Christmas Gift Guide- Cosmetics, Nails and Skincare.

This is the last in my series of Christmas gift guides (thanks be to Jebus, says you) and I've left one of my favourites til last. Cosmetics, nails and skincare.
So as we all know, I'm a bit of a make-up addict (it's pretty and shiny and I have magpie tendencies. It's a no-brainer really) and I think the reason why it makes such a nice Christmas gift is that most people probably wouldn't buy a lot of these items for themselves as it could be considered quite a frivolous expenditure (don't hate me, other beauty bloggers!), especially in these miserable recessionary, budgetary times (but we do all hate you, Michael Noonan). So go forth- buy your loved ones a nice new eyeshadow palette, a shiny nail polish or a soothing hand cream! Huzzah for Christmas! (Again, links to the products are the description itself in grey).

•  Stila Limited Edition Large Snowflake Eyeshadow Palette, 40.98 euro, Asos. Loads of shadows, some blushers and it comes with a free mascara. Bargainous!
•  Urban Decay Vice Palette, £42.00, House of Fraser. Containing twenty all new eyeshadow shades, this is pretty cool. Also good bets from Urban Decay are the Smoked palette and the Naked 1 & 2 palettes.
•  Nars Limited Edition Warhol Self Portrait Eyeshadow Palette, 54.87 euro, Asos (available in 3 different colour schemes, each with a Warhol quote on the mirror. While this is amazing, how would you even begin to use this?! I can't destroy Andy Warhol for the sake of eye shadow!!).
•  Bobbi Brown Caviar and Oyster Palette, £59.00, www.bobbibrown.co.uk. OK so it is 59 pounds Sterling but look how fancy it is!! You get 8 eye shadows and a skin shimmer for that and by God, you'd be happy to get them.
•  Diorific Grand Bal High Fashion Lipstick, £25.00, Feel Unique. This comes in 4 different shades of red, personally I think Marilyn is the best- bit of old school glamour. I've swatched this- it's creamy and beautiful and just look at the packaging- Love.
•  Benefit Limited Edition High Flying Glosses, 27.09 euro, Asos. Six Lip glosses based on the original blushes of the same names. Very cute.
•  Dior 5 Couleurs Grand Bal Eyeshadow Palette, £40.00, Feel Unique. This is a really lovely Christmassy set from Dior and would make a stunning look combined with the Grand Bal lipstick. I've also swatched this palette- all the shades are soft and easily blend-able and compliment each other perfectly. Swoon.
• Nars Limited Edition Foreplay Palette, 54.87 euro, Asos. Four complementary shades based on the famous Orgasm blush. This just looks really pretty. I do love the original blush so I'd be interested to see how this compares.

•  Models Own Wonderland Trio, around the 12 euro mark, this has actually sold out on Asos but could still be found in Boots or River Island. A lovely Winter-y looking set.
•  OPI Limited Edition Top 10 Mini Nail Polish Kit, 39.59 euro, Asos. I bought this for someone as a present last year and it makes a really nice gift if you're a fan of OPI but would be equally as lovely if you were new to the brand and wanted to try it out- these are their top ten best sellers.
•  Seche Vite Top Coat, 9.55 euro, beautyemorium.ie. One of the nicest top coats around, this would make a lovely present combined with another polish or even as a stocking filler.
•  Dior Vernis Grand Bal Lacquer, £20.00, Feel Unique. This comes in four shades, pictured is Diorling. Personally, I would be going for the red shade- Marilyn, to match the lipstick I previously mentioned. I've also swatched Marilyn and it is a lovely polish- a proper red that looks as expensive as it is!
•  L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream, £7.00, Feel Unique. This is just a really nice hand cream- I've reviewed it previously HERE.
•  Nails Inc, The Backstage Collection, 27.78 euro, Asos. Three complimentary shades, two of which are special effect top coats. Very festive and lovely packaging.
•  Illamasqua Limited Edition Nail Duo, 22.92 euro, Asos. Ooh, very cool colours. Also available in a more traditionally Christmassy red and gold set.
•  OPI Nail Envy, 26.04 euro on Asos but only 19.25 euro on beautyemporium.ie!! It definitely pays to shop around. This is a rather brilliant nail strengthener, which I've been using myself and have noticed an improvement- a great treat for broken nails.

•  Nuxe Reve De Miel Gift Set, 33.95 euro, Cloud 10 beauty. A nice starter kit for anyone new to French brand Nuxe. Contains their famous lip balm, hand &nail cream and body cream.
• L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Gift Set, 41.67, Asos. Contains hand cream, shower gel and body lotion all in a lovely cherry blossom scent.
• Paul & Joe Cosmetic Bag, Lip Balm and Skincare set, 15.28 euro, Asos. Known for their quirky prints and adorable make up items, this is a limited edition set containing a pelican print cosmetic bag (so cute), cleansing milk, moisturiser, hydrating lip balm and a foundation sachet, randomly enough.
• Clarins Face and Body Essentials, 45.90, Debenhams. This is really excellent value, containing; Beauty Flash Balm 50 mls, Hand and Nail Treatment Cream 100ml, One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser 75ml, Moisture-Rich Body Lotion 100ml, Foot Beauty Treatment Cream 30ml and Hydraquench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase 15ml, all with a free case. Daycent.
• Origins Ginger To Go & Stay Gift Set, £39.00, House of Fraser. I just finished a tub of the Ginger Souffle so I can confirm that this really is a great range. The set is great value too, containing 200mls of the Souffle Whipped Body Cream, 100mls of Incredible Spreadable Smoothing Ginger Body Scrub, 100mls of Ginger Burst Savoury Body Wash, and then those three again in handy 50mls sizes and a zip travel pouch.

Happy Shopping!