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Christmas Holidays Gift Guide – December 2024

WELCOME; to my annual Coco and Chino’s Christmas Holiday Gift Guide 2024! Here I will be going all items in my top holiday gift ideas for this holiday season. This years’ picks are from Too Faced and Laneige, covering make up and skincare. To take a look at what my selections are this year, just look below..


Products, Textures & Formula’s
– Too Faced Limited Edition ‘Appley In Love’ Eye Shadow Palette 18g; with 18 warm, neutral and popping shades in a mixture of mattes, satins, shimmers & foiled metallic finishes. The powders are all scented like Caramel Apples and the colours were inspired by the tones of real Apples! Coming packaged in the traditional tin casing with built-in mirror and that clips shut. The formula is a creamy buttery texture and the powders are extremely easy to blend out, especially the mattes, they’re like a one-swipe payoff. My own fave shade is the ‘Slice Slice Baby’, ‘Candy Apple’  and ‘Pick Me’ ones, a beautiful gold shiny shimmer, a matte burgundy red and a green mint metallic! Take a closer look below..

– Laneige Limited Edition Lip Sleeping Mask in ‘Eggnog Latte’ 20g; the same popular formula that we all love from the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask releases, the new limited edition scent ‘Eggnog Latte’, fits right into the northern hemisphere’s wintery Christmas theme. Infused with berry extracts, hyaluronic acid, shea butter, carnauba wax and murumuru seed. The sweet, classic eggnog scent with a sprinkle of Cinnamon flavour. Take a closer look at it below..

– Too Faced Limited Edition Lip Injection Maximum Plump Gloss in ‘Caramel Apple’ 4g; the same popular formula that we all love from the lip injection releases, however with maximum plumping, the new limited edition scent ‘Caramel Apple’, fits right into holiday release theme of Too Faced’s apple and caramel apple theme. A mid-toned brown with gold & copper pearls, that is a tiny bit translucent. Packaged with the traditional doe-foot applicator, it instantly plumpens lips up and the scent is delicious! Take a closer look at it below..

Worldwide Prices & Availability
– LE Too Faced Appley In Love Eye Shadow Palette 18g;
Australia: $90 AUD
Available: online at Mecca.

USA: $54 USD
Available: in-store at Too Faced, Sephora, Ulta, and Target.

UK: £38.40 GBP
Available: online at Cult Beauty, Too Faced UK, and Sephora UK.

– LE Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask in ‘Eggnog Latte’ 20g;
Australia: $32 AUD
Available: online at Sephora.

USA: $24 USD
Available: in-store at Sephora, and Amazon.

UK: £16.50 – £21.00 GBP
Available: online at Look Fantastic, Boots UK, Space NK & Selfridges.

– LE Too Faced Lip Injection Maximum Plump Gloss in ‘Caramel Apple’ 4g;

Australia: $55 AUD
Available: online at Mecca.

USA: $33 USD
Available: in-store at Too Faced, Sephora, Ulta, and Target.

UK: £20.80 GBP
Available: online at Cult Beauty, Too Faced UK, and Sephora UK.

Final Thoughts & Tips
– Limited Edition Too Faced Apple In Love Eye Shadow Palette 18g; I was instantly drawn to this eye palette due to the gorgeous warm, neutral and popping green & red shades. I loved that it was released in the traditional 19 shade pan with the classic tin case and built-in mirror. It is the best packaging from Too Faced in terms of their eye shadow palettes and I always find that the formula in the tin cased ones always turn out really good. What makes this even more fun, is that the shadows are very pigmented, they smell delicious & it makes it fun applying them on. They’re really the colours of real Apples and the Caramel Apple scent is beautiful. I love the way it is not too strong scented. 

– Limited Edition Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask in ‘Eggnog Latte’ 20g; this delicious smelling eggnog lip treatment from Laneige has been a saving grace for me this season! My lips have been so dry because of my air conditioning that has been on during this hot Summer season we’re having in Sydney, so it has worked perfectly for me. I love the scent, it really smells just exactly like eggnog with a touch of cinnamon and I love Eggnog, so this is right up my alley. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

– Limited Edition Too Faced Lip Injection Maximum Plump Gloss 4g; I was drawn to this because of the scent, and the fact that it was a part of the Appley In Love eye palette theme. I love when Too Faced do that with their holiday releases, when they release multiple products in their line to match the theme of their holiday season release and scent. What makes this even more fun, is that it is my first time trying out the lip injection product, so far I have enjoyed how it has gone, there is a bit of a tingle on the lips after application but it’s not too crazy. Do they appear plumper? Yes a little, the reflection and shine on the gloss kind of contours the lips too. And, yes, it really does smell like Caramel Apples, it’s quite sweet and delicious. Since it hasn’t been too long that I’ve been trying it out, I’ll have a more detailed update about the product in the weeks on here. 

Disclaimer; all of the above featured products have been purchased with my own money and gathered for the purpose of this gift guide. All thoughts & opinions published here are my own.

Beauty

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Multi Glow Highlighter – July 2022

Introducing the new coveted Limited Edition highlighter from one of my faves, Charlotte Tilbury. This newbie has been out for just a few months and so many vendors have sold out so fast! It is a multi-glow highlighter that combines the effect of a liquid highlighter and a powerful powder in one, I have picked it up in the shade Romance Light and it’s been the most popular shade out of the two that were released. To find out why and see a lot more about this gem, including how I incorporate it into my rotation, just keep on reading below..

Products, Textures & Formulas
– Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Multi Glow Highlighter 7g; the highlighter comes in a round plastic compact with built-in mirror and 7g in net weight, the packaging is a gorgeous light pink mother of pearl specked cover and gold outer casing, the front cover on the lid has the iconic Charlotte Tilbury CT with the T inside the C, as you can see in the above photos. The formula is a combination of finely milled pearls that are light reflecting, smoothing polymers for a soft-focus finish, silky mica for a soft-glide application and rich emollient oil to widen the spread in applying and softening the finish. The texture is like a combo of a smooth liquid highlighter and a powerful powder in one. The highlighter product inside is embossed in such a stunning pin-quilted pattern that starts of light and goes toward the pink pearl finish, it is like an ombre effect going across the pan. The swatch is a gorgeous light pink pearlescent effortlessly swiped with subtle pink sparkles throughout.

Worldwide Prices & Availability
– Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Multi-Glow Highlighter 7g;
Australia: $61 AUD
Available: online & in-store at Harrods and possibly in-store at Mecca (‘Dream Light’ is still available online) and ‘Dream Light’ is also still available online at Charlotte Tilbury.

USA: $45 USD
Available: online at Charlotte Tilbury and Harrods (they ship internationally).

UK: £35 GBP
Available: online & in-store at Harrods, and ‘Dream Light’ is still available online at Selfridges and Cult Beauty.

My Thoughts & Impressions
– Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Multi Glow Highlighter 7g; I knew I wanted this highlighter as soon as I saw it previewed on trendmood, it looked so uber stunning! I adore the pin-quilted pattern on the top and the ombre effect of the colours as they go across the pan. I have always been a fan of Charlotte Tilbury since I first tried them about two years ago now. I just love her releases and this is another one for the books. It was released in a limited edition campaign, so I knew I had to be quick! It has since sold out in most vendors, however, Harrods ships worldwide and it is still available online at their website (as seen linked above under ‘worldwide prices & availability). The highlighter is so stunning and I think it would go well on many different skin-tones. I also felt like the net weight size is really generous too, it has a good depth in the pan and 7 grams of weight. I also couldn’t go past the packaging on the top of the compact, not only does it have a built-in mirror but it also has a pink mother of pearl flecks throughout the top face of the lid. The highlighter lasts so long on the skin as well, I have so far worn it for 6hrs max at a time and I never have to touch up. So it begs the question, would I repurchase?, yes! I most definitely would, however being realistic, it’s limited edition… so that may be hard, I think I may even get a back up now while it’s still available.

Disclaimer; the product featured in this post was personally purchased by myself, and this post is a non-paid for, non-sponsored post. And as always, all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own. All photos in this post were taken by myself and are copyrighted, they require permission from myself for any reuse or republishing

Beauty

Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer – June 2022

Introducing my recent Charlotte Tilbury purchase of the Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer in the shade ‘Fair’. It’s a release I previewed and couldn’t resist picking up when it came out. In what is a truly unique formula, this is fast becoming a fave bronzer for many! It has a lovely neutral undertone that would suit a lot of skin tones, it comes available in four different shades as well. Here is an in-depth look at it, with swatches included, let’s get into it..

Product, Texture & Formula
– Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer 21g; this gorgeous bronzer comes in a gold chrome plastic compact with built-in mirror and has a maroon pattern over the top lid, it is a net weight of 21 grams which is a lot of product for a bronzer. It is formulated with hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture and hydrate the skin, sunshine provitamin D3 that converts to vitamin D when exposed directly to sunlight for an even sun-kissed glow, finely milled pearls to reflect light and illuminate the skin, elastomer polymer which glides over the skin for a second-skin feel, soft-focussing silica for a smooth appearance and feel of the skin, helping to reduce wrinkles and fine lines, film-forming resin that acts as a magic shield to seal in the skincare benefits, to improve the look of skin instantly and over time, it also has silky polymers for a flawless, even coverage of the face and body. That is also a great point to make; this bronzer is designed for the body as well as the face, meaning you can use it to contour or glow any part you wish to. It comes available in four different sun-filled day shades: Fair, Medium, Tan and Deep. One was sold every 30 seconds on release day! It is largely sold out online now worldwide but I am hearing some stores in Singapore have it and it’s still available in three shades (Fair is unfortunately sold out at the moment) online at Charlotte Tilbury’s website. To take a much closer look at it, check out the swatch and close-up shots below..

Worldwide Prices & Availability
– Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer 21g;
Australia: $75 AUD
Available: online at Charlotte Tilbury.

USA: $56 USD
Available: online at Charlotte Tilbury and Sephora USA.

UK: £42 GBP
Available: online at Charlotte Tilbury.

My Thoughts & Impressions
– Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer 21g; firstly I think I have never felt a texture quite like this one before, it’s so unique that it is just like a cream and powder rolled into one.. their filmstar duo is very smooth & creamy but this bronzer is a tad bit more smooth. I put it to the polymer, soft-focussing silica and film-forming resin.. never seen anything like it before. The way it blends on to the skin is amazing, it is effortlessly applied.. it just glides on so silky smooth. I have worn it for 6hrs with no issues, so it goes quite the distance in wear. I haven’t tested it beyond that timeframe because frankly, I don’t wear makeup for more than around 6-8 hrs at any given time, which I dare say is the norm for most people who wear makeup. I love the really neutral undertone that this one has, it would suit a lot of varying skin tones, and each shade available would have the neutral undertone I would think. One thing to mention; a little bit goes a long way! So you only need to work with a light-hand and start off with less and work your way up to achieve your acquired look. If you love smooth creamy makeup looks, this is perfection for that exact result. In terms of ‘glowing’ skin, I feel like in a way of contouring and emphasising your high points of your face, this does it perfectly however it may not be the ‘glowing’ you might think it is referring to, but that may differ for everyone. I feel like it does reflect light but I haven’t tested it out on photos yet, I shall do that and update you. Repurchase? oh 100% yes! It ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to my personal bronzer and contouring acquired results I want to achieve. It’s a definite yes! The biggest thing I love about this new release is two things, the formula; it is stunning and so silky smooth. secondly the size; it’s so BIG and will last a long time, and I feel the price is reflective of this and is quite reasonable for the net weight, plus the packaging with built-in mirror.

Disclaimer: this product was purchased by myself with my own money, it is not sponsored in any way and not paid for. It is a product I’ve chosen to post about and feature on my platforms.

Beauty

Bobbi Brown Luxe Defining Lipstick – May 2021

Bobbi Brown Luxe Defining Lipstick – May 2021

Introducing the brand new Luxe Defining Lipstick range from one of my top faves, Bobbi Brown! Bobbi Brown recently launched a new range of power pigmented lipsticks that are in pencil-tube form with a self-sharpening tip for defined and precise application. The launched range comes available in a multitude of shades, with the longevity of wear lasting hours with 12hr moisture! The shades range go from neutrals, to warm reds, to cool nudes. There is really something for everyone and I can tell already these babies are going to the top of my faves list quickly.


Product, Texture & Formula
– Bobbi Brown Luxe Defining Lipstick 6ml; the luxe defining lipsticks are formulated with carnauba wax, offers a creamy matte, power pigmented colour payoff that also nourishes the lips and has up to 12hr moisture. They have a lip-sculpting tip that self-sharpens within use, they can define a look or redesign one. They’re perfect for a exact application with defined edges and has the glide of a lipstick with the precision of a pen. The texture is so soft & creamy with a matte finish. The lipsticks come in 6ml size and last a very long time. The packaging is a slimline pen shaped, gold metallic case, with a clip-on lid and a twist up dispensary.


Worldwide Pricing & Availability
– Bobbi Brown Luxe Defining Lipstick 6ml;
Australia: $58 AUD
Available: online at Bobbi Brown Australia and Adore Beauty, and online & in-store at Myer, David Jones and Mecca.

USA: $34 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Nordstrom, Harrods and Look Fantastic.

UK: £29 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Bobbi Brown UK, Selfridges, Look Fantastic and Harrods UK.


My Thoughts & First Impressions
I firstly was drawn to the gorgeous packaging the lipsticks are encased in, the gorgeous metallic chrome tube and twist up dispensary is so easy to use and the texture of these babies are so creamy, smooth and matte. I love the intense colour payoff, there is complete opaque pigment from the one swipe glide of these! I love that the lipsticks tip is like that of a pencil and they self-sharpen within use, that is amazing! I love the easy twist up and the sturdy clip on lids, they’re perfect for taking traveling (when that can resume again) and have become a quick favourite in my go-to rotation. I am always excited about all of Bobbi Brown’s releases, I can’t stress enough the quality of their products.. they’re always top notch and perform fantastically.

Would I Restock?
That has to be a solid definite yes! I have fallen in love with this new release lipstick range from Bobbi Brown, the colour payoff is second to none and the smooth, creamy matte formula is so addictive! I love the way they feel on the lips, the comfortability and the hydration. They feel very nourishing and light while on, they also last for hours and hours. The range also comes in a variety of shades to suit everybody, from warm reds, to cool tone neutrals and in between. I love this release and I highly recommend checking out these gorgeous lippies!

Disclaimer; the products in this blog post were sent in to me for my consideration with no obligation to post, despite being gifted that does not alter my review in any way, all views and thoughts are honest and my own. This is a non-paid for blog post that I decided to publish on my own.

Beauty

Meccaland 2019: Sydney, Australia

Meccaland 2019: Sydney, Australia

On May 18th 2019, my best friend Sandra and I met at Redfern Station and headed on our way to the locomotive warehouse where the second annual Meccaland was being held for 2019. From the moment of lining up, we could hear the music playing inside and see all the energy happening around us. A lovely host came and applied sparkle to our faces to give us a huge highlight glow! It was exciting as we got our FUN PASS tickets ready for receiving our wristbands. It wasn’t too long of a wait before we were walking inside. The entrance was filled with bright neon lights that curved over a tunnel.


As you can see, the neon light bars that formed the entrance tunnel were extremely pretty and bright. There was also cheerleaders dancing with pom poms to welcome the festival goers. It was quite evident already, Mecca had gone to a great level of effort for this event and it was HUGE! There were signs everywhere explaining what direction each booth was in, the centre stage and of course, the food!


Meccaland: The 411
Mecca land is a huge beauty festival held by host Mecca Maxima/Mecca Cosmetica, the major retailer of all things beauty in Australia, as you’ll likely know. In this event, Mecca invites multiple skincare and makeup brands to participate. Brands that included Too Faced, By Terry, MAC, Ciate, Clinique, Lanolips, Foreo, YSL, Drunk Elephant, Living Proof, GHD, Origins, Hourglass, NARS, Stila, Tatcha, Go-To Skincare, Bumble, Million Dollar Beauty, Kate Somerville, Lancome, Pathology, Mecca’s own Mecca MAX and many more! By that, it means setting up a booth and showcasing their latest releases and offerings, whilst also sharing knowledge, tips and tricks, advice and performing makeovers or other beauty services to festival goers who’ve booked in. It gives attendees the chance to purchase limited edition product that hasn’t yet officially released in the country. Pretty amazing, right? Wait till you see the setups and booths!

The Booths
There were so many areas to explore, all split into different ‘worlds’. Named ‘Temple Of You’, ‘The Wildflowers’, ‘Poster Park’, ‘City Of Lights’ and ‘The Queendom’. There was a theme to everything and the entire atmosphere morphed everybody there into a whole new world of all things BEAUTY. I tried to take photos of as many booths as I could, they were all decorated perfectly and had such a high energy vibe! Including the gorgeous ‘House of Drunk’ by Drunk Elephant and the ‘Isle Of Paradise’ swings. It was like one big playground for beauty lovers, including a see-saw near the Foreo booth, the slides at the Too Faced booth, the silk swings at MAC, and the globe swing chair at the NARS booth. The brands got very creative and you can see the amount of effort that went into the whole festival..


The Exclusive Products On Offer
There were many different new and limited edition products on offer from many of the brands. Including exclusive releases just for the special beauty festival. Ciate were releasing a whole new Jessica Rabbit collection and it is so beautiful! Hourglass were also releasing a new blush and lipgloss exclusively for Meccaland. Check out the next few photos for a good look at these special releases..

Stila Cosmetics also had a few new releases on show and they were also stunning. They included a new Heaven’s Hue Highlighter and the Lingerie Soufflé Skin Perfecting Color, they both looked incredible and the highlighter swatched so well! Stila is a company that I really love, I particularly like their eyeshadows and liquid lipsticks. Check out their new releases below..

The Meccaland Decor
As mentioned before, Meccaland had multiple worlds, and a theme for each world. The atmosphere was truly amazing, with lots of bright lights and fun playground featured booths and so many photo opportunities for event goers. There was really something for everyone. Attendees could also purchase exclusive new products before official release and each person who attended the event got to pick up a special edition Mecca Beauty Loop box. I’ll share what I received in mine a bit later below in the post. For now, check out some of the special decor and setups the brands had created for their booths, including fragrance & fashion house brand Maison Margiela and makeup brand Laura Mercier..

As you can see, Mecca went above and beyond! How awesome are those life sized lipstick props? So cool! I really loved all the decorations and sparkly lighting, it added such a high energy vibe to the atmosphere. The day we went there was a A LOT of people also attending so at times it was hard to move around the grounds and get from A to B, but in the end we got there and got to tour around the entire area. I have a few more photos of the decor below including the main stage where the makeup demonstrations happened and guests spoke. There was also so much detail into the entrance of the venue with massive long strands of pink tinsel hanging down. There was also the gorgeous Mecca MAX ferris wheel that went around with event goers able to have a ride on it..

From brands such as Hourglass, Bumble, Lanolips, YSL, Kate Somerville and Ciate, there was a completely unique setup at each and every booth! I kind of went a little mad with the photos I was taking but I couldn’t resist snapping them all of as many booth’s as I could for the perfect photo memories from the event. Every single setup was fun and exciting, showcasing the brands’s NEW products and old classic ones as well. To see what the brands mentioned above had decorated their booths, check the following photos out..

There was also makeup stations fully setup with mirrors, ring lights, makeup wipes and cleansers; where event goers could have new products tried and tested on them, or they could even book services of staff makeup applications or simply swatching new products on their skin. There was a designated area with tables and chairs for people to sit down and have a rest or a bite to eat. And brand GHD had a booth set up for people to get their hair styled using the new GHD products. Westpac were also on-hand to provide the very important task of entertainment, see my photos of their display below, as well as the makeup stations.

Overall you can see that it was a huge event and a lot of people attended. My best friend Sandra and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and loved checking out the new releases on offer and what each brand had done for their booth. It was a terrific event and the 6 hour drive to Sydney from Victoria was well worth it! Next year I have a feeling the event will be held in Queensland, which might be a little too far for me to travel to, however I shall see if I can also make that one. It’s such a great beauty festival that Mecca puts on and all the participating brands. Have you ever been to the event before in either Melbourne or Sydney? What were your thoughts about it? I would to know! Until next time, have a great week ahead and I hope you enjoyed my walkthrough post from MECCALAND 2019.

Where to next?