It’s a shame there are officially only Twelve Days of Christmas – as there’s definitely way more than twelve things I’d like my true love to give to me! And yes, they’re all cosmetics – #beautybloggerproblems yo’.
Benefit 3 Scoops O’ Sexy
Do I need another lip balm? No. Do I still want every other lip balm I clap my eyes on? Of course!
I’ve been lusting after Benefit’s tinted lip balms – designed to match their famous lip and cheek stains – ever since they came out (prettiest packaging ever!), so what better excuse than Christmas to treat myself? With full sizes of Benebalm, Posiebalm and Lollibalm plus mini sizes of the complimentary tints, this set is great value. Benefit suggest gifting one of the duos to a friend… errrr, like that’s gonna happen!
See all Benefit locations in Hong Kong here
Shu Uemura Shupette Collection
I’ve already given you the lowdown on how cute Shu Uemura’s holiday collaboration with Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld is here. C’mon, it’s cats… the Internet will understand. If you want something subtly adorable, go for the mini paw-print pattern on the Eye Need Shu Liners; if you need actually fluffy kitty realness on your make-up packaging, the special edition eye or lip palettes, under base mousse or cleansing oil should have you sorted.
See all Shu Uemura locations in Hong Kong here
Philosophy Sending Holiday Wishes Set
I love beauty. I love desserts. So beauty products that smell like desserts are obviously a no-brainer! Philosophy comes out with loads of delectable Christmas-themed scents every year (cinnamon, nutmeg, gingerbread, Christmas cookies) that smell far too edible for you to take a shower when you’re hungry. Sadly, most of them are not available in Hong Kong, so if you have some friendly make-up mules at your disposal, send them packing to Boots or Sephora to look for the Christmas Spice Rack; if not, this HK gift set – featuring Shortbread Cookie shower gel, Sweet Creamy Frosting body lotion, and Sugar Sprinkles lip shine – will do very nicely.
Available from FACES
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… just stick a pretty new pattern on it instead. SK-II’s Facial Treatment Essence is something of a cult in the beauty world so to tap into the holiday season, they’ve got award-winning Taiwanese digital artist Po-Chih Huang to design some beautifully striking limited-edition floral bottles – otherwise known as an easy win under the tree for any already signed, sealed and SK-II-ed up devotees.
See all SK-II locations in Hong Kong here
Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Mono Cream Eye Colour
These cream eyeshadows aren’t from a Christmas collection per se, but these gorgeous washes of multi-dimensional shimmer simply ooze sophisticated holiday glamour. I’m loving the smoky purple of Dahlia and the champagne sparkle of Goldust; forget the de rigeur sequinned jumper, this is all the Christmas glitz I need.
Available from Harvey Nichols Pacific Place and Canton Road Lane Crawford
Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette Fallen Angel
I’ve got stars in my eyes… and is it any surprise when make-up packaging is this damn gorgeous? And yes, I’m fully aware that if I do buy this Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow palette, I will deem it far too pretty to actually use and thus stroke it lovingly a few times before hiding it in a safe place. But it’ll be worth it, my preciousssss.
Available from CharlotteTilbury.com
Gucci Audacious-Colour Intense Lipsticks
Again, these Gucci lipsticks aren’t limited-edition holiday items – but they may well be just too bloody much for real life. Those embossed interlinking CCs on the top of the lipstick? Cannot. Deal. The fact that so far Gucci cosmetics are exclusively sold in Hong Kong alone in Asia should get you extra beauty brownie points; vivid pigment-drenched colours like Iconic Red and Hibiscus Thrill should have you channelling a full-blooded Gucci vamp quicker than you can say “Belissima”.
Available from Causeway Bay SOGO and Harbour City Gucci Flagship store
BareMinerals Mini Marvels Brush Set
Amidst all the holiday glitz and glam, a little practicality won’t go amiss – hence this very useful and very cute set of mini make-up brushes from BareMinerals. Love the black and white striped detail on the brushes, and love the snazzy red cosmetic bag it all comes in. It’s a universally acknowledged fact that however many cosmetics bags I have, I will still never be able to find one when I need one. This might help!
See all BareMinerals locations in Hong Kong here
Lanolips Ballerina Box
Christmas brings with it lots of awesome things – presents, food, fabulous beauty gift sets – but to be filed alongside “fruitcake” and “permanent food coma” in the not entirely pleasant section are chapped lips and dry hands. Enter Lanolips 101 Ointment and Intense Hand Balm, which offer intense hydration and protection for lips and mitts… all in the prettiest gift box in town.
Available from JOYCE Beauty
Bite Beauty Best Bite Remix
… And here’s where I start to cheat a little. Since I already own all the Clinique Chubby Sticks featured in their holiday gift set, I had to look further afield (i.e. not in Hong Kong) to get my “crayon-shaped lip product” fix. These bad boys were recommended – and ferried here – by Nunu, and what can I say? Girl has taste! These mini retractable lip pencils are even better in real-life too – super haute, colour-soaked vibrant shades of red, pink and nude. That mistletoe is beckoning!
Available from Sephora
MAC Cosmetics Keepsakes Collection Brown Eye Bag
MAC is the Christmas gift that keeps giving – they release not one but two fabulous cosmetics collections at Christmas, stuffed with great value gift sets and party-perfect make-up. This year, the Heirloom Collection has actual sparkle in its packaging, whilst the Keepsakes Collection is full of sleek box sets prettily packaged up in cameo-inspired designs. My top pick is this set featuring an Extra Dimension shadow duo, an In Extreme Dimension Lash Mascara and a Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Stubborn Brown. Reason? The Extra Dimension shadows are one of my favourite MAC products in quite a while, boasting a lovely cream-to-powder formula and a stunning multi-dimensional metallic shimmer. When they appear, they’re always limited edition, so grab ‘em while you can.
See all MAC Cosmetics locations in Hong Kong here
By Terry Give Me 5 Smoke Eyes
For a long time I lived in blissful ignorance of By Terry… and then the day I finally properly played with them at counter, I could feel my wallet practically weeping in my handbag. Their make-up is just divine. The two products I’m most obsessed with are their Ombre Blackstar eyeshadows – think Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks or Bobbi Brown Shadow Sticks but woah – and their Crayon Kohl Terrybly eye liners, which are crazy-soft yet crazy-pigmented, come in more colours than The Rainbow Song, and have the potential to end my obsession with Urban Decay’s Glide-On Eye Pencils (or more likely, I’ll be obsessed with them both). This set has one of each of these, plus a mascara, eye primer and brow liner, in a terrybly chic bag (see what I did there?). Expect By Terry to be making serious dents in my bank balance in 2015.
Available from JOYCE Beauty or at SOGO Tsim Sha Tsui
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette
OK, more cheating as not technically available in Hong Kong, BUT HAVE YOU SEEN HOW PRETTY IT IS. Hundreds of Instagram likes ahoy!
Available from Sephora
Christian Louboutin Rouge Louboutin Starlight
What to buy for the beauty addict that has everything? How about a HK$6000 Christian Louboutin nail polish adorned with 1500 two-tone Strass crystals on the bottle and limited to only 1000 pieces worldwide? That OPI gift set looks a bit blah in comparison now, doesn’t it?
See all Christian Louboutin nail polish stockists in Hong Kong here
Laura Mercier La Petite Pâtisserie Hand Crème Collection and Mini Caviar Stick Eye Colour Collection
I couldn’t wait for Christmas and ended up buying both of these for myself… so yay for self-gifting, where you never need to return anything and never have to fake pleasure on receiving crap gifts! The Laura Mercier hand creams smell SO good and come in Almond Coconut Milk, Crème Brûlée, Ambre Vanille and Fresh Fig varieties – yep, I’m drooling already. Caviar Sticks are another obsession of mine so there was no way I was letting this great value set escape my clutches… and you’d be mad to as well, self-gifted or not!
See all Laura Mercier locations in Hong Kong here
Lipstick Queen Red Carpet Edit
Are you sensing a theme here? Yes, I really do like red lipstick. British brand Lipstick Queen are specialists in the stuff and I have been itching to try their range for ages. So welcome this tallet-friendly holiday gift set i.e. the perfect time to bite the bullet and paint the town red! Well, my lips anyway.
Available from JOYCE Beauty
Butter LONDON Gears & Gadgets Ultimate Lacquer Trunk
Wondering where the nail polish proper would be in this list? These days, I’m done with small fry individual bottles… it’s time to go big or go home! And if you buy this amazing Butter LONDON trunk of nail polish, at least you’ll have a mini suitcase to help you pack your bags. 20 nail polishes, 4 treatments, nail tools and a rather awesome Steampunk-inspired case for it all. That OPI gift set is looking REALLY shabby now, eh?
Available from ButterLondon.com
Glamglow Gift Sexy
Another cult product I’ve been dying to try, another nifty gift set offering the ideal chance to do so. This box set features three of Glamglow’s award-winning masks – Thirstymud (for hydration), Youthmud (for radiance) and Supermud (seemingly for everything… ummm, why are we bothering with the other two then?).
Available from JOYCE Beauty
Urban Decay Ten 24/7 Glide-On Pencil Set
As much a tradition as Christmas TOTP and overcooked turkey, I buy the Urban Decay Glide-On Pencil Set every single bloody year. I really do love them THAT much. (Although it may well have just reached the Pavlov’s Dogs state of response that I hear a Christmas carol and wonder why I don’t have some lovely new Urban Decay Pencils yet). This year, the set features an electric blue eyeliner called Gonzo. Need I say more?
Available from AirPlay Bar
I do want some non make-up too! Check out my Winter Want List Part 1 here
Through The Looking Glass 