Top picks for the woman in your life.
McGuigan Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
A luscious red wine full of red and blackberry fruit flavours. This Cabernet Sauvignon shows the distinctive cassis and blackcurrant fruits as well as a subtle herbaceous note that finishes with eucalyptus . Fine velvety tannins add to the finish. This wine is matched perfectly with a range of rich dishes including red meat stews or casseroles.
RRP: £9.99 (Tesco.co.uk, ASDA.com)
McGuigan The Shortlist Shiraz
A classic fruit driven Barossa Valley shiraz, this wine displays ripe mulberry and plum characteristics. The conscious integrations of oak results in subtle vanilla and spice. This wine has youthful, grippy tannins and will develop in the bottle for the next 10 years. Matched perfectly with red meat dishes such as glazed beef short ribs.
RRP: £14.99 (MajesticWines.co,uk)
We tried both wines and they are first class.
Body Butter and Candles from Shea. A small family run business that specialise in creating handmade natural products including body butters, hair care and scented soy wax candles.
All Shea Innocence candles have been hand poured using natural soy wax providing a clean burn and long lasting fragrance. Shea Innocence candles are free form GMM, pesticides and herbicides. They also make brilliant body butter. We tried all of the following: Nourishing Body Butter with Lavender & Orange, Triple Butter Whip – Mango, Grapefruit & Orange, Body Butter – Mums to Be & New Mums (Unscented) and Mandarin Body Butter – Little Ones. Body butter is £10.95 and candles are £6-18.00. Highly recommended on quality. They smell great too.
Adult Colouring Books are the in thing at the moment. Taking time out and staying away from technology is relaxing and essential for health. Quercus Books are publishing 4 gorgeous, small, paperback-format colouring books in a series called ‘The Little Book of Colouring’. Their small size is unique and handy both for carrying with you as well as curling up on the sofa, while the brief affirmations on every page provide the perfect opportunity for colouring fans to focus their minds and step away from the hectic pressures of day-to-day life.
Adult Colouring Book available here
Divoom Voombox Ongo. We tested this great speaker, it really is water resistant and weather proof. Perfect for taking anywhere, give the woman in your life the chance to get her groove on when on the move. Perfect for picnics and outdoor parties too.
Ideal for outdoor enthusiasts who want to listen to music while out and about, the Divoom Voombox Ongo comes with a bike mount and is water resistant and shockproof. Its compact size offers impressive sound with a passive subwoofer and two 1.5inch drivers, and offers a built-in speakerphone solution to make calls while on the move. The Voombox Ongo is available in a range of colours and is perfect for use around the campfire this summer.
Divoom Voombox Outdoor Speaker is available here.
Thomas Dakin Gin
This brilliant gin includes 11 botanicals including horseradish and the gun-metal grey bottle is superb. Thomas Dakin Gin is a classic style London Dry Gin which takes its name from the forefather of English gin, Thomas Dakin, who created the world’s first quality gin in 1761 in the North West of England.
Nose: Juniper perfumed notes upfront with sweet orange and citrus aromas and a hint of red cole botanical at the end.
Taste: Smooth, intense and piquant which softens, leaving a sweet citrus and savoury taste.
Finish : Medium to long lingering finish.
Thomas Dakin Gin is a juniper-led classic style gin with sweet orange and citrus notes and a pepper and savoury finish, thanks to the cubeb berries and red cole. We love it: a superior gin that tastes sublime.
Thomas Dakin Signature Serve
Tom & Tonic
50ml Thomas Dakin Gin
125ml good quality tonic water
Orange peel
Sprig of fresh Coriander
Pour the gin over a full glass of ice and pour over the tonic water. Twist a 5 cm strip of the orange peel onto the top and garnish with a sprig of coriander.
Thomas Dakin Gin is available in Harvey Nichols and Booths.
Babyliss Hairdryer Twilight Shimmer Set from Lloyds Pharmacy. We absolutely love this. The hairdryer is excellent and it comes with a sparkly bag and some hair clips.
The BaByliss Twilight Shimmer 2000W dryer set features a lightweight and compact dryer with the drying performance of a regular sized hairdryer. Includes a concentrator nozzle and 2 sectioning clips to make styling easy. The pretty sequinned pouch is perfect for cosmetics.
Burt’s Bee The Natural Edit. (rep £29.99)
A great gift set from Burt’s Bee, contains a mix of their best products. Burt’s Bees naturally nourishing milk & honey body lotion for super soft skin, Burt’s Bees shea Butter hand repair cream for those hard working hands, Burt’s Bees coconut foot cream for dancing feet and a duo of 100% natural lip care and colour products – perfect for mistletoe ready lips! All of the products are great, making this a wonderful present.
A great, humorous book. Who hasn’t wondered what a certain emoji someone has sent you means? A great gift to make someone fluent.
How to Speak Emoji is available here.
Label.m Fashion Fix The Bardot Beehive.
The Bardot Beehive Fashion Fix comes with everything you need for this iconic hairstyle.This is a great, unique gift.
Professional Haircare brand label.m has taken its catwalk inspired hair- up, in-salon service, label.m Fashion Fix and created the perfect DIY Kit for clients to enjoy at home for the party season.
With a choice of two of the most requested Fashion Fix styles – The Bardot Beehive and Nouveau Knot, each kit includes the key label.m Create and Complete products, Hair Up Brush and accessories. Also there’s a comprehensive step-by-step for re-creating the look with fool- proof results!
‘Retro inspired 80’s pony’ label.m Bardot Beehive Fashion Fix Kit RRP £27.45
The Kit contains: label.m Volume Mousse, label.m Texturising Volume Spray, label.m Session Hair Up Brush, label.m u-pin Straight Black 50mm, label.m Kirby Grip Straight Black 70mm & label.m No Pull Braiding Bands Black 15mm.
Candles are always a perfect gift. We love Rathbornes Cedar, Cloves & Ambergris and the limited edition Charles Farris VII Pinetum Pine, Fir, Balsam & Cinnamon. They both smell amazing and look great.
A demonstration in luxury hand-crafted work, Rathbornes is officially the oldest candle brand in the world. Created and crafted with love in Dublin for over 500 years; the hand-poured wax candles are infused with the highest quality natural essential oils, tested to ensure optimum scent distribution and burn time.
The new ‘Beyond the Pale’ collection is inspired by the Irish saying which refers to the wild countryside beyond the city parameters or ‘pale’. This new range is comprised of six uniquely formulated scents that encapsulate the romance of the Irish landscape with a luxurious and modern edge.
Travel size- single wick candle, burns for 20 hours, £16
Classic size- two wick candle, burns for 50 hours, £30
Luxury size- four wick candle, burns for 60 hours, £46
From Fenwicks & Brown Thomas, Dublin
Steeped in a heritage that dates back to 1845, Charles Farris scented candles still use the same traditional methods from the Victorian era to make the best candles for modern day- slow burning, long lasting and of the highest quality.
By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen, this historic London brand has become the gold standard in quality candle-making. Using 170 years of experience, Charles Farris has now created a range of seven premium scented candles and reed diffusers, specifically for use at home. Working with master blenders to create unique and beautiful scents, the candles have been crafted using traditional techniques, the highest quality ingredients and are encased in artesian hand-finished glass.
The essential oils used come from the finest sources and are infused in the signature wax and hand-poured in a time-honoured fashion that pays tribute to the Charles Farris legacy.
30cl candles- £30
Reed diffusers- £32
Stockists include Fenwicks, Heals, Fortum & Mason