Coco and Chino's
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Beauty

Christmas Holidays Gift Guide – December 2023

WELCOME; to my annual Coco and Chino’s Christmas Holiday Gift Guide 2023! Here I will be going through in guide-form, my top holiday gift ideas for this holiday season. This years’ picks are from Too Faced, Benefit Cosmetics, DW Home Candles, Bath & Body Works and Laneige, covering a variety of beauty & home lifestyle categories. To take a look at what my selections are this year, just look below..

Products, Textures & Formula’s
– Limited Edition Too Faced Poptarts Brown Sugar Cinnamon Eye Shadow Palette 5.76g; with eight warm toned shades in a mixture of mattes, metallics, shimmers & satin finishes. The powders are all scented just like brown sugar cinnamon Poptarts! Housed in a bite-sized, sturdy thick cardboard palette with built-in mirror, it is perfect to take on-the-go with you on trips. 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 ‘Brown Sugar Cinnamon’ one, a beautiful gold shiny shimmer! Take a closer look below..

– Benefit Cosmetics Limited Edition Twinkle N’ Jingle Cheek & Highlighter Palette 18g; the three large full-sized pan palette features the highlighter powder in ‘Dandelion Twinkle’, which is a soft nude-pink tone that can be easily swept across the cheekbones and any other high points of the face. The shade ‘HoneyB Twinkle’ is a golden honey tone that can also be swept easily across the cheekbones and other high points of the face, and the beautiful popular blush shade in ‘Dandelion’, which is a baby pink brightening tone, can be swirled across the cheekbones and built up as desired. Take a closer look at it below..

– Bath & Body Works Peppermint Hot Chocolate Scented Triple Wick Candle 411g; this has to be one of the most delicious smelling candles! It is a triple-wick candle with the most delicious notes of sweet peppermint, silky milk chocolate, vanilla, sweet cream and a subtle hint of marshmallow. Infused with essential oils, with three lead-free wicks, and a stunning snowflake embossed decorative lid, the outer layer label features a textured mint green pattern of frosted snow on pine trees. It comes housed in a quality glass jar with 411 grams of wax, so it will last for the whole duration of your holiday season and then some.

– Laneige Limited Edition Lip Glowy Balm in Peppermint’ 10g; formulated with murumuru and shea butters to hydrate, soften and smooth the lips. It’s a glossy balm with a sheer tint, perfect for wearing alone to treat the lips or to prep them for lipstick application. The balm applies lovely on the lips and it doesn’t feel sticky at all. The formula really hydrates the lips and I find the hydration and smoothness lasts so long, longer than any other lip balm I’ve used. Take a closer look at it here..

– DW Home Candy Cane Lane Peppermint Mocha Candle 264g; scented just like a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino, this gorgeous smelling festive candle has notes of a delicious blend of black coffee beans, steeped in peppermint syrup & brewed into a decadent java. Housed in a candy cane designed glass cylinder jar and holding a net weight of 264 grams of wax product, the burn time is approximately 56hrs and has a single quality wick. It feels the room with the most delicious aroma and is perfect for the holiday season. If you enjoy a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino, then you will absolutely LOVE this one. Take a closer look below at all the details..

– Bath & Body Works Crushed Candy Cane Candle 198g; scented just like candy canes! Scented with notes of a blend of crunchy peppermint, white sugar crystals and frosted mint leaf. It features a twist lid with a twisted red and white peppermint decorative spiral on the top, and is infused with essential oils and a quality lead-free single wick. It comes housed in a quality glass jar and is filled with 198 gram of pink wax inside. It has Bath & Body Works own proprietary fragrance wax blend and would make the most perfect gift for the Christmas season. Take a look at it below..

Worldwide Prices & Availability
– LE Too Faced Poptarts Brown Sugar Cinnamon Eye Shadow Palette 5.76g;
Australia: $32.85 AUD
Available: online at eBay Australia.

USA: $27 USD
Available: in-store at Target and Ulta.

UK: £24.39 GBP
Available: online at eBay UK.

– LE Benefit Cosmetics Twinkle N’ Jingle Cheek & Highlighter Palette 18g;
Australia: $58.10 AUD (on sale) – $93 (at ASOS)
Available: online at Selfridges or at ASOS.

USA: $44 USD
Available: in-store at Benefit Cosmetics, Kohls, Feel Unique and Ulta.

UK: £44.50 GBP
Available: online at Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic and John Lewis.

– Bath & Body Works Peppermint Hot Chocolate Candle 411g;
Australia: $21.98 AUD
Available: in-store at Bath & Body Works Australia.

USA: $12.95 USD
Available: in-store at Bath & Body Works.

UK: £29.50 GBP
Available: online at eBay UK.

– Laneige Limited Edition Lip Glowy Balm in ‘Peppermint’ 10g;
Australia: $25 AUD
Available: in-store at Sephora Australia.

USA: $18 USD
Available: in-store at Sephora USA.

UK: £16 GBP
Available: online at Sephora UK.

– DW Home Candy Cane Lane Peppermint Mocha Candle 264g;
Australia: $12.99 – $26.69 AUD
Available: in-store at TK Maxx Australia or online at DW Home.

USA: $18 USD
Available: online at DW Home or in-store at TJ Maxx.

UK: £14.23 GBP
Available: online at DW Home or in-store at TJ Maxx UK.

– Bath & Body Works Crushed Candy Cane Candle 198g;
Australia: $36.95 AUD
Available: in-store at Bath & Body Works Australia.

USA: $5.95 – $19.50 USD
Available: online & in-store at Bath & Body Works USA.

UK: £22 – £32 GBP
Available: online at eBay UK.

Final Thoughts & Tips
– Limited Edition Too Faced Poptarts Brown Sugar Cinnamon Eye Shadow Palette 5.76g; I was instantly drawn to this eye palette due to the gorgeous warm neutral shades. Not only are the shades in Too Faced’s mini bite sized palettes in the Christmas releases really creamy and pigmented, but they smell delicious & it makes it fun applying them. They’re great to take away with you on trips or even in your purse for quick touch ups (if you have a small brush). It fits in well within the festive theme, too. See below photos for swatches of the entire eight palettes shades.

– Limited Edition Benefit Cosmetics Twinkle N’ Jingle Cheek & Highlighter Palette 18g; a trio of full pan sized highlighter and blush, all in a set that’s at a reduced cost. These pans last forever so the recipient will be set for quite the while, in terms of face palette application. It’s also the perfect gift for the makeup lover in your life as it features one of Benefit’s cult fave blushes, in ‘Dandelion’. I mean, it has its own Christmas theme, so it’s really meant to be!

– Limited Edition Laneige Lip Glowy Balm in ‘Peppermint’ 10g; if you love peppermint scent, you’ll love this! It is so refreshing and treats the lips with murumuru & shea butters for hydration, making the lips very smooth and softened. It would be another perfect gift idea for the beauty or skincare lover in your life, or even as a sneaky little gift for yourself. The price range on this is very reasonable and 10g of product can be a long way as you only need a small pea size drop of it and it will spread across both upper and bottom lip generously. It’s perfect for those gift ideas on a budget and for the hard-to-buy-for person that you may not be very familiar with what they like, etc.

– Bath & Body Works Peppermint Hot Chocolate Candle 411g; if you know somebody who loves hot chocolate or peppermint mocha’s, this is the candle for them! It smells like a delicious hot cup of cocoa chocolate and will bring in the beautiful Christmas vibes to any room. It has three quality wicks that are lead-free and lasts for so many hours in burn time. It will fill any room in the house with the gorgeous aroma. Definitely check this one out for the home decor lover in your life, or friend that just enjoys burning beautiful candles.

– DW Home Candy Cane Lane Peppermint Mocha 264g; if you your gift receiver enjoys Starbucks, but particularly the peppermint mocha frappuccino’s from there, they will LOVE this candle! It smells exactly like the creamy peppermint syrup that is in the Starbucks drink. It smells just like them and I crave a peppermint mocha frappuccino every time I smell it. I love that it fits right within the Christmas theme and it smells so delicious, it’s hard to resist burning it for hours at a time. It would suit the home decor lover in your life or the candle person that just loves delicious smelling scents. It is also decently priced so it fits within those on a budget doing their Christmas holiday shopping.

– Bath & Body Works Crushed Candy Cane Candle 198g; if your gift recipient loves candy canes, Christmas, candles or Bath & Body Works at all, they’re likely to really love this one. It smells exactly like candy canes crushed up with a creamy vanilla base, it is so delicious smelling. If you want to find a gift on a budget or don’t plan on spending an exuberant amount on a gift, this is the perfect one for you to choose. Especially for the home decor lover in your life, or the candle person, this one fits within the festive season and brings all the lovely sweet Christmas vibes, quite literally. It is a single wick candle and is infused with essential oils, per Bath & Body Works proprietary scented formulas. You can’t go wrong with this one, it’s destined to be a winner.

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.

Makeup

Holiday Gift Guide – December 2021

WELCOME; to my annual Coco and Chino’s Christmas Holiday Gift Guide 2021! Here I will be going through in guide-form, my top holiday gift picks for this holiday season. This years’ picks are from Too Faced, Hourglass, Cerave and Lanolips, covering a wide variety of beauty categories. To take a look at what my selections are this year, just look below..

Products, Textures & Formula’s
– Limited Edition Too Faced Christmas Coffee Eye Shadow Palette 6.7g; with eight tasty shades that is sure to warm you up on a cool night, it will get you through the winter months and you can create a multitude of looks with this bite-sized eye shadow palette. With a mixture of mattes and shimmers, it gives you the perfect balance and all shades are nicely pigmented. From top-to-bottom and left-to-right, the shade names are titled: ‘Kool Whip‘ – a light warm cream matte, ‘Warm Me Up‘ – a soft caramel-brown matte, ‘Cinnamon Chai‘ – a deep red-brown terracotta, ‘Holly Sh*t‘ – sparkling forest-green shimmer, ‘Brew-tiful Day‘ – peach-pink matte, ‘Slow Roasted‘ – rustic copper metallic, ‘Candy Cane Latte‘ – cranberry-red metallic and ‘Christmas Coffee‘ – a rich deep brown matte. This size palette is also ideal for taking on trips and touching up on a night out, etc. Take a closer look below..

– Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser 236ml; perfect for normal-to-dry skin and people with sensitive skin, this cleanser is infused with hyaluronic acid for ultimate hydration, it has an amino acid based surfactant that lathers into a gentle foam and easily removes oil, makeup, dirt and any SPF residue from the skin. It also includes ceramides to maintain the skin’s barrier, and their own patented MVE technology that continually releases moisturising ingredients overtime for 24hrs. It can also be used on hands, body as well as the face. It’s quite easy to use, just massage gentle into lukewarm wet skin before rinsing well. It is soap-free, paraben-free, non-comedogenic, fragrance-free and pH balanced. To check out some photos of the cleanser and texture of the cream, take a look below..

– Limited Edition Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Universe Face Palette 5.4g; the new annual Ambient Lighting Edit face palette for 2021 is here! Featuring four brand new shades of blush, bronzer and highlighter are limited edition and create the most flattering light source for looks and photography. The powders create such a beautiful celestial glow, they’re all hand-made in Italy and are such universal shades that they would suit most skin tones. The photoluminescent technology allows the powders to capture, diffuse and soften surrounding light to help blur imperfections and refine the skin’s appearance. The two ambient strobe lighting blush shades are: ‘Vibrant Heat‘ – a very vibrant soft mid pink and ‘Luminous Rose‘ – a softened plum. The ambient lighting bronzer shade is titled ‘Glistening Bronze Light‘ – a golden bronze. The ambient strobe lighting powder is titled ‘Supernatural Strobe Light‘ – a soft champagne. And the larger pan powder is the ‘Ambient Lighting Infinity Powder‘ which is a combination of three acclaimed shades of ambient powders: ‘Diffused Light‘, ‘Dim Light‘ and ‘Hypnotic Strobe Light‘. To get a much closer look at the fantastic face palette, check out the packaging photos below..

– Limited Edition Too Faced Cinnamon Bun Longwear Melting Matte Lipstick 7ml; a brand new holiday shade in Too Faced’s melted matte lipstick formula, ‘Cinnamon Bun‘, which is a gorgeous universal shade described as a moderately-warm toned brown matte. It is infused with vitamin E, avocado oil with hyaluronic filling spheres that smooth the lip lines upon application. It coats the lips with a true pigment of colour that lasts for hours and is quite comfortable to wear. This particular shade is limited edition and a part of Too Faced’s 2021 holiday collection. To see up-close shots and lip wear swatches, take a look below..

– Limited Edition Too Faced ‘You’re So Hot’ Hot Cocoa Bronzer & Lipgloss Set 8.5g 5.2ml; a new smooth and silky bronzer in a limited edition shade ‘Hot Cocoa‘ with the most cutest packaging we may have ever seen, the embossed design on the surface of the bronzer in pan has a smiley face resembling hot froffing coffee with whipped cream nested on top and is also scented just like the decadent treat of hot cocoa, the perfect treat on a cold winter’s day. The tone of the bronzer is definitely on the lighter side, it would be ideal for fair or light skin tones. The lipgloss is in the lip injection power plumping formula and is in shade ‘Christmas Cocoa‘. It is scented just like chocolate cake or a chocolate candy bar, it is a very pleasing brown tone which is universally flattering on most skin tones. It delivers a gorgeous high shine upon wear and is quite glossy. The make up pouch that the set comes in is a cute light pink colour with little mugs of hot froffy coffee with whipped cream on top, there is also sparkly marshmallows on the front and back in pattern form and the iconic gold love heart handle zipper is on the top edge. I think the size is around 5×7 which is wonderful as it can fit quite a bit of product inside, which would be fantastic to take on trips. On the back it says ‘Too Faced’ and on the front it has ‘You’re So Hot’ emblazoned in font. Take a quick look at the close-up details and lip wear shade swatches of both via the pictures below..

– Limited Edition Lanolips x Messina 101 Ointment Multi-Balm Salted Coconut x Mango Gelato 10g; touted as the Australian summer dreams collaboration, is the iconic 101 ointment balm from Lanolips crossed over with another iconic Aussie fave, Messina’s sorbet salted coconut gelato flavour. Using coconut oil, mango fruit extract and vitamin E to create an all-around good vibes boost of hydration for your skin. It uses pure grade Australian Lanolin, which mimics the skin’s own oils and leaves it perfectly hydrated. It is not just for your lips either, it can also be used all over the body on your skin and that is why it’s multi-purpose. It tasted and smells absolutely delicious! If you’d like to see texture shots, up-close photos of the packaging just keep scrolling below..

Worldwide Prices & Availability
– LE Too Faced Christmas Coffee Eyeshadow Palette 6.7g;
Australia: $38 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Mecca.

USA: $27 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Too Faced, Nordstrom, Kohls, Macys, HSN and Ulta.

UK: £24 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Look Fantastic, ASOS, Selfridges, Boots and John Lewis.

– Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser 236ml;
Australia: $15.99 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Chemist Warehouse.

USA: $10.80 – 14.99 USD
Available: online and in-store at Ulta and Target.

UK: £9.37 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Boots and Superdrug.

– LE Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Universe Face Palette 5.4g;
Australia: $114 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Mecca and Net-a-Porter.

USA: $80 USD
Available: online and in-store at Hourglass, Beautylish, Net-a-Porter, Sephora and Ulta.

UK: £79 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Hourglass UK, Space NK, Cult Beauty, Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and John Lewis.

– LE Too Faced Cinnamon Bun Longwear Melted Matte Lipstick 7ml;
Australia: $32.50 AUD
Available: online at Selfridges and Cult Beauty.

USA: $22 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Too Faced, Macys and Ulta.

UK: £20 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Selfridges, John Lewis, Look Fantastic, ASOS and Boots.

– LE Too Faced ‘You’re So Hot’ Hot Cocoa Bronzer & Lipgloss Set 8.5g 5.2ml;
Australia: $49.93 AUD
Available: online at Amazon.

USA: $39 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Kohls and JC Penney.

UK: £37.42 GBP
Available: online at Amazon.

– LE Lanolips x Messina Salted Coconut & Mango Gelato 10g;
Australia: $19.95 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Mecca and Lanolips Australia.

USA: $13.50 USD
Available: online at Lanolips.

UK: £8.99 GBP
Available: online at Lanolips UK.

My Thoughts & First Impressions
– Limited Edition Too Faced Christmas Coffee Eyeshadow Palette 6.7g; what drew me to this palette was the gorgeous cranberry red and the forest green shimmer shades, they’re so Christmassy and after watching Youtube reviews with swatches from it, thats when I decided I wanted to get it. I always look forward to the Too Faced christmas holiday releases and usually there is always a palette I end up loving. Sometimes in some of the Too Faced holiday eyeshadow palette releases (like the ones in sets), the shades can be a bit chalky and hard to layer, however I find with their bite-sized palettes that the pigmentation is much better quality and that is why I tend to pick up those instead. And at $38 AUD, it’s a great pick to get 8 mixed formula shades and the packaging is so nice.

– Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser 236ml; I’m always on the hunt for cleansers and skincare products that are suited to dry skin and this is where Cerave come in, they have a nice range of products suited to all skin types and their formulas are always without any nasty ingredients. I had tried their hydrating cleanser for the last two years and absolutely love it, so when the cream-to-foam release came out, I hopped on the trial train straight away. During a sale at the Chemist Warehouse I picked up my bottle and I have loved it since first try. It is decently priced and suits my skin so well.

– Limited Edition Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Universe Face Palette 5.4g; this is the big winner for me this year. Amongst all of the other palette releases from all other brands, including MAC, this Hourglass interested me the most and the packaging is just simply divine. It is so stunning! I have owned a ambient lighting edit palette beforehand and it was the white marble packaged one from 2016 or so, and when I saw this one I fell in love right away. The fact it is limited edition also helped budge me to pick it up, as they can sell out pretty fast. I love how long these palettes last and the pans are such decent sizes too.

– Limited Edition Too Faced Cinnamon Bun Longwear Melted Matte Lipstick 7ml; I was drawn to this shade right away because it is a universally flattering nude that would suit most skin tones. It is a mid-brown matte with a cool mauve undertone and it smells just like freshly-baked cinnamon rolls. I love earth toned nudes and if it’s in the brown category, I always find the cool tones suit me as unfortunately warm tones never do, they look muddy on me and wash me out. I am a fan of the Too Faced’s melted matte lipstick formula, they’re usually very comfy upon wear and they last so long too. I’m waiting to receive mine that I purchased this year so I will further update when I have it and have worn it.

– Limited Edition Too Faced You’re So Hot Hot Cocoa Bronzer & Lipgloss Set 8.5g 5.2ml; what I loved about this bronzer set is that the bronzer shade looks perfect tone for my skin, I also enjoy the cute pouch and the lip injection gloss shade is another nice earth neutral nude tone, which would compliment most skin tones as well. The gloss is very sparkly and looks like it goes on very smoothly. And not only is the packaging so cute but the products are both scented like hot cocoa.

– Limited Edition Lanolips x Messina 101 Ointment Multi-Balm Salted Coconut & Mango Gelato 10g; this smells so delicious and is your iconic 101 ointment from the fave Lanolips. Infused with Messina’s popular salted coconut sorbet, this balm makes you want to eat it! It is so nourishing and it is such a fun collaboration between two Australian faves. Released at a perfect time right before the summer season in Australia. I don’t think you can go wrong with this pick up at all.

That wraps up my holiday gift guide for 2021! I hope you have enjoyed learning more about the featured products in my guided round up for Christmas gifting and have found the perfect selection, or even as a gift for yourself. I am embarking on starting my Christmas shopping and I hope to be finished early this year. I hope you have all been safe and well throughout this year, and I hope you all have a lovely Christmas season with your families and loved ones. I’m going pretty big with decorations this year so I’ll try to include some photo’s of that in my posts.

Disclaimer; all of the above featured products have been purchased with my own money and all thoughts & opinions published here are my own.

Beauty

Holiday Gift Guide 2020 – Part One

WELCOME; to part one of my annual Coco and Chino’s Christmas Holiday Gift Guide 2020! This part one edition of the guide features latest holiday releases from brands Tatcha, Too Faced and Laneige, covering skincare and makeup for the beauty lovers in your life. I always get so excited for the Christmas releases, and I would love to share what is included in this first part of the guide.


Products, Textures and Formula
– LE Too Faced Salted Caramel Eyeshadow Palette; features eight shades in a mixture of mattes and shimmers. The shades range from warm tones to dark ones, the matte formula is nicely pigmented and the shimmers are a silky kind that are also decently pigmented. There is a nice light matte cream shade that can be used as a base. The shade names are, T-B & L-R: ‘Oooey Gooey’ – a vanilla cream slightly transparent, great for priming, ‘Golden Sugar’ – a warm shimmery copper brown, ‘Drizzle It’ – a vivid mid-tone matte orange, ‘Caramel Apple’ – a coral brown/red matte, ‘Butter Me Up’ – a shimmery golden medium brown, ‘Soft and Chewy’ – a mustard matte orange, ‘Toffee’ – a shimmery pink with silver shift and ‘Make Me Melt’ – a deep matte brown.

– LE Tatcha Pore-Perfecting and Protecting Set; features The Deep Cleanse 50ml, The Water Cream 10ml, The Liquid Silk Canvas 10g and The Kissu Lip Mask 5g. The Deep Cleanse is formulated with an oil-free gel cleanser with natural exfoliants and clarifying extracts from the Japanese Luffa fruit that gently lifts impurities, unclogs pores and the balances the skin moisture for a healthy-looking glow. The Water Cream is formulated with Japanese wild rose to smooth skin texture and works to visibly tighten pores. It also features Japanese leopard lily which reduces oil production, calms problematic skin and promotes turnover of the skin. The Liquid Silk Canvas is formulated with silk extract fibroin, the inner part of silk that nourishes skin into lustrous and healthy condition, and includes sericin; the outer part of silk which closely parallels the amino acid structure of human skin to hold in essential moisture and minimises flaking and dryness. The silk powder adds a pore-blurring element and helps makeup to apply smoothly and absorb excess oil. The Kissu Lip Mask contains peach extract to soften and smooth, squalane richly moisturises and improves the skin barrier function and it also includes camellia oil with vitamins, oleic acid and nourishing omegas 3, 6 & 9.

– Laneige Hydration-To-Go Kit For Normal to Dry Skin featuring 5 piece Gift Set; Moisturising Cream Cleanser 30ml, Water Bank Hydro Essence 10ml, Water Bank Moisture Cream 10ml, Water Sleeping Mask 15ml and the Lip Sleeping Mask 3g. The Moisturising Cream Cleanser is a cream formulated with plant-derived natural oils to hydrate the skin while it gentle cleanses. The Water Bank Hydro Essence uses a ‘water splash’ formula serum that pops moisture into the skin as soon as its applied. It uses the Green Mineral Water thats extracted via Laneige’s patented Ocean Brew Method, creating a dewy glow for skin. The Water Bank Moisture Cream is also formulated with the unique blend of Green Mineral Water, in addition to vegetable extracts from brussel sprouts, artichoke leaves and lima beans, forming a protective barrier and providing soothing hydration to leave the skin looking radiant and feeling hydrated. The Water Sleeping Mask is an overnight mask that is formulated with evening primrose and apricot extract, and contains the Sleep-Tox technology that purifies skin during sleep. Patented Moisture Wrap helps the skin to retain moisture throughout the night and the Sleepscent which is specially developed for the Water Sleeping Mask as an AmorePacific original, allowing skin to relax and rest during sleep, which boosts it to regenerate. The Lip Sleeping Mask is formulated with strawberry, raspberry, cranberry, arabica coffee bean, blueberry, quinoa seed extracts, shea butter, candelilla wax and carnauba wax.      

Worldwide Prices & Availability
– LE Too Faced Salted Caramel Eyeshadow Palette;
Australia: $39.95 AUD – $41.00 AUD
Available: online at MyQT, and only in-store and subject to stock as it’s LE, at Mecca.
USA: $20.00 USD – $27.00 USD
Available: online at Amazon, and only in-store subject to stock as it’s LE, at Sephora.
UK: £22.00 GBP
Available: only in-store and subject to limited stock as it’s LE, at Selfridges, John Lewis, Debenhams, Look Fantastic.

– LE Tatcha Pore Perfecting & Protecting Set;
Australia: $84.00 AUD
Available: in-store only and subject to limited stock as it’s LE, at Mecca.

USA: $68.00 USD
Available: only online at Yorkdale.

UK: Unfortunately it has sold out most places. Some items are available separately on London Loves Beauty and Amazon UK.

– Laneige Hydration-To-Go For Normal To Dry Skin Kit;
Australia: $36.00 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora and Adore Beauty.

USA: $29.00 USD
Available: online and in-store at Laneige and Sephora.

UK: £18.50 GBP
Available: the exact kit isn’t available in the UK but there is a Hydration kit and it is available at Selfridges.


My Thoughts & Reviews
– LE Too Faced Salted Caramel Eyeshadow Palette; the powders in this palette blend quite nicely and have very little fall out which I really liked. Each shade is pigmented well and even the cream matte is decently pigmented, perfectly used as a primer underneath or to shape the brow bone. The scented powder really does smell just like salted caramel and is quite delicious, it isn’t too strong and it’s quite nice to smell as I apply the shades. I love the mini size tin case the palette is packaged in, it is very handy to take traveling, and I am enjoying the combination of the colours.

– LE Tatcha Pore Perfecting & Protecting Set; I feel like this is the perfect set to try out if you’re new to the brand and especially if you have dry skin. With your face, lips, under eyes and prep for makeup all taken care of in this kit, you can’t really go wrong. The Water Cream is an all-time fave of mine, it is so hydrating, soft, fast absorbing and never leaves the skin feeling oily or dried out. Highly recommend this set or ones like it from Tatcha.

– Laneige Hydration-To-Go For Normal to Dry Skin Kit; this k-beauty skincare brand is fast becoming my favourite skincare brand! The water-based formulas is a science my skin is absolutely loving. I really enjoy the water bank moisture cream, it is soft, buttery in texture and always soaks so easily into my skin, leaving it feeling hydrated and soft each application, the magic is that it lasts so long! If you follow my page on Instagram, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of the multi deep cleanser, well this kit has a terrific moisturising cleanser as well and it always leaves my face feeling so supple. If you have normal-to-dry skin, I highly recommend this.


Thank you for reading and checking out my part one of the Coco and Chino’s Holiday Gift Guide 2020. Stay tuned for another part to the guide and a further post on these featured products for a more in-depth look.

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.

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