I always thought I was pretty ok at buying gifts for people at Christmas. My mum is very much a candle, perfume or pamper set kinda woman (actually, she's the least fussy person in the world so that's what I've settled for each year), my Dad enjoys a luxurious shaving balm, a nice aftershave or generally just something to bring out his inner-loving pampering self, that obviously he's far too manly to indulge in for himself. My brother is happy with absolutely anything that gets given to him, whilst my fiance and I generally have a YOLO moment and book ourselves a holiday - and agree to live off of beans on toast for eternity - so I always thought I had this present buying malarkey nailed.
And then I was challenged with the task of buying for my friend Fiona from Time 2 Gossip, a very beautiful blogging friend of mine that always looks fabulous and in my opinion, has everything. (Including a pretty amazing head of hair which I hate her for I am forever jealous of). So, what do I buy the friend that has everything? Where do I begin? Where do I even start?
I decided that as she's always fabulously dressed, a few key fashion pieces would be a good place to start. Then I know that she loves her beauty, so a nice luxurious piece of makeup always makes for a beautiful gift. Christmas isn't Christmas without a brand new fragrance so that was obviously on the cards and then maybe something for the home as we all know that us bloggers love our interiors.
So, I've got my list, now begins the impossible task of traipsing around every single store [insert "Oh my god, give me strength!" emoji here] and all of the online shops, right? Wrong...
Enter Debenhams, one of my absolute favourite department stores which has all bases covered. Beauty? Tick. Fashion? Tick. Home? Tick. Whilst my confidence in being able to walk around the store and actually make a decision amongst all of the amazing items was wavering, my confidence in whether I'd find everything I needed in one place was absolutely sky high.
OK, time to go shopping...
Fashion
Fiona and I both set off for the fashion department and had so much - probably far too much - fun trying on every single hat and perusing every aisle of accessories, helping each other find the perfect item (whilst "oohing and ahhing" over all of the ridiculously pretty things).
Once we had tried on every single scarf/hat/gloves/coat/[insert your own choice of winter accessory here] in sight (finally deciding on some but more on that later) it was time to head to the beauty floor.
Beauty
It's safe to say that Debenhams is pretty much the dream destination for any beauty lover. With countless counters of luxury makeup consisting of rows of the most amazing lipsticks, the dreamiest eyeshadows and festive launches scattered throughout, it was only the promise of an incredible home decor floor that managed to finally pull me away. But it's safe to say that I definitely found the most perfect lipstick and fragrance for Fiona (and let's be honest, myself... *adds every item to Christmas wish list*).
Home
Beauty, Fragrance and Fashion down, it was time to explore the home floor which I can only describe as walking into Pinterest. From the perfect china tea sets, to the candles of dreams and throws that my bed now needs in it's life... we had so much fun discussing redecorating our houses and mentally noting down everything that we'll pick up for ourselves. One of our favourite sections on this floor though was the sweet section - #SweetAddictForLife - which not only looked delicious, but also so cute too. The perfect gift for a Blogger/Instagram addict!
Now that I've fan girled taken you around and shown you the options - such a little tease... - it's time to debrief and see what I decided on.
The Perfect Christmas Gifts for your friend
Starting with my fashion items; I went for this amazing J by Jasper Conran two tone fedora hat. I absolutely adore the mix of black and maroon and just think it's the perfect accessory for making an outfit look instantly chic (not that Fiona needs it, but every little bit of chic helps, right? Right... ).
Then I went for a beautiful red tartan scarf which is perfect all winter through but especially in the festive season. It's stunningly soft and cosy and just goes with everything. I may have headed back to get one for myself (spoiler: I definitely did!).
Lastly for fashion is a piece that I am head over heels in love with and that is this Principles taupey brown and white, aztec patterned oversized cardigan. It is so beautifully soft and thick and one of those items that you can immediately tell is so well made. I just think this would make the perfect gift as it's so versatile and practical but also looks as good as it feels.
Next up is a sneaky purchase that I picked for Fiona as I saw her eyeing up the stand of dreams, otherwise known as the YSL lipstick stand [all of the heart eye'd emoji's are appropriate for that section] and you can never go wrong with a pink/brown nude as they suit so many skin tones so I opted for shade 70. Also, can we please just take a moment for the packaging? #Goals.
When I think of buying - or receiving - Christmas gifts, one of the first thing that
always crosses my mind is perfume. There's just something
so luxurious about a beautiful fragrance and clearly Fiona agreed as we both not only ended up buying each other a perfume, but also
exactly the same one in the form of
Victor and Rolf Flowerbomb. Packaged in the most stunning bottle and box, Flowerbomb immediately impresses. With the addition of the most perfect floral, uplifting fragrance... your friend will
definitely thank you for picking this out for her!
Last but not least, now that we have the fashion and beauty bases covered, it was for a home/miscellaneous gift. I personally absolutely love these types of gift as they're always such a surprise and really unique and that's exactly what I managed to find in the home department in Debenhams. So let's just take a little moment for this ridiculously cute milk bottle sweet selection present (let's also take a moment for the worst description in existence!). But seriously, how cute is this?! I love that not only does it look - and taste - amazing, but it also brings you that pang of nostalgia with these childhood favourites. What I also love is that once the sweets have been eaten, the packaging makes for the most perfect storage. Pinterest eat your heart out...
So that brings me to the end of my gift guide for the perfect Christmas presents for your friend. I think it's safe to say that when it comes to finding a whole variety of amazing gifts, all under one roof; thanks to Debenhams I #foundit.
I would love to know what you'll be buying your friends for christmas this year? Any items you've seen in today's post that takes your fancy? I'd love to hear your thoughts :)
As always, thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post!
xx
Post in collaboration with Debenhams but all thoughts, photographs and extreme love of buying gifts, my own.
Labels: Beauty, Christmas, Debenhams, Fashion, Gift, Lifestyle
