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Unconventional Christmas Gift Guide: Stocking Fillers

November 28th  •  Posted in Lifestyle

In this episode of my Unconventional Christmas Gift Guide, a selection of cute, interesting and thoughtful gifts under £30 perfect as stocking fillers!

Let’s talk stocking fillers, shall we? If there’s one thing I love about buying Christmas gifts, it’s certainly creating a selection of nice inexpensive but useful and interesting items for anyone else’s stocking! And this episode of my Unconventional Christmas Gift Guides series is all about that: this guide includes fashion, jewellery, food and also beauty picks, that are either very thoughtful or useful (or both) with a nice selection of handmade items from small independent businesses thrown in the mix! And everything is under £30 too, hurray!

01. Touchscreen Gloves (similar)
If there’s one thing that shouldn’t ever be left out of a Christmas stocking, those are handy touchscreen gloves! Chances are your gift recipient will already own a pair, though, but gloves are such a nice interchangeable accessory; so try and look for something different this year, a nicer-looking leather alternative maybe?!

02. Biscuiteers Nutcraker Biscuit Card
I’m deeply in love with the concept of Biscuiteers, all about giving beautifully iced biscuits as gift for any occasion really, and also with their amazingly cute designs, of course! This little set is very inexpensive and would make for the perfect stocking filler for anyone who loves Christmas traditions, and you’ll be able to customize the card with your own Christmas message as well. I bet anyone receiving this gift will be left with a huge smile on their faces!

03. Clipper Organic Snore & Peace Infusion
I’m all about gifts that will encourage a new (or old) habit this year, so whether or not you believe your friend is a tea lover, I’m sure a beautifully packaged Clipper infusion will make anyone happy to include a bit of tea in their daily rituals. I especially love their Snore & Peace Infusion with chamomile, lemon balm and lavender, perfect to include in any nighttime routine.

04. Pure Silver Dipped Gold Bar Necklace ℅ Zu Jewellery
Any fashion lover will be excited to find a new piece of jewellery in their stocking. And you know what?, good quality jewellery doesn’t have to be that expensive. Plus, if you’re not really sure what style to go for, you should definitely try something neutral and dainty.

This Zu Jewellery Bar Necklace really ticks all the right boxes, pleasing both the silver and gold lover and being such a perfect everyday minimal piece. They have a nice selection of different jewellery collections for the different types of working women out there, but their minimalistic Pure Collection is surely my favourite out of them all!

05. MOA Daily Cleansing Ritual 
Any beauty lover will be excited to find some new products to try out in their stocking, so think about supporting local small businesses this year, and chose something natural and organic! MOA is a UK brand I’ve been loving lately, and their Daily Cleansing Ritual kit would make for such a lovely gift, I’m sure! Including their best-seller Green Balm and the softest bamboo face cloth, this kit is such a treat!

06. Monki Mint Lace Triangle Bra 
And of course, most women love lingerie, so why not adding a nice-quality lace bra to their stocking? Monki does some pretty interesting triangle options, and their sizes are not too constricting either, making them so easy to give as gift!

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And that’s a wrap! This is actually the last Christmas gift guide from the series this year so I hope you enjoyed them all. Make sure you come back on November 30th, in just a couple of days, for an amazing giveaway, giving you the chance of winning some of these gifts! x

The last episode of my Unconventional Christmas Gift Guide with a nice and different selection of stocking fillers

Unconventional Christmas Gift Guide: The Men In Your Life

November 26th  •  Posted in Lifestyle

Unconventional Christmas Gift Guide: The Men In Your Life

I KNOW! Finding the perfect gift idea for any men in your life can be such a struggle. This is why today’s episode of my Unconventional Christmas Gift Guides will focus on different and unique gifts for any men (enter: boyfriend, husband, dad, brother, grandpa and everything in between) that will actually leave them surprised and in a positive connotation. Today’s Christmas gift guide is including everything from natural manly beauty bits, tech, art prints, menswear but also a couple of picks for the foodie in your family!

01. Amber Fox Print ℅ Sarah Taylor
I guess you should know your man quite well for this gift, but if he loves art prints and woodland animals especially, Sarah Taylor has the most unusual but beautiful collection of prints made from her unique illustrations. All the options are bright and fun and creative, somehow edgy but also realistic, but I’m in love with all her foxes in particular!

02. Filo Bluetooth Tracker 
This is one of the gifts I gave my boyfriend last year actually! When you have someone who loves technology and playing around with his gifts that must be practical at the same time, but who’s also up to date with anything new, it’s not an easy task to impress him!

Filo is an Italian brand (gotta support shopping local, you know!) producing handy and tiny bluetooth trackers you can attach to your keys, or pop in your wallet or backpack (or anything you usually lose!) and it will track it down for you through a nicely designed phone app. You can also make it ring to locate your item, or use its button to locate your phone – just in case that’s the object you lose most often instead! Basically the perfect handy gift for any men who likes to lose his stuff – no matter the age, because the app is very intuitive and user friendly!

03. Miel Café Design x Casetify Phone Case
Again, if your man is a tech lover but you lost count of what what he already owns and what not, just go for a custom phone case and you’ll make him happy, for sure! I actually have a whole collection on Casetify selling my own designs made from my illustrations if you want to have a peek (with a few designs totally appropriated for men too), but as I said in another gift guide, their phone cases are the best in quality too, killing two birds with one stone!

04. Wild & Wolf Hook, Line & Sinker Lunch Bag (similar)
Let’s talk foodie people for a moment now, because this requires a whole different topic! If your man is a food lover but you want him to unwrap something he can keep for a long while and will come pretty handy in a lot of occasions, well, duh!, a lunch bag is your perfect solution! Wild & Wolf used to do one in their Hook, Line & Sinker collection however I’m pretty sure it was limited edition (still, the collection is extremely worth checking out) but you can find a lot of similar alternatives with beautiful minimal designs perfect for any foodie and adventurer in your life!

05. Brekka Milano Chunky Beanie
So, from what I know about men, they subdivide into two categories: the ones who have all accessories and the ones who have zero. Both cases they’d either love or find very useful a warm thick chunky beanie in their life! I had to mention a Milan based brand, of course, but Brekka really has some high quality nice options – of course there are plenty of alternatives for all the different budgets online and in store right now!

06. Modern Man Toiletry Bag + Mr Bear Family Beard Balm + Lush Lord Of Misrule Shower Cream
You don’t need a men to say he likes beauty products to buy him some, because of course he secretely does. Everyone takes showers after all! I always love the ideas of building up a present inside another by hand-picking items to go into a pretty storage box or, in this case, into the quirkiest vintage-ish toiletry bag!

I have stuffed it with a couple of natural products, the #1 boyfriend-approved shower gel from Lush (Lord of Misrule is definitely a fragrance that works great with men, and it makes them smell pretty nice too) and a handy all-natural beard balm smelling of nice wild herbs. This is definitely a win-win situation (for him and for your nose)!

07. Five Elephant Coffee
Lastly but not at least, most men love coffee. So why not giving them a chance of trying out some new enviroment-friendly blends from a small independent shop? Your coffee lover will surely appreciate Five Elephant coffee: they have a lot of different options, for flavours but also grinds. You could consider also getting him a nice and fancy coffee grinder if he’s that passionate – they’re not too expensive but will be very nicely appreciated!

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And that’s it, my Christmas Gift Guide for any men!
Make sure to come back every other day for more gift ideas and that you didn’t missed any so far! Stay tuned until the very end on November 30th for a chance to win some of this gifts!
Covering ‘Stocking Fillers’ next… x

Episode number 4 of my Unconventional Christmas Gift Guides covers gift ideas for any men in your life: dads, grandpas, brother, boyfriend and everything in between!

Unconventional Christmas Gift Guide: The Homebound

November 24th  •  Posted in Lifestyle

In this third episode of my Unconventional Christmas Gift Guide I'm covering some cosy and warm gift ideas for the "homebound" or lounge lover!

In this third episode of my Unconventional Christmas Gift Guide I'm covering some cosy and warm gift ideas for the "homebound" or lounge lover!

For this third episode of my Unconventional Christmas Gift Guides series, I’m covering all things cosy and warm that any lounge lover or “homebound” in your life will definitely love! It’s a nice selection of natural beauty and aromatherapy, cosy loungewear and mugs and unique homeware and jewellery anyone who loves spending time at home will surely appreciate!

01. Ladies Lounge Socks ℅ Heat Holders
So let’s talk these magical socks, shall we?! They are made from a heavy bulk yarn that has extreme thermal properties and that has been brushed to be soft and trap warm air close to the skin. These are the softest warmest socks I have ever worn and I bet anyone suffering with cold feet will thank you a whole lot for getting them a pair.

02. L’Occitane Relaxing Pillow Mist & Cherry Blossom Hand Cream
Any “homebound” who loves natural beauty and at-home-pampering will surely appreciate a little L’Occitane set! They always stock a lot of premade gift sets, but you could also create your own to give your friend a selection of your favourite items. For me, no doubt, they’d be my beloved Relaxing Pillow Mist & Cherry Blossom Hand Cream – both great skincare and aromatherapy products.

03. Frank Body Coffee Scrub Kit 
I have shared the love for Frank Body scrubs in the past already a couple of times and I can’t help but think anyone should be introduced to them once in their lifetime! These are all-natural parabens-free coffee scrubs, great for all those sensitive skins out there, and, again, for anyone who loves a little home-based pampering session. They come in a bunch of different scents (my favourite being the Cacao option!) and they are very messy indeed, but so exfolianting and fun at the same time!

04. Button Necklace ℅ Theodora Gould
As soon as Theodora introduced me to her Button Necklace, I fell deeply in love with it! Not only I have always loved button-shaped jewellery, but her beautiful hand-crafted pieces all have a unique story behind them. Theodora Gould jewellery is inspired by vintage designs, history, nature but especially country living. Whether your “homebound” is a fashion lover or not (when it’s not in her loungewear, of course!), she will surely love wrapping something that so deeply remember of home and childhood, with such a simple delicate design, around her neck.

05. Garden Collage Homeware*
I bet any homebound would love to receive a couple of pieces from the beautiful Garden Collage homeware collection. Founded by Daisy Helman in 2015, Garden Collage is a fresh new online magazine covering stories about gardens, environmental innovation, plant-based beauty products and the charm of gardening in our modern world. They run a gardening, beauty and homeware shop alongside the magazine, and there they sell unique hand-picked brands that will be pretty appreciated by anyone with a taste for aesthetic in their homes!

06. Chelsea Peers Soft Peachy PJ Set
Of course any lounge lovers will be enthusiatic to unwrap some new soft PJ to add to their collection! This Chelsea Peers number is extremely cute in its peachy pink tone, but it’s also the softest PJ set I’ve ever worn (and I’ve worn a lot!). They have a shorts version as well, so you can’t really go wrong with this one!

07. BauHaus Mama Mug ℅ Anya Fennet
Whenever I find a mug underneath the Christmas tree, I’m just the happiest! I love mugs so much, that you’ll understand my excitement about a handmade wheel-thrown mug that looks this adorable and unique! Ania runs an interior design company and has just launched her BauHaus collection with cosy handmade clay pieces that will surely warm the heart of any tea/coffee drinker in your life!

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That’s it for today’s Christmas Gift Guide! Make sure you come back every other day for more gifts and you didn’t miss any so far! Also, stay tuned until the very end for an exciting surprise (hint: it includes a gift… for you!).
Covering ‘The Men In Your Life’ next (whoopee, things are getting interesting!)… x