Life's little luxuries don't need to cost a small fortune, but they do need to make you feel special. My Five Best indulgences will force you to make space for a little "me time" and leave you not only pampered but looking good. They are all less than $100 and there's something to suit every budget. So treat yourself (and/or someone deserving) to relax, unwind and indulge.

Royal Nectar Face Mask (about $58). There’s nothing like lying back with a face mask to feel indulgent and with this one you can even fantasize that you are one of the British Royals. Bee venom masks are said to be Camilla and Kate’s beauty favorites. And this one – that I hope to get from New Zealand for the TIA shop very soon – is the original source of the bee venom active used in the Heaven mask in the UK. (See my video for a comparison of the two). Skin feels lovely and soft after a session with Royal Nectar. In addition to the avocado and apricot kernel oils, it has something new to me called Easyliance. This is made from acacia (a tree indigenous to Africa) and rhizobian gum and it is supposed to make the skin feel smoother and tighter. Read the full review

Nutra-Lift White Chocolate Body Butter ($24). A chocoholic’s treat. A rich yet non-greasy, antiaging body cream that has organic white chocolate - be prepared for an olefactory sensation that is literally mouth watering. 80% organic ingredients include a base of anti-inflammatory aloe vera with antioxidant seaweed and vitamin C are next in line. There is more, of course, to chocolate than an indulgence. High in flavanoids, chocolate is a natural sunscreen and antioxidant. Read the full review

TIA’s Lipcare Collection Here’s something to smile about – a limited edition collection of gloss, color and soothing balm. Youngblood Lip Liner (loved by Kristen), Primitive Lipstick (readers' favorite), organic Juice Beauty Lip Gloss, and Dermophisiologique Optyma Lip Balm with built-in sunscreen. And you get to save nearly ten bucks.

Prana AU 24K ($96 in the TIA shop). This has real gold flakes (supposed to be an anti-inflammatory). To my mind the real gold in AU 24K is that almost every single ingredient serves the skin. This makes it, at $90 for 1oz, pretty good value - especially as can be made to last at least three or four months. This serum does an excellent job of plumping and smoothing the skin, fading fine lines and it even calms redness and seems to minimize broken veins.

Chella Anti-Fatigue Eye Mask ($45 in the TIA shop). Chella's eye mask does what it says on the tin. After 15 minutes (of course, you can go for a spa-like chill-out and lie back with a glass of Chardonnay, but busy bees will be pleased to know that these masks really do adhere gently like a second skin and remain in situ even while you multitask), the under eye area is depuffed, the complexion clearer, the skin firmer. It is an effect that looks more dramatic about an hour later and, in my experience, can last a whole day. A holiday pick-me-up that will get you party-ready.

Ingredients in Royal Nectar: Distilled water, Nector Ease (manuka honey, bee venom) lanette wax, avocado oil, tocopherol oil, apricot kernel oil, easyliance, rose hip oil, rose water, evening primrose oil, optiphen plus, natural fragrance, cocoa butter, ticaxan, marshmallow extract, manuka oil, lavender essential oil

Ingredients in Nutra-Lift White Chocolate: Organic aloe vera gel, seaweed, vitamin C ester, plant derived isotearyl palmitate, cetyl esters, plant derived gms 450, stearic acid, marine collagen, almond oil, sesame oil, organic white chocolate, vitamin B5 di-panthenol, DMAE, organic royal jelly, cocoa butter, hydrolyzed wheat protein, xanthum gum, natural mixed tocopherols & tocotrienols (vit.E) alpha lipoic acid, guarana, green tea, carrot extract, olive extract, shea butter, CO Q 10, grape seed extract, flax seed oil, hyaluronic acid, astaxanthin, vitamin B1, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin F, vitamin K, fruit flower complex, anti-aging complex, herbal complex, blue green algae, orange/cucumber extract, colloidal minerals.

Ingredients in Prana: Purified Water (Aqua), Certified Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Cyanocbalamine (Vitamin B12), Sodium Hyaluronate, Ginseng .Green Tea, Marine Collagen, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3, Pentapeptide-18, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Dexpanthenol (Vitamin B), Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Pycnogenol, Centella Asiatica, Chamomile, Genuine German Gold, Allantoin, Chitosan, Phenoxyethanol

 

Ingredients in Chella: Eye Zone Matrix Anti-Fatigue Mask: Collagen, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Ppg-15 Stearyl Ether, Peg-40 Sorbitan Peroleate. Ingredients in Anti-Fatigue Eye Mask Activator: Water (Aqua), Pthychopetalum Olacoides Extract, Panax Ginseng (Pfaffia Paniculata) Root Extract, Lilium Candidum Flower Extract, Glycosaminoglycans, Ergothioneine, Tremella Fuciformis Polysaccharide, (Bioskinup Contour 3r) Glycerin, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside), Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Methylisothiazolinone.