Joy by Jean Patou Gift Set

Doing some last minute shopping? How about giving some Joy? As in  the iconic and  gorgeous fragrance Joy.

This gift set comes with a 1.0 oz EDP  and a box with four highly scented soaps.

If you're not familiar with Joy, it's an old school( created in 1930 ) big white floral bursting with tuberose , jasmine and rose .  Iris, green notes and a little musk are there too. It's totally feminine and chic.

In this set the vintage red bottle makes a return. Square cut glass is the usual bottle, also pretty but this one is a nice throwback. I remember standing in front of the Patou store when I was in Paris and window shopping . It was spare with many bottles of Joy displayed on pedestals and very elegant.

Joy by Jean Patou Gift Set is $ 110 at Lord and Taylor, Bloomningdales , Dillards and more.

Goody Holiday Hair Accessories

Goody has your back for holiday party hair as well as great gifting. Their new accessories for the season will elevate your festive look and make great stocking or gift bag stuffers.

There is a wide range of new from the brand and a few of my favorites are Bracelets and Hair Ties in One Set , Charmed Bobbies, the Antique Floral Clasp Barrette and Ouchless Ribbon Elastics. 

The Bracelets and Hair Ties in One Set has sparky hair ties in silver, with studs or silver/black braid to upgrade any pony. The silver bracelets have a groove to stash the tie when not wearing, instead of just having the tie on your arm for a little extra style.

Charmed Bobbies are a set of four goldtone bobby pins with a dangling charm on one and attached ones on the others. With butterfly , rose and pearl these make for a sweet look in your hair. Cute for anybody but especially the tweens. ($4.99)

Antique Floral Clasp is  large but not too heavy and really has presence . It's beautiful for any day not just special occasions with silver filigree and rhinestones.

Ouchless Ribbon Elastics speak for themselves. We all love these, right? Easy to use without hurting hair and the wider size makes them more visible. This new  pack of five has  bright , multi colored ties to add a little color to any pony or 'do. ($3.99)

Narciso Rodriguez Travel Spray Fragrance Gift Sets

Fragrance gift sets are a staple Christmas gift and for good  reason. You generally get good value, more product for what you usually pay for one bottle and they have extras like lotions , soaps or mini sprays .

Narciso Rodriguez has many sets ready for gifting this year and my pick are the Narciso Rodriguez ‘for her’  and NARCISO Travel Spray Gift Sets.

Both sets sell for $50 and includes three purse sprays at 10ml each.

In "for her" it's two of the  Eau de Toilette version and one of the  Eau de Parfum.

The NARCISO set has two Eau de Parfum and one Eau de Toilette.

Three sprays mean your giftee can carry one in a purse, one on the vanity and one in a desk or other spot. Or just have backups of her fav perfume.

Available now at department stores.

Kiehl's Lip Balm Giftables- Holiday 2016

A gift of Kiehl's is always a good one and this year they've teamed with Brooklyn based artist Jeremyville to decorate their packaging.

Another good thing at Kiehl's? The lip balm.  If you haven't tried it, this is a thick,  hydrating balm where a little is all you need. There's some nice flavors too .

This year's gift set features 4 balms individually boxed with art by Jeremyville  so you can gift as is or break the set up. With the art here being not very traditional Christmas , this can also be gifted for other holiday/occasions.  You get original non- flavored, mint, cranberry and mango .  Each balm is full size at .5 oz

Kiehl's Lip Balm Giftables is $ 32 at www.kiehls.com  and wherever Kiehl's is sold.

Bluemercury Holiday Shopping Party Days & Discounts

Discounts on beauty are rare, making Bluemercury's annual Holiday Shopping Party a must shop.

 Shoppers can receive 10% off  over $100 purchase , 15% off $ 175 and 20%  off $ 250.  Brands rarely seen discounted  are on sale including  La Mer, Revive, Oribe, Chanel, and Jo Malone.

Shoppers can  nibble on snacks and have a cocktail while shopping and if you spend $ 175 you'll receive a free deluxe gift bag.

The Holiday Parties are for One Day Only in each store and run from today through mid December.  You can find  your stores party day here -  https://bluemercury.com/pages/holiday-parties

Burt's Bees Holiday 2016 Gift Sets

Every year I feature some of the gifts sets from Burt's Bees.  They are  nicely packaged and filled with products ( usually full size) many giftees would love and can use , they are a great price/value and they can be picked up easily at  drugstores, Target etc.

There are larger sets and smaller ones , all can be gifted as is, but some , especially the lip sets, lend themselves to being broke up and tucked in a stocking or gift bag.

I love the Classic Bee Tin. In a reusable bee shaped tin you get a lip balm, their fab Lemon Balm Cuticle Cream and a lip balm.   $ 8.99

Kissable Color has three shades of Lip Shimmers. Shown is the Warm set with Rhubarb, Peony and Fig.   $ 9.99

Go bigger with Burt's Bees Honey Pot with full size body lotion , hand cream and honey flavored lip balm. This is the set that gets you the winter.  $ 14.99

Face Essentials is packed with face wipes, coconut and pear lip balm, Deep Cleansing Cream and Deep Pore Scrub. Great for the college students to take back to the dorm. $ 14.99

There are many more sets available. Check www.burtsbees.com/ and  in  discount and drugstores.

L'Occitane Holiday Crackers Trio

We talked earlier about L'Occitane's fab Advent Calendar.  The brand also has a sleigh full of other great gifts. I firmly believe a gift of L'Occitane is one of the best to give. I  have yet to meet someone who doesn't love  their hand creams,  especially.

The Holiday Crackers Trio gift set has three holiday crackers filled with three mini products each all boxed  up in red.

This is the kind of gift you can give as is, or break the set into three separate smaller gifts making each $ 9.33.

Each cracker has a bath cube, a shower gel and a hand cream . The scents are Cherry Blossom hand cream, shower gel and Peach bath cube in the Pleasures and Fragrance cracker. Shower oil , Almond hand cream ,  and Olive bath melt in Sweet Time and Relaxing shower gel, Lavender hand cream and Rosemary bath cube in Revitalizing Moment.

L'Occitane Holiday Crackers Trio is $ 28

Sephora has a similar , exclusive to them set- Three Gifts Of Provence for $ 39

IT Cosmetics Superhero Mascara Holiday Ornament

 Cute little gifts are always fun to give and get and this little ornament from IT Cosmetics is no exception.

Containing a mini Superhero mascara you can hang it from a gift bag, attach to a gift card or tuck in a stocking. Also nice for the Secret Santa gifts .  And at $ 12 it won't break the budget.

L'Occitane Advent Calendar 2016

I loved last year's Advent Calendar and am so happy L'Occitane has brought it back again. I'm pretty sure this is easily one of the best gifts you could get or give.

This year's set does away with the little novelties that made up some of the days last year- a bow, gift tags, glitter . And that's for the better. It means more products.

You get a mini item in each window and they're all good. There is the brand's hand cream (best around) , soaps in verbena and almond , Cherry Blossom EDT , Gentle Toner  , shower gels and more.

Last year I gave many of the minis from my set to a cousin who is a traveling nurse and  takes jobs in other states for weeks at a time. She is on the road a lot, and having ( luxe) little travel beauty essentials makes quick, light packing much easier.

So for those who travel a lot, those who might want to sample some new items or who just love fun gifts, this fits the bill. Good for December birthdays too. A gift a day.

L'Occitane Advent Calendar is $55 at www.loccitane.com , brand boutiques

Chanel Give It Shine Glossimer Gift Set

Gifts of Chanel are always a great pick and this little beauty recently turned up on Nordstrom.com.

Give It Shine is a trio of the brand's Glossimers along with a round pink pouch with a snowflake zipper pull. So very Hiver and Joyeux Noel.  The shades of lipgloss are Amour, Sweet Beige and Wild Rose. 

It's $92 and LE for Holiday. 

NARS Rita Audacious Lipstick Holiday Edition

Everything comes up red for holiday including new special edition NARS packaging.

Rita , one of their fabulous formula Audacious Lipsticks now comes in a matching red case. Same magnetic closure, same square shape but in a festive new color . Yes it's perfect for stocking stuffing , gift card accompanying or adding to your own basket.

NARS Special Edition Rita Audacious Lipstick is LE and exclusive to Sephora for $ 32.

The Body Shop Holiday-Frosted Berries & Spiced Apple

The Body Shop's Cranberry oriented holiday scents have long been one of my favorites going back many years.  Once we hit this time of year I start to look look to see what will be available.

This year's fragrances are  Frosted Berries along with Spiced Apple and Vanilla Chai.

Frosted Berries is cranberry along with blackberry and raspberry for a   juicy/fruity scent that's not just berry but also has hints of vanilla and light florals. It comes in a wide range of products including shower gel , body butter and hand cream.

Spiced Apple is truly apple scented. With spices like cinnamon  barely there this is like wearing an apple on your sleeve. If you're looking for something that's true to it's fragrance and not mixed with a lot of other notes, this one is it.

All three holiday scents also come in a strongly scented candle, ready for gifting@ The Body Shop 

The Body Shop Frosted Berries Shower Gel is $10 and Hand Cream is $8
The Body Shop Spiced Apple Candle is $ 19 and Body Gel Lotion is $13