Holiday trees are beautiful things, all a glow with a kaleidoscope of colour and shimmer. If you're lucky, the same can be said for what's under the tree. Recently, in the hazy afterglow of an industry award show, conversation turned to how we seek out the latest must have products spread in magazines.

Hayley's got a pretty excellent point there.

Varying in size, the more trendy, Sex In The City type lines (such as Stila, Dior, and NARS) will usually have a palette that contains a few eye colour shades, a couple of blush shades and, as luck would have it this season, lip colours. Sets range in price from $50 to over $100. Even though they do come out for the holiday season, often the sets focus on their best sellers of the year, allowing you to really get a feel for the variety and not necessarily commit to a seasonal trend. Something else to look out for: some of these lines have separate lip sets, which usually include three to six lip products, generally being lip glosses (as glosses are the sign of the times and have been for years now). Again, ranging in price from $50- $100.

The big guns, such as Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden and other lines that you see in almost every department and some specialty stores, will generally have a much larger set that includes eye colour, eye liners, lip liners, lip colours and blushes all in the one set. These sets are sometimes Purchase with Purchase sets or can be bought on their own. They have a great value, generally priced around the $100 mark.

Don't forget about fabulous savings when it comes to skincare and fragrance sets, as well. This is the best time to buy! For example, fragrance sets generally include a bath and shower gel and body lotion of the like scent, enclosed in a gorgeous box or trendy little pouch. These items generally sell for the same price as what the juice goes for normally.

Also known as "Blockbusters", these sets generally come out way ahead of the holiday season. It is important to know that most of them are now on counter and have been there since the beginning to middle of November. We all seem to think that the holiday focus comes earlier and earlier every year - like everything in retail - so be on you mark, ladies. These sets generally last within the space of a month and quantities are very limited.