Make Your Own Beauty Box | A Unique Gift Idea

I know what you're thinking - gift ideas?! Get with the times, Beth, Christmas has been and gone!  However, this year, I got a bit creative with some of my Christmas gifts and I really wanted to share one of them with you all.  My favourite idea has to be this little beauty box I put together as a stocking filler for my best friend, Sarah. She's a good'un, and always has been ever since we first met at the school gates over 10 years ago where she told me all about her pet rabbits and love for Steps. She got me through a bit of a cruddy break up earlier in 2013 and sat and ate chocolate and ice cream with me in true Bridget Jones' style whilst I harped on about all of my 'i'll forever be single' woes.  She's listened to me grumble on about uni work and deadlines and came to watch me walk across a stage for all of 10 seconds at my Graduation in November - she's just been an all round good egg. As an avid reader of my blog (hello there, bird!) I thought I'd pick up a few beauty bits I've really enjoyed using over the past couple of years and put together a little selection of things I know she'd use.  She's maybe not as completely obsessed with beauty products as I am, so I tried to pick things I know she'd get a lot of use out of and listened to things she'd mentioned she'd wanted to try in the past.

The star of the show was MUA's 'Heaven and Earth' palette.  Sarah is much more daring than me when it comes to colour on the eyelids, but I thought I'd include a neutral palette as they're so amazingly handy to have.  Neutral colours are a staple in my daily makeup routine and the MUA palettes are really good quality.  I also included an Eyes Lips Face 'Eyeshadow Brush' - its' always good to have a brush handy instead of the fiddly sponge applicators that tend to come with drugstore palettes and the ELF ones are actually pretty good quality.  I also popped in a Barry M Eyeliner in 'White' - I tend to smudge this into the corners of my eyes to brighten them and she'd recently mentioned she wanted to try one.  Sarah's also really into her nail art at the minute so I popped in a H&M Gold Glitter and a Sinful Colours polish in 'Purple Diamond' - I love the Sinful Colours range and she's always loved lilacs and purples so I thought this shade would go down a storm!

As well as this, I also popped in a Charles Worthington Volume Mousse and a little handbag sized Elnett Spray.  One of her other presents was a curling tong so I thought they would make a lovely little addition and travel sized minis are so handy to have! It's no secret that I love a dollop or two of mousse, and Sarah has always wanted to try one - so I figured this would be a great way for her to experiment with some volume and texture without buying a full sized bottle. To finish off my beauty box, I filled it with some iridescent shredded paper and made a little 'what's in the box' card similar to what you'd find in 'proper' beauty boxes.  I found the little black and white box in the Card Factory and thought it was the perfect size to hold all of the beauty bits. I was going to personalise it with photos and lettering but decided against in the end - how could I smudge glue all over that pretty, glittery lid?! A few photographs added in there made the perfect finishing touch and my box was complete.

So there we have it - a lovely little gift idea if you have a birthday coming up soon and are stuck for ideas.  If you have a friend who reads your blog, it's a fabulous personalised idea and they don't even have to be beauty obsessed - a few bits and bobs you know they'd love will make up a lovely beauty package! Boots and Superdrug do a great selection of minis too - so if they travel a lot or you know they're jetting away on holiday soon, it's a great place to start looking for ideas! Of course, I woud have loved to have posted this up on my blog before Christmas - but since madam reads my blog - I thought it best to wait until afterwards. I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year! I'm thinking of doing a 'What I Got for Christmas' post soon as I know a lot of you like reading them (as do i - nosey so and so!).  If I don't manage to post again before New Year's Eve - *raises imaginary champagne glass* - here's to 2014 and another year of blogging goodness! 

Did you put together a little beauty package for someone this year?