Holiday Items : Beauty and Fashion Tech

Beauty Accessories for Holiday Gifts

Beauty accessories make great gifts and can run from very affordable to quite expensive and luxurious. Here are a few suggestions from a variety of categories:

Sephora Train Case Cosmetics Makeup Storage Gift

Something that I really want is a good train case. Cosmetics take up a lot of space and get disorganized easily. A quality case, such this Sephora Midnight Train Case (above) solves the problem. This is a gift that is sure to be appreciated. Want to really impress (at a rather large expense)? Fill it with makeup first! Brushes also deserve their own case and this Sephora Folding Double Brush Case is a nice one that would pair well with a train case.

Pink Cris Notti Makeup Bag Windows Holiday

For the person who loves pink, this Cris Notti Windows Double Clutch Makeup Bag (above) is certain to impress. Cris Notti cases are quite nice and come in a variety of styles. Or for a woman who likes sparkle, check out this Stephanie Johnson Hollywood, Dana Mini Chain Bag.

Bliss Softening Socks and Rosemary Lemon Salve

A truly wonderful gift, and something not every person has, are Bliss Softening Socks (above). These gel socks contain 50 treatments to soften the feet. Pair them up with Bliss Rosemary + Lemon Softening Sock Salve for an extra bonus. A similar product for the hands are the Bliss Glamour Gloves.

A quality hair dryer usually costs a small fortune. For that reason, many people don’t own a good one. If you have the money to spend and want to impress a person who slaves over their hair, buy the T3 Micro 1800W Tourmaline II Ionic Hair Dryer, Model 83808se. This is one heck of a hair dryer!

Shop for Cosmetic Gifts!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Makeup Brushes: Perfect for Holiday Gifts

Good brush kits make great gifts because even those who own huge numbers of them often feel that they do not have enough. A kit can provide extra or replacement brushes, and for the person who lacks a nice set of brushes, it is the perfect holiday gift.

Here are a few particularly nice kits that are great as gifts or just plain great to buy at any time of the year!

The Bare Escentuals Buffing Brushes The Essential Collection (below) contains a Buki Brush, Tapered Blush Brush, Soft Focus Eyeshadow Brush, Wet/Dry Eyeshadow Brush, Precision Eyeliner Brush, and Escentual Brush Roll. Bare Escentuals’ buki brush is my favorite for applying mineral makeup and I love their eye shadow brushes as well. This is a great quality kit.

Bare Escentuals Makeup Brush Set, The Essential Collection

Looking for brushes on the cheap? At $30, this well rated Make-up Brush Kit (below) is an excellent value.

For another great value, take a look at the Avon mark Go With The Pro mark Brush Mini Kit (below). This kit, containing five useful brushes, has been well rated and comes with a cute travel case.

Avon Meet Mark Go with the Pro Brush Kit

Also highly rated is the Sephora Brand Face & Eye Travel Tool Kit (below). It contains five brushes in a travel case. The couple of times that I have use Sephora brushes, I was pretty impressed with the quality. They are good value brushes.

The M.A.C. Heirlooms Holiday Collection (below) has a variety of brush kits with pretty bags, such as the basic brushes kit pictured below. There is also a basic kit with a gold canister. The holiday collection brushes have festive silver and gold handles and are shorter, making them perfect for travel or for a handbag. M.A.C. Cosmetics have wonderful brushes and I highly recommend them.

M.a.C. Cosmetics Heirlooms Makeup Brushes Holiday

Don’t want to shop online? Run out to CVS for some Essence of Beauty Makeup Brushes, or take a look at the Sonia Kashuk cosmetic brushes and kits at Target.

Also, see my previous report on the Smashbox Holiday Collection, which includes a nice brush set.

Comparison Shop for Makeup Brushes

Popularity: 7% [?]

M.A.C. Royal Assets Holiday Collection

The M.A.C. Cosmetics Royal Assets Holiday Collection is perfect for gift giving. Packaged in beautiful palettes with both warm and cool colors, and further divided into four shade groups, there is something for everyone. Each palette contains a decent quality brush, and the whole thing comes in an attractive gift box.

For the lips, there are four different pallets with three shades in each: Coral lips, Red lips, Tan lips and Pink lips. Red (pictured) is my favorite to look at at and I am now trying to decide whether my ultra pale skin and fear of bright colors can pull off wearing it. I will be giving the tan lips palette away on Girl Gloss soon as part of a lip product giveaway. So keep an eye out there for that!

For the eyes, there are also four palettes: Warm, Cool, Smoky, and Metallic. Each palette contains a good brush. No cheap sponges in these!

I adore the smoky eye palette (pictured). The shades are gorgeous, work well together, and are pretty universally flattering for any skin tone.

I also really like the metallic palette and recently used shades from when I attended a party. Although it might not seem like it, metallics really can be quite easy to wear, and the shades provided in the Royal Assets collection are quite nice and would work with many skin tones.

The warm palette provides a nice standard selection, and if you like brighter shades in the cool tones, then the cool palette is worth looking at. I don’t tend to wear purples and such, but that palette tempts me to do so! I will be giving the cool eyes palette away in an upcoming contest, so stay tuned!

Shop for M.A.C. Cosmetics

Popularity: 4% [?]

Cosmetic and Makeup Palettes Make Great Holiday Gifts!

Women (and some men) generally love to receive cosmetics as gifts. But purchasing them for another person can be rather intimidating. Cosmetic Palettes can provide an answer. Since any given palette will hold multiple shades, a good palette will usually have something for everyone. When in doubt, aim for the more neutral shades, which will look good on most skin tones. Or sneek a look at the recipient’s makeup and look for a palettes with similar types of shades.

Also, don’t worry too much when giving palettes. People who love makeup tend to love to experiment. So while a person might not buy any given palette for themselves, they will happily sample the shades in one that comes as a gift! Below are some of the types of palettes available for varying people and circumstances:

For the cosmetic newbie or experimenter: For a person who loves to change things up, or for one who is just getting started with makeup and still learning what she likes, Sephora and Ulta both make some supersized palettes. Both produce OK cosmetics– they are not top of the line or the best pigmented, but they are serviceable and provide a lot of bang for the buck. These are particularly good for teens who might not yet appreciate the more expensive cosmetics, but who will love the huge selection.

Sugar Cosmetics I Dream of Makeup Palette

My favorite in this category is the Sugar I Dream of Sugar Make-up Palette (above). This palette provides a nice array of usable colors in a neat fold up container. Sugar lip glosses also taste great!Another of my favorites is the Sephora Piiink So Belle Multi-Use Make Up Palette. A similar palette that is a bit more varied and neutral is the Sephora Brand Beauty Fever Palette. At $25, each, they are a pretty good deal. For a mega huge palette, also look at the Sephora Blockbuster Palette.

For the Natural look/Neutral Makeup Lover: If the recipient tends to go for a minimal makeup look or wears a lot of neutral muted tones, she might appreciate a palette of beautiful light neutral shades:

My absolute favorite for anyone who loves a natural look or for one who likes a base of neutrals highlighted with something like a favorite red lipstick, is the Stila The Perfect Face Kit (above). This palette is also a safe choice for many, especially those with fair skin, because it provides a nice base that can be dressed up as desired. Another favorite of mine for its neutral brown shades is Too Faced The Mini Quickie Chronicles The Sure Thing.

For the person who loves color: If you know your recipient loves brightly colored makeup or loves to try out new things, but you don’t want to go overboard on outrageous shades, take a look at the Urban Decay Ammo Shadow Box Palette (below). This one is just muted enough to please many, but also has enough pigment and a few colors with extra oomph to also please the person who likes a lot of color.

Urban Decay Ammo Shadow Box Palette Makeup

Another nice one that provides a mix of both neutral and colorful shades is Sugar The Perfect Day Eyeshadow Palette.

For the connoisseur: For that person with expensive tastes who has it all, go with Chanel or Dior. The Dior Detective Chic Eye Palette comes in an attractive Dior case that many would buy for that alone. I love Dior shodow and love the specialty cases even more!

Another option is one of the gorgeous Dior Logo Eye Palettes. Or take a look at the multi-purpose Chanel Travel Aqualumieres Multi Effect Palette. Visit your local Chanel counter or store as well for some special Chanel holiday items and palettes.

Comparison Shop for Makeup Palettes

Popularity: 7% [?]

Bond No. 9 Double Decker: The Ultimate Luxury Fragrance Gift

I thought I would start out the holiday shopping posts with an incredibly expensive, but very cool item. The I Love New York Double-Decker Sampler Box form Bond No. 9 is the ultimate in fragrance gifts.

Bond No. 9 Perfume Fragrance Double Decker Gift Box

The double decker consists of Downtown Eaux de parfum (50ml flacons), arrayed in a lush white keepsake box with the Bond No. 9 logo debossed on the top. It runs $1600.Too expensive? Buy your favorite woman an attractive single bottle instead!

Shop for Bond No. 9 Fragrance

Popularity: 3% [?]

Shopping Season is Upon Us!

It is that time of year. People are buying Turkeys and starting to shop for the holidays both in stores and online. Black Friday shopping spree planning has already began!

In anticipation of the holiday shopping frenzy, Beauty and Fashion Tech and GirlGloss.com will spend this week and next focusing on holiday shopping lists and gift suggestions.

With items ranging from ourageously expensive to full of value and greatly affordable, hopefully there will be some helpful ideas in there for just about everyone!

Throughout the holiday season, as posts go up, I will edit this one to keep a running index. Happy Holidays everyone!

Index

Shopping Lists: Holiday Lip Gifts Part I: The Small and the Cheap!
Cosmetic and Makeup Palettes Make Great Holiday Gifts: A Shopping Guide.
Makeup Brushes and Sets That Are Perfect For Holiday Gifts.
Makeup and Beauty Accessories for Holiday Gifts.
Holiday Lip Gifts Part II: Lip Palettes for a Variety of Women.
Holiday Lip Gifts Part III: Luxury Lips.
Beauty Book Gifts.
Holiday Beauty Item Stocking Stuffers
Last Minute Gift Ideas

Specific Items: Bond No. 9 Double Decker: The Ultimate Luxury Fragrance Gift.
Cris Notti Green Kimono Toiletry Case.
Bratz Lip Tunes Lipstick MP3 Player.
Smashbox Holiday Lip Gloss.
Dior Holiday Lip Charm and Lip Palette.
M.A.C. Antiquitease Holiday Lipsticks and Lip Gloss.
KISS Portraits.
Oral Fixation Mints for the Holidays Build Your Own Box.
M.A.C. Viva Glamorous Holiday Lip Palettes.
Chanel Les Trois Scintillantes Glossimer Gift Set (Lip Gloss Trio)
Peter Thomas Roth Lips to Die for, Lip Facial Trio.
The Coach Beauty Collection
M.A.C. Cosmetics Kids Helping Kids Cards and Gift Wrap
Benefit Her Glossiness Gift Set
Best of Bonne Bell Collection

Holiday Collections: Smashbox Holiday Collection.
M.A.C. Antiquitease Holiday Collection: Eyes and Lips.
M.A.C. Antiquitease Holiday Collection: Nails.
M.A.C. Royal Assets Holiday Collection.
Chanel 2007 Holiday Makeup Collection
Benefit Cosmetics Holiday Items

Contests:
Win MAC Cosmetics Holiday Lip Products at Girl Gloss!
Win a MAC Cosmetics Holiday Brush Set and Eyeshadow Palette

Popularity: 3% [?]

Smashbox Holiday Collection

I got my Smashbox catalog in in the mail last week with pages full of their holiday items. Of particular interest is this lovely brush set and case, the Beyond Beauty Encounter Brush Kit. Smashbox makes some great brushes and at $84, this kit carries a nice price tag for the quality.

Smashbox Beyond Beauty Holiday Brush Set

The Beyond Beauty Fusion E ye and Cheek Palettes would also make great gifts. The fusion products provide a nice shimmer/illuminating effect.

Smashbox Cosmetics Beyond Beauty Fusion Holdiay Eye Cheek Palette

Also check out this Beyond Beauty Light Speed Lip Gloss Set. I like Smashbox lip glosses mostly for the great shades. And this set has a nice selection.