2016 Holiday Gift Guide: Skincare


Hello my lovely readers! I'm back with another addition to the Holiday Gift Guide, this time focusing on skincare. I have included skincare for different age groups and price points so that hopefully you can find something that can suit you or your special one. 

Keep on reading to learn all about why these have made it to my gifting list and also to find some discount counts to save yourself some money :) 


Items included are:
- Nip + Fab Bee Sting Fix Toning Pads - $12.99 usd
- Nip + Fab Dragon's Blood Hyaluronic Shot Serum - $24.95 usd
- Amore Pacific - Moisture Bound Skin Energy Hydration Delivery System - $42 cad
- Esthederm - Brightening Youth Cleansing Foam - $39 cad
- Laneige - Brightening Sparkling Water Pop Essence - $46 cad
- Estee Lauder - Advanced Night Repair Intensive Recovery Ampoules - $135 cad
- Vichy - Thermal Spa Water - $13 cad
- Forever Flawless - AM/PM Serum Duo - $80 cad (see below for coupon code!)
- Vichy Q10 Night + Day Cream - approx $18cad each
- Hylamide - SubQ eyes - $35 cad
- Hylamide - SubQ Anti Age $38 cad 
- Esthederm - Brightening Youth Eye Contour Care - $69 cad
- Tata Harper - Illuminating Eye Cream - $127 cad
...so there you have it, my entire list of products. If you want to read more about each product and to see my thoughts etc on them -
 please just continue reading below! Coupon code will be below too! 


Drugstore anti-aging skincare:

Skincare does not have to cost an arm and a leg, in fact there are ALOT of drugstore skincare items that I still use - actually, that gives me an idea - perhaps I should do a drugstore favorites skincare regiment. For now though, I'll stick to a few things I've found that I'm taking a liking to and think would be a good fit to your gift guide.

Vichy - I have tried many products in their line, my favorite is Idealia Skin sleep and the Normaderm line. In addition, they recently launched make-up items as well.

Nivea - this was a brand I had used as a teen, I remember my grandma used their moisturizer, and this past year I used about 2 bottles of their in-shower moisturizer last winter and will continue to do so this winter! Their Q10 line is a great drugstore anti-aging moisturizer at under $20 each.




Adding hydration to your skincare regiment:
Amore Pacific - Moisture Bound Skin Energy Hydration Delivery System - This mist is packed full of hydrating benefits for your skin. It includes bamboo sap, green tea extract and lotus. The bamboo sap preps the skin to allow for better absorption of the remainder of your skincare products - i.e. serum, moisturizer, eyecream. I mist this all over my face after toner.

Laneige - Brightening Sparkling Water Pop Essence. This mist gives a burst of coolness to your skin. It is infused with 31% mineral-enriched sparkling water to help melt away dead surface skin, delivers ultimate hydration and leaves your skin feeling radiant and fresh. 


Canadian Love:

I was introduced to the brand, Flawless by Friday earlier this year when their PR team reached out to me to try out their products. Being a great supporter of Canadian Brands, I immediately said YES and have not looked back. Since I tried their products out, they have expanded tremendously and they are now carried at The Bay and Lord and Taylor!

The one product I love is their Forever Flawless Booster Serum. It made my skin plump, youthful and hydrated. It made for easier and smoother make-up application as well.

I highly suggest that you give this line a go and they even have a coupon code right now, which is MERRYCHRISTMAS for 25% off. I do not make any commission off of this, I just wanted to share it with you guys!

For those who need a little TLC under the eye:

The effects of stress, lack of sleep and age will begin to take its toll and show its effects on your skin and especially your eyes. Whether it be in the form of dark circles, wrinkles or sagginess/eye bags, nobody likes it. In terms of eye cream, this one from Hylamide - SubQ Eyes is extremely reasonable in its price point.

This very light-weight serum.. and by light weight I'm not lying. It's very thin in texture and absorbs quickly onto the skin. I have been using this for a month now and I love it. It has smoothed out my undereye and I notice that my concealer is not settling into fine lines or caking up.

I was recently asked when it is a good time/age to start using anti-aging products. My answer is probably in your mid twenties. Hear me out, I believe in PREVENTING aging vs. tackling it when you already see the onset of crows feet and wrinkles. It's easier to prevent as opposed to reverse.

For the one in your life that always wants brighter/whiter skin:

Esthederm is a brand that is introduced to me a few months back and is a sister company to Bioderma, a brand that I already love. The basis and background of their company and story is really intriguing -a ll of their products contain a cellular water that was solely developed for Esthederm. To read more about it, visit the link here. The mousse cleanser leaves your skin feeling utterly luxurious and clean - it feels moisturized and hydrated and after 2 weeks of use I really did feel more radiant. I got the effects of using a luminizer with my foundation without actually having to include it in my regiment. 

The eye contour cream is one of my favorites I've used in a long time - it has a built in applicator that is metal. It leaves a cooling sensation upon application and helps with depuffing your eyes. 

For the one in your life you want to spoil with some luxury quality eye cream:

I had the pleasure of meeting Tata Harper herself in October and while I knew about the brand before, after learning the story behind to why this whole company was created is really inspiring. If you want to read more about it, please visit the link here.

I wish I had the chance to try out more of their skincare, but for now I've thoroughly tested their Illuminating Moisturizer and the Illuminating Eye cream. They are both exceptional. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but I have not broken out since I have used this moisturizer. I love the herbal scent it has as well, its so calming. I will definitely repurchase this.

 

IDC Pearl Ultra-Purifying Gentle Cleansing Gel - $29.50
For those who seek a glow, it deep cleans pores and removes excess oil. It brightens your complexion and helps to eliminate dead skin cells.

IDC Ideal Multi-Correction Integral Serum - $79.95
Great for anti-aging benefits. It blurs the signs of fatigue and tightens your skin immediately to tone it. As you can see on the left side of the swatch, it gives a golden illuminated glow to help you look radiant. 

IDC Regen Express Mat Multi-Benefit Care - $59.95
For the oily girls out there (like me with the oily t-zone) I love this. It is an all-in-1 product - it corrects your skin tone, hydrates while mattifying your face, contouring your eye and neck. It is suitable for morning and night use. 

 

This section is mostly for anti-aging skincare: 
Nip + Fab Bee Sting Fix Toning Pads - $12.99 usd
Bee Venom helps to plump and firm, Witch Hazel tightens and refines and Propolis Extract helps to keep the skin clean. These pads are used after cleansing and I typically use it 3-4 times a week. 

Nip + Fab Dragon's Blood Hyaluronic Shot Serum - $24.95 usd
This product contains 50% hyaluronic acid in addition to dragon's blood, which is a sap found in the Croton Lechleri tree in the Amazon. It protects and heals the skin from external environmental damages. For those of you who follow my blog, will know that I am a lover of Hyaluronic Acid - as a reminder, it is an ingredient that gives plumpness to the skin and gives it the ultimate hydration it deserves. It also helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and leaves you with smoother skin and leaves you with a more radiant and younger looking skin.

Estee Lauder - Advanced Night Repair Intensive Recovery Ampoules - $135 cad
I learnt about these powerful little capsules at the fall media event and left it especially for the colder months to use. This is an ultra powerful concentrate that focuses on recovery and calming your stressed-out skin. The form of stress can be literal stress, from environmental, lack of sleep or travel. It contains ChronoluxAI technology that helps reduce irritation. I use this in the PM, not everyday - mostly only when my skin is feeling quite dull and lack luster. 

Hylamide - SubQ Anti Age $38 cad 
This product is great in terms of price point and quality - it helps with hydration, fine lines, wrinkles, sagginess and textural irregularities. The serum is light weight and almost water-like in texture - absorbs quickly.

 

Rose Skincare Ritual: Daily Essentials $78 cad
This is a great gift for Christmas, the colder months - it contains four products that help with dullness, uneven texture, dryness and skintone. I am such a lover of their Soy Cleanser but never had the heart to buy it as it is quite pricey - so instead, everytime Sephora had its point redemptions, I would always trade my 100 point perks for a few of them to take with me when I travel. 

 

Burt's Bees Face Essentials - $22.99 cad 
This contains White Tea towellettes, Peach + Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub, Soap Bark + Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream and a Coconut Pear Lipbalm. This gift set is set at a great price point and you get quality products as well. Shows you don't have to break an arm and a leg, or break the bank and dent your wallet. 

I hope you enjoyed this installment of the Holiday Gift Guide, I know it's quite a lot to take in, but honestly I tried to narrow it down to the best of my ability to give you readers something suitable in each price point and skincare/age group/type. 

Until next time, XO - M. 

*products in this post were sent to me for review, but I only include my honest review.

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