Be Your Valentine Gift Guide

Valentine's Day is less than a week away. This post is going to be dedicated to "loving yourself and spoiling yourself" on the big day of love. This is from small things to splurges. We did this list during Christmas as well and I really loved it. I have always loved Valentine's Day. I just love, "love" I guess. I buy valentines not just for a sweetheart but for my friends, my parents, and I always got them for my grandparents when they were alive. I think it's the perfect day to show ANYONE that you love including yourself that you do in fact love them or you in this case.

Side note: Some of the products have probably been sent in the past. This is not sponsored. Nothing was sent for this post. I've likely talked about all these products before.

​So here we go discussing some good ways to spoil or treat yourself and be your own valentine. 

If you are a makeup junkie (like hardcore), it's always a good investment to buy nice brushes. Wayne Goss brushes are currently on my list to get because  I've not heard a single complaint. Plus, buying from Beautylish gives you the choice to do installment payments that automatically come off your card each month. Even if you don't want to spend a lot of money then I strongly suggest the Wet N Wild brushes. You can buy them individually on their site or even Amazon. Sometimes they have sets on the website, etc. I've not seen all of them in stores yet. I've only seen limited edition ones here and there that came out with certain launches. 

If you love makeup but brushes aren't your thing, then I say get a palette you've had your eye on. If you don't really have one in mind, then I'd recommend a Natasha Denona palette even if it's just a 5 pan mini, Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes are always a good choice (my fave in Norvina), or try a smaller brand like Melt Cosmetics stacked shadows or palettes cause they're putting out some good stuff lately. Coloured Raine also has killer palettes.  

If you're like me and prefer to have the perfect base products then get what you've had your eye one. For me that is always foundation and then bronzers. Those are the two that I try the most. For foundation it's completely up to you and what you like. I've been enjoying the Loreal 24hr Infallible that was just released (review coming) and I've also been enjoying the Liquid Vanish Foundation from Hourglass (review coming for this as well) and that's also a nice splurge. In bronzers I love the Bare Minerals Invisible Tan, Marc Jacobs Coconut Bronzer, and the Hourglass bronzers.

​Moving along to skin. 

Get yourself a nice skincare set, maybe even try Sephora Favorites for skin care where you can try a bunch of brands. I love Elemis and OSEA for their sets. I love Drunk Elephant and Sunday Riley obviously. To really treat yourself then check out May Lindstrom and splurge. Also check for sales, for instance The Granola Goat and Alluring Alchemist which is where I get most of my oils and balms  now are having a 30% off sale right now. So check the brand pages on Instagram or Facebook and just see if they might be doing a Valentines Day sale.

Also, in relation to skincare it's a great time to get a nice facial or have a spa day/night for yourself by doing masks and facial massage, etc. I say let someone treat you though and you relax. If you don't want a facial then get a nice mani/pedi or a 60-90 minutes massage. That's my favorite is getting massages. I love being in a warm bed, dim light, and doing a deep tissue massage. Also, you can use Groupon to see if there's any offers in your area. I did that a few days ago when looking for a massage for my friend and I and I found some for $40 to different spa, or salons in the area.

​Which leads me into the next thing to do for you which is something I do 2 or 3 times a week, is nice candlelit bubble baths. I have always loved baths, especially candlelit ones. I've recently gotten into trying more of LUSH products because I hadn't tried anything new in regards to bubble bath or bath bombs. I've always used scrubs to exfoliate and what not but I discovered "bath cocktails" on Instagram and realized I needed to step it up. Which is what I did. Currently what I'm loving is Lush, obviously they do a fantastic job with everything bath related. I also find little shops on Instagram and on Etsy. What I can recommend is Country Market Crafts which will ship from Canada but it got to me in 2 days and I live in TN. Another store I can recommend is Sweet4Fuel. I just got the Lisa Frank rainbow whipped soap and 2 of their bath bombs. It was the best price I'd seen in a long time and again I got it super fast. I like Green Goo bath salts and their other skin products like the Dry Skin Salve or the Skin Repair stick, which you can find at Dillard's. I believe I talked about them during Christmas. I'm still loving the stuff. I'm rationing out the bath salts very carefully.

​A really cool way to treat yourself is getting a journal. I like Motivation journals. I just got a meditative and inspirational journal from Becca Cahan. She is so talented. It's so colorful. I got mine from Amazon but she also has an Etsy page. It's full of questions of places you'd like to travel, whats your most defining experiences, goals to pursue, 10 splurges for yourself, and so much more. I also am making my own "junk journal" which is just a journal that you really make into your own. So not just writing but adding in pictures, clippings, quotes, drawings, and I even painted the from and back to truly make it very personal. I don't always write a daily account of things. Sometimes I just make a lunar chart, draw, write down cool things I've found, or write down lyrics that come to me. It's been a good outlet for me. It's helped keep myself in check, it's helped me step back and just look at things logically, it's helped me track dreams and more. I've really loved it. 

​Get yourself something super comfy, soft and warm. I always talk about comfy stuff and heated blankets as gifts but I have the most stunning blanket by Ecudane. I talked about it during Christmas but I'm still using it. I would have no issue hanging this on a wall to be displayed as art because it's so gorgeous. They're made from "80% recycled fibres" and 100% of the December sales went to Project Muisne. It's a beautiful family story behind the brand. Read their story at the very least on the website because it's beautiful. They also have ponchos and scarfs.

I also love getting the softest sweatshirts I can find. The best ones I've found are from Aerie and AE which I know is sister brands. They even say "soft or softest" in the name of the sweatshirt. I wear them every single day. 

So those are my "fail safe" options for how to be your own valentine this year.....or maybe an idea for you to get someone else one of these treats.