Christmas Gift Guide-him/her... more her ;)

Hey Blog Readers! 

As we all know Christmas is just around the corner so if, like me, you still haven't got your presents organised I thought I'd do a blog post on Christmas gift ideas and stocking fillers-whatever your budget :) 

Yesterday's Star Newspaper

I hope this will help you when picking a gift for your girlfriend/boyfriend/brother/mother/friend even if it simply opens your mind and gives you a different gift idea then that will make me smile :)

Bling: 

As you may already know I am the face of DSStyles.com a phone case/accessories online store based in China.... SO yes you might expect me to plug it anyway... but seriously my BEAUTIFUL phone case is my favourite accessory! I simply LOVE it!x! 

What makes my one so special is that it's customised to my name (my name being Shahira-I can never find anything with my name on it so I have a bit of an obsession with things I can customize with my name). My one is a full swarovski crystal case so the entire case is made of swarovski Crystals. These are genuine swarovski crystals and a guarantee leaflet comes with the product... these days it seems that any bit of 'bling' is called a swarovski crystal..there are knock-offs all over the place but believe me you'll know the difference when you see one! Each individual crystal sparkles the colours of the rainbow and they are so glamorous and beautiful!x!

My new case!

Now the more crystals you add the higher the price but DSStyles caters for every budget... they start off really cheap and work up from there: You can get plain cases, sparkly ones, crystal ones, customised ones... you name it! At the end of the day your phone is what you have by your side more than anything! so why not show it off! Click here to go to the dsstyles website :)

A gorgeous phone case is a luxury item and I'm sure any bling lover would absolutely love one!x! 

You could go seriously 'Bling' with Ipad cases or even get an XBox kitted out... DSStyles is your one stop site for BLING!x! 

DSStyles also do the most gorgeous Clutch bags! Perfect for debs, weddings or any other special occasion!

However you can also WIN a phone case/accessory from dsstyles by entering my competition on my facebook page (16winners). Click here to read my blog on the competition-rules etc... or go straight to my facebook page and enter by clicking here! 

Women

1) Make-up

• The Naked palette by Urban Decay. This is my go-to eye shadow palette! I absolutely LOVE it! The amount of different make-up looks you can do with this one palette are endless!  Any woman/girl who wears makeup will fall in love with this palette! It really has all the colours you need! There are two versions Naked and Naked2(which is the newer one). I have the original naked palette and it's amazing! the main difference is the original has more sparkle than the newer version: So it depends on the person you're buying for... if they are a sparkle person go with the original naked palette but if they like plainer eye-shadows then go for the Naked 2 Palette... either way this gift will be a HIT!x! You can get it from Debenhams.ie  and at the minute there is 15% off!! It was €40.50 now it's €34.42 ! :) I have had mine for a year and a half! I use it ALL the time and I'm not running out just yet so your money definitely goes a long way with this one!

• Let them decide... believe me every make-up wearing female will love the naked palette but if you don't want to take a risk why not get her a voucher/gift card for Mac?(presuming there is a mac in her town)... I have brought many a mac voucher as gifts for friends throughout the years... What I like about buying a voucher from Mac is if you buy a €40 voucher... (It used to be €30 but I believe it's gone up) the voucher holder can book in to get her make-up done for a special event or just to get glamed-up and then they are left with the voucher amount to spend in store. SO what that means is they get a free make-over, advice from the trained mac make-up artist and some goodies of their choice up to the value of €40 from mac! you're definitely on to a winner with that one! 

• Not as well known as Mac is GloMinerals-which I am absolutely loving right now! I did a blog post recently on their eye-shadow Trio palette in the colour 'Mulberry' you can read my blog post and check it out by clicking here! The eye shadows by GloMinerals are fantastically well-pigmented and stay on for hours remaining true to the shown colour! The trio palette in particular would make a perfect stocking filler and is great for throwing in your hand-bag and taking with you! You can get it from Skinlogic.com  which sell not only make-up but skin-care and beauty tools as well! 

Beauty: 

Actually while we are talking about Skinlogic.com - Some of you may have seen my blog post on TanOrganic-if not click here to read it! Tan Organic is a brilliant organic (perfectly ok for even pregnant women) sunless tanner: Which I tried/tested recently and LOVED! I love not only the tan but also OilArganic which is a Gorgeous multi-purpose oil (also check my tanorganic blog post to read all about it's benefits from healing dry skin, stretch marks and lots more in between). During this time of year many of us resort to sunless tanners to give a glow to the skin as the sun is nowhere to be seen :( Either of these would make not only a great gift but also a functional one resulting in healthy glowing skin! The GOOD NEWS is that Skinlogic.com are having a offer at the moment and if you buy the OilArganic €24.99 you'll get the TanOrganic absolutely free!-Two for the price of ONE!-AWESOMENESS!x! 

 


Tools
Almost as important as Make-up is the tools we use to put it on with! Why not get a make-up lover you know some make-up brushes! Personally I'd love this and I don't know many girls who wouldn't! I never buy Mac brushes... now I'd love to! but they are far to expensive for my liking when there are brushes out there that are just as good and for half the price!! Personally I am in love with 'Real Techniques' brushes by Samantha Champman who is from the well known YouTube channel 'Pixywoo'!  They are not only brilliant but also pocket friendly! Here is a video which takes you through all of the brushes available by Real Techniques:


I have the Stippling brush(€15) and also the Core Collection set shown in the video (€30 for four brushes and a case!-You'd only get one foundation brush for this in mac!-something to bare-in-mind)! I picked these up in Boots! I am dying to get the 'Starter Kit' with the essential eyeshadow brushes and I eventually hope to have nearly all these brushes because they are just wonderful! They are definitely another great gift for a make-up lover... or someone who you feel needs a bit of guidance and help with putting on make-up :)

Hair:
Sleep in Rollers!! These are the most talked about 'Must-have' hair product at the moment! As seen on Amy Childs etc... these fab rollers add volume and bounce to your hair! You can read my blog post on them by clicking here! or watch this video I did when I first got mine :) You can buy them for €20.49 from inhealth.ie  who offer next day delivery.



Babyliss Big Hair: Get the perfect Salon-Blow Dry! I got the Babyliss Big Hair Day Styler about two years ago now but I'm still obsessed with it! My sister also got converted and brought her own after trying mine out! It is a large rotating hair-dryer brush that is easy to use and give salon results at home! You can buy it in Argos and it retails for just €45.49! It would be an amazing present for someone special!

Pampering: 
If a lady you know likes to go to a beautician for treatments such as spray tans, nails etc... etc... why not get a voucher for a beautician near you... ChezElaine is a great beautician in Galway who also offers the celeb 'must have treatment' of 2012 'HD Brows': it's the party season and with big nights out such as New Years coming up-I'm sure it would go to good use! What are HD Brows?Click here to find out :)

Jewellery: 
An Irish company that I ADORE is Crystal&CO... I have a couple of pieces by them and I believe you could never have enough! Their pieces are just so sparkly and gorgeous! If you are a boyfriend looking to get your girlfriend a present it's the perfect romantic gesture!

Primark/Penneys Stocking fillers:

For some cheap stocking fillers for girls why not head to your closest penneys! 

• Impress nails are AWESOME! and you can even get them in good ol'Penneys/Primark now! they are a cute little stocking filler that cost just a few euro! A perfect gift for any nail lover! and the FAB Nicole Scherzinger is the face of the brand! Don't know what Impress nails are???CLICK HERE to read my blog on them!! 

• Everyone gets pjs at Christmas right? I never buy expensive pjs... I mean why would you... you sleep in them... In my opinion fluffies are the best and Penneys is your one stop shop for fluffy pjs... From Onzies to fluffy slippers-Penneys is the answer :) 

• Eyelashes €1.50!! False eye-lashes have become a staple on many a girls nights-out: penneys do great ones for a fantabulous €1.50!!! shouting stocking filler!! :) 

• Essence translucent powder! This is the make-up setting powder I use all the time! It's like €4 and it's great! I've used Mac, Makeup-forever and Laura Mercia powders (to name a few!) But I find essence just as good without burning a hole in your pocket!! :) plus it's translucent so it will match any skin tone and would be an ideal little gift! 

• Gloves/Scarves... again I'm not someone for buying expensive gloves/scarves... and apparently we will be seeing snow this winter.. so a nice glove/scarf combo could be a nice pressie :) 

• The Playboy Perfume: These come in 'Play it Lovely', 'Play it Sexy' and 'Play it Spicey' and they are only like a 5er!! Ok so not the fanciest or romantic perfume in the world! But it actually smells really good! and It would be a lovely gift for any young girl in particular-who is just starting to wear perfume and isn't guided by the cost! I really like 'Play it Sexy'. 

• Lastly stocking filler wise: You know where you que-up to buy your items at the counter in penneys-have a good look a long those rails: Vo5 & Tresemme shampoo/conditioner sets, dry shampoo (for clean hair on the go and also to add height when styling), Argan oil-hair treatment, jewellery racks, nail polishes, hair buns! (make sure you match to hair colour) and my favourite Rimmel lip sticks by Kate Moss: I seriously Love these! The Red Kate Moss lipstick is my favourite-I even place it above any mac red lipstick!  any of these would make great stocking fillers for cheap! 

Male & Female

Clothes:

Guys and girls like getting clothes! Personally I prefer shopping online some of my favourite online stores would be nopolka.com, iclothing, asos and bohoo.com... If you're not much good at picking out clothes as a present for someone why not get them a gift voucher for an online clothing store that you know they like... If you don't know which one they like have a look for yourself and decide which has the widest range of clothes available and clothes you could imagine them wearing... I know it may not be as personal to get a voucher... but in the long run you know they will get something that they like and you can both sit down and go through the site together and pick something nice... it might be a nice "christmasy" activity :) Just don't go for any dodgy site=make sure it's real and reliable!

For the house: 

Yankee Candles smell amazing and make any house feel like home :) Throws are also 'homly' and everyone loves an electric blanket! one year I brought my mum a massage chair-she loved it! 

Perfume & Aftershave/Cologne: 

Everyone likes to smell good! So this is a good'ol reliable! the only thing I would say is that this is one of the number one "go-to's" for gifts... so don't buy it if you think that the person you're getting it for is already going to get loads of perfume/cologne as a gift this Christmas! For men I love the smell of John Paul Gaultier, PDiddy's 'Sean John' is also nice, Hugo Boss and Burberry-despite the stigma attached I still think it smells Gorgeous! For women I like Victoria Beckham 'signature', Kim Kardashian,  Kate Moss and on the pricer side Chanel no5, Daisy by Marc Jacobs. Princess by Vera Wang and Dolce and Gabbana 'The One'(gorgeous!).

Men /Boyfriends

It's actually funny how short this list is going to be compared to the female section! Sorry I'm not much use at this-I'm not shopping for any males this year :) So I'll make this a quick 'firing-ideas' round! 

Firstly in my opinion girls should not buy guys the bigger gift... When it comes to buying presents in a relationship... I like a "man's man" and I'm quite old-fashioned in many ways but I'd advise any girl to try to have an idea what he'd be willing to spend on you and definitely don't spend more than that! 

Everyone says girls are hard to buy for but actually I think Guys are definitely the hardest to buy for! They can be so plain and picky with their clothes... they notice things girls don't notice at all for e.g. a girl will go for an item due to its colour/pattern/shape but a guy will nit-pick about a zip, collar or pocket!lol. 

• As I mentioned above Clothes are always an idea-and if you know a store (or online store) he likes a gift card would be a good thing so he can pick what he wants himself (less hassle!) or if you think you could pick for him that's even better! Also mentioned aftershave/cologne. 

• I've always tended to get guys practical things.. for example one year I got my ex a flying lesson in Dublin-he had always said he would have liked to of been a pilot so he loved getting to fly the plane! plus we got to make a weekend out of it which was nice! You can get this on giftsdirect.com for around €100 which isn't a bad price for a life-time experience. 

• If the guy you're looking for something for is an "out-doorsy" guy why don't you get a voucher for an adventure centre. We have a lot of very good centres in Ireland for example Killary in Connemara! Again ye could make a weekend out of it-Plan it for the spring time and head down and do some of the water sports or land activities. 

• Sports-If he is in to sports how about a Jersey for his favourite team, tickets to a match, a golf club if he likes to golf... something a long those lines... 

• If he is a music guy what about Beats by Dre headphones (although I think these are expensive??), an ipod or a good phone with mp3 player... 

• A nice watch or chain :) (If you think they'd wear them).

• Runners (all guys like runners-again you'd have to have a pretty good idea on what type they like... picky boys ;) ). or Shoes if they need a new pair!

• A nice leather wallet-guys don't tend to buy these things for themselves and they'd have the same wallet (no matter what condition) for ever... all guys need a wallet that will last :)

• Car accessories-seat covers, car fresheners, car wash coupon, steering wheel cover, speakers, hands-free kit, sat.nav. 

Ok that's all my ideas! Hopefully it has helped you or just opened your mind to your own ideas! 

REMEMBER it really is the thought that counts! We are living in a recession and don't stress yourself out trying to buy things you can't afford! use your imagination and creativity. If you can't afford to spend much why don't you buy a few small stocking fillers and package them together nicely: cute things to show you care! or even make something! A gift is a gift and it's just lovely to receive anything at all-it truly is the thought that counts!

Lots of Love, 

Shahria Xo