Chanel Double Infidelity Lipstick & Nail Set

How about a little luxury for Monday ? Leave it to Chanel to really amp up the gift set game. If you've got a lot of extra $$$ around you can snap up this set of seven lipsticks and nail lacquers.

The Double Infidelity Set comes in at $ 450 and includes matched set of lip and nail shades in an LE case.   

Shades are : 
Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lipcolour in Indecise, Seduisante, Exaltee, Melodieuse, Coromandel , Pirate and Envoutante

Le Vernis Nail Color in Ballerina, May , Rose Exhuberant , Tapage, Coromandel , Pirate and Charivari

PS- Chanel has  several lovely , smaller gift sets as well . 

The $5 & $10 Holiday Gift Guide 2014

It's time for my budget buy post.  There are more potential gifts out there in the $10 range than you might think. I've rounded up a few to keep gift giving budgets in check and help find that little something you might need to pick up. (Two come in a smidge more at $12  )

Iman Deja Vu Palette . For $5 dollars, yes just  $5 , you can get this lip color palette  filled with five classic Iman shades , a mirror and lip brush. ( Walgreens, Duane Reade , select CVS).

Burt's Bees- Burt's makes  many great gift sets . All are priced well but for $4.99 you can get Hive Favorites with lotion and balm. For $9.99 there's the  Essential Burt's Bees kit .

Ahava  Wish Upon A Star Ornaments- Your choice of  a Hibiscus Fig or Mineral Hand & Body Lotion Duo packed in a  ready to give ornament box. $12 at Ulta , Nordstrom.

 Bliss Lemony Trinkets-  1 oz each of Bliss Lemon +Sage Body Butter and Soapy Suds for $ 10 . Mistletoe Gems combines High Intensity Hand Cream & Fabulips for $12 at Sephora and blissworld.com

e.l.f  Nail Set - 10 nail polishes boxed up for $ 10 at Target in store & online.

Olay Exhilarate Orchid Holiday Set- I love these sets every year for offering so much product at a great price. This has two body washes and a lotion for $9.99 . Stores should have other varieties at the same price .

Happy Gifting.

RoC $ 200 Visa Card & Skincare Giveaway

*** Contest is over. Thanks to everyone who entered.

Want an even merrier Christmas ? RoC wants  to give one of my readers a $ 200 Visa gift card along with a huge basket of RoC skincare.  That's the way to celebrate the holidays and begin the  New Year . While you're deciding how to spend your $$$, your skin is primed and ready for winter winds , snow glare and drier air.

The basket is shown here and has all the RoC greats including my favorites Multi Correxion 5 in 1 Eye Cream and Daily Resurfacing Disks.

To enter , just leave a comment ( with contact info pls) letting me know what you think you'd use the $200 for along with your favorite RoC product , if you have one.  Inquiring minds want to know.

The contest begins today and will run through Dec. 17th at midnight.

The rules and disclaimers :
Only one winner will be chosen randomly
One entry per person
Must be in USA
Fulfillment is by RoC, The Beauty Alchemist is not responsible for supplying gift card /prizes
Not responsible for incomplete or lost entries

L'Occitane L'Occibox Sample Box

Sample boxes hust got better , at least in my opinion, with the introduction of the L'Occibox from L'Occitane.

It's no secret I love this brand and to get a box  full of their top notch, luxe skin & bodycare for $ 15 is quite a deal.

A  new box will be released seasonally , have no subscription , feature a partner brand  and costs $15.

The holiday/winter box available now is partnered with Elle and comes wrapped.

The box lists at $59 online, use code DISCOVER here to get the $ 15 pricing. Available in stores as well.

The L'Occibox  box contains :

- Precious Cleansing Foam 1.7 fl.oz 
- Shea Butter Body Milk 1.7 .oz 
- Arlésienne Hand Cream 0.3 .oz 
- Almond Supple Skin Oil 0.5 fl.oz 
- Immortelle Sample Divine Cream 0.05 .oz x2 
- L'OcciBox Box 
- Shea ELLE Hand Cream 0.3 .oz 
- Cherry Blossom ELLE Hand Cream 0.3 .oz 
- Verbena ELLE Hand Cream 0.3 .oz 
- Almond ELLE Hand Cream 0.3 .oz 
- ELLE Pouch 

Burt's Bees Wild Cherry & Vanilla Bean Lip Balms- Winter 2014

New lip balm alert  and with stocking stuffing and winter coming the timing is right.

We all know Burt's Bees makes a great lip balm and now there are two new flavors for winter/holiday- Wild Cherry and Vanilla Bean.

Both pack all the moisture you'd expect  ,  no tint and plenty of flavor. Neither is strong but definitely there. The Wild Cherry is my favorite ,tasting and smelling great  made with real cherry oil pressed from seeds . No chemical yuck cherry taste here.

Both of these new balms are Sugg. Retail $ 3.30 wherever Burt's is sold.



* Disclosure- product sent for review but all opinions are my own. 

Lancome Lip Lover Gift Set- Holiday 2014

Give the gift of lip love with the new Lip Lover set from Lancome.

In this Sephora exclusive you get three mini Lip Lover shades in  Framboise Etoile, Lip Lover, and Rose Attrape-Coeur . 

I have a soft spot for Lancome gift sets after having gotten several in years past.  A days of the week Juicy Tubes  one was a particular favorite. It's hard to go wrong with them  for an elegant makeup gift.

Lip Lover Gift Set is $38 only at Sephora.

Other gift sets including Juicy Tubes are at Lancome.com and counters.

Ahava Mineral Stars Gift Set

A gift of good body lotion or hand lotion is, I think, always a welcome one. With Ahava Mineral Stars you get both as well as a foot cream.

Packaged in a ready-to-give golden box,  each tube is is 3.4 oz and you get Mineral Body Lotion, Mineral Hand Cream, and Mineral Foot Cream. Your giftee will be covered top to toes.

Ahava lotions are rich and  moisturizing, paraben-free, and enriched with Dead Sea Water minerals. These have just a light scent, sort of a clean floral.

**For Cyber Monday only,  Ahava is offering 35% off and a free Triple Mineral Lotion with purchase, use code CYBRMON35. 

Ahava Mineral Stars Gift Set is $33.50 at www.ahavaus.com 

Some sets also available at Ulta .

Laura Mercier La Petite Patisserie Souffle Body Crème Collection - Holiday 2014

By now Laura Mercier's holiday gift sets are perennial favorites.  It's hard to beat something with La Petite Patisserie in the name.  Last year all the aunts and cousins got the Hand Crèmes  .  Everyone loved them as they pack loads of shea butter and delicious scent. You can of course get that scented goodness for body too with La Petite Patisserie Souffle Body Crème  Collection . 

The Souffle Body Crèmes  are a  thick, rich moisturizer for body  with shea, honey and grape seed oils  and come in Mercier's signature scents. If you've tried them you know how good they smell.  Each  super cute  mini jar has  2 oz of product.  A set of these is one lovely gift, but you can also break them up and gift one each  tucked into another  gift. 

The set includes:

·        Crème Brûlée

·        Fresh Fig

·        Ambre Vanillé

·        Almond Coconut Milk

·        Tarte au Citron

·        Crème de Pistache

 Laura Mercier La Petite Patisserie Souffle Body Crème Collection is $ 58 and available now at www.lauramercier.com

The Hand Crème  set of four  is also available again for $ 30 . 

CK One High Shine Gloss Trio Holiday Set

CK One's new lipgloss trio gift set is not only pretty but a deal as well.

The set contains two current glosses, Proper (300) and Tender (810) and one new shade, LE and limited to this set, Faithful ( 910) which is a sparkling translucent gloss for $ 20.

All the colors are very wearable and it's packaged  nicely in a gold mylar box ready for giving.

Of course if you use one of Ulta's $ 3.50 coupons you'll be paying $ 16.50 or 5.50 per gloss. That's hard to top even at the drugstore level .

CK One High Shine Holiday Gloss Trio and all CK One is available at  Ulta. 

Clinique The Nutcracker Suite -Holiday 2014

  

Clinique announces their  holiday color collection. Based on the beloved Nutcracker ballet with inspiration provided by The American Ballet Theatre ,The Nutcracker Suite will be launching later this month  with pale pinks and plums for eyes  , lips ands cheeks. 

      The Nutcracker Act I Compact ($36.00): Inspired by the dazzling dance of the Snowflakes, The Nutcracker Act I color compact includes a Snowflake Suite eye shadow quad in soft pinks and sultry tones, and a delicate pink Blushing Blush Powder Blush in Plié Pink.

·          The Nutcracker Act II Compact ($36.00): Inspired by the whimsical land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, The Nutcracker Act II color compact includes a Sugar Plum Suite eye shadow quad that couples beautiful plum shades with shimmering white and silver tones, paired with a flushed pink Blushing Blush Powder Blush in Tutu Pink.

·             The Nutcracker Blended Face Powder in Snowflake Dreams ($24.00): The new Blended Face Powder in Snowflake Dreams was created to mirror the shimmering elegance of the performance. Perfect for shoulders, neck and chest, the new powder imparts a beautiful shimmer – ideal for any holiday party.

·            Chubby Stick Baby Tint Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm ($17.00): The super-nourishing, multitasking chubby stick lip balms are loaded with mango and shea butters as well as antioxidants to help pamper and protect lips. The immediate and lasting moisturizing balm is perfect for dry, delicate lips during the winter months. Budding Blossom complements The Nutcracker Act I compact; while Flowering Freesia was chosen to complement the ballet inspired tones and shades of The Nutcracker Act II compact. (** These are re-promotes). 

mark. Sleekest Link Stretch Bracelet

Ready for some holiday looks from mark ?  Every year they put out some fab and fun accessories and this year is no different.

The Sleekest Link Stretch Bracelet is has the look of chain mail jazzed up with rhinestones. A  little edge, a little glitz. As with many of the mark. jewelry items I have, this one is heavy and large. No lightweight piece, this is a substantial bracelet.  It looks pretty great too.

The width measures just shy of and inch and a half   with nine rows of stones .

This has a lot of presence and will take you through holiday , New Year's and look good all through winter.

mark. Sleekest Link Stretch Bracelet is $ 24 and available now at www.meetmark.com 

L'Occitane Holiday Hand Cream Gifts

One of my top Christmas giving maxims is that you can't go wrong with the hand creams from L'Occitane. This predates my blogging days even.

Why ? Because who doesn't  need and /or love hand cream? Mom, grandmom, sister, cousin, bestie , hairdresser, hostess and so on. And  L'Occitane makes one of the , if not the, best . So their gift sets are an easy way to grab gifts that are useful but luxe .

This year L'Occitane has the Hugs & Kisses duo along with the  Hand Cream Bouquet.

Hugs & Kisses is a set of a shea hand cream , and a shea lip balm for $ 20.  The set comes in five scents : rose, lime, shea , vanilla and new scent Arlesienne. I've got Lime here  , I love this fragrance . The hand cream is deeply scented , the lip balm lightly. Both are super moisturizing and just what winter's chapped hands and lips need.

Hand Cream Bouquet  is a set of six  for $ 54. Enough to last all winter and have plenty to stash throughout the house, purse and car. Included are shea, rose, lime , vanilla, lavender and almond.

L'Occitane Holiday is available now in stores and at  L'Occitane online.

Sephoraalso  has sets exclusive to them .

Bath & Body Works A Thousand Wishes

Ready to make a wish ? It is almost the Holiday season after all . How about a A Thousand Wishes ? That's the name of the lovely new seasonal scent from Bath and Body Works coming next month.


A Thousand Wishes scent really does seem to have a bit of effervescence , with quince and pear along with a dash of  champagne .  Peony and freesia add a touch of floral and creamy almond, musk and amber ground the sweetness .

It's a nice cool weather scent  and I love the sparkling label with the burgundy bow. It's festive as can be and will make  great gift sets .

A Thousand Wishes comes in the full line of Bath and Body Works products including  a brand new item- Crystal Confetti Hair & Body Spray . The scent will launch on Nov. 3 but is available online now and is LE.

Bath and Body Works Shower Gel is $ 12.50

Target Holiday Food 2014

$ 8.99 each

We're taking a short detour today, to the food aisle. Not just any aisle , but the holiday food one.  Target's lookbook landed last week  & it's where I went first.

Keepsake Truffle Tin $24.99, Star Ornament w/ Truffles $ 8.99

I can spend a half hour ( or more)  in those aisles in Target when they first get stocked, checking  out all the new candy, cookies, special editions  and gift sets. No buying yet, because I would so eat them but making  mental notes for what I want later.

Large Gummy Bear $ 9.99 , Hersheys Big Bar $ 9.99

Hammond's Peppermints $ 1.99- $ 3.49

This is only a bit of what will be on those shelves but it gets the appetite whetted.  Archer Farms Jingle Blend, you will be mine.

Hammond's Lollipops $ 1.99, Cotton Candy $ 1.99

Everything will be in store beginning Nov. 2-9th

Hot Cocoa Mason Jar $ 4.99, Marshmallows $ 1.99