BEST of the Christmas gift sets!

Well it's now December, so about time for the round-up of the very most tempting beauty gift ideas...

As always beauty enthusiasts are spoilt for choice. The best thing is, often these limited edition sets offer great value and mean you can try a range of products in one fell swoop.

I have recently reviewed one of Bare Escentuals' holiday sets, Brush With Fame brush set (£39.) It comes in a spectacular gold bag, with 5 short handled gold brushes: Full Coverage Kabuki Brush, Buffing Eye Brush, Long Tapered Crease Defining Brush, Soft Focus Tapered Liner Brush, and Soft Sweep Cheek Brush. They have two other sets: a £14 set, Flawless and Fearless, which contains a mini Flawless mascara and a mini Pretty Amazing Lip colour -


And, the best set ever, for £49, you get 9 pieces... And Away We Glow is next on my hitlist and I'll be picking it up this week for just under £40 thanks to the Fenwicks/Daily Telegraph evening. It has, Prime Time Primer Shadow in Dove Gray (a perfect taupe shade); Eyecolor in a shimmering moonlight sparkle shade (highlight shade for eyes); New "Round the Clock™ Waterproof Eyeliner in Midnight smoothes on creamy waterproof, long-wearing color loaded with antioxidant vitamin E for a sleek, stay-put line in the perfect midnight black shade"; Turn On Multi-Tasking Highlighter (amazing face highlighter!) "adds a touch of brightness and definition to cheeks, eyes and lips"; New Luxury Blusher "adds a pop of warm coral color to cheeks"; Flawless Definition Mascara in black; New Pretty Amazing™ Lipgloss in Flair (a lovely peachy nude.) And, a Wet/Dry Shadow Brush and Contour Blush Brush.



Murad have some excellent gift sets out called 'Celebrate You!' which offer a great way to save. My favourite is the Embrace Balance, £39.50 (worth £78.50) - this is pink and silver and contains: Energizing Pomegranate Cleanser 50ml, T Zone PoreRefining Gel 60ml (full size), Energizing Pomegranate Moisturiser SPF 15 30ml,Pomegranate Exfoliating Mask 2x 7.5ml.



There's also Get Glowing, £49.50 (worth £84) - this is green and silver and contains: Renewing Cleansing Cream 45ml, Age Diffusing Serum30ml (full size), Sheer Lustre Day Moisture SPF 15 7.5ml, Hydro DynamicUltimate Moisture 7.5ml.



Finally, Renew Radiance, £59.50 (worth £133) - this is orange and silver and contains: Essential-C Cleanser 45ml, Active Radiance Serum 30ml,Essential-C Day Moisture SPF 30 21ml, Hydro Dynamic Ultimate Moisture 7.5ml.



Origins have various skincare gift sets too, but most tempting is this Harrods exclusive Ginger Essence fragrance. It has been given some extra sparkle this year – the bottle is adorned with a mini crystal Christmas Tree Charm made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS. "Exclusive to Harrods this limited edition bottle makes the perfect stocking filler for a loved one or friend. The Christmas Tree Charm is made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS – the finest crystal elements manufactured by Swarovski and has been designed in an array of festive colours – Red, Green and Gold." This scent sounds fantastic and certainly looks the part. With top notes including Bergamot, Lemon, Lime, Orange and Grapefruit, middle notes including Ginger, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Clove Bud and Coriander and floral notes of Violet Leaves and Jasmine including Vanilla, Amber and Sandalwood, this sounds ideal for wearing on a cold Christmas Day. £39 for 100ml.




Next up, probably the most innovative and beautiful of all - trust Jo Malone if you need a gift to make a great impression. I recently received the famous Pomegranate Noir candle... it lives up to the hype!



I have often thought Jo Malone looks oddly intellectual, almost like legal briefs - but that is exactly what makes it so ideal to give to your most sober friend or relative. Having said that. Jo Malone has unveiled an unexpected frivolous side with this brilliant Christmas Cracker (£28) which contains a mini Grapefruit Cologne 9ml, a Lime Basil & Mandarin Body & Hand Wash 15ml and a Pomegranate Noir Body Crème 15ml.



Another great fail-safe choice is the Cologne Collection which contains Grapefruit Cologne, Pomegranate Noir Cologne, Wild Bluebell Cologne, Red Roses Cologne, Vanilla & Anise Cologne (9ml each) £62. These sets also break away from the cream theme by featuring a festive red background.

There's also a Travel candle collection (Pomegranate Noir Travel Candle, Roasted Chestnut Travel Candle, Pine & Eucalyptus Travel Candle, 60g each, £60); a pampering collection (Red Roses Bath Oil 30ml, Pomegranate Noir Scatter Candle 30g, English Pear & Freesia Body Crème 15ml. £38), or the popular Roasted Chestnut candle (400g, £80) - and even a 2.5kg Pine and Eucalyptus candle, £260. Jo Malone candles burn very evenly and really do scent a home - it might be a wise investment!? To check out all the products see this link or check out your local Jo Malone counter.

Another perfume which is worth checking out is Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude. I reviewed it here, but now there is a new Body Veil too. If you visit your local Estee Lauder counter, you can sample the scent via a ver innovative Sensuous Nude Tattoo! Simply press it on to release the scent. The perfume is £34 (30ml) and the Body Veil is £31 (200ml.) You simply peel it off to real a charming heart shape. An excellent idea and a lot more fun than a spritz, right?



MAC have their usual Holiday Sets but I am more taken by the Gareth Pugh collection. The packaging looks so modern and confident, yet still very sleek as opposed to brash. The eyelashes in the collection would be a perfect gift for a confident makeup fan. But otherwise, anything from the range is sure to hit the right note.



I will be keeping a keen eye out for any other Christmas treats, do share below if you have seen any...!