Christina Alyce Beauty

I was lucky enough to win my very first Instagram giveaway a few months ago, and came away with a fantastic travel set from Florapothecarie. The Deluxe Travel Gift Set retails for $55, and contains 5 handmade, all natural, and vegan beauty products, as well as a beautiful handmade makeup bag. The packaging is beautiful- sleek labels, and clear glass jars which are my personal favorite. The set is semi-customizable, with your choice in scent of body scrub, type of mask, and a choice of either a facial toner or hair spray. The set always comes with Florapothecarie's best-selling deodorant cream and body butter, and you will not be disappointed with those two, trust me.


For my body scrub, I chose the Orange Sugar Scrub, and the sweet tropical orange aroma is absolutely mouthwatering, and the perfect pick-me-up this winter. The ingredients are simple- just cane sugar, jojoba oil, coconut oil, orange peel powder, vitamin , and orange essential oil - but it is so effective at sloughing off dry skin and leaving your body soft, smooth (it helps with cellulite!) and hydrated. I love sugar scrubs because they are just coarse enough to get the job done. I would definitely purchase a full size of this product in this scent, and I am curious to try out the Green Tea salt version as well.


The next product I chose was the Rose Clay mask. I had three masks to choose from, but I already have the Chocolate one which was featured in a Goddess Provisions box (and is totally dreamy), and I passed on the Charcoal option because I already own a handful of charcoal masks from other brands. So, I settled on the pretty pink-tinted Rose mask. The Rose Clay Mask is intended for all skin types, but is a particularly good choice for sensitive skin. It contains just three ingredients, rose kaolin clay, dehydrated coconut milk, and powdered rose hips. The ingredients gently exfoliate, cleanse, and mineralize the skin, leaving you with a radiant complexion. The mask is very simple to use, just scoop some out, mix with water until it forms a paste and apply. After 10-15 minutes, it's ready to rinse off. I did not have any irritation with this product like I do with other clay-based masks, nor did I have any breakouts. I do prefer the chocolate version though, because my skin did feel brighter and more hydrated after that one. The chocolate mask is a great option for those with mature skin.


The final of the 3 customizable options is the Rose + Tea Facial Toner, which I had to pick over the hair spray, only because I am a complete toner addict! I go through toner like water, so I will never pass one up when offered. Florapothecarie's toner is intended to balance and hydrate the skin with ingredients like rosewater, aloe, and witch hazel, while green tea gives the skin a boost of antioxidants. Toners are so important after cleansing to return the skin's pH to a healthy level, and before moisturizing to help products absorb more easily into the skin. I love that this formula uses classic and time-tested ingredients like witch hazel and rosewater to accomplish that. It leaves the skin feeling balanced and prepped for products to follow.



The fourth product in this set is the best-selling Deodorant-Cream, which shares it's gorgeous scent with the Orange body scrub. I am very hard to please when it comes to deodorant, because many just don't do the job. Luckily, this one preforms just as well as brands like Schmidts in regard to odor control, and I much prefer Florapothecarie's deodorant when it comes to the scent, and how it feels. My underarms can be sensitive to baking soda in deodorants, but I find that with Florapothecarie's product, I have no irritation whatsoever. I love that this product contains essential oils like tea tree combined with arrowroot powder to fight bacteria, and the coconut oil and shea butter base is incredibly moisturizing.


The fifth and final product of the bunch is the Whipped Body Butter, and this is by far the stand out product for me. I absolutely adore the natural cocoa butter scent, it is so simple and comforting. The combination of cocoa butter, shea butter, jojoba oil, and coconut oil is perfect. A small scoop of product instantly melts into a luxurious oil and spreads easily onto the skin. I reserve my little jar for the worst of my dry skin days, because it packs quite the punch, and dry patches are soothed and moisturized instantly. I always keep plenty of lotions and creams on hand, but this one out- preforms them all. I will absolutely be purchasing a big 8oz jar of this when I finish mine!
I am so thankful to have won such a fantastic variety of products (and adorable travel pouch!), and I am so excited that I have discovered some new all-time favorites. This set is such a treat, and I love that it can be customized to suit anybody. I think it makes a great introduction to not only Florapothecarie's brand, but to natural skin and bodycare as a whole because the ingredients are pure and the resulting products are truly top-notch.

This is the time of year that all of our favorite beauty brands begin to showcase their holiday gift sets, and it can be pretty overwhelming. Whether you're putting together your own wishlist, shopping for friends and family, or you just want to pick up a little something for yourself, there are so many clean beauty treats to choose from. I thought it might be fun to put together a little gift guide of what's out there this Holiday season, for all budgets. This will be an ongoing list for the duration of the holiday season, and I hope to add more items as they are released! If you know of any gift sets that I should add, or you are a company and you would like your holiday gift to be featured here, please comment below or shoot me an email at christinawaugh612@gmail.com. Happy gifting!

Skincare

Mahina Evening Replenishing Elixir, Citrus and Citrine Toning Mist, and Siren Serum.

Earthwise Beauty Skincare Sets
$192-252
These skincare sets are the ultimate skincare regimen. Each containing 6-7 products that offer a complete skincare routine, these collections are tailored to specific skin types and are the perfect starting point for those looking to jump into clean skincare. Earthwise offers kits for Acne, Dry & Sensitive skin, Mature skin, Normal & Combo skin, as well as for skin with Hyperpigmentation & Scars.










Tata Harper Skincare Gift Sets
$681-$1,256

If you're really looking to splurge, Tata Harper offers complete skincare collections for each skin type. These luxurious sets contain 8-10 full sized products.

Makeup

Beautycounter Luminous Nudes Gift Set
$48

This set contains two full sized nude lip products, Sheer Lipstick in Twig, and a Lip Gloss in Bare Shimmer.
















ILIA + BAGGU Gift Set
$48
This four piece collaboration between ILIA and BAGGU contains three lip colors in shades Nobody's Baby, Bang Bang, and Femme Fatale, nestled in a metallic copper leather pouch from BAGGU










Beautycounter Winter Palettes 
$58 Each


Beautycounter has released two eye & face palettes for the holiday season, that each contain 6 eye shadows and 3 cheek colors. Winter Warmth is a warm toned palette featuring brown and berry shades, and Winter Dream features a selection of blues and purples.






Alima Pure Eye Sets
$75 Each

Alima Pure has a lot to choose from this holiday season, between eye makeup and brush sets, but my favorite is the Smokey Eye and Soft Metallic sets. They each contain two shadow shades, a mascara, eyeliner, and clear makeup bag. Smokey Eye features the eye shadow shades Smoke and Myth, mascara in Black, and eyeliner in Ink. Soft Metallic contains the eye shadow shades Isla and Luxe, mascara in Brown, and eyeliner in Slate






Beautycounter Love & Luster Gift Set
$88

This set of four lip glosses features the shades Ruby, Dhalia, Sunshine, and Blossom

Bath, Body and Haircare