It's officially the time of year that we have to put together our Christmas shopping lists and come up with unique gifts to give everyone on our lists.
As if shopping for christmas gifts wasn't stressful enough, when you add your friends with expensive taste into the mix along with your budget, things can get pretty tricky. However, buying gifts for your friends with expensive taste doesn't necessarily mean you have to spend all of the coins in your piggy bank. This year, make it your personal goal to find amazing gifts that look expensive but are affordable 'AF'.
If you have friends that love the nicer things in life, here are 10 affordable gifts that will make them feel like a million bucks.
1.For The Champagne Papi/Mami: Beaudroix Crystal Champagne Flute Set, $19.97
Have a friend that loves to sip bubbly? Have them drinking in style with this luxe champagne flute and crystal glass stopper set. The satin lining is just an extra splash of fancy. (Shop Here.)
2.For The Beauty Guru: Funtouch Large Vanity Makeup Mirror, $33.99
Your friend will think about you every time she uses this fancy LED vanity mirror to slay her face for the day. (Shop Here.)
3.For The Apple Aficionado: Keeplus Apple Watch, Airpod, Apple Pen And iPhone Stand, $20.99
This 4-in-1 stand is the perfect home for all things Apple. Your techie friend will love this gift of convenience and endless battery power. (Shop Here.)
4.For The Glamour Girl: Kate Spade Mini Small Square Stud Earrings, $32.00
These super cute sparkly studs is the subtle glitz that any glamour queen will appreciate. (Shop Here.)
5.For The Fly Girl That Always Has Her Nails Did: SkinnyDip Bliss Purple + Gold Manicure Set, $23
This luxe gold manicure is the perfect on the go companion for the woman that has to keep her nails in tip top shape. The glittery case is also a great touch. (Shop Here.)
6.For The Hostess With The Mostest: Nordstrom At Home Recipe Cocktail Shaker, $39
The entertainer of your crew would love this gold shaker for all her hosting needs. The outer portion has recipes for popular drinks so get ready to be a taste tester. (Shop Here.)
7.For The Beauty Queen: YSL Lips & Lashes Duo, $32
This limited edition set includes two of YSL's most coveted beauty products, a dramatizing mascara and bold red lippie. Any beauty lover will be grateful for this luxurious beauty experience. (Shop Here.)
8.For The Woman Always On The Go: SkinnyDip Bliss Glitter Set, $25
This glittery makeup case and mirror will have your on the go beauty lover traveling with her essentials in style. Trust us, you'll never find her without it. (Shop Here.)
9.For The Ultimate Diva: Trouve Faux Fur Long Scarf, $39
Fur is a simple way to bring any outfit from drab to fab and faux fur is an affordable and conscious option. This long versatile scarf will have the diva in your life slaying all winter. (Shop Here.)
10. For The Fashionista: Topshop Black Charm Beret, $26
Usually giving hats as gifts is a bit boring but this beautiful beret is anything but basic. Have your trendsetting friend getting compliments everywhere she goes with this edgy twist on a beret. (Shop Here.)
'Tis the season! Check out xoNecole's other Christmas gift guides here.
Disclosure: If you purchase something through one of our links, xoNecole may earn a small affiliate commission.
Featured image by Getty Images
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“During my 20s, I was not ready for more. I was living a really crazy life. It was unpredictable. I was helping somebody else grow. It was a lot, and it was intense. I was not pouring into myself the way I should’ve been,” she says in an xoNecole exclusive.
Still, as Mandi worked to get to know herself and her needs during this new phase of life, she realized the home she’d purchased wasn’t a good fit. Overwhelmed by the echoing of her voice in the spacious home, she had a breakdown and called her cousin, who immediately suggested she lease the home and live somewhere else. “I woke up in my house, and I was like, ‘This is not it for me,” she says. “All those years, I had been accustomed to living a certain way [and] in a certain house, so I bought myself a house like [my old home]. But my family was not the same. Waking up in that house by myself, it highlighted the divorce. I was like, ‘Oh, no, we can’t do this. This is not it.’ My life has changed, so my choices need to change.” At that moment, Mandi became open to the idea that there wasn’t one set way to achieve ownership on her own.
“I feel so much better. I’m in a smaller place. My best friend lives a minute from me and I can walk to her house,” she tells me during a Zoom interview from her home one recent afternoon in early February. In the past two years, she hasn’t just been advising other people on varying circumstances, she’s also been healing herself.
"During my 20s, I was not ready for more. I was living a really crazy life. It was unpredictable. I was helping somebody else grow. It was a lot, and it was intense. I was not pouring into myself the way I should’ve been."
Credit: Solmaz Saberi
If supporters began following Nazanin Mandi because of her conventional beauty or the contagious, bright, white smile she often wears in many of her photos, that’s likely not the reason they’ve stuck around. Instead, she’s amassed a following based on her transparency about her own anxiety and depression, along with the encouraging messages of self-acceptance, gratitude, ambition, and humility that are often sprinkled into her social media posts.
In an era where looking at Instagram photos of models can often lead to feelings of self-doubt and insecurity, Nazanin Mandi is determined to be more than eye candy. She’s food for her follower’s souls, too.
Since being recruited to model while dining at an In-N-Out at 10 years old, Mandi has worked in many areas of entertainment. The Valencia, California native has modeled for brands such as Olay, Savage X Fenty, and Good American. As a teen, she sang at Carnegie Hall and auditioned for season 1 of American Idol, making it all the way to Hollywood before producers disqualified her for lying about her age. (Mandi was 15 at the time, and contestants had to be at least 16 years old.) Mandi has acted, too, including appearing on Disney’s That’s So Raven as a teenager and on the BET+ series Games People Play and the Prime series Á La Carte in more recent years.
In recent years, though, she’s also expanded her professional goals outside of entertainment, too. After becoming a certified life coach in 2020, Mandi launched the membership platform You Bloome in 2022 with the hopes of providing wellness services to others, including her self-published gratitude journal. “I wish I had access to something like You Bloome earlier in my own life,” she writes on the company’s website. The actress, who has been forthcoming about her struggles with anxiety and depression, has never had a life coach, but credits therapy as a tool that “really, really saved me and it laid the foundation to who I am becoming.”
Credit: Solmaz Saberi
"I’m trying to find the balance between living life and knowing that whatever is meant for me is going to happen, but also know that I’m doing everything in my power to make those things happen and better myself."
While she’s always had a nurturing personality, Mandi says her interest in becoming a life coach was inspired by the women who would message her for advice on social media. “I would answer them back. It really sparked a fire within myself to help people,” she says.
You Bloome currently has three membership tiers, ranging in price from $2.99 to $39.99 per month. The highest tier offers a motivational text message twice a week, two live, group coaching sessions per month, and more. “We get emotional. We cry. We laugh. It’s really beautiful. I’ve built close relationships with my members through this. It’s been inspiring both ways,” Mandi says of the sessions. Still, the founder says she hopes to take on more motivational and keynote speaking opportunities in the future with the hopes of impacting as many people as possible.
And, she’s hoping to do all of this while continuing to explore a career as an entertainer.
At this point in her life, Mandi says she’s gained enough perspective on modeling, music, and acting to realize what she wants to prioritize moving forward. “We are going full force with acting,” she says, noting her goal is “to book a series regular or a film that impacts my career and the world.” She plans to continue to model, too, but has no desire to pursue music.
“I don’t want any part of that because I know what that life entails,” she says. “I don’t want to tour. I don’t want to do any of that. That is not where my heart is at.”
Credit: Solmaz Saberi
If you ask Mandi, she’ll tell you she feels most comfortable in front of a camera, but she’ll also admit that she’s recently experienced a lot of imposter syndrome when thinking about her acting career. “I think it’s a fear of not succeeding,” she says. If anything, she adds, she’s harder on herself now than she’s ever been. “There were distractions before. There’s no distractions now,” she says. “I’m putting pressure on myself for no reason.”
This is where the life coach’s own personal healing comes into play. Mandi says she’s learning recently that “slow progress is still big progress at the end of the day.”
“Currently, I’m trying to find the balance between living life and knowing that whatever is meant for me is going to happen, but also know that I’m doing everything in my power to make those things happen and better myself,” she adds.
Still, one of Mandi’s strengths is that she doesn’t feel the pressure to limit herself to just one passion. From working as a life coach to pursuing acting, she has given herself grace to explore all other dreams.
“We can be allowed to be many different things in this lifetime,” she says. “As people, our identities are allowed to expand. Don’t put us in a fucking box. I cannot live that way anymore.”
For more of Nazanin, follow her on Instagram @nazaninmandi.
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Featured image by Solmaz Saberi
This will prompt you to dig a little deeper to find out more about the girl who is a multi-hyphenate and earned two major nominations before even making it on the big screen.
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xoNecole caught up Hailey as season 3 came to an end and was surprised to learn that although they may be completely different people, her real life is mirroring what's going on with Jukebox in Raising Kanan. "I really made the epiphany season 3." She continued, "[Jukebox] just wants to be seen. She works so hard, she's a really sweet girl. She has a beautiful spirit and she just wants people to see her—to see how hard she works. I feel that right now. I'm like, please just see me. I know you love Jukebox...but there's a super cool girl in here and she's got a lot to say. A lot to contribute to the world artistically."
She even delved more into her background, telling us about the extensive training and hard work she's put in to get to this point. "I started training when I was 9. I trained in acting, singing, and performance." She further explained, "I did my first job when I was 12, so I've been doing this for awhile. Performing is what I love. I've always said I wanted to be Beyoncé when I grew up...I'm really blessed to have the resume and the background that I do."
The latest season of Power Book III: Raising Kanan has come to a close but in true fashion, Hailey is still hard at work. Her first single "Drama Queen" is out now and her debut album will be released on May 3. It's safe to say that Hailey is having her moment. One can't deny that she's worked hard for it and we can't wait to see what's next!
Watch the full interview below.
Hailey Kilgore AKA Jukebox on 'Raising Kanan' Talks Broadway Background
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