Gift ideas for women over 40. This is an important post. Why? Because quite a few of my friends’ husbands shop from it so I feel a huge sense of responsibility. So, chic Christmas gifts. Ideas for the woman who doesn’t really need anything but would quite like a little something to open on Christmas Day.
Before I go on, I have a couple of apologies to make. Firstly if you read via Bloglovin, I have been having some compression work done on my site this week which has upset the javascript and sent a lot of dummy posts through the feed. I’m so sorry if it has annoyed you, I had no idea until a reader contacted me today. In the end, the work will mean that Midlifechic will load much faster. Blogs are such complicated things with connections all over the place and sometimes I feel that all I can do is sigh!
Also I’m changing the schedule so if you were expecting the relaxed Christmas party outfit post – I need to do a bit more research so it’s coming tomorrow. Right, that’s that over with, let’s move on to gift ideas for women over 40.
Bijou shoes for emergencies
Cocorose shoes
So, what’s special about these? Their portability. They are high quality flats but they fold into their own little pouch so that you can pop them into your bag until you need them. They are my new lifesaver on my regular trips to London when I want to be able to dash up the escalators on the tube and yet arrive at my meetings in heels.
They’re also brilliant if you are on a city break. However comfortable your footwear is, if you’ve been walking for a long time, your feet relish a change. I have the simple black ponyskin ballet flats which have a concealed wedge heel inside them. I find it really helps aching feet. They also have double cushioned insoles and padded achilles and they look like this:
They come in the most beautiful box which contains the portable pouch as well as a little bag so that you can carry them over your shoulder if you want to.
I opted for classic black but there are some stunning designs including a collaboration with The Royal Ballet.
Royal Ballet Midnight Snowflake
A world of fragrance in your car
Diptyque car freshener
I have a loathing of synthetic car fresheners but this would be completely different. If I was still commuting for three hours a day it would have been top of my wish list (it’s still quite high). Bear in mind that you need to buy the diffuser and a capsule to go inside it – it isn’t very well explained on the website. I really love Diptyque fragrances and this is available in some of the very best – Baies; Ambre; Figuier; Fleur d’Oranger and 34 Boulevard Saint Germain. If in doubt, opt for Baies which is Diptyque’s top selling home fragrance.
A luxury complexion booster
Glowing skin gift set
I’m hoping to do a Christmas beauty update next week but one of the skincare ranges I’ve been impressed with recently is Charlotte Tilbury. So much so that after using a sample, I’ve repurchased. I’ll go into more depth when I write about it but this well priced gift set gives you the opportunity to trial the best pieces.
Brilliant lipsticks to keep in your bag
Duo lipsticks
I also really like Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks. They have a great finish and good staying power. These two lipsticks are great for keeping in your handbag – one less thing to think about when you leave the house.
Wake up with a beautiful face (and hair)
Silk pillowcases
These have now become a necessity in my life. I no longer wake up with creases in my face (well not beyond the existing wrinkles anyway). They also minimise bedhead so your hair is smoother which is good for anyone who has to rush in the mornings. They can be very expensive but these are the ones that I buy. They come in lots of colours but I go for grey rather than a paler colour because they do absorb any face oil or night cream if you haven’t rubbed it in well. It machine washes out quite easily though.
A stylish read
Know Your Style
This is a highly readable book about style from journalist and blogger Alyson Walsh. I devoured it one Sunday afternoon so it would be a lovely treat for Boxing Day with a glass of fizz and a box of chocolates. It’s also beautifully designed. My only frustration is that I wish it included photographs rather than just illustrations. I understand that it is aesthetically driven but I did find that I had to read it with my iPad in the other hand so that I could search for some of the less well known style icons that it discusses. I learned a lot about them whilst I was doing it though!
Great memories
A Happiness Project
The project that has given me the most joy this year (besides Midlifechic of course) has been the 52 aperture frame that was my Mother’s Day gift at the end of March.
It took a while for me to build up enough images to get going and until then it remained with the life size image of me that Mr MC had put inside. In fact we came home one day when the middle son was revising to find it turned to the wall. “The last thing I need right now is you watching me when you’re not even here!” was his response.
Anyway I have a few more images waiting to be printed but this is the progress we had made up to the end of September (6 months).
I haven’t been too literal because we don’t have a memorable moment every single week but the quiet weeks have given a few extra spaces for holidays when it is hard to choose just one or two images. It has made me very aware of the special moments when they come so I have recorded them whether they’re large or small.
I’ve included big things like 50th birthday celebrations…
…and exam results…
…but also smaller life moments such as revision…
… and this moment on the beach when I was acutely aware that the youngest was suddenly transitioning from boy to teen. Mr MC captured it rather poignantly.
In the end it has been such a cathartic project that I’d like to do it every year. Before I start calculating wall space perhaps I should look into photo albums instead though. I highly recommend this as a ‘year in the life…’ project. It makes you acutely aware of your here and now.
A fabulously fragranced home
As you know, this is something I’m really fussy about, especially after dedicating a year of my life to working in the industry. I will always be glad of the insights I gained and I am very aware of some of the incredibly poor products that are wrapped up in pretty packaging and driven purely by brand hype.
Diptyque is a brand that I rate highly, as is Neom. However Neom is definitely for people who have a nose for fragrance rather than just a pleasant smell. They use essential oils and they are powerful. If you are someone who loves the deep notes of a glass of full bodied red wine, Neom is for you. This gift set is particularly good value. It contains both the warmer fragrance including classic lavender and rosewood and the new ‘cooler’ one which has notes of lime. Lime is making a comeback now that it is no longer used in bathroom cleaning products. I could talk to you about it for hours but I won’t!
If you’re looking for a fab fragrance that will fill your home for hours for the rest of the year, this is my favourite.
Three wick Complete Bliss – rose and pepper fragrance
Sheepskin slippers
To Mr MC’s great distress I have become completely addicted to sheepskin slippers since I was sent a pair last year. I do still have the high heel marabou mules that he bought me from Agent Provocateur when we first got together. In fact they are still wrapped in the tissue they came in. I’m sure that one of these days I will decide they are just the thing to waft around the house in! In the meantime, I have worn out my last pair of sheepskins so I have just ordered these because they are on offer at the moment (and I am unlikely to find any under the tree).
If you are buying these for the lady in your life, you may want to accompany them with some lovely lingerie. That way you can show that you care about her wellbeing but still find her sexy too!
Luxury lingerie
Whilst we’re on the subject of lingerie, another thing that I have really enjoyed sampling this year is the high quality stuff. Surprisingly Fantasie is the brand that I have found to have the best fit. Why is it surprising? Because it is designed for the well endowed woman and well endowed is something I am not. However it is so supportive that I find it makes the best of the assets I have. And it is incredibly pretty – this silver grey is my favourite from the current range (it’s just occurred to me that it tones very well with the slippers)!…
but it is available in lots of other styles and colours including the raspberry pink. I was gifted this raspberry set earlier this year and it is now half price!
A daylight magnifying Mirror
When we get together, one of the things that my friends and I despair most about is how difficult it is apply make-up as your vision deteriorates. After all, you can’t wear your reading glasses to apply your mascara can you?! I have a magnifying mirror in the bathroom but I would really like this for my dressing table.
As well as having 5 x magnification, it lights up as you approach it, mimicking natural daylight so that you can see if you are over applying. I can’t tell you how great that would be for me. Our bedroom is quite dark so I often go out looking like Aunt Sally! It has 20% off until 28/11/17.
There is a ‘pro version’ that is wi-fi enabled and works with an app on your phone so that you can test different light settings. It also has a mini 10 x magnification mirror included (Mr MC if you’re reading I’d be very happy with the ordinary one).
A cashmere wrap
You can never go wrong with cashmere and I aspire to owning three sumptuous cashmere scarves in grey, camel and navy. I mentioned Italy in Cashmere after my Morocco trip when I took the grey wrap they sent me and I just want to remind you of them here. Their wraps come in a lot of different colours and are amazing value for the quality, especially because they come in a gift box too. They’re offering a 15% discount to Midlifechic readers with the code MIDLIFECHIC.
A chic car boot
And here’s one for anyone who has wellies rolling around in the back of the car like I do – a personalised welly bag. It would look so much nicerwhen I arrive at a rugby match than the blue Ikea bag I use at the moment.
Personalised wellington boot bag
An education
Moving on to smaller gifts now. I often tell the boys about the scratch and sniff books we used to have when we were little. Do you remember how disappointing it was when you’d scratched them so often that the smell wore out? Anyway I’ve found a new one – and it’s educational. It’s a New York Times bestseller apparently and a nice bit of fun, there’s a whisky version too.
A sumptuous soak
A lovely gift for a friend here, a bauble containing a single aromatherapy destress bath. Add a half bottle of champagne and you’ll be loved forever.
An endlessly useful and utterly chic clutch
And of course it would be remiss of me not to suggest a Midlifechic bag as a fabulous gift. The handsfree clutch with its integrated credit card slots and leather bound vanity mirror…
Here’s a picture to give you an idea of size
Or, the suede clutches in lots of different colours including the new mono version…
Black and white bicolor clutch
…which follows on the success of the simple black…
Black suede and leather clutch
… or an orange version. I liked this so much when I saw a bespoke customer order that I added it to the range.
Orange suede and leather clutch
And that brings me to the end of my gift ideas for women over 40. I’ll be back tomorrow with ideas for relaxed Christmas outfits, the sort of thing that you wear for low key drinks. In the meantime, thank you for all of your rallying comments. It has been really interesting doing this every day but I may be ready for a glass of wine tomorrow evening!
Disclosure: “Gift ideas for women over 40” is not a sponsored posts. I was sent the Cocorose flats, the grey cashmere scarf and the Alyson Walsh book to review, along with the raspberry lingerie earlier in the year. I only include items on Midlifechic if I believe they are genuinely worth your attention.
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