Best Picks Magazine's Posh Holiday Gift Guide

Elegant Gifts for everyone on your list this year!

As Christmas & Hanukkah draw near, we not only want to find the perfect gift but be remembered for what we gave. In fact what we choose to give speaks volumes about us as well. So here are my top picks of some of the most posh gifts for those very fortunate, fabu people on your list this year:

Gifts that DeStress

Aromatherapy Gift Set

Aromatherapy Gift Box by Sublime Beauty is a lovely compliment to their Zen Oil Box Monthly Subscription which is another great gift idea. UPDATE: The Zen Oil Box goes BiMonthly or 6 deliveries per year in 2017! Really you get the best of the best in your choice of three different content gift boxes. Chock full of Aromatherapy goodies for your bath plus jewelry and accessories to help you take your essential oils along on vacation or to use everyday. Comes gift boxed as you see in the photo above so you could have it shipped direct to your giftee. Lovely from SublimeNaturals.com

Ritual of Dao Set

Ritual of Dao offers layers of relaxing natural fragrance via their Ritual of Light bath scrub, body cream and luscious candles. Beautifully packaged and organically scented, these make the perfect gift for the frazzled among us. Visit them at Ritual of Dao

Get Your Glow On! NEW Summer Shimmers & Sultry Fragrances

Sultry Summer Treats: VS Brightening Gel Cream, PF Sexy Booster Bronzer, Givenchy Very Irresistible & Playboy's Play it Rock

Summer is all but here and it's time for bare shoulders and lighter fragrances. Nothing looks more beautiful than a bronze shimmer on naked skin and thanks to a few new formulas, you can fake it till you make it!
I especially like products that offer both color and fragrance so first up in this category is Physician's Formula NEW Sexy Booster, Sexy Glow Bronzer:

PE's NEW Sexy Booster, Sexy Glow Bronzer is infused with a warm vanilla scent

Warm Vanilla Scent
The little corset design is especially sweet as is the yummy vanilla fragrance. It is very subtle, not heavy and can be used on your face, jawline, decolletage and collarbones for a super sculpted look. It has become my favorite powder bronzer of the season.

Hard Candy's Glow All the Way Bronzer
I really like this all in one bronzer, highlighter as it is made with 24K gold for a subtle sheen and glitter. The perfect way to be shiny day or night! Rub a bit of this along the side length of your leg for a beautiful, toned, sculpted look. Comes in various shades for a light bit of color to a deeper, rich tan color.

Playboy's Play it Rock 
A super sexy-summer fragrance, perfect for a day at a beach resort. The Playboy Play it Rock scent for women is very similar to Lancome's Hypnose with a spicy undertone but in my opinion, more complex.  It's by Coty and can be found in many drugstores.

Givenchy's Very Irresistible Spray Eau de Toilette
This is one of my favorite fragrances from the fashion house of Givenchy. It's light with warm musk undertones that play with your own natural scent. Eau de Toilette comes in a pink hombre bottle with a clear crystal top.    

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation

Bulletproof Makeup: Estee Lauder's Double Wear is at the heart of makeup that stays put all day.

SPRING NYC: If you are like me and just can't stand another summer of smeary, running makeup, now is the time to step up and try something new, (or maybe old). Years ago, I wore Estee Lauder's Lucidity and liked it very much. Really the main benefit of department store makeup is that you can have it color matched to your skin tone. This will usually give the best results but you should also try wearing it outdoors in full sun.

Since I model fitness and athletic wear, I need a foundation that can make it through the shoot with out transferring onto my clothing. Most of the time I airbrush my makeup which gives me very light coverage and incredible staying power.  I use Kett Cosmetics of NYC and her Hydro Foundation is my holy grail. Here I am below with my airbrushed foundation for a Craghoppers / Pistil Designs shoot:

Kett Hydro Foundation was airbrushed on prior to this NYC photo shoot.

So I was at the mall on Sunday and was given a little postcard for a 10 day supply of any Estee Lauder Foundation of your choice. Since I haven't used Estee Lauder in over 10 years, I thought I would give their Double Wear a try for my upcoming outdoor photo shoots. The counter-lady, Brittany quickly tried two shades on my skin and waited for them to oxidize. The Pure Beige in Shade 2Cl seemed to be the best match. She gave me my 10 day sample and off I went.  Double Wear dries down very quickly so I applied it with a damp Beauty Blender sponge. I didn't use much and simply applied it over my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and Hard Candy's Glamoflage Heavy Duty Concealer. Here is the result from a photo-shoot for ExOfficio:

Estee Lauder Double Wear for my outdoor shoot for ExOfficio.

To me, the Double Wear looks very similar to my airbrush application, even in full sun. I only used a touch of NARS Orgasm Facial Illuminator on my cheeks and Brass Plum Bronzer. I set it with the tiniest dusting of Revlon's Nearly Naked Pressed Powder.  The EL Double Wear did not transfer onto the collar of this very light, Stone colored trench coat. Even with a light application of primer, (Revlon Miracle Blur) did not feel heavy or greasy. The finish is matte to semi-matte and pretty much stayed that way the whole day even though I have oily skin. Once again, I used very little of this foundation but the coverage and longevity were beyond what I expected. I was told that EL is bringing back the Lucidity as a reformulation. That may be a good thing but right now I'm pretty pleased with the Double Wear! #Lucky me.