Last Minute Beauty Gift Ideas

The Balm Nude'tude Palette
If you have a huge beauty fan in your life that doesn't already own this, I think it would make such a lovely gift. Its a little more on the pricey side costing around £30 , but if you have someone in mind that loves a nude smokey eye I think this really would make a special gift.

Superdrug Fruity Trio Strawberry & Raspberry Set
A fail safe Christmas gift is a bundle of bath and body products, especially when they are already boxed up it makes a great little gift. This fab little set* comes complete with a bath puff, shower gel and body cream, and costs just £2.50 from Superdrug and comes in a variety of different scents.

Shadow Switch
Being a beauty blogger, I am always eager to see new products on the market, especially when it comes to make-up removal and makeup brush cleansing - two tasks which I do not enjoy! I was contacted recently by a brand called Beauty Essentials who specialize in lots of different beauty products. They sent me Shadow Switch*, which is a product designed to quickly clean your eyeshadow brushes so you can use them multiple times when applying your makeup. I haven't really seen anything else on the market like this and think its a pretty nifty idea, and think it would make a pretty cool gift for a beauty fan, especially if they love a smokey eye as we all know how annoying it is when you use the same eyeshadow brush while creating a smokey eye - it can get messy!
This product is currently available to buy online from Amazon here, but will soon be available on their UK website too.

Seventeen Sparkle and Shine Lip Gloss Collection
One of my go-to budget beauty brands has always been Seventeen at Boots. In fact, I remember writing about their Dazzle Dusts in one of my first blog posts back in 2012. They always do gorgeous and really inexpensive gifts at Christmas time that could be perfect for your sister, bestie, cousin, secret santa, or anyone that loves their make-up really! This Sparkle and Shine Lip Gloss Collection* includes six pretty lip lustres; there is a selection bright pinks, nudes and corals so something to suit all and a great way for someone that perhaps wants to get into make-up can try out different colours. The lip glosses are really good quality considering the teeny tiny price ticket too.

*Includes some PR samples*

Battle Of The Brow Kits

Battle Of The Brow Kits

The contenders:

HD Brows in Foxy

Seventeen Brows That Brow Kit

W7 Brow Bar

MUA Pro Brow Brow Kit

The Results

HD Brows In Foxy

The RRP of this kit is an eye-watering £19.96! I refused to pay for this at full price as I find £20 for an eye brow kit very expensive.  I was happy to find it included in the Latest in Beauty Box, which made it Way cheaper than I could find it anywhere else, and worked out to cost me roughly £4 which I thought was very reasonable. I was really excited to try this kit as I had seen fantastic reviews online. Included in the kit are a nude and carbon shadow and two brown tone powders, and a small brush. There is also a handy mirror on the kit. There are three different coloured kits available - I was happy to find 'Foxy' in my beauty box as it is best suited for medium hair. The pigmentation for this is of a fantastic quality. Admittedly, only one shade is suitable for my brows (the darkest) but I do really like it. The other shades would make great use as eye shadows. It has great staying power, and makes the brows look defined and not over the top. 4/5. 

Seventeen Brows That Brow Kit

When I see new Brow products advertised I get a little excited, so when I saw this new product at the Seventeen stand in Boots for £6 I picked it up. Included in the kit is a powder, wax and highlight shade, as well as a small brush and mini brow pencil. The kit has a small mirror attached which is handy. The pigmentation of the powder is not the best, but this probably depends on your own preference on how bold and dark you like your brows to look. Personally, I like a bold brow, which I don't achieve with this colour. The staying power is quite good, lasting a few hours. The pencil is a handy tool which none of the other kits have, but it isn't quite as dark as I would like, and overall, this product lacks the colour range suitable for a darker brow. 3/5 

W7 Brow Bar

I was particularly intrigued with this kit as it included eye brow stencils, which are something I have never tried before. Also included in the kit are the four powders, an eyebrow comb, a slanted brush and also a mini brush. This is fantastic value for money as it retails for less than £5 (currently only £2.99 at Fragrance Direct if you like a bargain). There is a good selection of colours in the kit as well as a highlight. The quality of the powder shadows is great for the price. The brushes and brow comb are of a standard quality but nothing to write home about. I enjoyed using the stencils as they give a more definitive brow. The product lasts well for a few hours, the only thing I think the kit is lacking is some sort of wax or gel, but other than that I am really impressed with this kit. This is the only brow kit out of all four which doesn't include a mirror. 4/5  

MUA Pro Brow Brow Kit

The most inexpensive of the kits coming in at a mere £3.50 is the Pro Brow Kit by MUA. Included in this kit are three shadows, a setting wax, some small, slanted tweezers and a small brush. There is a small, handy mirror attached to the kit as well which is always a plus. The darkest shade is a dark brown, which is a perfect match for my eye brows. Also included are two highlight shades, personally these shades are a little too dark for high light for me, so I don't really use them for my brows, but I have used them for eye shadow and they are actually quite nice! The dark brown shadow is the perfect brow colour for me and lasts really well. The wax is the best part of this kit as it leaves my brows staying in place without that 'wet' look. I only use the brush for applying the wax as it is a great tool for this, and the tweezers are actually of a fantastic quality, and are the tweezers I use all the time. 5/5

It is a surprise to see that the cheapest product here won hands - down for me! I do like the other kits, but MUA have stood out for me for not only the price, but the quality of the product and the staying power. It just proves that you don't always have to pay for a more expensive brand name to get great results, as this is by far my favourite product which I use every day, and a great bargain make - up find!