This post is sponsored by Mirum Shopper. Opinions are 100% my own.

As I’ve mentioned a few times in previous posts lately, I’m all about 2 things this holiday season when it comes to gifting – usefulness and budgeting. I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but when it comes to buying gifts for those I’m giving too, I’ve never stuck to a budget. While I do have an idea of what I can spend on each person, I’ve never had a specific dollar amount. But this year, I’m doing just that and putting a budget together.

The other habit I’m starting this year and hopefully continuing for years to come is making sure my gift is useful to the recipient. Like for my cousin I’m giving her some great quality bakeware. You know baking sheets, pie pans etc. He’s in culinary school and I know he will find them super useful.

Another idea is a stack of AA batteries for my father. He’s always looking for some and never has them on hand. Useful, right? 

And of course a gift that’s big on my list to give is beauty, go figure! My recipients pretty much expect me to give them some kind of beauty gift during the holidays. Smart beauty products are something all people, especially women, love to use.

So that’s why I’m giving gift boxes from Vaseline. They are a great value and packed with body essentials like lotions, lip tins and jellies but they also give back. With each Vaseline gift box purchase, you are giving 1 Healing Donation. Your purchase will support Direct Relief to deliver Vaseline Jelly, medical supplies and dermatological care to people affected by poverty or emergencies. Learn more about Vaseline here and the Vaseline Healing Project at see.walmart.com/Walmart.

Choose from 3 different Vaseline Gift Boxes that are only $9.88 each!

Essential Healing Gift Box – (4 products total) (shown here)

1. (2) 10oz Vaseline Essential Healing Body Lotion
2. (1) Vaseline Petroleum Jelly Original, 1.75oz
3. (1) Lip Tin Original, .6oz

Cocoa Butter Gift Box – (4 products total)

1. (2) Vaseline Cocoa Butter Body Lotion, 10oz
2. (1) Vaseline Petroleum Jelly Cocoa Butter, 1.75oz
3. (1) Vaseline Lip Tin Cocoa Butter, .6oz

Advanced Repair Gift Box – (4 products total)

1. (2) Vaseline Advanced Repair Body Lotion, 10oz
2. (1) Vaseline Petroleum Jelly Original, 1.75oz
3. (1) Vaseline Lip Tin Original, .6oz

I have about 6 coworkers I need to give presents to this year so they will for sure be receiving one of these super useful gift sets.

Now don’t you want to #SpreadTheDifference too?

Disclosure: Post sponsored by Mirum Shopper but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.

What I love most about the nights getting colder in September is creating a home spa in my bathroom. It gets darker earlier in the day and that alone just makes me want to curl up in a warm bath or soak my feet! While an overall bath with candles and a good book is always pampering, I find just focusing on a part of my body and giving it a “super treatment,” like my feet or hands, is what I seem to do most.

And what better way to pamper this season than with the exquisite scent of sweet cream and peony inside the Dove Purely Pampering collection in Sweet Cream and Peony. Have you ever smelled peony flower before? It’s a little on the rosy side and a little on the clean side and 100% feminine.

They just came out with a Body Wash and Beauty Bar in the scent and it's just for taking care of your parts this season.

Click here to read more

Make 2016 the year you take care of your skin. I know I am and here are three I’ve been using to start my year off right.

EXCIPIAL 20% Intensive Healing Cream ($15.99/3.7oz @ target.com) – This brand just hit shelves this past fall and comes from the makers of Cetaphil. This cream has been keeping the dryness away from my seemingly always dry parts like my feet, elbows and knees. I love that it’s not greasy at all.

BRANDT PoreDermabrasion Pore Perfecting Exfoliator ($58/2oz @ dermstore.com) – I’m lucky that I don’t have big pores so maybe this one isn’t quite for me but I found that it exfoliated my skin beautifully. This one uses both physical exfoliators and chemical ones in the formula.

HAND CHEMISTRY Intensive Youth Complex $20/3.3oz @ target.com) – I have high expectations when it comes to my hand creams. I mean, why shouldn’t they do double, triple or even octuple duty like our face creams? This one does! Brightness, hydration, elasticity, texture and other things the skin on your hands dreams up.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

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Each summer a ton of different moisturizers find their way to the top of my dressing table but only a handful are used over and over. Here are the ones that I’m starting to run low on. And be sure to check these out as a couple of them do more than double-duty. 

1. MAYBELLINE Baby Lips Crystal in Pink Quartz - $3.99 @ ulta.com and drugstores nationwide

2. HEAVEN + URTH Beelieve Hydration Balm - $39/2oz, $73/4oz @ heavenandurth.com

3. TEADORA Nourishing Lip Butter in Rainforest at Dawn - $15/.5oz @ teadorabeauty.com

4. AROMATHERAPHY ASSOCIATES 'Relax' Massage & Body Oil - $69/3.4oz @ aromatheraphyassociates.com

5. PHARMAGEL Hand Therapé Sanitizer - $56/16.9oz, $24/6oz, $13/3oz @ walgreens.com

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

Summer Beauty Products

You don’t have to pay a lot for great beauty products and 5 here are worth the pennies that you can pick up right at your local drugstore. Two have totally unique scents, one leaves no white residue like some sunscreens can, one really kept my underarms super dry, and the last is an inexpensive hair hydrator.

1. HAWAIIAN TROPIC Silk Hydration Faces Lotion SPF 30 - $9.59/1.7oz @ ulta.com

2. AUSSIE 3 Minute Miracle MOIST - $3.99/8oz @ walgreens.com

3. CARESS Aqua Sparkle Body Wash in Lilac Blossom & Aquamarine - $5.29/12oz @ amazon.com

4. DOVE Purely Pampering Beauty Bar in Pistachio Cream with Magnolia Scent - $7.39/4bars @ target.com

5. SECRET 'Paris Romantic Rose' Invisible Solid Antiperspirant - $4.29/2.6oz @ amazon.com

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

You can also follow Cybele on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

All areas of the body need moisture now. Here are some of my favorites!

Hair - PHYRRA Pretty Little Elixir Hair Masque ($39.99/8oz @ phyrrahair.myshopify.com) – who knows hair better than someone who puts it through the ringer like fellow beauty blogger, Courtney from Phyrra does? She just came out with a major hair mask and I couldn’t recommend it more! Pretty Little Elixir is  cruelty-free and will snap your strands back in shape no matter how harshly you treat it. And I recommend you use it with this product. 

Hands - TATCHA Indigo Soothing Silk Hand Cream ($38/2oz @ tatcha.com) – your hands are out in the elements a lot in the cold months, so give them some TLC with this nourishing cream. It uses the stems, leaves and petals of the Indigo plant to calm sensitive skin due to the cold, dermatitis, eczema and even rosacea.

Face - KIEHL’S Ultra Facial Overnight Hydrating Masque ($35/4.2oz @ nordstrom.com) – help your skin retain the extra moisture it needs to be fed during these burrrrr months by using this face masque. It’s a 10-minuter that will help your regular moisturizer work overtime.

Eyes - TARTE Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment Cream ($38/.35oz @ ulta.com) – this one uses their patented C-brighter technology that uses the power of the Maracuja fruit that super hydrates the thin skin around the eye that a heavy moisturizer just can’t conquer.

Body – RITUALS Honey Touch Rich and Nourishing Body Cream ($25/6.7oz @ barneys.com) – I have a soft spot for honey and wow, does this one do right by it and I’m not just talking about the gorgeous scent! It uses Himalayan Honey and Indian Rose Oil to nourish the nose and skin as well as Shea Butter, Cocoa Seed Butter. Thick and rich, just what the skin needs right now.  

Disclosure: Samples of some of these items were provided for review purposes.

You can also follow Cybele on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

The country sure is having some crazy weather this year! Freezing cold one day and then warmer temps in the 50’s the next. As we all know, moisture drops in the air when it gets cold (insert how much moisture drops in the winter) so you’ve got to be prepared on all fronts. A good moisturizer is good but it’s not the whole picture. Here are my recommendations (clockwise L to R):

CAUDALIE Gentle Cleansing Milk ($28/6.7oz, $38/13.5oz @ sephora.com and nordstrom.com) – in the colder months, the less foam the better. Switch to a cleansing lotion, milk or oil so the skin’s pH doesn’t change and it’s able to maintain a good moisture level. This one from Caudalie is also great at removing makeup and is free of parabens, sulfates, dyes and Petrochemicals, among others.

HONEYWELL Top Fill Warm Mist ($39.99 @ amazon.com) – a humidifier? Yup, I swear by them and have for years. As soon as I have to pull the heating blanket out, the humidifier is set up too. I turn it on at night and let it run until the next morning. And I find a warm mist is much better at putting moisture in the air then one emitting cool mist. This one from Honeywell is filer-free, so don’t have to worry about mold and mildew developing (ewww!) inside the unit, it’s quiet and can run up to 24-hours on one 1.3 gallon fill-up. And such a great price on this one!

BITE BEAUTY Agave Lip Mask ($26/15g @ sephora.com) – besides my nasal cavity, my lips are the other place that seems to be zapped of moisture when temps drop. And just out is this lip mask that is a super moisturizer for lips. Besides the combo of organic agave nextar and vanilla CO2 that promotes healing, the fact that it is able to stay on lips and not just disappear is also why it’s able to do an excellent job. Thanks BITE!

KOH GEN DO Oriental Plants Deep Moisture Mask ($90/1.34oz @ sephora.com) – skin will need some added moisture so using this face mask once a week will really help. And this one does its work while you sleep as it’s a no-rinse clear formula. Just apply some at the end of your nightly skincare routine and hit the hay.

EMINENCE ORGANIC SKIN CARE Vanilla Mint Hand Cream ($14/2oz @ amazon.com) – hands are out there and in the elements and can show your age if they’re not taken care of. This one from Eminence is super hydrating using Shea Butter and also contains denatured alcohol, which is a natural antibacterial and antiseptic. And it smells great!

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

You can also follow Cybele on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

I’ve never thought about putting the same brand of liquid soap in all my bathrooms and kitchen, have you? Well these Everyone Hand Soaps from EO PRODUCTS make me want to do just that! Yes, the packaging is hip and cool but they also have some great traits about them like being cruelty-free, scented only with essential oils (big thumbs up for that!) and each bottle is made with 50% post consumer resin (PCR), which is recycled materials.

With scents like Lime + Coconut with Strawberry, Ylang Ylang + Cedarwood and Apricot +Vanilla, I don’t think modeling my bathrooms after these liquid soaps’ bottle colors is far off, right? $4.99/12.75oz @ smallflower.com. 

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

I often wonder what percentage of women goes to the salon for their mani/pedi vs. those that do it at home. Since I fall mostly in the latter category, I still want mine to last as long as the ones I’ve gotten in the salon. And what’s their secret to the longevity? The prep! So the last time I went I observed and observed and came to a few conclusions.

So I have to ask ... 

What Makes for a Good Mani/Pedi?

A few things seem to make a mani/pedi last and skipping just one in the process can make all the difference in it lasting a few extra days.

1. Don’t soak your nails after taking off polish. It can diminish nail polish adhesion.

2. Apply a nail dehydrator the nail bed like this CUCCIO Dehydrator ($8 @ hbbeautybar.com). It will remove any traces of any product left on nails to help the polish adhere better.

3. A good base coat – this is so key! A base coat will also prevent nails from turning yellow, especially if you are wearing a dark color.

4. Make sure you keep nail beds and hands moisturized while wearing polish. For cuticles, I apply CUCCIO Conditioning Butter Stick in my favorite scent they make, Milk & Honey ($7 @ amazon.com) and for hands I slather on FRESH Brown Sugar Hand Cream ($18.50/2.5oz @ fresh.com). Afterward, if my hands aren’t too slippery, I gently push back my cuticles with a cuticle pusher like the one shown in the picture that you can find on amazon. The curved end makes it super easy to push cuticles back. 

5. And when I’m doing a pedi, I follow the above, however, I do give my tootsies a good sugar scrub down with Moisturizing Body Truffles ($3.75/1oz @ bonblissity.com) from the BON BLISS line. I know, it says “body” in the name but these are the perfect size to use on both feet and you can really target certain areas of the feet. And these smell so amazing! This Sweet Satsuma smells of mandarin orange.

Do you have any suggestions for getting the best at-home mani/pedi?

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a sucker for a fancy soap. Just a seemingly plain bar of soap because in this case, presentation is everything! A new line to me is this AGRARIA brand. Built on the premise of ‘wrapped-and-ready-to-give,’ the brand was thinking eco-friendly long before it was hip when it comes to packaging. The first location sprouted up in San Francisco in 1970 and now their products can be found in locations all around the world.

This Luxury Bath Bar is my first taste of the line and it’s been a good bite! Their soaps are triple-milled and come in 8 scents and contain olive oil, vitamin E, Shea Butter, Yucca Oil, Kukui Oil and sea fennel, so they not only look good, they have function. The one I tried is the Lemon Verbena and it’s the perfect scent for the spring.

Yes, it’s a little pricey at $20 but when you are looking to treat yourself, isn’t it worth it? Get it and other products @ saks.com.