Valentine’s & Galentine’s Day - Beauty Gift Guide
*AD – In collaboration with Boots
Sian Victoria © - Valentine’s Gift Giving at Boots.com
Love For All – Boots Valentine’s Day Gift Giving
In recent years the traditional Valentine’s Day has evolved. It’s no longer about grabbing a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates with a card on your way home to gift your loved one and booking a date night for a romantic three-course meal at a restaurant you’ve been eager to try.
While movies, tv-series and magazines painted the story of all the ‘single ladies’ and guys at home with a tub of ice cream feeling sorry for themselves watching rom-coms. I’ve been there and so have many of my friends and family.
Thankfully all that has changed. We are all embracing the single life and are making the most of the old tradition by celebrating it in a unique way rather than feeling excluded from the National Day of Celebrating ‘love’. Because ‘Love is for all’. Everyone feels love and is loved by someone so it’s important to share that love and not restrain yourself to that ‘single’ or ‘in a relationship’ tick box.
Modern-day Valentine’s is all about being inclusive and sharing that love between friends and family. Some are also sharing the love by being compassionate to others outside family and friends by gifting thoughtful packages to neighbours or strangers that they know are lonely and won’t be receiving any form of love on the day.
To celebrate that ‘Love is for all’ I’m showing the different types of gift-giving available at Boots with the Valentine’s Day Gifts I’ve chosen to give to the ones I love and appreciate most.
Valentine’s gifts for him
Sian Victoria © - Superfacialist for Men Looking Sharp Cactus Gift Set
Like me, my boyfriend isn’t into gifts that aren’t practical like love heart teddy bears and other soppy kinds of gifts that clutter the room after Valentine’s has passed. So, when we buy for each other, we always pick useful things with a thoughtful and personal touch. Such as this Superfacialist for Men Looking Sharp Cactus Gift Set.
It’s useful because his skincare needs an upgrade now he’s not getting any younger and the cold winter months have left him with dry skin that urgently needs a moisture boost. And the thing that makes this gift extra special is that it contains cactus seeds and a plant pot.
If you’ve seen my Instagram stories, you’ll know my partner and I love growing plants together, especially cactus plants because it reminds us of our trip to Las Vegas. So as soon as I browsed Valentine’s Gifts for Him on the Boots website, I knew this was perfect for him and watching the cactus grow is something we will enjoy together.
As you’ll see in my Summer skin at Home post I’ve used Superfacialist skincare many times before so I have high hope that his dry ageing skin will benefit from this duo of Vitamin B3 Energising Face Wash and Hyaluronic Acid Anti-Ageing Day Moisturiser.
The face wash contains bursting beads infused with Vitamin E to aid in removing dirt and pollutants. Along with Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Magnesium, and Glycolic Acid, as well as soothing Aloe Vera Juice, and moisturising Cactus Water to thoroughly cleanse and renew tired skin.
To complete the two-step skincare regime for men, the Hyaluronic Acid Anti-Ageing Day moisturiser contains effective ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid, Cactus Water and a proven anti-pollution that helps improve the skin’s tone and suppleness as well as Niacinamide and firming tetrapeptide to help boost collagen and minimise wrinkles and fine lines.
Plus, the set comes in a silver metal box that he has a use for since he really needs to organise his cluttered desk.
Galentine’s Day gifts for her
Sian Victoria © - Narciso Rodriguez for her MUSC NOIR Eau de Parfum
So, once I found the perfect gift for him it was time to browse Valentine’s Gifts for Her. Because a modern-day Valentine’s isn’t complete without sharing the love with your best friend on Galentine’s Day which is celebrated on February 13th—the day before Valentine's Day.
My best friend and I would usually surprise each other with a little gift while we went out and did something fun together in Birmingham. However, since moving I don’t get to see her as often as I’d like so we share gifts that are extra special instead, of course, they’re always beauty related since we both share that same interest.
For my second Galentine’s day away from the bestie I’ve chosen Narciso Rodriguez for her MUSC NOIR Eau de Parfum. With top notes of plum, heart notes of Heliotrope and base notes of Leather suede accord.
It’s the perfect floral and musky fragrance to be enjoyed day or night presented in a simple yet elegant bottle. Which I know will look perfect among her organised and minimalistic beauty shelf lined neatly with fragrances.
Self-gifting Valentines gifts
Sian Victoria © - Aussie SOS Kiss Of Life gift set
When it comes to sharing love with others, it’s important to self-love too by treating yourself to a little self-gifting by choosing something that will make you feel and look great inside and out. For me, this came in the form of an Aussie SOS Kiss Of Life gift set.
Where I live along the coast it can get unbelievably windy and cold which isn’t good for my hair as it constantly gets dry, knotted and brittle from all the brushing. Using a curling wand more often over the festive season certainly hasn’t helped either, hence why I’ve cut my long hair the shortest it’s ever been recently - that and a nightmare bleach session at the salon last summer is why I felt the urge to snip the locks.
So, after stumbling across this Aussie SOS gift set aimed to rescue the dullest and driest hair, it sounded like the perfect self-care gift to make myself feel better inside and out by adding a little life back into my hair with a much-needed pampering haircare treatment session.
The purple cosmetics bag contains the full-size Aussie SOS Kiss of Life Deep Repair Shampoo, Conditioner and 3 Minute Miracle Deep Conditioning hair mask. This vegan and cruelty-free haircare bundle is infused with wild peach, manuka leaf and macadamia and avocado nut oils. Making this Australian superfood ingredient haircare trio perfect for bringing fresh life into dull, dry, and damaged locks by providing each strand with an essential moisture boost.
Thoughtful Valentine’s gifts to others
Sian Victoria © - Baylis & Harding Goodness Bath Soak & Botanics Vitamin C Glow Sheet Mask
Once I found the perfect gift for my boyfriend, best friend, and myself, I felt the need to share a little love with someone special and that’s my neighbour who has been so caring and thoughtful since we moved in next door 17 months ago. We’ll always stop for a chat if we bump into each other in the hallway, and she’ll post us lovely letters if she’s going away for a couple of days along with a bag of fruit and vegetable treats from her allotment and flowers and herbs she’s grown.
She’s such a wonderful lady and besides leaving her a bottle of red wine at Christmas and looking after her mail when she’s away, I always feel like we’ve not done enough to show her love and appreciation.
So, because she said she enjoys taking bubble baths and had a little laugh the time she saw me wearing a novelty Christmas tree sheet mask during Spring when she knocked to collect a parcel. I thought gifting her the Baylis & Harding Goodness Rose & Geranium 500ml Bath Soak and Botanics Vitamin C Glow Sheet Mask would make the perfect small inexpensive, yet very thoughtful, gift that I know will bring a smile to her face.
This vegan and cruelty-free body care item is enriched with essential oils and organic extracts of Lavender & Rosemary which are two fragrances I know she enjoys as she grows them in her allotment. And this plastic-free fabric sheet mask is infused with Vitamin C, Yuzu, and Peony Root.
To conclude
So, there we have it. These are just a few of the different types of gift-giving available at Boots which are helping me to share the fact that Valentine’s Day isn’t just for those ‘in a relationship’ box, it’s a Love For All day.