BeautyMark For The Holidays

The weather outside may be frightful, but BeautyMark sure keeps things delightful. This charming boutique full of beauty and skincare finds as well as accessories, clothes, children's products, and novelty items has been a lovable mainstay of Yaletown's fashion and beauty scene for just a little over ten years. I had the privilege of attending their holiday media preview last week, where the BeautyMark team hosted an intimate party for bloggers, media personnel, and fashion industry insiders. I had a great time sampling the hors d'oeuvres provided by Charm Modern Thai and catching up with familiar faces while checking out the wares in-store. So many great gift, stocking stuffer, and holiday ideas popped out at me that I had to go back during the day to take some photos when it was quieter.

For the friend fighting off a cold or flu at home: A big container of homemade soup and a little packet of holiday-themed tissues should cheer her up.

Nail polish makes a great stocking stuffer and/or small gift for friends. BeautyMark carries a wide range of colours from three-free brands like Essie...

...BUTTER London (read my review here)...

...and Spa Ritual (review available here).

Boxed Principessa beauty sets for the girly girls who love to pamper themselves...

...or Philosophy bath and body products in a variety of holiday-appropriate scents.

Speaking of Philosophy, how cute are these small bottles of their shampoo/shower gels? Break up the set and you'll have fantastic stocking stuffers or small gifts for casual acquaintances.

BeautyMark carries Smith's Rosebud lip salve in every flavour and packaging option imaginable. Pick one up for yourself and your girlfriends to relieve chapped lips this season. (I've heard it's great on dry cuticles too.)

For the friend who's always flying off to a sunny resort in Cuba or Mexico this time of year: Pick up some LA Fresh travel wipes. There are wipes for every travel/hygiene need, whether it's a deodorizing wipe to freshen up or a minty fresh finger glove to "brush" your teeth on the go. I like the idea of buying LA Fresh wipes separately and packing up little Ziploc baggies for the gift recipient.

Common Beauty's makeup palettes are crammed with different shades of lip gloss, eyeshadow, and highlighter, but are so thin when closed that they're about the width of 2 or 3 credit cards stacked together. Stash one in your clutch for quick touch-ups at Christmas parties.

I think of this wall (in the back of the BeautyMark store) as the "wardrobe malfunction wall" because it's got solutions for any number of ensemble dilemmas: fashion tape, insoles and inserts for painful shoes, solutions for falling bra straps and for frocks that you can't wear bras under at all.

Thanks to BeautyMark for the great holiday media preview party (and the accompanying swag bag)!