber Romance scented body lotion from Victoria's Secret at the moment, it is divine.
 

Body wash or soap?

Body wash all the way, though I do adore the tins and scents from The Scottish Fine Soap Company (get them at David Jones) Body wash is much easier to use and I find them more hydrating, so we buy body wash over soap all the time. I think some soaps make for nicer gifts, whereas it is only pricier body washes or gels that are fancy enough to give as gifts (L'Occitane make for divine gifts!)

 

Lush or other bath company?

Even though I'm only on my first order from Haus of Gloi, I definitely prefer their products to Lush. Lush is often quite expensive (Ro's is $30, and more than I can spend on a body conditioner without guilt right now) and Haus of Gloi comes in stunning packaging. The scents there are so out there (I think) and I love the luxury I feel when I apply them.
 

I'd love for you to leave your responses to this tag below, or do a blog post with it and leave me the link in my comments so I can check it out!

I really like blathering about beauty and skincare, maybe that is why I look forward to blogger meet ups so much!