Beauty Gifts for ANYONE in your life ~ Friday Five

Beauty Gifts for ANYONE in your life ~ Friday Five

by | Nov 30, 2018 | Favorites, Home

If you walk into any store, the section for personal care items and beauty gifts are is probably through the roof.  There are just so many options nowadays but, if you’re like me, you want to give gifts that are actually useful.  Most people have a set skincare or beauty routine already so what can your gift provide to enhance that?  

If you’ve been around here before, you know how these Friday Fives work.  I’m keeping the list of beauty gifts simple and showing five items both women and men can benefit from!  There’s no shame in the beauty game! 

I recommend creating a gift set with 2-3 of the items. 😉 Or, you can grab several of whichever stands out to you and gift it as a stocking stuffer for your pals.  Whoever you’re gifting to this year, you can’t go wrong with any of these products!

jade roller beauty gifts friday five

Jade-Roller

Before getting into jade-rolling, I had begun a routine of self-facial massaging.  The roller is an excellent tool to help ease stiff jaw muscles and encourage blood flow.  After jade-rolling, my face feels the way my body does after I do a workout.  It feels refreshing and full of energy!  I’ve also seen improved skin texture, wrinkle reduction (I have a bothersome one between my brows), and reduced inflammation and under-eye discoloration.

beauty gifts friday five rosehip oil

Rosehip oil

Oils have become the new moisturizer.  That’s not to say you shouldn’t ever use a moisturizer but oils can help assist your skin with locking in moisture!  Rosehip oil is my ideal choice because it is very gentle, soothing, rich in vitamin E, and, in my experience, it has been non-comedogenic.  Perhaps you’ve heard of the coconut oil craze.  While I like using coconut oil in food, and occasionally as a hair mask, I wouldn’t put it on my face.  It’s extremely rich and might benefit mature skin better.  Otherwise, opt for gentler oils like rosehip!

beauty gifts friday five fre skincare

Detox Me Face Mask

If someone says they don’t like face masks they are either downplaying their love or they haven’t found the right face mask! The Detox Me mask if unique in that it provides the skin cleansing properties you want in a mask but it won’t make your skin feel stripped!  It provides moisturization thanks to the Argan oil base.  Another thing I love about it is the Dead Sea salt microparticles which gently help exfoliate your skin.  It truly is a multitasking product.  If you want to purchase it, use this link or include the code MELANIEM to score 15% off your order!

beauty gifts friday five essential oils

Lavender and Frankincense Essential Oils

Okay, so, essential oils might not scream beauty but they are amazing gifts that can be utilized for beauty purposes.  You can squeeze a bit of your moisturizer into the palm of your hand and then add a drop or two of essential oils.  I named both lavender and frankincense but really you could just use one or the other and still see benefits.  Whichever you choose, the essential oils should be pure grade, like the kind from Young Living, and not contain additives.  Oftentimes, I’ll even add a drop to my rosehip oil (mentioned above) and my skin loves it! The essential oil + moisturizer/oil trick can be done for your face or body!

beauty gifts friday five exfoliating gloves

Charcoal Exfoliating Gloves

I’ve saved the best for last!  Okay, all of the products I’ve named today are beyond clutch (is that word still trendy?) but these gloves are amazing.  The charcoal exfoliating gloves are a better alternative to those round plushy loofahs that you might have hanging in your shower.  I don’t know about you but I have a hard time feeling clean without scrubbing my skin.  I used to buy sugar scrubs left and right but now I mostly just use these gloves.  No need to worry about them being too rough, though—it’s all about the pressure you apply.  To use: you simply put on the gloves in the shower, add a drop of soap, and start scrubbing your body.  They last forever, too!  I pop mine into the washing machine once in a while to freshen them up and they’re good to go.

That brings us to a wrap with my five beauty gifts!  No pun intended.  Okay, semi-intended.  I hope you’ve gathered some ideas for stocking-stuffers or easy beauty add-ons to enhance other gifts you may be buying for friends and family.  Hey, and, if nothing else, I would recommend picking up these products for yourself because they are game-changing.

Xoxo

Melanie

 

 

How to Enjoy the Holiday Season When You Feel Lonely

How to Enjoy the Holiday Season When You Feel Lonely

by | Dec 11, 2017 | Health, Home, Wellness

For a long time, I didn’t celebrate holidays at all.  My family didn’t decorate the house or dress up or play holiday tunes while I was growing up.  I would look to friends in awe off their family’s traditions and celebrations and long for something special.  It wasn’t until I was in high school that my family started to get together with extended family for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.  As a kid, I had established expectations from movies of what the holidays should look like.  Now, I find myself in a rushed state of activity that I worry the holidays will just blow past me before I get a chance to sit down.  The thing is, there are a handful of qualities that make the holidays special. 

For anyone who has longed for more or can’t manage to find enjoyment in the holidays, for whatever reason, I hope this list helps!

Also, let me begin by saying YOU are special.  You don’t need the verification of gifts or other hoopla to confirm that.  Still, I know that if you’re reading this you’re interested in how we can increase our satisfaction with the holiday season. 

holiday season enjoy

Here are some ideas:

  • If you’re like me and live in a hot desert town, then you long for a snowy cold Christmas. I don’t have tricks to make snow happen (though cranking the air conditioning might help) but try bringing the festivity indoors! Decorate your house, bedroom, office space—heck, even your bathroom!  It’ll add some cheer to the places you spend the most time.
  • Try lighting some candles or incense that add freshness to the air and encourage positive feelings.  Think: peppermint, pine, cedarwood, eucalyptus, or other fresh scents!
  • MUSIC.  Blast those tunes.  Throwback to TSwift’s ’06 Christmas album right here…
  • What are your favorite pastimes?  (Perhaps you’ve abandoned that mystery novel you bought at Target—it’s time to start reading it again!)  Nothing feels more fulfilling than spending your time doing what you love!
  • Think about what traditions or activities you loved to do as a kid and recreate those for yourself or for your family.  Example: I remember my mom making hot cocoa for me and we would paint bird houses or other knick-knacks to place in our garden.
  • These drinks don’t require a trip to Starbucks and they’ll brighten up your winter: hot chocolate London fog or apple cider.
  • I feel like baking is a given but, if not, here it is.  When in doubt, bake!  Check out some yummy cookie recipes here, here, and here .
  • Are you watching Hallmark Channel’s Christmas lineup?  There are movies airing every single day that are filled with festivity and romance and holiday cheer!  If there is one thing I enjoy most about the holidays, it’s watching Hallmark Christmas movies. 
  • Do something nice for someone else.  Help your neighbors clean their driveways of snow or offer your time at a nonprofit.  The Salvation Army could always use extra hands around the holidays.  Or, perhaps, a homeless shelter or other local organization in your area could benefit from your assistance.
  • Write one or a few Christmas cards to mail out.  Your friends, family, or even the troops overseas will appreciate it! Perhaps the last one requires a bit of planning but all-year-round letters are great, too!
  • It’s okay to recognize that you may be lonely (cue: Lonely People) but you are NOT alone.  Call up your parent, sibling, old high school friend, or anyone that you’ve lost touch with.  It can be hard to reach out but it is also a joy to hear from someone you used to be close with.  Nowadays with the internet, you can also message them on Facebook and plan for a day to meet up.  Or schedule a Skype date with long distant friends!
  • Many times, the people you surround yourself with can influence how you feel.  Try connecting with different people in your office or community groups and you’ll find that few people think alike.  There are a lot of happy, outgoing people out there and their energy can help boost you up.
  • At the end of the day, remember that the holidays will pass.  Try to find enjoyment in the little things.  It might seem like so much is happening right now that you’re not a part of but trust that everything is as it should be. 

holiday season enjoy

I’m wishing all of you a happy and wholesome holiday season.  Do what brings you joy! 

If you’d like, share what you do during the holidays in the comments down below! I’d love to hear how others spend the season. 🙂