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Sian Victoria © - Birmingham UK beauty blogger

Beauty gifts to refresh look & routine

Tis the season to party, so I’ve picked my top 9 best beauty products and gift sets that have been sent to me over the past year.

So, whether you’re here for beauty gift inspiration, looking to spoil yourself for pampering head to toe this party season or looking to shakeup your beauty routine you're bound to find something you’ll love from a variety of skincare, makeup, haircare, beautifying supplements, fragrances, hair growth and hair removal products that I highly recommend to get you glowing on the dancefloor this NYE!

1. Skincare

Sian Victoria © - Nimue skin health starter kit

Sian Victoria © - Nimue facial treatment, Malmaison Hotel Spa, Birmingham

To prep my skin for the holidays, over the past 2 months I’ve been having Nimue facials at Malmaison Birmingham spa. After analysing my face and discussing my skin concerns, I was recommended an effective facial combined with a mask to target oiliness and large pores. To keep up with the treatment at home in between spa visits I was advised to use the Nimue skin health starter kit for environmentally damaged skin that contains six essential products to enhance your day to night skincare routine.

The award-winning scientific-based skincare Nimue delivers transformative results, with my skin looking brighter and clearer after just one session. The first 2-3 days your skin may have a breakout and be oiler than usual since the mask is drawing out the sebum and oil clogged in pores but afterwards, it reveals a glowy and clearer complexion. So be sure not to book it too close to a special occasion.

Nimue is currently only available to buy at salons, so if you feel that your skin needs a deep clean and pick me up I recommend booking a consultation with Malmaison so that they can tailor the treatment and products to match your skin concerns. Whether its hyperpigmented, problematic or premature ageing there’s a treatment plan to suit everyone.

You'll find plenty of beauty treatments at Malmaison such as nails, lashes and tanning services to get you party ready. So you will be in great hands, they are one of the top-rated beauty salons in Birmingham.

2. Haircare

Sian Victoria © - Phyto Paris, Novathrix Fortifying Shampoo & Phytokeratine repairing serum

Sian Victoria © - Curly blonde hair spraying Phyto Paris hairspray

Sian Victoria © - Phyto Paris, Phytolaque hairspray

The French beautifying botanical haircare brand Phyto Paris has a large range of hair products for all hair types and concerns so I’ve been using them for almost 3 years now and I’ve had the pleasure of joining them as the only UK ambassador at the Phyto Paris Summer Festival in Corsica, so I have a lot of love for Phyto Paris and can always rely on them for transforming the condition of my hair.

In August I experienced a Birmingham hair salon visit from hell where the hair colourist did a scalp bleach and ended up burning my scalp and leaving me with dry, damaged and broken off hair as well as an awful yellow blonde colour that looked dreadful against my fair skin. Beacuse of this, I was silent across social media for almost 2 months as the experience really affected my confidence and I didn’t leave the house much meaning it affected my work too.

I’ve always used products from the Phyto Paris coloured, damaged & dry haircare range but to help improve hair growth they recommended me to use the Phytonovathrix Fortifying Energizing Shampoo to stimulate new hair growth by making the scalp a healthier environment to grow as well as Phytokeratine Repairing Serum to improve damage and split ends.

Fast forward 2.5 months and my hair is in a lot better condition now then it was in August, so again I’m forever thankful to Phyto Paris - they are one of the most reputable French beauty brands right now. I’m starting to see regrowth, it has more volume and the lengths are smoother too so I’m going to continue using it and hopefully in time I’ll get my hair to how it was by avoiding bleach for awhile despite my current dark roots. I'm thankful to my trusty purple shampoo too.

To keep hairstyles in place while partying I also recommend Phytolaque Design Botanical hairspray in the purple strong hold bottle. It’s so far, the best hairspray I’ve used and doesn’t make it sticky or heavy.

3. Makeup

Sian Victoria © - Trinny London, BFF Skin Perfector SPF30, Face, cheek, lip & eye makeup

Trinny London have created a stackable, portable, curated makeup range to help you achieve a radiant complexion, glossy pout and glowing cheekbones on the go with their beautifying t-pots that fit perfectly into a clutch bag ahead of a night out.

Besides from the fun stackable package design, I love that you can build your personal colour profile on the Trinny London website with their free Match2Me service that helps you find makeup that perfectly suits your unique combination of skin, hair and eyes within a few clicks so that you can narrow down your search from their range of face, cheek, lip and eye products.

Once matched to your most suitable products you can than see how they’ve been applied on the models that are most relatable to you, to give you an idea of the Trinny makeup looks than can be achieved with your personalised product match.

The Trinny London BFF cream is a personal favourite of mine, it helps create the perfect base before foundation and if your having a makeup free day it helps you look a lot more human (in my case) by minimising my ghoul like dark under eye circles. I apply it after moisturiser and it protects my skin with an SPF30, making it the perfect BFF to prevent premature ageing.

4. Party makeup: Lips, eyes & cheeks

Sian Victoria © - Pixi Beauty Eye Reflections Shadow Palette

Sian Victoria © - Pixi Beauty Highlighters

Sian Victoria © - Pixi Beauty Endless Shade Stick

Sian Victoria © - Pixi Beauty Lip Icing, shimmery gloss liquid lipstick

The cruelty-free makeup brand Pixi always send the most amazing PR gifts, so whenever one arrives in the post, I just can’t wait to start trying everything out once I've taken a bunch of photos. The most recent box I received was this gorgeous Pixi Pretties collection of lips, eyes and cheek products perfect for adding sparkle and glow to your festive makeup look over Christmas, NYE and beyond with looks suitable for both day and night.

My favourite and most used so far is the Pixi Layers Highlighting Palette it is a multi-use glow-mix palette for layering highlight on cheeks, lids and complexion to achieve the ultimate glow. The super soft formula can be used wet or dry and be mixed or used solo. I love how the shade ‘Clutch’ looks when added to the inner corner of my eyes, it really brings out the blue and makes them look bigger.

The Pixi Endless Shade Stick is another favourite as it is so effortless to use. I simply blend with my finger to add a beautiful coppery shade to lids on the go. I use a little for day and then touch-up and build to achieve an evening shimmery, metallic look. Also, in the Pixi Pretties collection you’ll find the Pixi Eye Heart Palette with super silky mineral shadows in light-reflective shades and the Pixi Lip Icings to add 3D glimmer to pouts.

For matte lips and shimmery eyes, they have created the ultimate lip & eye duo with the Pixi Day Kit for a bold and confident look and the Pixi Night Kit for unforgettable dramatic glam.

5. Lashes & eyebrows

Sian Victoria © - RapidLash, Eyelash Enhancing Serum & RapidBrow Eyebrow

Consider choosing a quality lash lift kit to enhance your beauty routine. Many of us desire long, luscious lashes and full brows, especially during the party season. So, why not treat yourself or someone special to the gift of naturally beautiful lashes? This way, you can avoid the hassle of applying false lashes or the embarrassment of losing one during a night out.

RapidLash has the perfect party prep essentials to naturally achieve longer looking lashes with their RapidLash eyelash enhancing serum and RapidBrow Eyebrow Enhancing Serum containing ingredients to stimulate growth for fuller-looking lashes and brows. Results can be seen in just 60 days, so if you plan to ditch the fake lashes or would prefer to spend less time drawing on the brows each morning than RapidLash could be the solution.

I’d recommend only buying direct or from reputable stores such as, Boots and Feelunique as there are a lot of counterfeits selling for a fraction of the price that may not give you the same results or be as safe to use.

6. Hair removal

Sian Victoria © - FFS, Friction Free Shaving set

It’s important to me to support local businesses especially if they are independent, cruelty free and are doing their bit to reduce waste going to landfill. You may have spotted them in my beauty travel essential stories last year on Instagram.

If not than let me introduce you to Friction Free Shaving a cruelty-free bodycare brand who have created an award-winning weighted metal handle shaver with 4 German engineered diamond coated blades. The shaver is available in rose gold or teal and can be personalised with a name up to 12 characters, so the FFS gift set 'Rose Box'would make a lovely present for someone.

The set comes with a metal handle, a clamshell to keep the blades clean, shower hook, mini travel bag, the ultimate shaving trio for achieving a beautiful smooth shave that will leave skin feeling soft and smelling gorgeous and of course a month supply of razors. The FFS blades are honestly the best I’ve used so far.

You know, this razor really lives up to its name. It doesn’t cause any friction, bumps, or soreness—just a clean, smooth shave. Once you’ve tried it, going back to a disposable feels so different. You’ll definitely notice the switch! Over the years, I’ve added many different razors to my tried-and-tested collection, and this one has certainly worked the best for me so far.

For repurchasing there is a razor subscription service for the blades and it can be amended to suit your shaving needs and if you get hooked on the scent of Manuka Honey, Shea Butter & Coconut Oil than you can purchase the pre shave scrub, shave cream and post-shave balm separately.

Best of all Friction Free Shaving have a recycling service where you can send your used razors to be separated and correctly recycled to prevent them ending up in landfill or oceans like the 2 billion disposable razors that do every year.

7. Fragrance

Sian Victoria © - Makeup & perfume, YSL, Stella, Chanel, Issey Miyake

Sian Victoria © - Girl of Now, Shine, Elie Saab, Eau De Parfum

Two relatively new luxury branded fragrances I’ve been loving this year are Elie Saab in White and Issey Miyake L'Eau D'issey Pure Nectar. In White has a modern scent with notes of red fruits, orange blossom, Jasmin and white musk.

While Pure Nectar has top notes of honey pear, heart notes of rose and base notes of sandalwood. Both fragrances are available in 30ml, 50ml and 90ml and make the perfect gift to yourself or someone special this season to smell absolutely gorgeous - these two are some of the top-rated perfumes for women right now.

Another Ellie Saab fragrance I can’t get enough of and makes me feel all wintery is Elie Saab Girl of Now it has top notes of roasted pistachio and sparkling Pear. Heart of bitter almond and orange blossom paired together with notes of Ormond flower.

For perfecting your makeup, cleansing regime, at home dermaplaning and selfies I highly recommend an LED light vanity mirror. As its portable and has magnification I find it a lot more convenient to use than a fixed mirror. Depending on the time of day I apply makeup it can be a struggle to find the perfect lighting so with this I can take it to any room and have the benefit of LED lighting to ensure I’m not leaving the house looking like a clown.

8. Supplements

Sian Victoria © - Environ Skincare, Advanced Nutrition Programme, Skin Collagen supplements

If you’ve been reading my blog for some time you may know that a few years ago I took part in the #100dayreset challenge by using only Environ, Jane Iredale and the Advanced Nutrition Programme supplements alongside monthly visits to Harvey Nichols to check my skin’s progress by having my skin analysed by a facial scanner.

The trio of IAA branded products I used on the challenge were life changing and helped me to learn so much about my skin, how best to look after it and the ingredients in skincare, supplements and makeup I should be using and the ones I should avoid like the plague. Just like Nimue available at Malmaison these are highly effective science-led brands that I’m still incorporating into my beauty regime 3 years on.

Although I’ve recommended all the above beauty products to add shimmer, glow and all that jazz to your face this party season. The most essential thing your skin needs is to be feed beautifying supplements from within so that it can glow from the inside out naturally by helping to get rid of problematic skin and imperfections rather than covering them up. Then it’s all about finding the right skincare for you to enhance results whether it be Environ or Nimue you’ll notice a difference in your complexion so that you have a smoother clearer canvas to apply makeup to.

As you can see from my hormonal acne before and after results taking skincare supplements alongside a dedicated skincare routine and using only non-comedogenic makeup can make a huge difference to your skin. The results show my skin on the 100th day almost 3 years ago so it’s much better now and that’s all down to taking Skin Accumax to get rid of hormonal acne, Vitamin A for skin renewal and Vitamin C for Skin Collagen Support. This powerful trio is without a doubt the best investment you can make for you and your skin.

9. Luxury personal care

Sian Victoria © - The Perfect V, Vanicure Essentials, Luxury personal care

Pampering isn’t just for the face, hair and body. To feel gorgeous head to toe The Perfect V is the only brand to have created an all-natural ingredient beauty regime for the intimate area to help soften, soothe, replenish and cleanse.

The Perfect V Vanicure Essentials comes in a stylish gift box and contains luxurious cosmetics making it the perfect luxury gift to yourself and is available at Harvey Nichols, Beauty Bay and Cult Beauty.

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