Holiday Gift Guide: the In-Laws

In-LawsOnto my second instalment of the Spiffykerms Holiday Gift Guide 2015! My gift guides will be coming out fast and furious the next few weeks. I have a lot of ideas to share. Today, we’re talking ‘n thinking about gifts for your in-laws.

I actually find it quite easy to shop for my in-laws, since they all have similar taste to me, or so we tell one another when we all go shopping together. I grew up with one older brother, so I never had much girl-time with any female siblings…because duh I was the only female! Lol.

I lucked into having three sister-in-laws upon marriages happening. My brother is married to an Irish woman, and my husband has two sisters. I honestly feel like they could all be my sisters. I love hanging out with each of them one-on-one and having that special bond with the three of them.

My parents-in-laws are awesome too. My Mother-In-Law bakes like no other. Her cheesecakes are to die for, I always said they were like “restaurant quality” and could definitely open up her own bake-shop if she wanted. I am craving a chocolate cheesecake from her now! Good thing we are heading home for Christmas.

My Father-in-law (FIL) and I share a general interest in rocks together. I grew up with a neighbour who was a geologist, and that neighbour and I always chatted about rocks. I even thought about going into geology! Obviously I don’t know as much as my FIL about geology (he has a large collection of incredible pieces and takes good care of them all), but I love having that similar interest with him. Did you guys know I used to have a rock collection? Like a legitimate one – rocks from all over the world. I ended up gifting it to my nephew when he turned 7 or 8, because he too, shows an interest in it. Even had this homemade box to keep them all labelled separately and in their own little cube so to speak.

Alright, let’s get into those holiday gift ideas! (Some items in this post were sent for review. Opinions are my own!) 

PIL-gift1

PIL-gift2For the parents-in-laws
Yes! Two photos for the parents-in-laws. Luckily my husbands parents are fairly easy to buy for, come Christmas time. Last time I was in Newfoundland, I ended up giving my Mother-In-Law Dior + Bioderma products and she seemed to really enjoy it! Plus, I usually like to think that whatever I like, in general — a lot of other people would too, no? I mean, who doesn’t want to try out Love With Food (an organic + all natural snacking monthly subscription box) to arrive on their door step each month? And another unique gift idea I love is to incorporate their pets (or Alfie, their grand-pet in this case, hee hee!) and have a CaseApp skin on their ipad? Don’t forget about liquid resistant placemats for the pets at home too, that one’s from JC Penny. Or cute festive Owl pillows (how cute is the one with the Santa hat?!) I also love giving luxury skincare items that people may or may not have heard of before, both Aesop and Antipodes are fantastic brands.

Products shown in first photo for parents-in-laws: 

Products shown in second photo for parents-in-laws: 

BIL-HolidayFor your brother-in-laws:
Because I feel like a lot of guys don’t necessarily take care of their hair until someone steps in. For instance, I had no idea my husband didn’t use conditioner until I asked him about it! Sheesh, take care of your boys here ladies and gents. The scent of the kelp & mint duo is unreal, kind of reminds me of something from Aveda,if you know that scent. Mmm-mmm, music to my ears. The hand wash is also gorgeous smelling and I feel like it would look really great in a bachelor’s kitchen, or bathroom to fancy and pretty things up a bit. Plus I feel like foaming hand washes last a lot longer than the regular ones. Anyone else feel that way? And tell me more about those iHome headphones I’m hearing you say! They’re wireless. They’re bluetooth. They’ll love you forever for getting that for them, and thinking you spent a lot more than you actually did.

That box of Boardwalk Food Company Craft Beer Snack Mix (shown: pretzel in rosemary sea salt) is such an awesome idea. And so easy to make for a dude’s party. I guarantee they’ve never seen something like this before. You can make them in 30 minutes… WITH BEER. Gah! Genius.

You guys know I love that Juniper Ridge brand, which I included in my previous gift guide, heehee! And let’s talk about practcal gifts here. Those AllerEase pillow protectors. I know, I know. You’re thinking its’ a strange gift. It kinda is, I agree, but aren’t a lot of guys super practical? I know for sure my husband, brother and father are. They want something they know they will use. And who KNOWS how old their pillows are. Eeeehhhhw.

Products shown for brother-in-laws: 

Delsey-LuggageIf you’re feeling extra generous or happen to have a bigger wallet than I, you could always give the gift of a luxury suitcase. This one is from Delsey, and it’s the 19″ Chatelet carry-on spinner trolly. I’ll be talking more about it in depth in a future blog post, so stay tuned for that too!

SIL-Holiday

For the sister-in-laws:
Although three of them are quite different from one another, I can guarantee that my three sister-in-law’s would love any (or multiple) gifts of the above shown, especially something by bareMinerals because I took my SIL there a few weeks ago (see!!). I would have loved to include these adorable bunny slippers from ardene, or even a clothing piece. One of my sister-in-laws cycles as much as her brother/my husband does. So keep in mind what their interests are, and branch out from there.

Products shown for sister-in-laws: 

The three gift guides shown above (sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws, and parents-in-laws) are all somewhat gender neutral and could be used/given to either male or females. I mean, man-buns…hello? They need hair ties and hair spray. Some dude’s are totally into nail polish too you know. And I know the Sephora male employees know how to contour better than I ever will. Plus, this is to give you some ideas and what brands to keep an eye out for while shopping this Christmas (or which ever holiday you celebrate).

 

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Makeup of the day | 100% Pure

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100pure-foundation

100pure-look2I’m going to be honest with you guys, I hadn’t tried or had ventured out to specifically try 100% natural or 100% vegan makeup. But I was given the chance to try some from a local company called 100% Pure, and I thought — why not. Let’s see how it all stands up to the test of time. On my face. Throughout the day. That picture above, is the finished look. Looks like the type of look I generally gravitate towards, au natural. So far so good?

But how do I really think they perform? Find out below after the step-by-step process!

100percent-pure-look11. 100% Pure Brightening Serum: Serums are always a nice addition to start off your morning with, or apply at night (I wouldn’t use a brightening one for your night time routine though). It always preps the face and keeps the skin hydrated. Always a good thing. Or if you want to get real fancy, use this in conjunction with your foundation (mix the two together) and create a lightweight glowy base for your skin.

2.100% Pure  Argain Oil Hydration SPF 30: Holy zinc batman. That sunscreen/moisturizer combo was incredibly thick but not too thick where it too ages to rub in. I’m not sure how much moisturizing it did, considering all I felt was thick sunscreen. I need to harp on you guys: always apply SPF, even on cloudy days! I don’t know exactly what benefits a natural SPF has compared to other brands. But I was out in 30+C heat and I didn’t get burned. So there’s that.

3. 100% Pure lipbalm with SPF 15: I love lip balms that have SPF and this one not only has cute packaging but smells like mint, my favourite!

100percent-pure-look24. 100% Pure Maracuja Oil Air Cushion Foundation: Oh boy. This foundation takes the word sheer to a whole other level. I don’t want to tell you how much I ended up pressing on the puff to get enough product to achieve a light enough coverage to make it look like I’m not bare-faced. It’s like tinted water. However, I don’t dislike it enough to stop using it. I love the somewhat effortless look it gives to the skin. Like natural skin, and I’m not sure I’d even ask them to thicken up the formula. Maybe I’d dig into it with my brush next time instead of using the time consuming puff.

5. ELF Concealer: A light concealer under the eyes brightens them up!

6.  100% Pure eye creamstick in naked glimmer: In order to stand the true test of the day, and see if this product creases (along with the other creamstick’s) I applied a MAC paint on the base of just one eyelid, and nothing on the other but the creamsticks. I am quite pleased to say that they held up perfectly the entire day, without creasing. My eyelids crease with even a dab of powder on top, so I was truly impressed with this one. Although you can see the eye creamstick swatches from Saturday, they look a lot more pigmented on my arm than they translate on the eyelids. This isn’t a favourite product of mine, but it does the job and is perfect for an everyday look.

7. 100% Pure eye creamstick in eggplant: Applied this to the crease to add some definition

8. 100% Pure eye creamstick in light: This was a little too stark on my inner eyelid/tear duct area so I might not use this colour again.

100percent-pure-look39. 100% Pure Vitamint Lip Colour in Butterscotch: Applied truly like a lip butter. Gave my lips just the perfect touch of colour see all the swatches here. Throw it in your bag and touch up on the go. Feels super hydrating on the lips too, and has that nice minty smell to it.

10. 100% Pure Maracuja Oil Mascara: This is one impressive mascara, and I know my mascaras let me tell ya. I don’t try to sell you guys on anything, ever. When I first applied it I felt like it wasn’t getting anywhere, but after a couple of swipes onto the lashes, it started volumizing and lengthening. A deadly combo (deadly = Newfoundland term for omg that’s really good). What’s interesting about this mascara is that its colour comes from black tea. The product itself smells AMAZING. Is it the black tea that smells good? I have no idea. But I like it. Plus, rosey-pink packaging? On fleek!

11. Sonia Kashuk Cream Bronzer: I felt like my skin was missing some oompf. You guys know I love my bronzer, so I polished off the look with my new cream bronzer.

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100pure-lookThe finished look!

100Pure-look-completeThe only problem and I suppose it’s a good thing, that I have with 100% pure cosmetics, is that because their goods are all natural (with a lot of vegan options), they expire quicker than the conventional makeup you’d buy that has all those “bad” ingredients in them. For instance, the lip colours and the eye creamsticks have a 6 month expiry. So I better get to using them all up now, while I can and while they are fresh!100Pure-products

100% Pure products were sent to me, and I could’ve signed up to be an affiliate, but I like to keep things natural here on the blog. So go shop their huge website! 

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