Christmas Gift Guide #6

Instead of doing a post on my favourite Christmas gifts, I thought I would write about my favourite Christmas Collections. At Christmas, premium makeup brands launch the most incredible limited edition collections and it’s a great time to grab a beautiful palette or compact for yourself or a present for someone special. This year, two collections have stole the show and I just love them.

Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood
I don’t need to say how much I love Bobbi Brown but I would love this collection even if it wasn’t from Bobbi Brown. The theme is Old Hollywood, which immediately appeals to me. I love anything which vintage inspired or reminiscent of Hollywood film stars. For me the star of the collection is the Eye Palette, it has nine really lovely but wearable shades and the quality of Bobbi Brown shadows is really good. There is also a proper, Hollywood red lipstick in glamorous gold packaging. There are also four lip glosses, one red gloss which is perfect for someone who is a little scared for red lipstick and three lovely shimmer glosses. As part of the collection there are four nail polishes, two which are gold toned shimmers which are perfect for the Christmas season. I think this is a really lovely Collection and I don’t think anyone would be disappointed to get this on Christmas Day.

Dior Golden Winter

The inspiration behind Dior’s Christmas collection is Christmas at Versailles so you can expect a beautifully opulent array of products. For me the star of the collection is the nail polishes, not just because the colours are gorgeous and bottles could easily double up as an interior design item but the brush on Dior polishes make painting nails really quick and easy and the formula never chips. There is also a lovely eyeshadow palette and some amazing lipsticks. If you haven’t seen the Dior collection, I really recommend you go to a counter and just absorbs the beautifulness of the products.

Dior Addict Eau Delice

Dior fragrances are some of the best in the market, the package is beautiful, the wear time is brilliant and the scents are divine.

The latest edition to the Addict family is Eau Delice is no disappointment but it is slightly different to the rest of the offerings within the family. The top notes are cranberries, orange, cherries and bergamot. The heart notes are Ylang Ylang, Indian and Egyptian Jasmine, rose and bitter almonds and finally the base notes are white mask, vanilla and ceder. For me, this fragrance is quite a departure from the other Addict fragrance, this one is sweeter and more fruity.

On me when it’s first sprayed it smells quite sour because of the sour cranberries and this smell lasted for about forty-five minutes before it settled to a sweet, berry smell. I couldn’t pick up the musk note but I could get the Jasmine and vanilla but when I wear perfume with vanilla, it tends to stay quite strong and sweet but perfume smells differently on everyone. I don’t think this would appeal to people who dislike sweet perfume. The fragrance is very soft and light and the longevity is average for an EDT, it lasted about four hours on me before it faded to nothing.

Overall, it’s a lovely summer scent which is perfect for the sunny weather.

Dior Skin Nude BB Creme in 001 Light

Dior make up is simply beautiful, everything I’ve tried has always been fantastic quality. This Dior BB Cream is loved by everyone it seems, and rightly so because it is a truly lovely face product.
Firstly, I love packaging, partly because it’s pink and partly because it has a pump so you can get a perfect amount of product with mess and waste. The texture is similar to most tinted moisturisers and BB creams, it’s not too thick and gloopy but it’s not really runny. It’s incredibly easy to blend and the coverage is light but it leaves the skin with the prettiest, healthy glow – your skin looks absolutely perfect but it is almost completely undetectable on the skin. The finish is natural, its neither too dewy not nor matte. It has pretty good staying powder, I got five hours without powder or primer and around nine with. As far as the whole is it a real BB Cream, I think the whole argument is a bit redundant because we all know the European are incomparable with the originals. It has SPF10 so it’s not the highest offering out there but you really should be using a separate SPF anyway.

The colour range is limited, there is only three shades – Light, Fair and Medium – the lightest shade kinda works for my skin, it’s not perfect but I can get away with it.

Overall, I think this is my favourite BB Cream , the coverage and the finish is perfect for the summer months when everyone wants light coverage and dewy skin. It’s £30 and is available from Dior Counters, Feel Unique and Escentuals.