The LDBeauty Holiday Gift Guide

The holidays are almost upon us, but not to fear, our Beauty Advisor Sara has you covered. She’s got gifts ideas for her, gifts ideas for him…and a few things you’ll want to add to your own wish list. She’ll even give you a peek at Day 1 of the incredibly popular NYX Lippie Countdown Kiss and Tell Advent Calendar: a must-have for any beauty lover.

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10 Genius Kitchen Gadgets for the Clever Chef

These days, there is no end to the amount of gadgets out there, especially for the kitchen. Let’s face it, not all of them are useful, and they end up taking up precious space in your kitchen. To save you some trouble, we’ve compiled a list of our favourite, affordable and genius kitchen gadgets, whether you want to up your own kitchen game, or surprise your favourite home chef.

Gotham Steel Bacon BonanzaGenius Kitchen Gadgets

Many chefs swear by cooking bacon in the oven. It reduces the fat, eliminates stovetop splatter, and guarantees a perfectly crispy result. The Bacon Bonanza makes cooking bacon in the oven even easier: the non-stick rack spaces up to 12 pieces of bacon perfectly, the non-stick pan catches the grease for easy cleanup, and both are dishwasher safe.

PL8 Fresh Herb Saver

Genius Kitchen Gadgets

Fresh herbs are a key ingredient to taking the quality of your home cooking up a notch. But unless you’ve got your own fresh herb garden, store-bought herbs don’t last very long in the fridge. This simple little item will add life to your fresh herbs so you can use them again and again, and save you the sadness of watching them wilt in your fridge. Its compact size fits easily in any fridge door. Works for saving asparagus, too!

Zipstrip Herb Stripper

Genius Kitchen Gadgets

Now that you have all of these fresh herbs just sitting around, you’ve got to use them! This little gem will save you loads of time; it easily strips, collects and measures herbs all in one step. Four separate sized holes fit any variety and size of woody, stemmed herbs (such as rosemary, thyme and tarragon) and the bowl easily catches the leaves and simply measures your portion.

Brooklyn Brownie Copper Pan

Genius Kitchen Gadgets

What’s the best part of a pan of brownies? The corners, of course! This time-saving brownie pan will give you 18 perfectly portioned corner pieces every time. The durable, non-stick surface allows you to mix the batter right inside the pan, no pre-greasing required. The slicer insert slides right out when the brownies are done, with no arguments about who gets the corners.

Ove Glove

Genius Kitchen Gadgets

Traditional oven mitts are awkward and bulky, and who hasn’t burned themselves on the oven using a tea towel? Never fear, because the Ove Glove is here to save your precious fingertips. Three layers of insulation protects from heat, flame and steam up to 540℉, and the five fingers with silicone grip will have you nimbly dashing around your baking and barbecuing like the kitchen hero that you are.

One Stop Chop Cutting Board

If you’re obsessed with keeping your cooking space neat and tidy through the dinner-making process, have we got the gadget for you. This beautiful bamboo cutting board hides secret, tidy prep drawers underneath to store your ingredients until you’re ready to use them, making room on your cutting board in the process. Aahh…satisfying, isn’t it?

Genius Kitchen Gadgets

Joseph Joseph Adjustable Rolling Pin

Genius Kitchen Gadgets

 

So, you like precision, do you? Oh, we’re gonna get precise. Any good baker knows that winging it is a recipe for disaster, especially when it comes to making the perfect dough. That’s why the always-inventive Joseph Joseph gave bakers this ingenious rolling pin that measures the thickness of the dough while you roll it. Simply attach one of three included sets of discs to the pin for rolling thicknesses of 3/8”, 1/4″ and 1/16”. There are also measurements etched into the barrel help you roll sheets of dough to exact widths. Guesswork, you’ve met your match.

Soda Stream Source Soda Maker

Genius Kitchen Gadgets

If you’re trying to kick the sugary drink habit, the Soda Stream makes healthy, carbonated beverages at home, right on your countertop. Have your beverage your way with customizable carbonation settings, and optional low-sugar, natural flavours. Voted Best New Product in 2016 by Canadian Living, this handy, compact gadget will save you money on your grocery bill, and save hundreds of plastic bottles and cans from going into the waste cycle.

Crock-Pot Express 8-in-1 Crock Multicooker

Genius Kitchen Gadgets

This is not your mother’s Crock-Pot. This insanely useful appliance is the new rock star of the small appliance world for people who love to cook, and even people who don’t. This multi-cooker does the job of a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, and warming pot. It’s a single appliance that does the job of seven! And we don’t know about you, but we definitely don’t have the space in our humble kitchens to store all seven of those appliances. Whether you want to prep your meal in the morning and cook all day, or have a fast healthy home-cooked meal in under an hour–this one-pot wonder does it all!

I Could Eat A T-Rex Pasta Measuring Tool

Genius Kitchen Gadgets
No matter how long you’ve been cooking, you’ll likely never be able to eyeball the perfect portion of pasta. A pasta measuring tool is essential to any cook’s tool kit, so why not make it fun, too? This adorable tool helps you portion pasta for a kid, woman, man or a visiting T-Rex. Warning: approach hungry T-Rex with care, and don’t make any sudden movements.

Santa to Visit Seniors Across Western Canada This Year

Stocking Stuffers for Seniors at London Drugs

Well, maybe not the real Santa, but seniors across Western Canada will receive a little extra holiday cheer this year, thanks to London Drugs’ very first chain-wide Christmas campaign.

With Stocking Stuffers for Seniors, London Drugs stores across Western Canada are partnering with hundreds of low-income, assisted living, or palliative care homes and organizations to help make this year’s holidays brighter for seniors living in our communities.

Stocking Stuffers for Seniors was developed as a way to connect London Drugs’ generous customers to local seniors during the busy holiday season. Many seniors do not have family or loved ones they can celebrate the holidays with, so Stocking Stuffers for Seniors will provide a gift or needed item, along with a visit from a friendly face during an often lonely time of the year.

The program concept originated in BC’s Okanagan then expanded to Edmonton, where they had the initial goal to help 40 inner-city seniors and ended up helping over 400. The next year, 2,000 people received gifts, and this year, Edmonton alone will support over 4,000 seniors. With the generosity of our communities, imagine what we could do across all of our communities.

To support Stocking Stuffers for Seniors, visit your local London Drugs store from now until December 11. Simply go to the Stocking Stuffers for Seniors Christmas Tree and take a personalized tag from a local senior, purchase or bring in the new, unwrapped items listed on the tag, then drop everything off at the London Drugs Customer Service Counter where you picked up the tag. Santa and his volunteer elves will deliver all personalized gifts in time for Christmas!

Stocking Stuffers for Seniors London Drugs 2017

10 POPULAR GIFTS FOR SENIORS

– Blankets or throws
– Slippers or socks
– Candy and chocolate
– Coffee or travel mugs
– Warm clothes such as gloves or scarves
– Paper products such as paper towels and tissues
– Gift cards for groceries and toiletries
– Books or magazines
– Board games or puzzles
– Kitchen essentials

For extra Christmas cheer – include a personalized Christmas card with your gift!

Be sure to check out our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter pages to see how your gifts made the season a bit brighter for seniors in your community.

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Technology Buffs

It’s almost December! Have you started your holiday shopping yet?

Starting with last week’s gift guide for the home cook and continuing this week with our gift guide for kids (and parents), London Drugs is setting you up for success this holiday season with gift guides for everyone on your list. Today we’ve got a great list of gifts for technology buffs. Know a techie who’s always got the latest gadget? We’ll help you pick out the perfect gift!

Here’s our guide to help you buy a gift for the techie on your list that you know they’ll love.

1. Tech Tools for Tracking Health

Wearable technology is all the rage, and nobody’s doing it better than health and fitness companies. You can track your heart rate, steps, activity level, sleep, body fat… we even have portable machines for tracking blood pressure and glucose levels. It’s finally cool to want to be healthy!

gifts for technology buffs

Give the techie in your life the Fitbit Ionic, which has all the functionality of the previous Fitbit watches plus is water resistant up to 50 metres–perfect for tracking one’s swims. This version of the Fitbit also includes an NFC chip so you can pay at a contactless terminal with your credit card, from your wrist! If your techie friend is really adventurous, they may prefer the functionality of a Garmin smart watch, great for multisport tracking with GPS and full colour maps. Pair a smart watch with the Fitbit Aria or another smart scale, which track body fat percentage and wirelessly sync stats so they can track progress over time.

2. Make Mornings Bright with the All the Right Gear

gifts for technology buffs

Looking for something to help you start your day right? Try this gentle alarm clock that mimics the sunrise. A great gift to help them wake up in a more gentle way for those early morning workouts. Need more motivation to get out of bed? This running alarm clock literally runs away from you, forcing you to face the day. Like to listen to music or podcasts before drifting off to sleep? This eye mask has built in wireless headphones and full button controls. 

3. Outfit Your Home with Smart Technology

Smart home devices have come a long way in the last few years. Nest is leading the way, having developed a thermostat, smoke detector, and security camera you can control with your smartphone. Other companies have taken their lead, creating water sensors to detect leaks, smart locks for the front door, and smart outlets that allow you to turn on and off anything you have plugged in from your phone. Techies can set timers for the outlets their lights are plugged into, or just reduce their energy footprint by turning outlets off. Upgrade your techie friend’s home with technology and give the gift of peace of mind!

gifts for technology buffs

If they truly love using technology to make their life easier, or if they’ve always dreamed of having a robot butler, then get the techie in your life Google Home, the voice-activated speaker with built in Google Assistant.  With an “OK, Google,” they can ask it questions (Math! Definitions! Sports scores!) or tell it to play a song or movie on their Chromecast. It also connects with Nest and other smart devices. “OK, Google. What’s the perfect gift?”

gifts for technology buffs

 

4. Get the Perfect Shot

 

Technology keeps getting better and better, especially when it comes to photography. No techie should be without a good quality digital SLR camera like the Canon Rebel T6i pictured below. They have all the functionality of an analog camera with manual control, but with amazing features you can only get in a digital camera: snap amazing high-definition shots, view and edit using a touchscreen LED, and even take 4K video.

gifts for technology buffs

 

For the adventurous techie, the GoPro is the way to go. Waterproof up to 30 metres and able to go up to 120 frames per second, GoPro cameras take incredibly smooth videos in difficult conditions. Perfect for exploring the beauty of Canada! Or try a drone with a built in HD camera for gorgeous aerial shots.gifts for technology buffsIf they already have the latest in digital photography equipment, a lightweight tripod or an external hard drive to back up their photos will always be welcome.

 

5. Small Stocking Stuffers

One of the best things about technology is all the accessories. Perfect to supplement a larger gift, or pop them in a stocking for extra Christmas cheer. Things like batteries (never included, why?) and battery chargers. Or AV cables and adaptors.

gifts for technology buffs

 

For someone travelling during the holiday season, nothing is more useful than a soft electronics accessory bag for all the cables and accoutrements of laptops, phones, and other devices–except maybe this all-in-one plug adaptor good for more than 150 countries. 

6. Fashion Accessories for the Tech-inclined

In cold December weather, these texting gloves for men and women allow for uninterrupted texting. Or bring a pop of pattern to your friend’s phone with a fun new phone case. If they take work with them on the go, these beautiful laptop totes are a stylish answer to the messenger bag. 

gifts for technology buffs

For more gift-giving advice for the kids (and parents) on your list, speak to an LD Expert today. To make a purchase, visit London Drugs in-store and online.

We’ll be back next week with a top gift guide for DIYers. See you then!

See all of our 2017 Holiday Gift Guides here:

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Kids (and Parents)

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for the DIYer

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Music Lovers

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for the Home Cook 

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for the Home Cook

The days are colder, the nights are longer, and we’ve fallen back, ending Daylight Saving Time. Time to start planning for the holidays! Do you know what gifts you’re going to get for your loved ones this year? We’re here to help.


Throughout November and December, we’ll be posting holiday gift guides for everyone on your list, with a wide range of gift ideas and price points on each. From showstopper items to smaller stocking stuffers, we’ve got you covered.

We’re starting our holiday gift guides with ideas for the home cook in your life. Whether you know an adventurous chef or a young person just learning the basics, you can’t go wrong with kitchen-y gifts. Everyone needs to cook!

Here’s our guide to buying the perfect kitchen goodie for the home cook on your list.

1. Introduce Them to the Joys of the Crock-Pot Life

The Crock-Pot Express 8 in 1 Multicooker is an outstanding gift for the home chef. It’s a convenient way to make delicious, hearty fare that will nourish an entire household. The bonus? It does all the work while you’re out preparing for the holidays or relaxing with a good book. 

 

This particular model is an 8 in 1 wonder appliance, with settings for rice cooking, yogurt making, and more. Include some recipes with your gift so the recipient can get started with it right away–we’ve got a list of 3 sensational crock-pot recipes right here.

[Photo: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

2. Elevate Their Coffee Game

Chances are your foodie friend loves coffee just as much as they do cooking. But do they have all the tools needed to make a truly great cup of coffee? A real chef will appreciate a grinder to grind their own beans to the perfect coarseness for their coffee maker of choice.

Do they need a new coffee maker? Why not a cold brew coffee maker to make delicious cold brew at home! If they love design as well as functionality, this beautiful Bodum pour over coffee maker with a classic cork band will look gorgeous on their shelves. And for those that would prefer to spend their time cooking rather than making coffee, a Keurig K-Cup machine to make the perfect cup every time with no effort on their part. Help them end their dinner parties with just the right amount of coffee, and without stress.

3. Restock with Beautiful Basics

Chances are, the home cook in your life has a solid set of pots, pans, and knives, but those good reliable basics may need some upgrading. Non-stick coating wears off and pans get scratched–it happens to the best of us. This Gotham Steel 10 Piece set is made with stainless steel, and the cooking surface is scratch resistant and oven safe. If your friend is a little more traditional, you can’t go wrong with a good cast iron skillet.

 

Even if they have a good set of kitchen basics, no home cook worth their salt can resist a beautiful new tool that’s good for cooking and serving. Think colourful enameled cast iron dutch ovens, cookware classy enough to go from oven to table, and quintessential white CorningWare dishes.

4. Give a Gaggle of Gadgets

The best part about being a cook is that there’s always a cool new tool to try. Specialized utensils, gadgets designed to make a job easier, or niche appliances would make great gifts for the kitchen connoisseur in your life. Add some tools to their toolbelt!

It can seem overwhelming trying to find something that they don’t already have, but if you pick something related to a recent food trend, you’re generally good to go. Think spiralizers, cupcake carriers, and milk frothers.

Or go the other way, and pick up tools that will always be useful: multi-blade herb scissors, a knife sharpener, or an egg poacher. This knife mat will corral their blades and keep them sharp, while this covered bowl with included serving set is perfect for bringing to parties. No matter who you’re buying for, there’s a gadget out there for them.

For more gift-giving advice for the home cook on your list, speak to an LD Expert today. To make a purchase, visit London Drugs in-store and online. We’ll be back next week with a gift guide for kids (and parents). See you then!

See all of our 2017 Holiday Gift Guides here:

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Kids (and Parents)

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Techies

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for the DIYer

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Music Lovers

7 Favourite Fall Décor Ideas to Try Now

Fall Decor Ideas - London Drugs Blog

Sweater weather, pumpkin spice and family dinners are just a few of the things that make fall one of the best times of the year. The weather may get chillier and the days shorter, but there’s no denying that the fall season inspires a festive vibe and overall cozy feeling inside the home. The following is a list of DIY fall décor ideas that are bound to get you (and your home!) in the mood for fall.

1. Place Cards

Fall Place Cards - London Drugs Blog

Thanksgiving may have already passed, but there’s always an excuse to throw a dinner party! During the rainy season, it’s easy to entice friends and family to gather for a hot meal. If you’re in a pinch or want to keep it simple, liven up the dining room table with this (pine) fresh take on dinner place cards.

2. Leaf Decor

Fall Garland Decor - London Drugs Blog

Not ready for Christmas décor yet? A quick and easy decorating tip for the kitchen table or hallway is to use the natural décor around you. In this case, use clean fallen leaves (or pick up fabric leaves at your local craft store) and hang them with string to create a colourful fall garland.

3. Autumn Wreath

Fall Wreath - London Drugs Blog

Wreaths are not just for winter! Opt for making your own wreath or purchasing a base at your local dollar store, and add orange fairy lights, plastic fruit and fall flowers. Once December is here, add some fabric ornaments to transition into a holiday look.

4. Cinnamon Candles

Cinnamon Stick Candles - London Drugs Blog

What sparks memories of fall more than the smell of freshly baked apple pie and cinnamon? To recreate this scent in your home, take a tall pillar candle with your favourite fall scent, and line with cinnamon sticks. Not only do they smell amazing, but these candles also make a fantastic centrepiece.

5. Fall Basket

Fall Centerpiece Baskets - London Drugs Blog

Chances are, you have a few wicker baskets stored away in the closet for summer picnics or Easter treats. Make even more use out of them this season, and stack them to create a gorgeous fall centrepiece. Add pinecones, ribbon, and green foliage until you’re decorating in December…then add Christmas bulbs!

6. Framed Prints

Framed Prints Fall - London Drugs Blog

For fall inspired decor that can also work year-round, pick out a couple of rustic wooden frames for accompanying prints. These can be of leaves, pressed flowers, photographs or paintings, and can also be used to display kids’ seasonal artwork.

7. Pumpkin Succulents

Pumpkin Succulent - London Drugs Blog

Flowers may not be the most popular gift during the fall season, but that doesn’t mean we have to shy away from plant-based decorations! Recycle the outer shell of a cored pumpkin and plant your own succulent terrarium. Fill with moss and dirt, and display in lieu of a carved pumpkin.

Winter Skincare Tutorial for Dry, Reactive Skin

If the cold winter weather has a tendency to play havoc on your skin, you’re not alone. During the winter months, lots of people suffer from skin that is dry and reactive. In this tutorial, our Beauty Advisor Amanda will show you a few key beauty products that will combat the dryness by exfoliating, hydrating and soothing your delicate skin.

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