NEW YEAR, NEW PRESENT: THE BEST WAY TO START 2018

New Year's resolutions are a tradition in which we take part with particular pleasure and enthusiasm, although we are well aware from experience that our efforts to loose weight, start doing yoga, spend more time with our family and visit Nepal at last will probably all fail, thus frustrating us (until we completely forget them).

This is why the best way to begin a new year is not the promises and the commands we give ourselves, but the clear and simple action of making presents for ourselves and the ones we love. A gift for the New Year is something like a birthday present – it marks our promise and desire for a new, better beginning of yet another cycle in our life. Unlike the promises we never keep, however, the gift is corporeal. It brings us joy, beauty and satisfaction not in the future, but here and now. Giving presents in the end of the old and the beginning of the new year, at least in Bulgaria, is extra easy because the post-Christmas period in this country abounds with name days and feasts, and just as many causes to give gifts. We start with Stefanovden, or St Stephen's Day, in December, go through the January festive crowd featuring Vasilyovden, or St Basil's Day, Yordanovden, or Jordan's Day, Ivanovden, or St John's Day, Antonovden, or St Anthony's Day, and Atanasovden, or St Athanasius Day, and end in February with Trifon Zarezan, or St Tryphon's Day, and St Valentine.

All of these feasts are a reason for us to bring joy and beauty as a present, and to feel as happy and satisfied as we would be if we would loose weight, start doing yoga, spend more time with our families, and visit Nepal at last.

ICON CYNOSURE LASER: Youthful shine for your skin

Age is just a number and regardless of how big it is, every women deserves young, glossy skin. Contemporary anti-age technologies develop rapidly, becoming more and more efficient, but few of them can compare with ICON CYNOSURE LASER (AD Clinic, Sofia, 38 Academician Ivan Geshov Blvd, www.adclinic.bg, FB: Doctor Shef). At the hands of the skilled Dr Aylin Shef, MD, the apparatus needs only few sessions to visibly rejuvenate and refresh the skin, and to efficiently treat imperfections like wrinkles, spots, acne and surgical scars, even stretch marks. Give yourself an ICON treatment: you deserve it.

Bell HYPOAllergenic: Affordable make-up for sensitive skin

Quality hypoallergenic make-up is not necessarily expensive. The new product line Bell HYPOAllergenic is affordable and effective. It is for ladies prone to allergies and irritation, including women with sensitive eyes or wearing lenses or glasses. The products also successfully cover acne and comedones. The Bell HYPOAllergenic line is with high-quality ingredients and gentle formulas that enhance natural beauty. It has excellent skin tolerance and the products for the eye area have been ophthalmologically tested as well. Thanks to Bell HYPOAllergenic you can wear modern make-up in a wide range of nuances from gentle to bold ones, feeling beautiful and safe for your skin's health.

Fria Bio Fireplaces: Give warmth as a gift

Nothing makes the home cosier in wintertime as live fire. In most of modern homes this is either an impossible dream, or an expensive investment, but not if you choose the Fria Bio Fireplaces (Sofia, Mladost 4, block 601, www.biokamini.eu). Bio fireplaces use as fuel organic denatured ethanol, which is efficient and cheap consumable. Organic ethanol doesn't need special care or expences, it is safe and doesn't harm the environment. You don't even need a chimney, and the room warms in only 10-15 minutes. What is left for you is to enjoy the live fire and the cosiness it creates.

Trastena organic raspberry wines: For a delicious New Year

There is a local product that keeps a legend alive and has turned everyone's head by now. The wines from organic raspberries TRASTENA are celebrating their 10th anniversary. These elegant fruit wines have taken over the wine industry by storm. TRASTENA are pioneers in organic fruit wines and with this year’s vintage they have reached the best taste and aroma that nature can give us. An excellent gift for the New Year, and the following 365 days, TRASTENA can be found in organic food shops and specialised wine shops. Order on 0886 061 404. Tip: try their new sparkling strawberry secco.

ALLIANCE CHRONOGRAPH: Intuitive. Individual. Immaculate

Excellent performance is the signature of Alliance Chronograph, the six new timepieces by Victorinox Swiss Army. Made in Switserland, they accurately target the contemporary man's dual-edged desire for a watch that masters everyday adventures and integrates timeless visual appeal.
Attention to detail and a concise visual vocabulary express these chronographs' quietly confident identity. The heart and soul is a 44 mm stainless steel case with scratch-resistant, triple-coated anti-reflective sapphire crystal. The movement is Ronda Z60 Swiss-made quartz.
Texture is key in these watches' appearance. Contrasting monochromatic metallic finishes catch the light. Grainy black or brown leather straps are an invitation to the sense of touch, while the stainless steel bracelet with two rows of gold PVD links is intuitively on track.
Find the model that suits you best on www.remco.bg.

Yuno Pearls: The pearls' eternal beauty

Elegant with their shape and enigmatic with their delicate shine, pearls are the eternal jewell of the eternal woman. Find the perfect combination of gentle pearls in classical and modern designs, at the collection of the Yuno Pearls stores (www.yunopearls.com). For a memorable present, choose a 42-centimetre necklace with increasing mix of 4 to 9 mm pearls, with silver clasp. Because love and classical elegance don't need many words, only the correct ones.

SAYAZ Cosmetics: Let your skin shine

The new series of luxurious products SAYAZ by Hristina Cosmetics (www.kozmetikahristina.com) is an excellent present for the woman who wants perfect skin regardless of her age. Premium Bulgarian Rose & Silk Extract face cream refreshes and revitalises the skin's turgor until reaching perfection. The Gold Particles & Argan Oil Revitalising cream rejuvenates, brightens and smooths the face. The White Caviar Illuminating Moisturising face cream hydrates, refreshes and firms the skin. The Age Control Smoothing Caviar & Snail eye cream takes care for the most delicate zone of the face. All products have 24-hour action.

Coupage craft delicacies: Authentically Bulgarian

When you are looking for the genuine tastes of true Bulgarian food, wine and cheese shop Coupage (Sofia, 42 Solunska St, FB: Купаж) is the first place you should stop. And it will be the last one. Here you will find a thorough selection of craft dairy products, meat delicacies and wines from small, but tested with the time local farms and wineries. Each of the products at Coupage has a character of its own and a memorable taste: from the famed but hard to find Elenski But pork ham, to hard cheeses matured for three and more months, to elegant wines from boutique producers; a universe of tastes, that will hardly leave you unmoved.