Ok so this is the first of three gift posts I’m doing this year and as always, I’m trying to make them truly useful rather than just the pretty but pointless ideas you see in the pages of magazines. Today’s theme is ‘gifts for you and the women in your life.’ It consists of all kinds of things I’ve been meaning to tell you about and it will give you ideas for the women you love. Or, more importantly, answers when people ask you what you’d like… that difficult moment when husbands, sons and other people come to you for ideas (I know, all the eye-rolling – surely they can think of something when you’re buying for everyone else!). You don’t know what to suggest because you have everything you could want or need. Or do you?! There are all kinds of different price ranges here, I’ve just thrown in everything I can think of – just remember that people love giving and they really want to buy you something you’ll love or use. And you don’t want to unwrap another dodgy Boots giftset because they didn’t know what else to get. So I bring you my smorgasbord or rather a regurgitation of things in my head. There will be more ideas on Friday with a different theme.
Gifts for you and the women in your life
Beauty Gifts
A bespoke serum prescription that really, truly works
I’m starting with something that’s utterly superb – probably the best skincare product I’ve ever trialled. It isn’t the easiest thing to give as a present so I’m thinking it might be a gift to yourself before you dive into the production of Christmas. If you start using it now you’ll start seeing the results by Christmas Day and they’ll just keep on getting better in the new year. And Begin delivers a serum to your door that is personalised to your skin – the kind of service that you can usually only access via an appointment with a dermatologist. You complete quite a long online questionnaire and then send in close-up photos of your face and neck from various angles without any skincare or make-up applied. All of this is assessed by a dermatology team who then personalise your formula according to your skin sensitivity and needs and sends it out to you.
My skin is tough as old boots and has quite a bit of sun damage so my formula contains actives such as potent retinoid along with caring additions such as hyaluronic acid to balance the deeper treatment. I’ve been using it since the end of September and the results just get better and better. My skin is bright, bouncy, fresh and clear. I’m not being paid to say this, it’s just an outstanding product for an amazing price – and they’re offering you the chance to test it out with an introductory offer of £4.99 for your first order (use code AFFMIDLIFECHIC11 at checkout).
It blows all other retinol type products that I’ve ever used out of the water. And if you don’t see results within twelve weeks they give you your money back. I can’t rate it highly enough, it’s surely going to revolutionise the skincare industry.
Cream serum online prescription service
Skin healer
This is another phenomenon. It was sent to me early this spring and sat in the bathroom for a while because when I read the blurb it said it was mostly for people who suffer with acne and I couldn’t find anyone to trial it for me. However, Mal has quite sensitive skin and suffers with shaving rash flare-ups and in-grown hairs every now and then. During one of them I suggested he give this a try and it’s absolutely magic – it cleared everything up overnight. He’s since used it on karate scars and things like that and it does the same trick – it must be the special ingredient of silver chitoderm. He now finally understands why I invest in good skincare! So, if you know anybody who suffers with spots or flare-ups it’s worth buying a little bottle.
Age Intelligent Skincare
This is a small brand run by a midlife woman dedicated to carefully blended skincare products. You’ll see Ark have rave reviews for their midlife moisturisers and those who attended the get together last month were given a generous sample of the serum to try – I keep mine in Newcastle for the bitter winds that blow there because it’s so hydrating. Sadly their midlife bumper box has already sold out but there are other gift packs such as this one of their award winning midlife day and night cream duo. There are also giftsets for other age groups so if you have younger women in your life, you could treat them too.
Age Defy Award Winners giftset
Elemis Bumper Hamper Offer
Now this would be a lovely gift to give on its own but it also strikes me as a great value way of covering off gifts for all of the women in your life. You could buy this and split it up to give everybody a high value treat at a much lower cost than buying the pieces individually. Such an incredible buy.
Heat protector for dry hair
This is a fabulous stocking filler for anyone who straightens their hair a lot (like me). Even if you’ve applied heat protectant while blow drying, you can’t be sure it will continue the protection if you want to freshen it up with straighteners later on. This is a spray that you can apply to dry hair, it’s weightless but it means that your hair won’t dry out and split. And it smells lovely.
For our curly haired friends
Those of us who grumble about our straight hair often don’t spare a thought for our curly haired buddies who live with their own set of challenges. On a side note my mum was so disappointed to have straight haired children that she used to perm my brothers’ hair when they were little – that’s a story that comes out every Christmas as you can imagine (I won’t mention the Victorian ringlet rags that I had to endure every night in bed)! Anyway did you know that there are different types of curly? You can be coily, curly or wavy. Curlsmith have specialist solutions for each type of hair to bring out the very best of it. This Curlsmith Bestsellers Kit is a great little gift containing the top solutions for anyone with lovely curls.
Natural Beauty Kit
Bobbi Brown’s brand Jones Road isn’t available to try in many stores so it feels like quite a special gift. The Miracle Balms are a product unlike any other – a tinted Vaseline on your cheeks or below your brow is the easiest way to describe them but they’re more than that. You only need a little so I find the full sized pots are too big but these little ones are a great way of trying them out and you can only buy them as part of a kit like this. I use them on days when I want a fresh faced look – so gym days or Sundays when you just want to glow rather than feel made up. This is a lovely little gift set and there are other colour options available, currently with a Black Friday discount applied too.
Hair and lash protecting eye mask
And I’m adding this to beauty because I believe it will make a difference. I need a new silk eye mask and this is the one I’m hoping for – my lashes are quite long after using lash growing serum consistently so I hate it when I wake up and they’re all bent from the mask I’m currently using. And this one doesn’t have one of those annoying thin straps that slips and gives you pins and needles in your ears in the middle of the night, instead it has a broad silk band that will also protect your hair.
Lash protecting full wrap eye mask
Gifts for you and the women in your life – apparel
Triangle scarves
I’m sure you’ve seen that the hot new accessory is the triangle scarf – and for once it’s something doable. I love watching videos of people doing scarf art but whenever I wear a huge one I get too hot, however beautifully I’ve wrapped it so it ends up being a beautiful accessory stuffed in the top of my bag. Anyway triangle scarves are easy to put on and not too voluminous, they look great in the neck of your coat and they won’t make you overheat. You’ll see lots of them around but the trendiest ones are the smaller ones like these which come from a small company founded by a midlife woman. Unfortunately for us she’s had such phenomenal success that most of her styles are only available on pre-order but even so, it’s good to support her:
If you can’t wait, I’ve just bought this one which is great value in a nicely textured 80% wool blend – and also available in navy.
A great belt
A great belt makes such a difference to an outfit, it alone can be your standout piece making the difference between something that’s tasteful but boring and something that shows you have chutzpah. But it’s one of those things that you don’t often buy for yourself so it makes a great gift. I have three recommendations for you here:
Everybody has a leopard belt but how about zebra? Just look at what it does to a monochrome outfit here – if you wore a standard navy or brown belt it would be such a dumbed down version. A great gift for the woman who has everything and a Black Friday 25% off offer begins tomorrow (21st November).
Zebra belt (25% off BF offer from 21st November more stock here)
Ditto the gold belt, we’ve talked a lot about metallics recently and the difference they make, especially during the winter months when light is low.
And this one is made from suede with PU backing so not quite as good quality as the other two but it’s half the price and the buckle makes up for it. A suede or nubuck belt always looks so much nicer with jeans than leather, it’s down to the texture contrast of course – plain coloured hard leather with hard denim is very samey so this will break it all up.
Modern pearls
Supporting my friend Claudia (who hopefully now feels like a friend to those of you who met her too) – she has a fabulous Black Friday sale running if there’s anybody who needs a special treat. Some of her lines are half price such as these organically shaped earrings which are designed to be worn with or without the pearl.
This is also a really lovely little gift for under £50 – a ‘world is your oyster’ card that comes in a gift box with two little pearl studs.
And if you’re looking for ideas for yourself, these new mermaid earrings are stunning – you’ll see me wearing them soon. They look absolutely fabulous with a simple outfit – I wore them with a navy poloneck and navy satin skirt for a meeting yesterday and everybody commented on them.
Don’t forget you get 20% off full priced products with MIDLIFECHIC20 at checkout – whenever you shop with Claudia, it’s a Midlifechic friends perk.
The jacket of the moment…
… is any kind of barn jacket and with the 80s revival already coming in thick and fast you can’t beat a proper Barbour jacket for any age group. Good looking, practical and timeless – it isn’t often you can say that about a clothing purchase. 20% Black Friday offer currently applies.
Cloud cashmere
Now that ‘ordinary’ cashmere is even sold at the supermarket, luxury has been elevated to cloud cashmere which is brushed and just the softest thing to wear. This jumper has a nicer neckline than a crew and there are lots of colours to choose from – plus from tomorrow (21st November) until 2nd December there will be 25% off.
Cloud cashmere raised neck jumper
Cooling nightwear
I’ve mentioned before that most of my menopausal friends have switched from pyjamas to nightshirts to help with restless nights – they’re still not veering towards old fashioned nighties though so this is a good choice.
Cotton nightshirt – 15% BF offer currently running
Sexy but still comfortable lingerie
And at the same time lingerie drawers are being replenished everywhere post empty-nesting. I have this and it’s so comfortable to wear as well as looking lovely. I like to wear it underneath shorter jumpers, just to avoid winter draughts catching my midriff – a medium fits perfectly because there are no wired cups to consider. 20% Black Friday offer applies.
Stretchy lace body (20% BF offer)
The midlife man
I know – this is supposed to be gifts for you and the women in your life but these have just been restocked and the midlife man is so flipping hard to buy for! You can’t go wrong with a beautifully cut, textured tee and here it is – also available in deep green or ivory.
Gifts for you and the women in your life – accessories
Statement pieces
As statement necklaces make their way back, this is a good place to start – a heavy chain with irregular links so that it doesn’t look too perfect. Very well priced. Use it to lift a crew neck jumper or wear over a turtle neck to cast light onto your face.
Alternatively there’s this statement pendant with a knotted leather thong that you can tie at any length so you could wear it high it in the neckline of a shirt or long over a chunky jumper.
I’ve worn this silver one so much since I got it in September. Such a good value gift that goes with so many outfits.
Warm feet with a good conscience
I always like to find a new midlife artisan to support at Christmas. This time it’s Xanthe Anna who has a smallholding in Wales and makes the most beautiful sheepskin slippers and boots to order for both women and men. You can specify the colour and the detailing on them – she made me a blue pair and they arrived just in time for this week’s cold snap. When I put them next to my Uggs I could instantly see the difference in quality and I love the fact that you can specify a thinner sole if you’re going to be wearing them inside. I like to have warm feet but we have uneven floors with steps up and down here and there so I need to be able to feel my way around too if that makes sense.
The prices are reasonable, all of the components are sustainable and Xanthe offers a repair service so they will last forever. You can also buy replacement innersoles when the lovely, plush sheepskin lining wears down. I’m delighted to support women like Xanthe who are building their own small businesses that do nothing but good, I hope you will too. If you’re quick there’s still time to order custom made pairs for Christmas and there are some ready made options in stock to choose from too. You can browse the full range of options here.
Sheepskin boots (Photography credit Heather Birnie)
Reader recommended for young adult women
Buying for girls can be a challenge for those of us who only have boys. Actually I’ve already bought the presents for the girlfriends in our family this year, I find it such a pleasure – but I can’t tell you what they are because they read this blog! Anyway recommended by reader Lisa who has two twenty something daughters are these socks, they’ll look particularly good with loafers I expect (thank you Lisa x).
Tuxedo bear socks – 10% BF offer currently running
Inspiring Words
Here’s a truly inspiring midlife story. 48 year old Donna Ashworth self-published her first book of poetry during lockdown and just four years later has the number one topselling book in British and Irish poetry. It’s this volume about growing brave which has both poems and passages of inspiration to ‘soothe fear and let in more life’. I pick it up every now and then when I need a bit of a boost and uncannily last week, on the 13th anniversary of my mum’s death, it opened on the page ‘life without your mum.’ Spooky. This isn’t Sylvia Plath levels of poetry but I find she often says just what you need to hear in an accessible way. A great gift for anyone who is growing brave in midlife.
Advent calendars
I haven’t covered beauty advent calendars this year but there are a couple of other ideas that I’d like to show you – they can be a great early present for someone – or just for yourself… and actually these are quite nice to share with your other half or whoever else is in the house so you can justify the cost.
This spirit and liqueur calendar supports lots of independent producers and you’ll probably try all kinds of things you’ve never come across before. I know you might not get through them all before Christmas Day (or maybe you will) but I thought they’d be nice to pop into ‘fill your own’ crackers on Christmas Day too (I’ve bought these and they’re now 50% off – grrr!). Anyway there’s 20% off this advent calendar for Black Friday at the moment so it’s a great price.
Spirit and liqueur advent calendar
And there’s this one, filled with single origin coffee to try with a QR code every day that tells you all about the grower.
Or how about this one for a booklover? Each day you open a window and read the blurb from a book. Take note of the ones that sound good because at the end you get to choose four titles to be sent to you so that you can settle down for a good read in gloomy January.
Letterbox gifts
This is a lovely, easy gift for anyone – a selection of eight really good chocolate bars and it fits through a letterbox so you don’t need to worry about delivery.
And that’s it for today, it feels like gifts for you and the women in your life was the right place to start. This time of year wouldn’t be anywhere near as magical without all of the women who work so hard to make it joyful. I’ll be back on Friday with a new collection of ideas – oh and I’ve disabled the comments for these gift posts because I need to catch up with the last two posts – I’m talking to you faster than I can reply at the moment! Don’t forget there was a post filled with great value Christmas outfits yesterday so if you missed it, you can find it here. Have a fun week – this bright crispy weather is making everything feel really festive isn’t it? Aren’t we lucky?
Disclosure: ‘Gifts for you and the women in your life’ is not a sponsored post
Good Black Friday offers running now
John Lewis – offers added every day – dedicated Black Friday hub here
Sweaty Betty – 30% of everything here
Nike – 25% off everything here
Dunelm – Black Friday hub here
Waterstones – topsellers from Boris Johnson to David Nicholls 50% off & 25% off LEGO here
Hush – up to 30% off knits and tops here
LK Bennett – 30% off everything here
Liberty – 30% off everything here plus 20% off beauty
Rise and Fall 20% off everything here
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Midlife lately – summer lived to the full
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