22 November 2012

Bex's 2012 Christmas Gift Guide: Girls

Yes, it's that time of year again. As the Selfridges pre-Christmas 20% off voucher is already out and as pre-Black Friday shopping madness will be commencing over the pond later today, I figured it was time to bring out the first in my 2012 series of Christmas gift guides. This edition contains my present suggestions for the ladies in your life. I tried to keep the price-tags around the £50 mark, and some more wallet-friendly girlie goodies will be featured in my forthcoming Stocking Fillers and Secret Santa gift guide. And looking for a present for a guy? My picks are here.

Jewellery and accessories
1. Floral electricity scarf from Anthropologie. £44. Cheerful and stylish, this modal scarf adds the perfect pop of colour to a neutral winter outfit. I like the way you can highlight different colour combinations depending on how you wrap it. My first choice of scarf was this one from KJ's Laundry, which is really quite different, but I realised I included a starry scarf in last year's list too, so I went with the Anthro option.

Anthro's floral electricity scarf

2. USB ring from Kate Spade. $50 (not available online in the UK, although it should be in stores.) I know I'm a geek, but how cute is this ring? Beautiful...check. Useful...check. Plus, Kate Spade's packaging is even prettier during the festive season.

3. Mellis necklace from Dowse. £22.50. Dowse have a range of simple and elegant but inexpensive necklaces. I went for the geometric honeycomb, of course, but this playful ice lolly design is fun too.

Mellis necklace from Dowse

4. Cashmere wrist warmers from Highgrove (also available in Selfridges). £25. It's not like I'm the Prince of Wales's biggest fan, but I sure do like my wrist warmers. My office is very drafty, so I usually carry a pair with me from about October to April. I usually buy them from Brora but I saw a purple pair of Highgrove's in Selfridges and couldn't resist, especially as they are £10 cheaper than Brora. The pink colour are cute too.

Beauty
5. Laura Mercier La Petite Patisserie Quartet, Crème de Pistache, from John Lewis. £25. Laura Mercier's body and bath products feel gorgeous and decadent and smell even better. This travel set includes a cream body wash, soufflé body cream, hand cream and Eau Gourmande, which all have a rich, delicious nutty fragrance.

6. MAC Fabulousness: 5 Neutral Eyes palette from House of Fraser. £32. For the make-up maniac in your life, this would make a great gift. You get five very wearable eye shadows that are perfect for both holiday party and everyday looks. The packaging is cute too. Other colour-ways, including warm and smoky, are also available.

MAC Fabulousness: 5 neutral eyes palette

7. Voucher for the Selfridges Beauty Workshop. Selfridges launched their new Beauty Workshop earlier this year and one of its selling points is the wide range of treatments they offer. With manicures from £19 and facials from £25, you could just buy a Selfridges gift voucher and make up a nice gift card with a treatment menu and let her pick her own treat.

Etc.
8. Mini "Blessing of Rain" folding stormproof umbrella from Senz°. £44.95. It's unfair to say that umbrellas make boring gifts when they can be as stylish and functional as this little baby, which has an aerodynamic, wind-resistant design, and is asymetrical, placing more emphasis on canopy length than width.

Senz's mini folding umbrella in "Blessing of Rain"

9. Limpet multicoloured coat hooks from Made. £19. Made is a great company that sells high-quality design homewares at a reduced price, which they can offer because they work directly with the designers, commissioning the manufacture only of products that have been ordered. There are great savings to be had and these cute, playful coat hooks are one of the more affordable items on the website.

10. Workshops from Make Lounge. Based in Islington, Make Lounge hosts a whole range of crafty workshops. A lot of them are priced around the £50 mark, so your lucky lady could make her own luxury chocolates, luxury skincare products or a leather-lined purse, for instance.

Bonus: This year, it seems that advent calendars for adults are the new Christmas gifts. I didn't include any of these in my guide, because you would probably want to hand over the calendar before Christmas, but I thought these were interesting ideas. For £38, Ciaté's Mini Mani Month will give you a mini nail polish a day. For a more varied selection, YOU Magazine and Latest in Beauty are selling a Beauty Advent Calendar for £59, which contains products worth over £200 from a range of high-end beauty brands.

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