Christmas Gift Idea: DIY Beauty Box

My mum is like my guardian angel. Not to sound soppy, but there's nobody I love and look up to more than my mum. All year round she's always there to hold me up in the right place so when it comes to Christmas presents and the trouble of what to buy I always like to put that extra special, personal touch to the final piece. I love to create a gift based on all the different ideas I stress myself out with but one that I know my mum will appreciate and what will sum her up entirely. Last year, I showed you all a Christmas hamper I put together and my adding a unique touch to a simple technique was positively praised. Well, this year I've taken a similar DIY approach and designed my very own beauty box. Every blogger and their mother (no pun intended) know how much choice there is in the beauty box world but for someone who's 40+ (sorry for revealing your age, mum) the selection of products aren't always suitable for her tastes. My mum has her favourites, she's more in to pampering her body than maintaining a skincare routine and she's not fussy about what makeup she wears. With that in mind, I got to work...

What you'll need:

A medium to large box (depending on how much you plan to put in there)

Tissue paper

Ribbon and a bow

Scissors

An assortment of beauty products of choice

And that's it. It's as simple as that.

It's taken a good few month to build up the collection of products and I've been secretly asking for hints on what she'd like for me to gradually but hopefully get it spot on. As this is supposed to be a proposal for a last minute gift and Christmas being only 9 days away, spending that amount of time in planning is not going to work but I think, if you have an idea in mind, it will be just as straight forward to generate a gift box in a week as it would be in 8 week. I don't think there's a certain theme you have to stick to, I suppose you could base it around one certain area of beauty  for e.g. skincare, bath and body, hair etc but I think with variety comes more excitement.

The majority of items I included in this sparkly pink box (I think finding a colour scheme that fits their personality is a bonus too) were well within the reasonable mark. The little extras you can keep topping up the box with were only a few pounds which means if you're on a tight budget, you can search for the best bargains online or in store and bob down to Card Factory or Poundland to pick up the decor and it won't break the bank.

The box contains, The Body Shop Brazil Nut Body Butter 200ml, Shea Body Butter 50ml, Lip Butter 10ml, and Coconut Hand Cleanse Gel 60ml. You can probably guess my mum loves TBS and gets through a tub of body butter in a few weeks so stocking up on that was a must. Next, I grabbed a tub of I Love Chocolate and Oranges body butter for 99p because it sounded like the perfect combination and it smells amazing. For the rest of the skincare we have I Love Coconut & Cream hand lotion 75ml as my mum (like me) loves anything with a creamy coconut scent, Ted Baker Butterfly Wings Body Wash 50ml which is an old favourite and the most expensive of the flock, the Soap and Glory The Firminator as my mum swears by this to help keep the unwanted lumps and bumps at bay.

Makeup wise, apart from the MAC Kohl in Smolder (which is another one of my mum's beloved cosmetics) I've kept to the low price. The five nail varnishes, L'Oreal Colour Riche in 507, Sally Hansen Aria Redy, Good To Grape and Essie All Tied Up were purchased on Fragrance Direct at a fraction of the retail price. Pinks and purples are a staple on my mum's nails so searching through the choices proved easier than originally thought. Makeup Revolution is a brand I've been eager to try out so I thought what better way than to pass it through the mum test first. She told me she needed a new eye pencil and she'd like a browny nude lipstick so I went for Brow Dual Ultra Brow Arch & Shape in Fair and Amazing Lipstick in Treat.

Ever since I purchased my first Naked Palette back in June, my mum's been nagging at me for one of her own. Whenever she's wanting to 'glam' up, she pinches my palette and always comments on how lovely the eyeshadow is. Now, £37 on top of the rest of the products and 5 more gifts I have bought was a bit steep so I went for the dupe option and purchased the W7 In The Buff Palette and the Crown Brush Blending Fluff to go with it as the brushes included are always a tad on the naff side. I've heard nothing but good reviews about this palette and hopefully (although it is more neutral based than the few shimmers which are included in the Naked palette) she will be pleased. Finally, for the finishing touch, I placed the prettiest of candles, the Bombs Away Cosmetics White Rose Ball Candle in the middle as I don't think a gift box without a main feature is complete.

Now, fasten up the ribbon so the box has a present like appearance, place a bow in the middle and all is done. It looks like your ordinary gift but the magic inside will tell a different story. When you get to witness your family/friends eyes light up with delight when they see it's cram packed with their favourite goodies, it's a job well done. It's ideal for any loved one and doesn't even have to just be for a woman either. As long as your box speaks individual character, you can't go wrong.

Have you ever done anything similar for anyone special?

Bridie x