Big ticket beauty gifts can run into the thousands, from mink lined makeup bags, to 14K gold (and sometimes, jewel-encrusted) compacts. But if you have up to $75.00 to spend on a beauty gift for someone special, feast your eyes on these BIG THREE BEAUTY GIFTS that I’m literally, obsessed with! Whether it’s a beautifully packaged and richly scented body cream, a makeup brush so unique it looks like a work of art, or a lipstick so glamorous you might just want to stare at it, adoringly, these are our big three beauty gift picks for the season:
Elegantly boxed, generously sized, and beautifully scented, this Kat Burki Private Collection Lilac & Rosemary Body Cream 6 o9z. $62.00 is a luxurious gift that will impress anyone you gift it to. The light, silky, body cream is richly scented with the floral fragrance of lilac and rosemary, with a refreshing floral that is all you need to scent your body. But along with the feminine scent is serious, long-lasting hydration with Grapeseed, Tamanu and Jojoba Oils that even helps to help fade stretch marks while cocoa butter (which contains Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E) help to reduce the appearance of scars. The body creme also has a proprietary organic herb blend that helps to calm and soothe skin, while restoring skin texture and rejuvenation. I tried this on dry, itchy skin, but the best way to use it is right after bathing, when your skin is still warm and damp. That helps to lock in moisture, and of course, gives you more mileage out of the fragrance. Maybe a pricey body cream isn’t something you’d buy for yourself all the time, but this luxurious scented body cream is perfect for Winter, and the simple, frosted glass jar with gold top and gold accents is going to make someone very happy. Could that someone just be you? Visit the Kat Burki Web Site to learn more and to see what else Kat Burki has for gifting.
For the makeup brush and cosmetics lover, there is a new line of brushes that will knock their socks off. Artis Makeup Brushes ( the largest brush is the Oval 10 $65.00, full set $365). is a line of luxury, game-changing makeup brushes and cleansing system which is revolutionizing the way you can apply cosmetics and instantly clean your brushes! The brushes are designed with trademarked CosmeFibre® technology and an ergonomic handle for effective, easy, and superior application. The cleansing system completely clears your brushes of makeup while sanitizing them in just a few moments with the greatest ease so that you can reuse your brushes quickly.
The first thing that you can’t fail to notice about these beautiful brushes is that the design is very diffferent, and the bristles are made with someone called CosmeFibre®. The uniform structure of the fibre plus the tapered ends helps apply product more consistently than animal hair. Artis brushes on average have 3-10 times as many individual fibres as conventional brushes. More fibres do more work with every pass across the surface of the skin. For example, the Oval 10 Brush has over 250,000 individual fibres each with a microscopically small and soft tip. This allows you to really blend your powder, much more perfectly. CosmeFibre® is made with a proprietary material that has some shape memory so if a the brush ever gets bent from compression during storage, you can revive the shape by holding the brush under hot running water for a few seconds, reshaping, and then allowing it to dry back to its original shape.It is also good for those with sensitive skin, since these brushes are 100% Animal-Free. In addition, the fibres resist excess water, alcohol, acids, detergent. and they wont’ degrade due to sun or light exposure.
As to the handles, they are large and easy to hold and control, although they take up more room in a brush holder or travel roll. But the fibre alignment and the tilted handle make it easier to blend and the brushes are weight-balanced and have a rubberized, texturized grip pad, so that you feel more in control when you are using them. There is a lot of attention to detail you might not see but you will appreciate. You can get a lot more information about the fine details of these brushes, and see the entire set on the Artis Brush web site: http://www.artisbrush.com/ and there are also close to two dozen “How-To” videos, from information about the brushes to applying makeup.
the Artis Oval 10 makeup brush is so large, it almost looks like a baby’s hairbrush!
I tried the Linear 3 (good for crease and a wider liner), the Oval 4 (for covering a wider area of the eyelid, or for concealer), and the Oval 10 brusy (for setting power and special effects powder). The Oval 10 is so alrge it lamost looks like a hairbrush, but is it kitten soft. the liner brush gave me a full sweep line of powder in one swipe without faltering–first time ever I could even try to accomplish a cats eye. And the large Oval 10 smoothed on powder, even pressed powder foundation so smoothly you would swear a makeup artist did it I admit: I’m now totally obsessed with these brushes! For more information Visit the Artis Makeup Brush Web Site
Topping out at just $50.00 even has to be one two of the most gorgeous, glamorous, exciting and luxurious lipstick collections to date: Silver Screen and Velvet rope ($50.00 per lipstick) from Lipstick Queen. Anyone who reads my reveiews regularly knows I am a fan of Poppy King, the Queen of the red lipstick, and the one woman who changed my life literally, forever, when she designed red lipsticks in neutral tones that finally, my redheaded, freckled skinned self, could wear without looking like a vampire or a freak, or a well…. Anyway, these two new collections from Poppy Kind feature & lispticks in the Lipstick Q@ueen Silver Screen Collection and Five lipsticks in the Velvet Rope Collection. At $50.00 a lipstick, you know they’d better be amazing. They are. First of all, the outer cartons are dark blue velvet embossed with metallic lettering (for Velvet Rope) and soft grey velvet with silver letter (for Silver Screen). Inside, as you can see from the photos, are lipsticks that re-define what glamour is. The cases are shiny, ribbed, art-deco inspired columns marred by nothing save the Lipstick Queen logo at the top.The case has a magentic base, so it clicks shut. These look elegant and expensive, as if they belong in a cartier minaudiere. This, before you even get to the lipstick .
First, let me say that Lipstick Queen has other holiday gifts some sets we really love (see our review of Rockin Reds, for starters). The Advice Sisters have reviewed many Lipstick Queen products over the years and we have loved them all (use the search box on the upper right hand side of the page and type in “Lipstick Queen” to check our some of our former reviews). But the Velvet Rope and Silver Screen Lipsticks are nearly double the cost, and it’s not just the case you are purchasing. The Velvet Rope Lipsticks are like their names, velvety and glamorous, red carpet ready looks for you, with lipstick full of intense pigment. They slide on like creamy silk and while they are matte, they don’t look dry or feel uncomfortable. They will last through your holiday party, even drinks. I don’t know what’s really in the formula, but Poppy King just knows how to make a lipstick that flatters, and is high performance. I do know that in Velvet rope there is Vitamin E and Apricot Oil plus a bit of Peppermint Oil to add a bit of fresh scent. From Velvet Rope I selected the hot pink Private Party which is almost a retro pink, but the other colors are lovely, too: Try: Entourage (wine); Star System (Nude), Black Tie (deep Red); and Brat Pack (red).
When it comes to Silver Screen, you can probably figure out that we’re dealing with metallics with a lipstick formulation inspired by the glamour of the silver screen (each lipstick is names after an iconic line in a classic movie). The lipsticks also are full pigment and silky on lips, but they have something kind of unique in them: a high percentage of a ground-breaking active ingredient, Pomegranate Sterols. The look is shimmery and wet, sexy and glamorous. Enriched with this 100% natural ingredient, anti-oxidant Vitamin E and Vitamin A, Silver Screen’s look is very “high impact.” The lipsticks also have a bit of peppermint oil. There are seven lipstick colors in this collection. I was sent two that are very dark wine and purple, meant I think to flatter darker complexions or those who want an extremely dramatic look: “Made It” (deep wine) and Stella! (royal purple with a hint of turquoise shimmer). The other colors might be a bit more universally flattering: Come Up (vibrant baby rose); Play It (hot pink), See Me (Orangey peach), Have Paris (red) and You Kid (medium browned nude). These fabulous lipsticks will be coveted by anyone who loves beauty products and glamour. Maybe $50.00 is a bit of a splurge, but it’s the holidays so now is the right time to go go for it! Get these at Space NK Stores, and the Lipstick Queen Web Site
