Valentines day is just around the corner, and there are definitely lots of different opinions on the day. For me, it's a day I've always loved, single or taken. I just love embracing well, love. I'm probably the soppiest person you will ever meet. I know it's deemed a 'fake holiday' and many people think it's only there to trick consumers into spending money, well call me a fool then because I fall for it every single time and I see no harm in doing so! I think one of my main reasons for loving Valentines day and February in general, is because it feels like Spring is really around the corner. So see this as a little gift guide, to treat yourself (totally guilty of showering myself in gifts during the Valentines day period), your friends (I always make my bestie a little Valentines day hamper), your family or your boyfriend/girlfriend. I guess as well as gifts, there are little gestures you can do to spread a little bit of love! I completely understand, if we love someone we should show them all the time, but Valentines day is a really nice excuse too. Open this up for a Valentines gift guide for him and her, as well as treats for yourself and ideas of what to do this Valentines day too.
Edible gifts - You cannot go wrong with edible gifts. Whether it's a huge personalised cookie (I have done this for people so many times and it always goes down a treat!), home-made cupcakes or muffins, personalised chocolates or biscuits. I personally love Biscuiteer biscuits, look how perfect they are? My boyfriend is obsessed with them so it was an obvious Valentines choice. See more gift edible ideas below.
Comical gifts - I bought this for Matt last year and it's safe to say he never took it anywhere with him. I'm a total sucker for comical, soppy gifts, ASOS have loads of funny things if you are interested. The soppier and funnier the better. See more below.
Pamper treats - You cannot go wrong with pamper treats, particularly pamper treats from Lush. I don't know anyone who doesn't love the products in the store. They do things for girls, guys and even your Grandma. Plus, to make it easy, you can grab them in a beautiful box like this. I personally prefer to go into the store and choose all my favourite things (Honey I Washed The Kids, the massage bars, face masks, Dream Cream and Shower Jellies are my favourite). I always find the guys stuff in Lush smells in incredible and is received well because a lot of men love to pamper but don't regularly use Lush products, you cannot go wrong with a shower jelly, trust me. You can't go wrong with the beauty selection at Net-A-Porter, just put the price from low to high and you'll see they have some exclusive steals but they come wrapped beautifully. More pamper treats below.
Fragrance - A typical Valentines gift but a sweet one. My favourite fragrances at the moment for Valentines day are Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf, Armani Si and Atkinsons Jasmine. For the guys, you cannot go wrong with Jo Malone scents (Matt loves 157) but then again, everything Jo Malone is perfect for the girls too. I also highly rate Gucci for men - it is possibly the sexiest thing I've ever smelt and not forgetting Armani Prive for him too. Hugo Boss is also a great mens fragrance. My top tip is to try and buy fragrance within a gift set, you always get more for your money and it looks prettier too. FeelUnique do so many fragrance gift sets and you can just choose by pricing if you wish. Check them out online here. If it's a personal touch you're wanting, places like Boots are doing personalised fragrances this year in store which I think is beyond lovely. You can see some of my favourite fragrances below.
Accessories - Accessories such as jewellery make the perfect gift, I always recommend LVNDR for dainty, affordable and hand wrapped jewellery. If you're wanting to do something different this year, I'd highly recommend something cute like a clutch, this one by WOLF is amazing, it's not just any clutch, it's almost like an organised space, perfect for nights out, travel or to just store in your handbag with all your essentials organised, it also works really nicely as a jewellery roll. For him, you could grab a really lovely wallet. I bought Matt a Paul Smith wallet last year and I think it's a really special piece for him to keep forever. They do a great range of wallets for all price ranges online here at ASOS. You can shop some more accessories below.
Make Up - How about treating someone to their favourite make up product? I always think a designer lipstick makes a lovely and thoughtful gift for any beauty lober, whether it's Dior's Lip colours (beautiful and effective), these stunning Benefit They're Real two-in-one liner and lipsticks, or a Marc Jacobs lip gloss. You can't beat Charlotte Tilbury either and her lipsticks are incredible, everyone is swooning over the new Valentine and Pillow Talk lipsticks. There's something about a beautiful lipstick that I think makes a really lovely gift. Shop my favourite make up gifts below.
Skincare - Is there something he/she has been mentioning they're loving a lot recently? are they running low on it? How about topping up their favourite skincare! For example, Matt only needs to glance at my blog to know my skincare favourites and know that topping them up would make my day! Or is there something you know is on their wishlist? Such as By Terry Balme De Rose, I mean come on, everyone is raving about it and look at this packaging? I imagine a lot of these will be flying out this Valentines day and this Mothers day! Space NK do some incredible gifts for him and her when it comes to pampering.
Candles - On a similar pampering theme, you cannot go wrong with candles. My personal favourites? Jo Malone, The Body Shop and Diptyque. You can shop a wide range of candles here and here for all price ranges. Jo Loves (owned by the actual Jo Malone) also do amazing personalised candles for Valentines day which are beyond special and smell incredible. I've had a trusty Jo Loves candle at the side of my bath for a long time now and it's incredible. 
Watches - You cannot go wrong with a timepiece! It's on your wrist all day every day. My favourite watches are by Daniel Wellington, you can get matching ones for him and her. ASOS also have a really nice range of boxed watches for men and women. I'm a sucker for Larsson and Jennings too and have wanted one forever.
Hampers - I love the idea of putting together a hamper, whether it's full of all their favourite food and drinks from the local supermarket (for Matt it would be a hamper full of Pringles, Wispas and Biscuiteer Biscuits!) or a pamper hamper, full of Lush, Sacntuary Spa and anything you can think of (make sure you do check out Sanctuary Spa this year, their new products are beautiful!). I also love making hampers from The Body Shop, they're affordable but the products are incredible. For someone health conscious, I make health food hampers, filled with natural chocolate bars, seeds, green tea, nuts and more. It's such a simple but thoughtful gift.
A Gift That Keeps On Giving - I always recommend a Glossybox or a Birchbox as a present for people, or for the girl who has everything. You pay a month free (usually around £10.00) and every month they will get a beautiful little box brimming with beauty goodies to their door. I did this for Matt but bought him a GQ magazine subscription. Similar ideas to this are things like special books, I stumbled upon these books recently (Asia travel here and Europe travel here) and they are not only beautiful, but perfect travel guides for the travel lover. You can see some more random gift ideas like these below!
Underwear and Pyjamas - I know Matt is a sucker for new Calvin Klein's and I'm certainly a lover of new underwear. They seem to release gorgeous patterns near to Valentines day so I think I'll be treating myself to some new pyjamas and underwear! See my favourites below.
More for him - If you're still needing some more ideas for him, I love the YSL La Nuit De L'Homme range, I didn't even know it existed but it smells incredible, I particularly love the designer take on a deodorant. Matt is obsessed with doing his hair so a haircare hamper always works for him (OUAI, Aveda and ghd do his favourite products) and then I don't think you can go wrong with tech and gadgets, such as headphones, speakers. You can shop some more ideas below including crystal vodka and amazing headphones!
What to do on Valentines day:
If spending money on gifts isn't your thing on Valentines day, there are so many ways to do something lovely without spending money. Below are a few of my ideas:
- Go on a bike ride/walk
- Go for a picnic (fill a hamper full of your favourite foods)
- Do something adventurous, such as a random road trip or book an excursion such as a day of skiing or ice skating or you could always go to a water park. Do something fun!
- Book dinner at a restaurant they've always wanted to go to or a restaurant sentimental to your relationship
- Go for afternoon tea
- Go on a day trip to an animal sanctuary, local beach or something cute!
- Flowers - Nothing means more to me than a bouquet of flowers, they don't have to be expensive, you can pick them up from a local farmer or a supermarket for under £5.00 but flowers seriously make my day.
- Cook dinner
- Have a duvet day and film marathon with snacks
- Go to a spa
- Go camping
- Make homemade pizzas together
- Fill a jar with all your memories
- Fill balloons up with photos of your memories
- Do a treasure hunt to find the gifts
So there we have it, some of my simple ideas and gift ideas for Valentines day. I hope you like them!
Do you love Valentines day? Do you celebrate with the girls? Do you celebrate with your partner?
Lots of love, Em x
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