Christmas season usually has us in a frenzy. Many of us fall prey into thinking that we have enough time to fulfill our secret santa duties (no lah still got time. I buy tomorrow. I buy another day. I buy on weekend).

So what do we do when it’s one away from Christmas and you’ve still got nothing?

We run off to stores like The Body Shop to get pretty little pre-wrapped gifts. Because people bath every day and want to look good all the time, even when they are sleeping.

But in that haste, you probably forgot to stop and smell the roses. Smell the bottles, we mean. Literally. Do you know what you’re actually giving to your friends?

If you bothered to test, or even just smelled the product, you might just find that you’d actually want to keep a Body Shop item you bought for a friend for yourself.

Here’s our first impressions of several products that we’re definitely not going to give away.

1. Spiced Apple Body Butter

This is something that many of us would pick up at the store.

Why? Because it’s festive looking (hell, even the apple on the cover looks like a Christmas bauble) and there’s a cute ribbon, which makes it a nice gift.

When we opened the pot, we had to resist sticking our finger into that buttery, luxurious looking lotion. And then came the smell. THE SMELL. True to it’s name, this body butter smells amazingly like ripe, sweet apples with a hint of spice.

TL;DR: This is an apple flavoured pudding for your skin. Smooth, soft and custard-y. Hmmm.

Why we are keeping this: Because we’d love to wake up smelling like apples.

2. The Finest Facial Mask Duo

We were pleasantly surprised to see that the kit contained two decently sized pots.

Why do we say so? Only because we’re used to seeing puny-sized items in gift packs.

And also because we’ve lived our lives eating chips from bags that are 50% filled with air. #trustissues #truestory

When we first dipped our fingers into the British Rose fresh plumping mask, it had an aloe vera-like consistency with little bits of rose, and the Himalayan Charcoal purifying glow mask was thick and minty, a little like chocolate mint ice cream. Yummm.

Steal. No don’t, please buy.

TL;DR: This product makes us trust gift packs again.

Why we are keeping this: Legit premium look and feel.

3. Vanilla Chai Exfoliating Sugar Body Scrub

Every year, we spend 11 months wishing it was Christmas, only to have it fly past in December (Do I really have to stop listening to Christmas songs?).

So if you’re like us and want every day to like your favourite holiday, you’d definitely want to keep this product because it’s quite literally Christmas in a magical pot.

It will leave you smelling deliciously like everything we love about Christmas; vanilla, cinnamon and apple pie fresh out of the oven. Also, the granular sugar bits in the scrub makes you actually feel like eating the thing.

Except you shouldn’t. Absolutely not. Unless you wanna chao geng and take sick leave for a holiday.

TL;DR: This is Christmas in a freaking pot. If you like Christmas, you might fall in love.

Why we are keeping this: You can bring Christmas everywhere with you.

4. Tea Tree Rescue Kit

Now, we’ve heard that tea tree is really good for blemishes and acne-prone skin.

But using it is tricky -- tea tree oil has to be sufficiently diluted for daily use -- otherwise it’s harsh on your skin and could dry it out.

So naturally, we were cautious with this product. We don’t want to break out in a rash. 

We rubbed just a little of the Tea Tree 3-in-1 Wash.Scrub.Mask on our arm and found that our skin actually became softer instead of drier, which is quite unusual for tea tree face washes. What miracle is this?

And then there’s this Tea Tree Anti-Perfection Daily Solution. It’s like a Tea Tree serum that makes our skin smoother and more matte after the face wash. Wow. What sorcery.

So no, you bet we’re so not giving this away.

TL;DR: It has the goodness of tea tree without (too much) of the bad.

Why we are keeping this: Because sorcery.

So amidst all that Christmas frenzy, don’t forget to give yourselves presents too… even if it’s supposed to be your friends’.

Just make sure you have enough time to buy another present for them.

If you feel guilty, you could always pop by The Body Shop again to get more awesome items for your friends. There’s also the choice of creating a gift set with all your favourite items to (really) present it as a gift to your friends this time around.

The best thing? Your personalised gift set will be gift wrapped at no extra charge. What!

You could even create a gift set for yourself. Because #whynot

This sponsored post helps Mothership writers afford beauty products so we can reverse all the damage sleep deprivation has done to us.