Pretty In Bronze

This is my pricier gift guide! It's not all necessarily high end, but some of the products are—in my opinion—too expensive to be considered affordable, especially depending on what they are for. If you haven't seen my Affordable Gift Guide, please go give that a read first and hopefully it will save you some cash this holiday season!

I am a huge believer in investing in your skin. I look way better when I take care of it, and my makeup does as well. This doesn't mean all of your skincare has to be expensive to work. In my Affordable Gift Guide I feature a few brands that are amazing and very affordable. These are just the products that I think are worth their hefty price tag that will work for someone in your life.

Chorus Supernatural Glycolic Facial Peel - I gave this product a full review so check that out first to see if anyone in your life would benefit from this! The link is an affiliate link so I do make money off any purchases using it. Even though I got this for free, I'm so happy with it and the bottle is massive so your $30 is going to go a very long way and show amazing results. Considering other similar products on the market, for the amount you get this is pretty affordable, but since this one item on it's own is $30, I'm considering it high-end!



Dermalogica is a wonderful brand to shop from if you really want to treat someone this holiday season. Check out my review on two of their products that I love to give you a good idea. Especially if the person you're shopping for has dehydrated skin like myself. I'm dreading the day I run out of my goodies because they are ridiculously expensive (I'm talking $50–$100+ range), but when I do I will likely purchase a few with my own money because they're just that good. You can also treat someone to a facial at a Dermalogica location for something extra special that they will be very grateful for!



Dr. Belmeur - When I wrote my review on some of their products it thought they were ok, but now that I've gone back to it I'm realizing just how amazing some of the products are, especially the night cream. They aren't ridiculously priced and work almost as well as Dermalogica products do, but my favourite item is still in the $50 range. It does last a very long time though!



Egyptian Magic All Purpose Cream - This stuff is magical. Here's a review and a post on the different uses this product claims to have. I do update that post as I use this product for different uses to let you know what I've tried and how it worked! This is absolutely amazing and has saved me in so many different situations. I use this almost every day somewhere on my body and recommend this to every person, even those of you with eczema since it has helped me with that as well!

Weleda Nail Care Pen - This is a life saver for anyone who constantly has messed up nails due to biting the skin around them! I gave this a review in a post from almost two years ago and I'm still loving it! Whenever my cuticles and skin around my nails are looking dry (or if I bite it) I use this pen and it patches it all up super quickly. If I put this on at night, I can tell a huge difference by the next morning. I added this to the high-end version because for a nail care pen, paying around $20 seems steep, but I love it and I'm so happy they sent me a backup (I'm still using the first one so I 100% believe it's worth the purchase). This would make a wonderful item to throw into a skincare package for someone who likes that type of thing!

Gift Cards! You seriously can't go wrong with a gift card to Sephora, MAC, Shoppers Drug Mart, or anywhere else that sells makeup! Figure out what the special person in your life enjoys (take note of the brands they talk about) and buy them a gift card to whichever store sells those products. You really can't go wrong with Sephora since they seem to carry the biggest variety of brands in stores and especially online for Canada. I always get a gift card every year (whether it be on Christmas or for my birthday) so a majority of my makeup spending is from my gift money.

Makeup Subscription Boxes - This is a tricky one, but I think it's a great idea if money isn't an issue for you. I've tried both Ipsy and Boxycharm, but there are many other options out there, especially if you don't live in Canada. I'm going to recommend Boxycharm since they are availabe here and I personally loved that the most.  Here's a review from summer of 2017! You can gift a subscription to anyone (one month, three months, a year, etc.) and just have it shipped to their house. This can be expensive, but the bigger the package you sign up for, the cheaper the price is per month. You get a lot of wonderful makeup and beauty products in Boxycharm so I highly recommend!

ESQIDO - Theres so much I love from this brand! You know by now that the Unisyn False Lashes are my favourite lashes ever! They are $22 USD so not crazy, but also not affordable. Their Lash Companion Glue is my favourite glue ever ($10 USD so not bad considering most glues are about that price in Canada) and let's not forget their Gel Eyeliner Pencils that are currently on sale for $12 USD (and yes I consider this high end because most eyeliners I own are about $5 CAD, but ones from Sephora are usually $20+). The first link is an affiliate link, but you can also use my code amys when purchasing from their website to receive a 10% discount on your order!



Kat Von D Shade + Light eyeshadow Palette - If you don't want to give a gift card, but the person you're shopping for loves makeup, especially eyeshadows, I think this palette is a great idea if they don't already own it. This contains pretty much every neutral shade you might need for creating basic eyeshadow looks, and also for throwing other eyeshadows on top that the individual may already own. I know there is a lot of controversy around the brand because of the owner's Anti-Vax beliefs, but I don't stop buying makeup from brands because of things like that because it seems like so many brands that I love end up getting into some big controversy and I'll honestly run out if I base my purchases on that. So if you don't care about the individuals beliefs and just care about good makeup, this palette is a perfect gift idea!

Image from https://www.katvondbeauty.com

I wanted to also give a special shoutout to the Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow palettes, especially their Modern Renaissance palette, and Too Faced, mainly their Original Chocolate Bar palette.  I love all of these and think a lot of makeup lovers do as well. If a makeup lover in your life doesn't own any of these, definitely pick one up. I don't think they'll be disappointed! I searched 'too faced chocolate' on my own blog to see what pops up and I have it featured in a bunch of posts and videos in case you are curious!

I love my Juicy Couture perfume and even got one for Christmas last year. If someone in your life has been looking at a particular fragrance for a while and you have the money for it, get it. It makes a perfect gift and so many people associate fragrances with events, places and people so they will probably always remember you when they put it on!

So many good brands! My favourite overall hairline is from Saryna Key. Favourite hair oil is the Moroccan Oil Light. Schwarzkopf is amazing too, especially their fiberplex line, and Chorus Supernatural is great for colour treated hair. These brands are all higher end, but I think they're all worth it and even though I have received products from them for free, I have also purchased their products myself (literally every one of the brands) because I just love them that much!




That's it for my higher end gift guide for the holidays this year! I hope this was helpful and at least gave you some ideas for what to get the special people in your life. 

See you soon!

Welcome back! I've decided to do two simple holiday gift guides this year; one affordable guide and one that is a bit more pricey. I want these to be a bit more general so they'd work for at least someone in your life so I want to include a good range. I also wanted to make sure you can get all of these products in Canada. I have reviewed a lot of these products on this blog and YouTube before so I do include a few old photos that aren't as high quality as my most recent posts just so it's not all text. Let's jump right in!

Skincare can sometimes be tricky because many people have allergies and the good stuff tends to be expensive. While a lot of my recommendations are high end, I do have one particular brand that I swear by that is incredibly affordable!

 The Ordinary by Deciem is very affordable while also being very good. Most of their products range between $5 and $20 so you can't go wrong. They pretty much have something for everyone and even have a "No Brainer" set that seems like a great gift idea for someone that is looking to get into skincare, but doesn't know where to start. If you want to know what I love check out my review on my 'top five favourite products' from The Ordinary (also includes a foundation), and also my first ever review on their skincare.

The Dove Men + Care products make wonderful stocking stuffers. They often come in a simple bag as a set for under $15 that makes it easy for travel or if the man (or woman) in your life brings their own supplies to the gym. My fiancé loves getting the sets or individual items from this line in his stocking. I actually use the Sensitive Shield Antiperspirant Stick from this line so you if you're a female or if you know one who sweats a lot like me, definitely check it out! I recommend hitting up Costco because they carry a lot of the products in bulk, but Shoppers Drug Mart and Walmart carry them as well.

I'm just going to throw a few into the same category here and talk about body wash and lotions. These always make nice stocking stuffers so I want to mention a few. My favourite body wash is the Le Petit Marseillais Body Crème, which you can buy online on Amazon. I have a short review blogpost on the body creme so definitely check that out! I also love Weleda body wash and pretty much all of the products I've ever tried from them (even though they are on the higher end of affordable), but I'll include more in this post. This one is also a bit pricey in the affordable realm at above $20, but the Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream is amazing for pretty much anyone and my dermatologists have recommended that brand again and again since it doesn't irritate my eczema.

Excuse this terrible photo from an old blog post!

The fun part! If you pay attention to my blog posts and videos, these brands won't come to you as a chock. If you want to get makeup for someone that is good quality, but won't break the bank, check out Wet n Wild and Essence! These are my two favourite drugstore brands. Wet n Wild has amazing eyeshadows, foundation, brushes and powder products in general while Essence makes some of the best mascaras on the market (including my favourites that I've tried so far), amazing lipsticks, cream products and even nail polish! Most products from both of these brands are under $10 so if you search either brand on my blog you will find lots of reviews to help you choose what to buy. To make the guide easier, my favourite items from Essence are: mascaras, highlighters, nail polishes and matte lipsticks.  My favourite items from Wet n Wild are eyeshadow palette, highlighter, brushes and nail polishes.

I also wanted to give a special shoutout to The Ordinary's serum foundation, Maybelline's Fit Me Concealer, Nyx lip lingerie lipsticks, Physicians Formula's Butter Bronzer, and Milani's baked blush's!

Tools aren't something I think much about since I normally put them in with the makeup category or body care. I've mentioned some of my favourite brushes are from Wet n Wild above, but Real Techniques makes some wonderful brushes and sell brush sets for under $30 that are super easily accessible in Canada. Highly recommend if you know someone who is getting into makeup and doesn't own many brushes. The Real Techniques complexion sponge is also good if a beauty blender is out of the price range.

The Veet Sensitive Precision Beauty Styler was sent to me a few weeks back for consideration so I've been testing it out since then. I love this thing and I think anyone who does their own eyebrows or trims their body hair will as well. It's so handy and easy to use and comes in a travel friendly case. It's under $30 and even comes with a battery (how rare is that?!) and doesn't only need to be used on women. Steven played around with it on his sideburns and beard and it worked for that as well. This would be a great stocking stuffer, but might also work as a gift! My only advice is if you're trimming your eyebrows, make sure you don't have them filled in. I got to cocky thinking I had more eyebrow hairs than I actually do and went with the shortest setting. I didn't realize it was too short until I took my makeup off and looked crazy so definitely have no makeup on or don't be like me and think you've been gifted by the eyebrow gods when the truth is you just have an average amount of hair there.

2018 has been the first year since I was three years old where I haven't bit all of my nails off. Truth is, I knew I'd be getting engaged soon and wanted to have nice looking nails to match the nice ring (I know it sounds shallow) BUT IT WORKED! Now I have normal looking nails and take care of them way better, so I have actual products to tell you about.

For nail care, unfortunately my favourite product is high end so I won't be including it in this post. Instead I'll recommend keeping your hands moisturized. I love the Weleda Almond Soothing Hand Cream for really moisturizing my hands and it smells really nice too so I think anyone would love it!

For nail polish I highly recommend Wet n Wild's one step gel polish line, any of the Essence nail polishes. Super affordable and amazing quality!

This one is easy. Dry shampoo! My favourite is the Batiste dry shampoo because you can often find them on sale for $8 for the regular size or $12 for the large size (at Winners or Marshalls). You can also find bundle packs at Costco that makes it very affordable. I personally go through a lot of dry shampoo so if you know anyone that uses it, they will be very grateful for some more.

As you may or may not know, I've tested out a lot of skincare products over the summer. This is difficult because I need to use the skincare items for at least a few weeks on their own to know for sure how I feel about the products, and how my skin reacts to it. Right after writing my last skincare review I switched to these two products from belif since I received them in an Influenster Voxbox along with the VDL primers I posted about on Instagram a while back.

The products below are the Oil control moisturizer fresh & Eucalyptus herbal extract toner, as seen in the title. The moisturizer retails for $46 USD on their website and $34 USD for the toner.

Ever since purchasing the green, I've really started testing out all of them. I've been using the yellow as a concealer base for when I'm at my palest (Winter and Spring) since I have a very yellow skin tone and it basically works as a light coverage concealer on its own. Here are the concealers swatched on my arm (which was still darker from the summer).