Valentine's Day - Gift Guide for him and for her

Time is flying by... I swear it was Christmas about a week ago?! But here it is, about a week away. The long awaited (or dreaded... depending on your "relationship status") Valentine's Day. Me and my boyfriend are going to Amsterdam this year for Valentine's day, which will be the most amazing experience. The only other Valentine's day I've spent with someone we went to go see Die Hard... how romantic haha. I can't wait to go back (I'll post a round up of my last time there tomorrow) to Amsterdam but that means me and my boyfriend are just doing small presents. I thought I'd do a gift guide for all you who are buying proper gifts...

For her:

Jewellery: A generally safe and easy option, but widely loved by those receiving it. Like most of the gift ideas I'm going to be telling you about, this option can be done on a budget, if there is one, or you can be pretty extravagant. Try pick up little hints, that I'm sure she'll be throwing at you left, right and centre, coming up to this day but if not, take a look at the jewellery she wears day to day and find something similar either with a little bit more of a 'phwoar' factor (ie. sparkly), very minimalistic (my favourite) or very statement/colourful. Girls all differ in their jewellery taste, so definitely try pick up the hints!

Here are my favourites:

Also check out Regal Rose's Valentines Day collection here. My boyfriend bought me one of their chokers as one of my birthday gifts and I'm in love with it. 

Accessories: From make up bags to watches to purses to clutches, you name it. She'll love it. I'm personally a fan of leather goods but you can pick up some really cute varieties of all these things from lots of places - ASOS, Topshop etc so if you're really stuck for ideas head to their websites. Most of them do their own Valentine's Day gift idea pages - which can help if you're really struggling to think of ideas!

My picks:

Perfume: Some girls have their particular scent, so if you know what it is... get that! But if she's open to trying new things, buy her a new fragrance. 

Some you can't go wrong with are:

Flower Bomb, Viktor & Rolf - They have a limited edition bottle on sale here, which is a beautiful alternate from the normal bottle, something a little different for Valentines day, or you could buy a set and also buy the body cream, shower gel and body lotion. 

Miss Dior

Chanel No.5

Daisy, Marc Jacobs

Make up: Every girl loves make up, and this can be a relatively low budget gift, depending on how much you want to buy. You can't go wrong with a MAC lipstick and starting at £15.50, it's hardly going to break your bank balance. My favourite shades at the moment are: Velvet Teddy, Dark Side, Smokey Purple, Living Legend and Good to be Bad by MAC. You could also try Illamasqua, NARS, Tom Ford, Charlotte Tillbury... the list goes on and the prices charge from company to company but you get the idea. I'd stay away from foundation if you don't know her shade but mascara and eyeshadow is another good idea. A current favourite of mine is my liquid metal palette from Illamasqua and my Naked Palette from Urban Decay.

Maybe if you're not looking to spend too much, you could take her out to dinner in the evening and book a £20-£30 make up appointment for her at MAC where she can get that money back to spend on products, that way it's a gift and she's ready for her dinner date with you!

Underwear: Kind of a gift for you both in reality. She loves to wear it, she feels sexy. You love to look at her when she's wearing it, you think she looks sexy. Everybody wins. You could go classic Red for Valentines day or stay elegant in black or go innocent with white.

Here's a few sets to help start off your search:

ASOS is actually my favourite place to get underwear from but their site is down at the moment, so I can't show you any examples! 

Flowers: May be a little cliché, but I don't know one girl who wouldn't like receiving a bouquet of flowers on Valentine's day... or any day for that matter. Roses are a given, but maybe chose her favourite flower to make it a little bit more personal or mix the two. Remember though, coming up to Valentine's day are florists most busy time of year so get them as early as possible! Or make an order so you can guarantee that you'll get your hands on some. This option can be as cheap or as dear as you want it to be. Valentine's day isn't about how much money you spend, or even the gift so even if it's just one red rose, I'm sure she'll be happy!

If you are on the other hand, looking to splash out, here's an option:

Champagne/chocolate: Give any girl some bubbly and she's set, the same goes for chocolate. If you've decided to have a quiet night in, just the 2 of you, maybe you're cooking her favourite dinner or watching her favourite chick flick, you could bring 2 champagne glasses, a bottle of Moet and a box filled with Charbonnel & Walker chocolate champagne truffles, my favourite. Yum. I'm sure there will be many brands taking advantage of this day, so pop into your nearest super market if you can't get hold of those and Lindt do a love heart selection box.

For him:

Aftershave: Like I said before, you can't go wrong with buying nice fragrances for your other half! Some of my personal favourites for men are: 

Acqua Di Parma Colonia Intensa

Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue

Raco Rabanne One Million

Accessories: Watches, cufflinks, wallets, wash bags, hold alls. These are all useful things that you could give to your other half on Valentine's Day that they'd love. There are some brilliant options on ASOS, but if you pop into your local department store, I'm sure there will be some great options on there too.

(If you live in Leeds, the Paul Smith store do some of the most amazing vintage cuff links I've ever seen. They range above the average price of the actual Paul Smith ones but they're exquisite. My Dad never takes off his lime green forest frog ones off!)

You could go with a nice sleek Paul Smith wallet with clean lines, and a matching card holder with the classic PS stripes. 

I realise I look like a walking advertisement for Paul Smith, but I really love their stuff. Everything just looks so suave. 

Hair stuff: In this day and age, men usually spend more time on their hair than women do so why not treat your man to some new hair products, get him a gift set. I know that my boyfriend uses Pomade like no tomorrow, and they actually do a gift set so that is an option for me, if your boyfriend is the same, here's that gift set.

Here's some other options: 

Uppercut Deluxe Hair and Body Gift Set 

Bluebeards Revenge Grooming Gift Set 

Underwear: Now you can do a matching 'His and Hers' #MyCalvins instagram post haha. You can buy Calvin's from most department stores but ASOS also has a great range, check out these ones. 

Remember, Valentine's Day isn't about the gift or the money spent! Do something heart felt and if you can't afford anything, maybe have a picnic under the stars (it's cold though, so wrap up) or buy a nice picture frame and print out a photo of the 2 of you! Hope this post helps. 

Gee xxx