Beauty Gift Ideas for Christmas! | Part One | Nuxe, Clinique, MOR, Nude By Nature

Hello Loves!

I have the first instalment of The Beauty Vine's Christmas Beauty gift ideas for you today!

I believe the four beauty gift sets below represent great value for money, without breaking the bank. Christmas time can be so expensive... and it seems to be more so every year! I often browse all the top beauty websites at this time of the year and just ogle at all of the stunning gift sets... it's so hard not to want them all!!

I have owned and loved most of these of the products mentioned in the past, with the exception of the odd few, and would not hesitate to recommend them to you. All of the gift sets I mention today are under $60 AUD, and come beautifully presented, ready for you to gift to your loved ones.

Let's go Christmas beauty shopping!

Every beauty lover needs to own a bottle of NUXE Huile Prodigieuse. It is a must have in my book. This multi-purpose dry oil is one of those cult beauty products that deserves a place on everyone's vanity. This gift set is the Love From Paris Coffret, and contains a 50ml bottle of the iconic oil in a limited edition bottle design, 10ml deluxe mini of the Huile Prodigieuse Golden OR, a gorgeous Huile Prodigieuse scented candle which smells exactly like the oil, and a 40ml Creme Prodigieuse moisturiser. 

The NUXE Huile Prodigieuse oil is a lightweight, fast absorbing oil that has an unmistakable fragrance. To me, it is warm, sweet, earthy and comforting. My favourite way to use it is as an all over body oil straight after a relaxing bath. Once I have applied it all over, I will take a few extra drops and massage it into my hands and cuticles... whatever is left on my hands I will run through the ends of my hair. You can also get a gorgeous glow by tapping a tiny amount onto the high points of your face,  or try smoothing it over your decolletage and the tops of your shoulders before a night out... your skin will glow, and you will smell delicious. I promise!

I believe I paid just under $40 when I repurchased a 50ml bottle of Huile Prodigieuse about 3 months ago, so this gift set is brilliant value for money at $39.95 AUD for four stunning products. Adore.

I must admit, it has been a year or two since Clinique's Moisture Surge was in my skincare rotation, however, it is one of those products that can slip easily into your regime. The refreshing gel texture is just gorgeous for the warmer months when you are wanting hydration minus the heaviness of a regular moisturiser, and its fragrance free formula is designed to be ideal for all skin types. I have not had the best experience with Clinique's Three Step products, however, Moisture Surge, and their Take The Day Off ranges are brilliant, as is their range of sun protection. 

The Clinique Moisture Favourites gift set contains Moisture Surge 50ml ( full size ), Moisture Surge Overnight Mask 30ml, All About Eyes 7ml ( full size is 15ml ) and Chubby Stick Baby Tint in Budding Blossom, which looks to be a beautiful soft, sheer pink. 

All About Eyes is a lovely emollient eye cream, which I have enjoyed in the past. It is soothing and hydrating, and a little bit goes a long way. I have not tried the Moisture Surge Overnight Mask, but do let me know if you have, and if you like it?!

This gift set retails for $60 AUD, again... brilliant value considering the full size of the Moisture Surge retails for  $60 AUD on its own. 

Oh my... MOR Marshmallow... there are no words to describe how bloody amazing this stuff smells. Seriously, I have never received so many compliments, nor had so many people ask what perfume I am wearing... it really is THAT GOOD!

You just cannot go past this So Smitten With You gift set, presented in a beautifully designed, sturdy metal keepsake box containing a 9ml perfume oil roller ball, 50ml Hand Cream, and gorgeous triple- milled soap, presented in its own gorgeous little tin... swoon. A perfect gift for the young, or the young at heart, this retails for a very reasonable $29.95 AUD. Buy one for yourself while you're at it! Soooooo deliciously good!

One of the many great value gift sets on offer from the well known Australian Mineral Makeup brand Nude by Nature, the Bronzed Beauty gift set contains the limited edition Pressed Matte Bronzer and Cashmere Pressed Blush duo in a slimline palette, accompanied by a beautiful double ended contouring brush. Both the bronzer and blush are a whopping 8g's of product each, likely to last you a good while indeed! The formula is beautiful... smooth, velvety soft, and the powders blend beautifully into the skin. Whilst they both look a little warm and ruddy in the pan, on the skin they are very natural, and will complement many skin tones, bringing a glowing warmth to the skin without a hint of orange. Love. 

You can see from the swatches above that the powders have a finish which is not totally matte...both shades have a very subtle sheen, which contributes to their beautiful glow on the skin. 

The limited edition Dual Ended Contouring brush is made from synthetic fibres, and is beautifully soft, whilst still being dense enough to buff the powders well into the skin. The quality is consistent with the other brushes that I own from Nude by Nature, which I would highly recommend. Love.

I purchased the NUXE Love From Paris Coffret, the Clinique Moisture Favourites, and the MOR Marshmallow So Smitten With You gift sets from Adore Beauty. 

I have been an Adore Beauty customer for a couple of years now, I love their customer service, and that they offer free shipping Australia wide. Not sponsored incase you were wondering, just sharing a great company!

The Nude By Nature Bronzed Beauty  set was gifted to me for review, you can find Nude by Nature at Priceline Pharmacy's, Target, or online here.

I have another couple of Christmas Beauty Gift Ideas posts coming up so stay tuned loves!

Do tell me what is on your Christmas Beauty Wishlist? I'd love to know... I'm nosey like that!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lou xx 

Read More »

Christmas Beauty Buys - Bare Minerals "All the Faves"

After seeing Emily Eddington's video reviewing this gift set on her You Tube channel I knew that it would be a great one to purchase. Emily does such amazing reviews and tutorials, and is one of my favourite beauty guru's to watch. Click on her name above, this will take you to her blog and you can navigate to her You Tube channel from there ( if there is anyone out there who isn't already a subscriber of hers!!) 

I purchased this gift set online from Mecca Cosmetica here in Australia for $54.95. Mecca have some great gift sets for beauty lovers, and offer great customer service and prompt delivery.

I am new to the Bare Minerals brand, and thought that this set would be a great introduction to some of their products. Although this gift set itself is limited edition, all of the products are part of their permanent line, allowing you the option of purchasing any of the products in their full size if you desire.

Nothing worse than falling in love with a limited edition product!

All products are quite good sized mini's, and I feel really good value for money. Apart from your base you can create a complete look with this kit, and I feel it lends itself towards a nice everyday, natural work appropriate look.

Mineral Veil Finishing Powder   ( 0.75gms )

This is a beautifully finely-milled setting powder which I am really enjoying!! It does a brilliant job of blurring my fine lines and pores, and seems to brighten my complexion...highly recommend!

Left - Prime Time Eyelid Primer (1.5ml)     Right - Prime Time Foundation Primer  (4.5 ml)

I find the eye primer to do a good job as a base for my eyeshadow, it has a slight tint to help lightly conceal any imperfections, and is a very smooth silicone based texture which blends nicely.

I have not tried the foundation primer as yet!

Lash Domination Volumising Mascara in Intense Black  (5.5ml)

I have a couple of Mascara's opened at the moment so waiting to use them up before I try this one!

Left - Marvellous Moxie Lipgloss in 'Sparkplug' (2.25ml)
Right - Marvellous Moxie Lipstick in 'Get Ready' (1.5gm)

Top 'Sparkplug' gloss   Bottom 'Get Ready' Lipstick

Loving both of these!! The gloss gives your lips a minty tingling feeling for about an hour which I don't find uncomfortable, I am just aware of it . It is a little sticky, which I don't mind in a gloss formula. The shade is quite pigmented as you can see from the swatch, and could definitely be used on its own for a lovely natural look with a little bit of shine.

The lipstick is very creamy and smooth to apply, and this deep rose shade is very flattering and brightening to the whole face! Beautifully pigmented and long lasting without drying my lips.

Ready Eyeshadow 2.0 ' The Epiphany'   (shades are  L- A-ha   R- Foreshadow)

A fabulous duo of everyday shades, I am currently loving 'A-ha' all over the lid and using 'Forshadow' as a liner on the upper lash line. I have heard many wonderful reviews of the Ready Eyeshadow duo's and quads, these shades are beautifully soft and creamy, and so easy to work with. I would definitely love to try some other shades!

Ready Blush in 'The One'

A lovely natural blush in a shade that would compliment many different makeup looks. Very easy to build up to a lovely flush of colour on your cheeks. I believe this is one of Emily's favourites!!

Swatches in natural light of top 'The Epiphany' eyeshadow duo ( gorgeous!)
 Bottom - Ready Blush in 'The One' ( gorgeous!)


I am really enjoying this kit!! I believe it is available in the US at Sephora and Ulta for around $35(US)
In view of the prices of cosmetics in Australia, I still feel that this is good value. It would make a lovely gift for both the makeup lover or someone just starting to experiment with makeup.

Do you have any Bare Minerals favourites??

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lou xo

Read More »

Christmas Beauty Buys - Skincare - ALPHA-H Berry Box Gift Set

I am so excited to share this gift set with you today!!

I was first introduced to the brand Alpha-H about 6 months ago. I purchased one of their skincare sets from TVSN ( shopping channel in Aus ) and have really enjoyed exploring the brand since then. Alpha-h is probably most well know for their glycolic acid based exfoiliant "Liquid Gold".
 ( Have it. Love it. )

Quite a few Alpha-H products have become staples in my morning and evening skincare routines. I am planning some more in depth skincare posts very soon...lots of great products to share with you!

I feel that this gift set ( it is limited edition ) is absolutely brilliant value. It was in my shopping cart within minutes, purchased from Adore Beauty, one of my favourite online stores for all things beauty here in Australia.

The Berry Box would make such a beautiful gift, at a very reasonable $59.46 ( AUD ) you get two gorgeous recently released body products, the cleansing cube ( full size ), and 100ml size of the new Firming Body Therapy; the brand new full size Protection Plus Daily SPF 50+ facial moisturiser, and a full size gorgeous OPI nail polish in the shade 'That's Berry Daring'.

This Christmas, Alpha-H gives you a well though out, beautifully packaged, luxurious gift with all the essentials for top to toe weekly pamper session, without forgetting the daily essential of sun protection.

This little beauty is far to special to ever be called soap. I am typically a shower gel/cleansing puff kind of gal, and I can't remember the last time I used a bar of anything to wash myself. This is my second cleansing cube! It is packed with nourishing oils, and the little cranberry seeds and glycolic acids lightly buff away your barnacles to perfection. Brilliant. I use it twice a week ( too special for everyday! )

Uncomplicated, sleek packaging. Pump dispenser. Brilliant.

Above is a swatch of the Protection Plus Daily SPF 50+ Broad Spectrum, as you can see it is slightly tinted, hence no white cast. It blends beautifully, is absorbed almost immediately into the skin, and leaves a demi matte, natural finish to the skin. I have used this under my makeup for the last 4 days, and it is performing really nicely under foundation for my oily/combo/acne prone skin.

You may have noticed the glow of my skin under the swatch? That would be the gorgeous glow from the Firming Body Therapy! The unique combination of the Cleansing Cube, along with the Firming Body Therapy has given me the softest, smoothest skin...I can't recommend them highly enough!

The 'Berry' theme of this gift set is carried through nicely,from the nourishing raspberry and cranberry fruit extracts in the skincare products, to this stunning OPI shade "That's Berry Daring".

Unfortunately, my photos are not capturing the true depth of colour of this gorgeous shade. It has a vibrant blue reflect which makes it look more fuschia than the deeper berry that it is in real life. Pictured is two coats, with top coat. Impeccable formula.

You can find the Alpha-H website here.
You will find details regarding international stockists there.

You can find the Adore Beauty website here
Sign up to their members rewards program. Immediately.
Every order comes with a Tim Tam as well...Brilliant.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lou xo

Read More »