Christmas is approaching and I don’t know about you but I’m excited! It’s my favorite season for so many reasons, food being the primary. I know, so predictable. Secondly, I’m passionate about presents. Nooooo. Not for moi, although I do tend to find reasons to celebrate my existence and spoil myself.* All my friends know that I love to give. Any chance I get, I’ll find a way to figure out what they love and make it happen because I adore watching how others brim with elation when they’re appreciated. My very good friend is obsessed with Breakfast at Tiffany’s and rightfully so. She’s probably the classiest and most elegant girl you could possibly meet and so utterly refined that I sometimes feel like a neanderthal around her.** One day over coffee she was telling me how she tried and tired to find the same eye-mask that Audrey Hepburn’s character wore in the movie. That stuck in my mind until I found someone that could replicate it with the exact same color, fabric and threads. It took weeks but she was overjoyed which truly made me feel fantastic on the inside. It makes me smile when she mentions how much she still admires it and has a Holly Go Lightly moment or two when she slips it on.
Christmas is also a time where I reflect on my year, how much I’ve grown and if I’ve achieved the goals I’ve set. More often than not, I’ve found new goals and paths to take without even knowing it and have always made a handful of new friends along the way. I love this epigram by Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in which he states: plus ça change plus c’est la même chose which means – the more it changes, the more it’s the same thing.” No matter how great the growth, I’ve always remained true to my core and am assured that the decisions I have made have mirrored that loyalty.
Lastly, the holidays are spent with my family and there’s nothing more satisfying than sharing a home cooked meal, snuggling under the fire with my reindeer slippers and a latte feeling blessed and loved. Oh and lets not forget the ugly Christmas sweaters that come out. All right, they’re not thaaaat bad, I mean I probably could have gotten a viler one than two penguins kissing but it got me thinking about the relevance of penguins and Christmas. What’s the correlation? Anyone? Anyone?
Here are some of my holiluxe faves. I made up another word. Why can’t I intermingle holiday and luxe? Some of the items aren’t necessarily the epitome of luxury but they are fun indulgences and make for lovely gifts!
Ermagherd! Is anyone as obsessed as I am with advent calendars? I’m gutted that I’m not in England pre-Christmas this year solely because of beauty advent calendars. Selfridges has a gorgeous Diptyque one that is drool-worthy as well as their own calendar. Most of the beauty brands have their compendiums and I had even stumbled upon luxe lipstick Christmas crackers on-line. It was like Pavlov’s theory except I was in front of a computer screen and the goodies were overseas. Utterly painful.
In North America we’re a trifle limited but I did manage to get a few that I love. The DAVIDsTEA advent calendar was more difficult to get than an audience with the Queen. Seriously, they seem to sell out so fast. I have one being shipped as I type so unfortunately there shall be no photos. L’Occitane has a really lovely calendar this year with the cutest illustrations. You all know I can’t stop harping on about how much I love this brand, and with this gorgeous advent calendar you can see why, right?
FYI: the Body Shop, Jo Malone and Lush make some fantastic calendars too.
Burberry has a scarf bar. Frankly, that’s the only kind of bar I want to be at and am completely drunk with cashmere love. I love the new variations and the fact that you can have them monogrammed with up to three initials. My friend’s husband just had one of his most favorite scarves nicked and he was rather upset about it which left me assured that a monogram scarf is less likely to get pinched. With my Burberry trench in tow, I know that I look like a walking advert for the brand but it somehow works.
Holiday beauty collections flicker on the cosmetics counter for about three seconds and then poof… they’re gone forever, only to been seen on bloggers, makeup enthusiasts and being at the right counter at the right time. Such was the case with Tom Ford Beauty. His holiday collections are notorious for disappearing faster than I do when men want to talk about commitment. Personally, I only liked the lipstick and gold mascara from this season, nothing else held any appeal and I feel like the whole lets go super dark with the nails and eye shadow products was a bit tiresome. Also, the lipstick was already an existing color called First Time in Matte. Sorry Tom, it’s not the first time I’ve seen it, albeit the limited edition case is pretty cool. The mascara is gorgeous and I’ve been looking for a gold one for the longest time. I usually like to apply it to the tips of my lashes with a deeper color on the base. Le Volume De Chanel 27 Rouge Noir Mascara from the 2015 holiday collection (seen here) is beautiful with the combination of gold on the ends of the lashes or the outer edges.
Shoegasms ensued again and it couldn’t be helped. Really. No really. I promised myself that I would stop buying heels for the next few months but of course I found loopholes like any self-appointed lawyer specializing in internal luxe bartering and self-negotiations upon purchases of footwear. If only there were such a profession. Oh how easily I fall in love, solely with shoes. Gawd, I made a tacky shoe pun. Let’s just get to it. Gucci. Red. Suede. Pumps. Nuff said.
It dawned on me, perhaps whilst watching a Christmas movie that these sorta look like Santa’s little helper’s shoes. Ugh! I ruined the shoegasm moment didn’t I? Think about it though, they’re red, with a fringe and have a chunky heel because elves are short right? Yup. I definitely ruined the moment but I love, love, love them still.
Stuart Weitzman has offered the Highland boot in suede for sometime now, but this year they came in leather. I never thought I could pull of thigh-highs without looking like I should bill someone for the hour but they work well with my petite frame. These compliment skinny’s, long shirts that are actually dresses and some of my weirder confusing tops beautifully. I’ve worn them so much and have received a plethora of compliments. I even…wait for it….wore them with a floor length sweater…..yessss. That’s a little unheard of when you’re not tall vertically impeded but if you rock the confidence then anything can and will look good on you! The leather on these boots is gorgeous and I like that they slouch down a bit so that they don’t go all the way up to my navel. I highly recommend these if you want to treat yourself this season.
(I know, the photo looks a bit creepy with them standing up like that on their own but I didn’t have anyone to photograph me the day I took these shots)
When it doubt, give the gift of reading. I usually like to pick a book for a friend along with a gift card during the holidays. This season I recommend Garance Dore’s: Love, Style, Life. The book is fantastic. It’s a great read full of her quirky anecdotes with beautiful photos. I personally loved it and admire her joie de vivre and kindness towards others that translates through every page.
Tea is balm for my soul. I can’t take credit for typing that because it was on a tea-bag from the London Tea Company but it’s so true. I love winding down from a busy day with a cup of good quality tea. I tend to get lazy and not want to bring out the entire tea service with the pot, cup/saucer and strainer, which is why I love that Mariage Frères has teabags. Most reputable tea brands will offer you the option of bags albeit, with some chagrin because there is no comparison to the beauty of a well brewed loose-leaf tea in a beautiful pot.
Moving along to coffee, all Nespresso lovers and unofficial brand ambassadors such as my shameless, coffee loving self are excited about the 2015 limited edition holiday capsules. Please get them now otherwise you will have to succumb to purchasing them from over ambitious Ebayers selling them for exorbitant amounts of money.
Drum roll please or a cheesy ringtone will suffice………
Ta da!
Vanilla Amaretti, Vanilla Cardamom and Ciocco Ginger.
There’s also a Tribute To Palermo capsule but I can’t do level eleven intensity, I would be bouncing off the walls. I love the Vanilla Amaretti the most! It goes very well with Nespresso’s Amaretti Almond Biscuits.
Pineapples are my thing, its weird but true. The love germinated this summer with a sequins pineapple tee from H&M. *** All of a sudden, I found myself obsessed with them, more than the owl theme I had going on last year. ****
Befuddled and trying to figure out what I could possibly put on top of my fireplace since repainting my TV room, I saw this Pineapple candle from Anthropologie. It’s adorable! Having collected Diptyque, Cire Trudon, Rigaud,***** Jo Malone and many more luxurious candles, the ones at Anthropologie are hands down my favorite. They’re just beautiful and come in all sorts of elegant and fun jars. I don’t know of any person that wouldn’t mind getting one of these for the holidays.
The last bit of this blog is going to feature more of L’Occitane. Go ahead; roll your eyes at me. They even have an Emoji for eye rolling, which is my favorite one at the moment. These products are really good stocking stuffers or gifts that I keep wrapped under my tree for when I have guests over. I’ve had quite a few friends show up around the holidays with something for my home and the organized nerd in me always reciprocates. The festive ornaments or Shea Butter and Verbena Bauble Duo were so cute that I kept one for myself. They come in packs of two and as I mentioned before, I usually like to give out gift cards with smaller presents. When opened, they’re filled with treat-sized shower gels and lotions, perfect for a handbag or travel. I can’t tell you how handy they’ve been when I’ve gone on holiday, some of the smaller sized oils and gels look teeny but last over ten days.
I’ve really been enjoying using The Welcome Home Hand Wash & Lotion Set. Having a fresh and pleasant citrus fragrance, I think it’s perfect for rewarding working hands in the kitchen.
If you’re a honey lover then the Shea Melting Honey Soft Shower Gel is one that you’ll want. It smells so pretty and the bottle has a generous amount of product. I loved this so much I bought two! They’re also perfectly sized stocking stuffers.
It’s always a good idea to be on L’Occitane’s mailing list because they have great gifts with purchases. Make sure to take the leaflet that they send out in the mail, or present your email to the associate (in-store) with a special offer or promo code in order to get a pretty gift. They usually have the nicest pouches filled with useful, small sized versions of their best sellers.
Phew…that’s it for my gift guide. I will be posting a beauty gift guide/make-up favorites very soon with some exciting products that I adore. If you take away anything from this blog, let it be a newfound love for advent calendars! Happy Shopping.
*Reasons such as: Minelle, today has been one month since you haven’t shopped; you deserve a present or, yay to me for green juicing for a straight month! Sometimes I just buy myself a gift because I can and I deserve it. It’s a little thing called self-appreciation and not waiting around for someone else to do what you can do for yourself.
**One day whilst eating Thai food she politely watched me inhale a gluten free spring roll like an animal from the wilderness all while eating her own with infinite decorum. That’s an art; it really is because when spring rolls are that good and hot I don’t have time for chopsticks!
***It’s officially my summer grocery shirt and I wear it most of the times that I shop. Hmm…I do go grocery shopping way more than the average person because of all the veggies I consume, so I suppose it may be a bit gross to wear it every other day.
**** I think that’s a leftover thing from my childhood and my neighbor that looked like a baby owl. She would hoot and well, it was a creepy-sweet sort of endearing memory.
***** I went crazy with my Diana Vreeland obsession. She used to have a Rigaud candle on her desk when she was the editor at Vogue. Feeling inspired, I wanted everything red and Rigaud. I now have a pretty pink one on my desk.
All photos by Minelle Mir for Maison Minelle