Christmas Party Beauty Prep

With lots of new beauty releases and a season of parties to prepare for, this time of year is always exciting for beauty obsessives. Personally, I find the party season to be the perfect opportunity for little extra self indulgence! So, in an effort to help you look and feel your best, I've compiled a collection of great Luxplus discounted beauty buys. These picks will have you preened to perfection from head to toe and more importantly, ready to party this festive season!

In the days running up to your party or your special occasion, it's all about prepping your canvas! The first beauty ritual I'd recommend that you up a gear is body moisturisation. I'm sure I'm not alone in loathing the whole body lotion process as it's the last thing you want to do post bath/shower, especially in the winter! That said, it's also the most important time of year to moisturise as colder weather can wreak havoc on your skin. Skin is stripped of its natural moisture by central heating, low humidity and cold winds so it's important to replenish any moisture loss to keep the skin looking and feeling thoroughly moisturised as well as hydrated. Whenever my skin is feeling particularly dry, I definitely notice that my skin becomes quite itchy due to the skin drying out so I favour a more intensive body lotion.

Victoria's Secret Amber Romance Deep Softening Body Butter

My current favourite body lotion is the Victoria's Secret Amber Romance Deep Softening Body Butter. Beyond this body butter being utterly divine, the Amber Romance scent is also one of my personal favourite Victoria's Secret scents for the winter months as it has a warm, yet sweet fragrance. The Victoria's Secret Body Butters are relatively lightweight so they don't leave your skin feeling greasy nor tacky after application. But they're still intensive enough to replenish any moisture loss and keep the skin looking it's best as well as feeling ultra soft and smooth. By adopting a body lotion ritual in the days leading up to your party, your skin will be in tip top condition and you'll be able to wear whatever you want to your party without worrying about dry skin. Plus, the Amber Romance lotion doubles up as a great foot cream too if you're planning on wearing open-toed shoes.

Gillette Venus Embrace Sensitive Set

Following on from the body lotion ritual, it's especially important to moisturise post-shave as the skin can be left feeling exceptionally dry. Besides moisturising, another way to combat post-shave dryness is by using a good quality shaving gel. The Gillette Venus Embrace Sensitive Set is such a good set for a multitude of reasons as it contains a Gillette Venus Embrace razor plus an extra razor head, as well as a Gillette Satin Care Pure & Delicate Shave Gel. In addition to the razor and shave gel, the set includes a gorgeous golden clutch bag which you could definitely use for your parties as gold is beautifully festive. The clutch is also a generously sized bag for all of your party essentials.

The Gillette Venus razors are my personal favourite razors as they have an ergonomically designed handle which is comfortable to hold, and the multiple razor blades are surrounded by a protective ribbon which helps to lubricate the skin for a close, yet comfortable shave. The Gillette Venus Embrace Razor within this kit has five blades and the protective ribbon contains aloe to protect the skin even further and Gillette claim this particular razor is especially good for those with sensitive skin as the blades are spaced closer together to reduce pressure on the skin thus reducing the feel of irritation. The matching Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel has a triple lubricant formula which helps protect against nicks and cuts, and is formulated without perfume or colourants to minimize the risk of skin irritations. If you don't have especially dry or sensitive skin, Luxplus also has an extensive range of the other Gillette razors which might be a better match.

OPI Soft Shades Nail Polish Trio With Swarovski Crystals

One of my favourite beauty rituals before a special occasion is an at home manicure and pedicure, and we've got some top pedicure tips here on the Luxplus Magazine for getting your feet party ready. For your fingernails, I'd recommend applying a good quality cuticle oil every day even if you don't have any parties planned as it helps to keep both your nails and surrounding skin as healthy as possible. Cuticle oil can also help reduce the risk of painful hangnails, which are more prevalent in colder weather. Once the prep steps are out of the way, it's time to choose a perfect polish for your fingernails and toenails. Sometimes it's nice to match your nail colour to your outfit's accessories but if like me, and would prefer a more muted approach which would compliment any outfit, the OPI Soft Shades Set is absolutely perfect.

The OPI Soft Shades Set contains three full sized 15ml OPI Nail Polishes in Chiffon My Mind (a pearly pale pink), Black Onyx (a true black) and This Silver's Mine! (a pale champagne) as well as a tube of nail glue, and a sheet of sparkly Swarovski crystals. This kit will be adorning my nails throughout the festive season as the shades complement any outfit. With this kit, you can choose to wear one of the shades all over your nails, or you can follow the easy to follow guide on the back of the box to create a couple of nail art designs. I think I'll be favouring Black Onyx for my toenails and Chiffon My Mind on my fingernails with a couple of the Swarovski crystals scattered on each nail for a glamorous touch.

Smashbox Step By Step Contour Kit

So now you have your skin and nails prepped to perfection, it's time to address the party makeup. I personally love the party season as it allows you to be a little bolder with your makeup choices because if you can't be ultra glam during the festive period, when can you?! Contouring is such a huge trend right now and it can be a little overwhelming on where to begin. My next pick, the Smashbox Step By Step Contour Kit is the ultimate kit for contouring newbies through to contour addicts. The palette contains three pans of powder with an highlighter shade, a contouring shade and a bronzing shade inside a compact little palette complete with a mirror in the lid. The kit contains a travel sized Smashbox Contour Brush with slightly angled bristles to fit the hollows of the face. The kit also comes with a very handy little guide attached to the mirror which talks you through where and how to use each shade. The guide is super easy to follow, which makes achieving a perfectly sculpted and highlighted complexion easier than ever.

Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils Set

Once you've perfected your complexion, I'd recommend choosing either your eyes or your lips to be your main focus within your makeup. I personally prefer to focus on my eyes and opt for a more muted shade for the lips so I don't have to worry about my lip colour transferring or bleeding with eating, drinking and talking. The Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils Set is a fabulous set as it contains three products – all of which are ideal for party makeup. The main product within the set is a full size of the Yves Saint Laurent YSL Faux Cils Volume Effet Mascara Shocking which is my holy grail mascara and one I'd recommend to absolutely everyone as it's ultra volumising, and lengthening without crumbling or flaking. It's also my go-to mascara for special occasions as it ticks all of the boxes. In addition to the mascara, the set also includes a deluxe travel size of the YSL Dessin Du Regard Waterproof Long Lasting Eye Pencil in the shade Black with a waterproof, smudge-proof and transfer resistant formula for creating an easy, dramatic smokey eye. The last product within the kit will be a godsend when it comes to the removal of your intense eye makeup as you also get a deluxe travel sized bottle of the YSL Top Secrets Bi-Phase Pro Eye Makeup Remover which swiftly removes intense and waterproof eye makeup whilst being gentle on the eyes – because let's face it, at the end of a party, you don't want to spend ages removing your makeup.

Stella McCartney Stella Eau de Parfum

My final party picks are ones you can throw in your handbag for touch-ups at the party itself. One of my favourite beauty steps to consider for a party or special occasion, alongside my makeup and nail polish choices, is the fragrance. For me, it just completes my outfit and gives me a little confidence boost! For a special occasion such as a Christmas party, I'd opt for more of an intense night time scent which offers decent sillage and longevity without suffocating those around me. My current favourite night time fragrance is the beautiful Stella McCartney Stella Eau de Parfum, which you could always decant into a handy little Travalo for your clutch bag should you not want to carry around the full size bottle. Stella is a modern floral scent with warmth thanks to its musky amber base. I don't tend to like floral scents, but Stella is unlike any other floral fragrance I've tried with Peony being one of the most prominent notes.

TRESemmé Salon Finish Extra Hold Hairspray Travel Size

My final product is an handbag essential if you've heat styled your hair with hot rollers or a hot tool, especially if you have fine hair like myself as my styles always tend to drop. To avoid this, I like to carry a miniature can of hairspray to keep my style in place. The TRESemmé Salon Finish Extra Hold Hairspray come in a handy 100ml size with a fast drying formula offering long lasting hold. In truth, I like all of the TRESemmé hairsprays, but the Salon Finish Extra Hold Hairspray is the best in my opinion when using heated styling tools as it's very effective at maintaining my style without making my hair feel crispy or dull like most extra hold hairsprays. My favourite party hairstyle is soft voluminous waves which I create using my curling wand and the TRESemmé Hairspray does a great job at holding my curls in place. It doesn't make my hair stiff or crunchy so it still has natural movement and if you're going to wear tights or stockings, the hairspray will work wonders on freezing any little holes you may have to prevent further laddering.

I really hope you found these Christmas Party Prep Picks useful, and that you all have a fabulous party season!