12 Posts before Christmas: Gift ideas under £25

Hello!

Hope the week is going well, moving up from the last post, here are some gifts for a higher budget, but still under £25. As I mentioned in that post, these are all products I have personally tried and loved so I really recommend them! As in the last post, I've tried to include ideas for various people in your life, so hopefully you can find an idea in here! I've also included clickable links for easy shopping!

Makeup:
As I mentioned in my stocking stuffer and secret santa idea post I love eyeshadow palettes so I had to include 3 of my favourite ones that fit in this category!

Soap and Glory Perfect 10 palette- limited edition and different from the one last year, this one is more rosy toned and full of really nice Christmas colours like Damsel which is the 6th colour in the palette. It is out of stock online, but you can check store availability through the link. Really good for someone who likes pinks such as the Naked 3. The quality of the shadows is lovely as well and for £16, I think it makes a lovely gift.

No 7 Ultimate Eye Palette- I got this as well as the smaller £10 palette but honestly, that one had so much glitter I decided not to recommend it in my other gift guide. This one however is £20 and has 20 shades of nice quality shadows. There are a few glittery shades in the palette, but I had less fallout than the other palette. It contains 4 rows and I like that the rows seem to have a theme for each one. The top row is pink toned, the second neutral brown toned, the third grey toned, and to be fair, the last one is not that clear as to what it is, but has a lovely copper shade, so I'll let it pass. The palette also comes with a large mirror and so I think it would be perfect for someone who wants to expand their eyeshadow collection.

Neve Cosmetics Elegantissimi Eye palette- If you know a girl (or guy, I don't judge) who loves really nice neutral shades for everyday wear and likes to have some darker browns as well, then this is the palette for them. This palette is stunning. For the price of £21.95, you get 30 g of eye shadow, a refillable palette and well, nothing much else, but I think it's worth every cent. The shadows are incredibly pigmented and buttery, I mean all the recommendations above also have great texture and pigmentation, but this one just blew my mind. Just a tiny touch and bam! pigment! Really smooth, the mattes are great, the shimmers are great and is all around a great palette. Have I said great enough yet this explanation? I'm not sure. Great. If that wasn't enough, the palette is vegan so if that's something you were looking for, then this palette is great. (I just had to get another in) I would say, just because of how intense some of these shadows are, you toss in an eyeshadow primer so they don't stain their lids, and it's not the best palette for a beginner.



Or put together...
Nail polish sets- see some of my top nail picks from last winter! I would recommend getting a little box , fill it with some really nice shades, add a top coat and a base coat and that's a lovely gift! (add ribbon to minimise wrapping)

Skin/body care
Body Shop Body Butter/ gift set- The Body Shop are my go-to shop for nice Christmas gifts! I love the sets they do with the tiny minis and their body butters are one of my favourite things! I love the vineyard peach scent and the Chamomile Cleansing Oil is great as well! I just went on their site and they have a gift finder where you select the gender, who is it for, what they would like (eg skincare or bodycare) and how much you would like to spend. Lovely. Check it out here. Also, their charity this year is WaterAid!

Or... put together
Lush set- The things in Lush aren't very expensive individually, by which I mean most things are around £3-5. So I think a nice present would be to put some of these together and make a nice present like the nail polish gift. Throw in a mix of Christmas items and regular line items and there's a lovely smelling present for someone who likes baths. Or if that's too much work, they have gift sets as well. This one looks nice, but I haven't personally tried everything in the box so I can't recommend it personally.



Clothing:
Jack Wills Dashwood Mittens- OK, this is the Jack Wills Outlet Store, and these were the mittens from last years line, but honestly, these are amazing. I got them for Christmas last year and I can honestly say that I used them a lot during winter. Also, because it's the outlet store, it's cheaper at £16. Still super cute and comfy, I recommend this for anyone who has cold hands, and don't lose their mittens easily


Tech/accessories:
Keep Cup- OK, I just discovered these and I want so many different colours. An Australian brand, the Keep Cup is basically the perfect gift for someone who loves their hot beverages and likes customisable gifts.They are also environmentally friendly! Get either one of the basic ones or go fancy and get the glass ones. Also, if you're ordering and are worried about the time needed to ship, go for a gift voucher. It'll allow them to design their own.


Personal planner- I love planners and the personal planner is amazing. I haven't started using mine as I got it for next year, but I love the customisable options. This is great for a fan of stationary and customisable options. I would get the gift card and place it with a few other bits like colour pens and washi tape. I love that you can key in all the important dates such as birthdays and anniversaries and that they will be carried forward to the next year. I also like little details in mine like a reminder to get a new planner, UK holidays, and little icons for other days of note. It has gotten more expensive since I ordered mine, but I think it's still a really good option for all the customisable options.


Let me know what you think of my gift guide and which presents you're thinking about getting in the comments below! If you're worried about "giving the game away" to someone who may see the comment, choose the email area and choose comment as a guest because I would love to see what you guys are gifting people this Christmas!

Signing off now,

Dusty Foxes

Project 10 Pan Update 2: I finished P10P!

I honestly find it hard to believe that one week after I decide to stop Project 10 pan, I complete it. The irony. Anyway, as I haven't used any of the new things I bought yet (haul coming soon), I decided that it would be ok to consider this project 10 pan completed. To be fair, I had most of these items as almost finished/ finished when I decided to give up, and it was only when I was updating the list of items I had finished on the P10P page I realised I had reached 10. So yay! 

1st up is this EOS lip balm in Mint. I got this a year ago in New York and I really enjoyed it. I have read that this isn't the most moisturising and some people say it actually dries your lips out, but I didn't have that problem at all. I would (and have) repurchase.

I only realised that this photo does not show that it is finished. I honestly did finish it! This red lipstick is the Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in Red Porcelain and I did not really like it. It had a glossy-ish finish and was quite slippy on the lips, but I was just uncomfortable with the colour to be honest. I felt very out of place while wearing it and I could feel the lipstick on, which I personally do not like. However, wearing a red around the house and when I'm going out did make me feel more bold about wearing colours on my lips, so that is a good thing. Personally, I would not repurchase this.

Believe it or not, this is the first eyeshadow I hit pan on and it is a big one. I depotted this MUA Matt individual eyeshadow in Shade 20 which was a matt black to put into my Uni palette for this project and it did help me finish it up. I used this mixed with my Barry M Matt bronzing Powder for my brows and I used this for anything I needed a matt black for. I used it for smokey eyes and eyeliner as well and I would repurchase this if I ever wanted a matt black again (unlikely).

Disclaimer: I think this dried up as opposed to being used up as I doubt I used it enough to actually finish a mascara. Also, how do you know if a mascara is used up or dried up? Anyway, it's the first time I've used a mascara until it can't be used anymore, so I'm counting it. I did not really like this mascara and would not repurchase.

This had a little bit left after I was done with the colour club one I posted about last time so it isn't a surprise that I finished this. I have already repurchased a new Seche Vite top coat as it is my favourite for a shiny, fast drying top coat. It really makes my nails dry faster and it makes them really glossy and pretty, so I'm happy with it. I know that it has toulene in it, but I make sure to have my window open when I'm painting my nails, and nothing else I've tried is as good as this top coat.

This empty pot was the 17 Phwoarr paint in Medium. I did clean the pan up a bit before taking the photo but it was pretty much like this already. I used this under my eyes, but I didn't really get along with it that well. I would not repurchase.

So that's the end of this update and the end of Project 10 pan! I have some other items to blog about and I want to talk about some other things as well, but look out for full reviews of some of the products mentioned in this post! Keep up to date by following my blog (bloglovin' link on the side bar) and leave a comment below!

Signing off now

Dusty Foxes

PS. Happy International Mother's day to all mothers out there!

Products I'm Throwing Away/ Empties!

There are about 101 posts (not actually counted) on why you should throw away your make up and why they have use by dates and what those dates are, but I tend to go with the "it-still-works-so-why-throw-it" rule. In fact, even when I can't use a product anymore, I still like to hoard it if it holds a special memory or just because I don't throw things away (looks at receipt in purse from 3 years ago...). So I decided it was time to say goodbye to some of the things I should have thrown out a long time ago as part of the new year clean out...

First product I knew I was getting rid of was this 17 BB Blemish Balm in shade medium. It was really sad to let go of this since it was one of the first make up products I bought for myself, but it was about a year and a half old, was separating and was  starting to cause my skin to itch when I put it on. I liked this when I first got it, but to be honest, I didn't love it once I started on my Etude House BB cream. I won't be repurchasing this as I think there are other products that work better for me.

These 3 are liquid eyeliners from Korean brand Etude House. I love these as they make liquid eyeliner application quite easy as they have a brush end. It's super fine and makes really nice lines, but these eyeliners were about a year old and I decided to stop using them near my eyes. However, I going to use this as a striper in nail art so it's all good. I would repurchase these, but I have other eyeliners I'm using first so these are just ones I'm keeping in mind. 

Finally 3 mascaras. As you probably know, you should change mascaras every 3 months. These are about 7/8 months old so I decided to let them go and move onto the backlog of mascara I have. The one on the left is a clear one by Make Up Academy or MUA and I used it as a brow gel. As you can see it's really gross now so I decided to throw it away, especially as I've stopped using it. It was £1 so I may be repurchasing if I decide I want a clear brow gel again. I liked this as it didn't make my brows look crunchy and it worked.

The middle one broke my heart to throw away as it always got me such great compliments. It's the Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara and it's double ended. I got the waterproof version and while it did smudge after 6/7 hours, it made my lashes look really nice.  This was really hard to let go off as it was the mascara I brought with me to my 1st time in New York and it was the mascara I wore on my first date with my boyfriend. So for sentimental reasons I didn't want to throw it away. Those reasons aside, it was a good mascara so I will probably repurchase this again once I'm through my backlog of mascaras. I do love the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara (mini review in my Sephora Haul post here.) But this one is a pretty decent affordable dupe. I actually used it everyday until it dried up, which is a major accomplishment if you ask me!

The last one is the Barry M Lash Vegas Mascara. I liked this for really big lashes. It was clumpy, but when you don't have much to work with, I'm not too fussed. I got this when it was on offer at Boots (free gift when you spent a certain amount on Barry M), but I don't think I'll be repurchasing as it isn't one of my favourites. It is still a good mascara, but it's a bit too showy and clumpy for my tastes.

I feel better now that I have cleared out a few things that I really needed to but I think I still need to be a lot more strict with my purchasing and really buy things when I need them as opposed to buying them to hoard. 

Have you done a make up clear out?  Let me know what products you've had to let go of and what you think about any of the products mentioned here in the comments section below!

Signing off now

Dusty Foxes.

Project 10 Pan

Every year, I start off with a few days of rest, then cleaning everything up for a fresh start. This year was no exception to that, except, I realised that my few "sneaky purchases" ended up being more like a lot of very expensive, unnecessary purchases.

I originally thought that I would put myself on a spending ban and not buy makeup for say a month or 2, but then I realised that previously after my ban was over, I went and spent excessively which resulted in more stuff which I'm having trouble keeping (and since I'll be moving in summer, I'm already beginning to wonder what I'm going to do!)

Hence, I turned to the interwebs for tips for downsizing my makeup collection and the general consensus was throw out unused products, but that didn't work for me as all my makeup is relatively new (though I did choose a few products to toss).

Eventually I came across project 10 pan. It's one of those where the rules aren't clear and I can't seem to find who started it, but here it goes!


My rules:

1. I will not buy any more makeup unless that particular thing (eg foundation) is completely finished. If it's something like eyeshadow, I will use up the dupes in my collection before buying a new one. In this case, either I can choose a new product or my favourite one of the ones I've tried. I can buy one replacement only.

2. I will reward myself by adding a high-end product into my collection. In my crazy spending spree, I bought a bunch of makeup like the Naked palettes and haven't used them yet. I've decided not to use them until I've used up at least 10 products as I know I won't use the makeup I have already if I start using those! It's also a good initiative to remember this project! Most people would remove their spending ban, but I want to really downsize my collection first so I'm using a reward system instead!

3. If there is something that I really want, either a replacement (that I still have others of the same of, see rule 1) I will write it down in my notebook and see how I feel about the product once I've finished the other products. An example of this is the Benefit They're Real Mascara. I already know I want to repurchase it, but I have a lot of other mascaras to finish first!

4. I will post reviews of the things I finish on the blog! This is to make sure I don't get tetchy about not having things to blog about and also so that you (my lovely readers) can see my opinions after using a product up completely!

5. Anything can be considered an empty, including body butter and body scrubs, but not soap, shampoo, conditioner or single use masks. This is because I tend to use them up quite quickly anyway. Also, items that go off or I decide I don't want anymore because they're not that great, can't be considered. I have to actually use them!

More details: