Dear Santa...
Not sure if you've noticed, but there's a shift away from Christmas presents this year. Lots of people we know are going without, or giving to charity – which is lovely, and has its own feel-good factor, of course. And we kind of get it. Both of us have received too many presents over the years which just aren't 'us' – and soon after Christmas make their way to a carrier bag near the door, waiting for the next stroll past Oxfam. (Or in Jo's case, the boot of her car – it being safer to transport unwanted gifts to the next town, lest her friends spot their rejected presents in a too-local charity.)
But this, for us, is where beauty 'treats' score, as gifts. Chosen well, they simply don't hang around for long enough to gather dust. And over the years, we've learned which gifts are pretty fail-safe choices. Mostly because they'd please us, and we love a bit of pampering and self-TLC, and have spent enough time in this business to know what's worth asking for, and what's worth giving. Bottom line? We'd happily put any or all of these on our own 'Dear Santa' lists. And we suggest you might like to do the same.
Lixir Skin Good Skin Trio Mini Set/£34. From the genius cosmetic formulator Dr. Colette Haydon (a woman behind more beauty brands' offerings than many of us have had hot dinners), three of her own bestselling products in generous travel sizes: Electrogel Cleanser, Universal Emulsion (which can be used on the body as well as face), and glow-getting Vitamin C paste. We could literally survive being cast away on a desert island, skincare-wise, with this lot.
Aromatherapy Associates Ultimate Bath & Shower Oil Collection/£65. What can we say? Hearts leap, smiles broaden, foreheads un-crinkle upon opening a gift box of Aromatherapy Associates Bath & Shower Oils. Multi-award-winning (including countless Beauty Bible Awards), they're still the most effective mood-shifting oils we've ever used, and in this set, find 10 x 9ml sizes including classic Deep Relax, Inner Strength and Support Equilibrium. We know NOBODY who wouldn't thrill to this. (Except Gill, who's allergic to essential oils!
Lebon Orange Gift Set/£29. Toothpaste, we hear you chorus? Toothpaste for Christmas? Well, this isn't any old toothpaste: it's Lebon organic toothpaste, created by perfumers in Grasse, and is basically the Chanel or Gucci of oral care. This set includes three fabulous flavours: mint and cinnamon Villa Naocarlina; mango, mint and papaya Back to Pampleonne (with brightening papaya enzymes), and pineapple/rooibos/mint Tropical Crush. We promise it'll make the recipient smile – and that bit more brightly.
Llano Lips Coconutter Cracker/£10.99. Well, the contents of this cracker sure beats a bad joke and a party hat: a pair of Lano's coconut butter-enriched skin treats – 101 Multi Balm Coconutter (which excels at pretty much any skin challenge you throw at it), and the lavish-before-bedtime Coconutter Hand Cream Intense. Wafts of tropical coconut, but not enough to tip the product into the realms of Bounty bar sweetness.
Ilāpothecary Beat the Blues Ritual/£85. Definitely the priciest present on our shortlist, but if you've someone who really deserves something special and is perhaps having a tough time, look no further. Denise Leicester's aromatherapy blends are astonishingly powerful – transformative, actually – and this features three products to be used alone or synergistically: Beat the Blues Rollerball (always in our handbags – frankly you could wear this tuberose-rich oil as a perfume, and we know people who do), Beat the Blues Shower & Bath Oil and Beat the Blues Room Spray. They are spectacularly good for anyone suffering from SAD, BTW, also featuring clary sage and geranium (for confidence and self-esteem), and petitgrain which is just a little ray of sunshine in its own right, as an essential oil.
This Works Choose Sleep/£10. Formerly known as the 'Can't Sleep Kit', the most brilliant little Christmas stocking or Secret Santa gift, featuring 5ml sizes of Deep Sleep Stress Less (could come in v-e-r-y handy on Christmas Day itself), and Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, which is clinically proven to improve your zzzzs. Right up there with the loaves and fishes in miracle terms, so far as we're concerned.
Temple Spa Quietude/£25. Can we just recommend this for anyone who's expecting a frenzied household over Christmas? You might suggest they open this early, to spritz this into the living room before the chaos of present-opening, actually – because this zingy, aromatic blend of lavender, cedarwood, cypress, clove, vetiver, orange, patchouli, frankincense and chamomile dials down the stress level immediately.
Beauty Bible Lip Balm/£6. Last but not least – and what can we say...? We honestly think this stocking-stuffer-sized balm is the best we've ever tried and are chuffed to bits that entirely independently, so did the diligent testers whose scores earned it a Beauty Bible Award. It's big, it's fat, it's luscious – and our lips can't get enough of its all-natural formula. Now, where's that mistletoe...?
