These are a few of my favorite new products I’ve discovered over the last little while, and they also make great gifts for the holiday season! Although, I admit, they might be a little bit biased in terms of being mainly girly things haha. But fear not, I have a DIY project coming up soon that makes a great gift ferda boys.
As always, I only write about things I actually personally own or have gotten for others! All prices are in USD.
Wunder Under Hi-Rise Pant – Tech Mesh (Lululemon, $118)
Theeeeeese. I truly believe these look good on everyone, and they are super comfy! And I’m not big on pants haha. I came across these last Christmas but they didn’t have my size left. I assumed they’d be restocked a little later on BUT THEY NEVER CAME BACK. Along with this Freelife pullover that sold out last year, I checked every month in 2017 to see if they were back, to no avail. Finally, I saw them on someone’s Instagram Story and I pounced. They just came in the mail and I’ve only worn them once so far, but I’ve never looked back. My gift pick in 2015 to make any girl happy was the Aritzia blanket scarf, and this year it’s these leggings.
Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask (Glow Recipe, $45)
I’ve heard wonders about this mask from a few people and while it hasn’t been unbelievably magical in my personal experience, it does make your skin super soft and smell AMAZING. If you like watermelon Jolly Ranchers, you won’t be able to stop smelling this mask. Others have said it evened out their skin tone and faded scars, and apparently it’s great for plane rides to prevent drying out your skin (plane air is the worst!).
#101: At the Beach 1966 Perfume (CB I Hate Perfume, $110)
Speaking of amazing scents, this is the only perfume I wear, on the rare occasion that I do wear it. Most perfume gives me a headache, but I love this stuff! It does have a formula that doesn’t tend to stay on super long, so if you’re looking for a traditional perfume, I’ve heard Maison Margiela’s Replica Beach Walk is pretty similar. This is a splurge (and the Maison Margiela version costs even more!), but 100mL has lasted me about 2 years.
Health + Ancestry Kit (23andMe, $199)
I had been eyeing 23andMe’s Health + Ancestry kit for about a year now, and it very rarely went on sale—I think the biggest discount I’ve seen was about $50 off. I still couldn’t justify getting it for that price ($150, originally $199) but when Amazon featured it for their Black Friday sale with 50% off, we decided to pull the trigger. We just dropped it in the mail last week and got an email that they received our samples, so we should know our results in 6-8 weeks. Can’t wait!
Kylie Lip Kit (Kylie Cosmetics, $29)
I didn’t try this until way after the hype died down and they had most of the original colors restocked. This was definitely a splurge for me, because each kit is $30 and you have to pay shipping on top of that, but I finally decided to pick a kit up in “Candy K” and give it a try! In general, I don’t really wear lipstick or lip color in general, just because I find it high maintenance and it also dries my lips out easily. But this formula feels and looks great. I also really like the colours from this line (though affordable dupes aren’t too hard to come by) and it’s made well. This is my go-to special occasion lip product!
Rifle Paper Co. Photo Books (Chatbooks, $12-17)
Chatbooks makes it super easy to create an ongoing collection of photo books. You can upload photos directly from your phone, Facebook, or Instagram, and it automatically adds the location the photo was taken—and sorts it by date! You can manually edit the locations/dates, and add a caption as well. A great gift idea (especially for friends and SOs) because it’s a timeline of all the adventures you’ve had, and the places you’ve been. I’ve always really liked the brand Rifle Paper Co., so I was super excited when I found out they collaborated with Chatbooks for a special series—I’m currently on Volume 3! They have great covers for one-off photo books too.
The Little Things: Stocking Stuffers
These make the perfect gifts for acquaintances, coworkers, and people you might not be super close with but would like to get a little something for!
Balm Dotcom Universal Skin and Lip Salve (Glossier, $12 each or 3 for $30)
Glossier had a sale (almost unheard of!) so I pounced. You save even more if you buy the three-pack (which you can then gift separately). I never used Glossier before, but everyone seems to rave about it. I also like to get things for people that are harder to get in Canada (since Glossier just started shipping there, but I think it costs a bit) or that they might not be able to get at all there.
Small Candy Cube – Assorted Flavors (Sugarfina, $7-15)
Sugarfina is another favorite (that I think is also in Canada now but not necessarily everywhere) because I think it makes a thoughtful gift even if it is small. It’s packaged so elegantly, and the luxury candy brand has so many unique flavors. I also like Pinch Provisions’ kits. They seem a bit random at first and like they might not come in too useful on a daily basis, but on second thought, they are the perfect little package to throw into an overnight bag/trip. I feel like it’s one of those things that comes in really handy one day.
This is one really great thing about America. It’s incredibly rare something doesn’t ship here, or costs $93573478 like it sometimes would in Canada. I was looking at Greetabl for potential gifts to send people, but the shipping on that is like $10+ to Canada for a tiny little box. On the other hand, one of my favorite Canadian stores (Chapters) costs like $35 to ship here 🙁
Christmas in t-minus 19 days!
Next up, I’ll be posting the DIY project I mentioned above (psst…notice something in the photo I didn’t cover on this list? There’s a small hint…), and my Christmas shopping strategy. Stay tuned!
S.
You May Also Like
