‘Tis the season to give and receive. The holidays call for good food, time with families and, oh yeah, presents! There’s nothing like opening up a pristinely wrapped package to reveal the perfect present, but finding the right gift for your loved ones isn’t always a piece of cake.
Since holiday shopping always seems to leave people scrambling around and stressed out, Chrissy’s Beauty School has rounded up the best of the best in holiday beauty gifts to help you find the perfect gift for everyone in your life—without all the hassle. Pick up one or a few of these gifts for friends and loved ones and they’ll be pleasantly pampered long past the season’s festivities. Or pick up a few for yourself, we won’t judge!
The Designer Diva
If you have a designer diva in your life, you know she likes things expensive. If you’re willing to shell out the cash, we’ve got you covered with some pricey items to help satisfy her designer dossier. But if you’re on a budget, check out our discounted designer item. After all, as long as she sees the label, she’ll never know you got it for less!
Designer for Less: Betsey Johnson Slant Tweezer Collection, $25 each, sephora.com
With three colorful designs, these tweezers are sure to match the unique personality of any designer diva in your life.
Dolce & Gabbana Lip Gloss Set, $60, saksfifthavenue.com
This gift set includes three full-size lip glosses—Seduction, Nude and Gold—and comes with a sleek black velvet cosmetics pouch for your designer diva to stow away all her shiny makeup.
Designer Splurge: Dior Holiday Collection Makeup Palette, $75, sephora.com
You can be sure your designer diva will adore the gift of Dior. This festive holiday palette comes loaded with 10 Dior products including a mini DiorShow Extase Mascara, a range of six eye shadow shades, a pink powder blush, a mini pink Ultra-Gloss, and a medium pressed powder.
The pinkaholic
Lucky for you, girly girls are pretty easy to shop for when it comes to beauty products. If it’s pink, sparkly, or looks too good to wear on your face, you can bet she’ll like it. Here are the products that will leave her squealing with delight!
LushSnow Fairy Gift, $23.95, lushusa.com
Consider this candy for the eyes, pinkaholics. From the pink packaging to the sparkly pink star-shaped bar of soap, the candy smelling Snow Fairy Gift will deliver a healthy dose of this girly color to the most pink-obsessed. The set includes a pink, vanilla scented Snow Fairy shower gel; a pink, orange and tangerine scented Angel’s Delight soap star; and a Shimmy Shimmy massage bar.
Remington T-Studio Heated Clip Setter, $34.99, target.com
Your pinkaholic’s hair with curl with excitement when she gets a look at these pink, heated clip setters, made with real crushed fresh water pearls. A part of Remington’s new T-Studio Pearl Ceramic collection, these clips set curls in only 5 minutes and take 90 seconds to heat up—perfect for any busy collegiette™.
BareMinerals Beyond Gorgeous Holiday Kit, $54, bareescentuals.com
If the pink box isn’t enough to excite the pinkaholic in your life, the contents in this holiday kit sure will. Beyond Gorgeous includes two pink brushes, Flawless Definition Volumizing Mascara in Black, 2 new shades of eye shadows, a new playful pink shade of 100% Natural Lipgloss, Original Mineral Veil (size: medium), a new shade of Big & Bright Eyeliner in Charbronze (antique brown), and the new shade Pink Ribbon Blush (sheer raspberry pink) (size: medium). Oh, and did we mention that most of the items inside come decorated in little pink ribbons? Enough said.
The do-gooder
You know what they say: It’s better to give than to receive. Well, if you’re shopping for a charitable pal, buy them a gift that keeps on giving. The following items are both beautiful and charitable and will leave your do-gooder friend feeling a bit less guilty for receiving.
Ginger Tea Body Care and Orchid Hand Care Holiday Gift Sets, $9.99, natures-gate.com
A portion of sales from these two Nature’s Gate gift sets goes toward Nature’s Gate’s partnership with WaterAid America, a nonprofit organization that helps underdeveloped countries build sustainable water systems. Even better, all Nature’s Gate products are never tested on animals and are free of animal-derived ingredients.
Make-Up Designory MUDCares Palette, $25, mudshop.com
This unique palette comes packed with four beautiful eye colors, including Spanish Gold, Dulce de Leche, Cashmere and Moss. Most importantly, 100% of its proceeds go to the NextAid Organization to help build safe and sustainable homes for children in Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS.
The fashion plate
File these gifts under the too-good-to-use category, ladies! These three items are best in show when it comes to combining presentation with performance, and are sure to please any fashionista.
Sephora Endless Color Blockbuster, $48, sephora.com
Any self-respecting fashionista loves a good day at the mall and that rush she gets from holding a filled shopping bag. So this palette—shaped like a Sephora shopping bag—will help combine her love for fashion and beauty. Open up the bag and you’ll find 187 products, including 98 original, iridescent effect eyeshadows; 70 shiny lip glosses; 6 cream eyeliners; 2 lip liners; 3 eyeliners; a mascara; and 4 applicators. If that’s not exciting enough, the fashionista in your life is sure to appreciate the $435 value of this bargain.
Tarte The jewelry box, $52, sephora.com
Looking for a golden gift? Tarte has you covered! This Sephora exclusive, limited-edition palette includes 32 full size, new and limited-edition eyeshadows (16 shimmering and 16 matte); 8 new lipglosses; 5 new long-wearing eyeliners; new soft pink highlighting powder; and full size, best-selling mineral powder bronzer in park ave princess. And to satiate your fashionista’s jewelry habit, Tarte has even included a reusable necklace!
Tarte The Royal Collection limited edition holiday palette, $43, tartecosmetics.com
Outfitted in tarte’s signature color, this limited-edition holiday palette comes adorned with luxurious purple ruffles and gold lining. And that’s only the outside!
Inside, you’ll find 16 exclusive shades of eyeshadows and deluxe sizes of tarte’s best selling products, including deluxe lights, camera, lashes! clinically-proven natural mascara; deluxe vitamin-infused lipgloss; deluxe clean slate natural face primer; and deluxe multiplEYE™ clinically-proven lash enhancing primer.
The man in your life
When it comes to beauty, it seems like we’re always teaching the men in our lives a thing or two. And while they might claim to be indifferent, deep down we all know they like a little pampering just as much as we do. So whether you’re shopping for your boyfriend, your best guy friend, your father or brother, these gifts will give them a pampering treat they won’t be ashamed to admit they enjoyed.
McGraw Silver 2-Piece Gift Set, $15.99 (a $20 value), sears.com
This hair and body wash/eau de toilette duo offers the perfect, masculine scent without overpowering your senses. Perfect for the country man in your life.
Remington BHT600 Back and Body Groomer, $32.96, walmart.com
Complete with an extendable handle for all those hard to reach places, the Remington Back and Body Groomer is perfect for the hard to shop for man in your life.
Lush Chillin’ With My Gnomeys, $14.95, lush.com
Though your guy might not admit to it, you know he appreciates some relaxing bath time, so why not get him a masculine, yet fun shower set? This cool set includes a chunk of Lush’s new refreshing Snow Globe soap and Whoosh shower jelly, and comes packaged with adorable gnomes on the wrapping paper.
The gracious hostess
Stumped on what to get your gracious hostess as a token of your thanks? Check out these fun gifts!
Colette Candle, Sandalwood Vanilla (10.6oz), $36, tocca.com
Nothing feels more homey than burning a relaxing candle in your house, so give the gift of ambiance with this musky vanilla and amber candle. Your hostess will enjoy it long after you’ve left her company.
Philosophy Holiday Greetings Set, $22, sephora.com
Nothing says ‘Seasons Greetings’ better than a sweet gift from philosophy! This adorable set comes packaged in an a unique mailbox-shaped box and includes a delectable Brown Butter Cookie Shampoo Shower Gel & Bubble Bath, a tempting Coconut Macaroon Body Lotion, and a high-gloss Pink Frosted Cookie Lip Shine.
The pampering princess
We all have a friend who seems to have been born in a spa, don’t we? These are the girls who can’t go a few weeks without getting a manicure, or the ones who swear by their monthly facials. Get them some gifts that pamper and they might just take you to their next spa day if you’re lucky.
AHAVA Terrific Tootsies set, $24, ahava.com
In the dead of winter, even the most diligent of spa-goers experiences a rough patch or two on their feet. Enter Terrific Tootsies, and your spa-lover will be able to pamper in the comfort of her own home. This set, packaged in a mesh tote, includes AHAVA’s bestselling Mineral Foot Cream and AHAVA’s Deep Hydration Socks to help your feet absorb moisture, and will leave her feet positively soft.
Mary Kay Fragrance-Free Satin Hands® Pampering Set, $34, marykay.com
This three-step fragrance free system will leave any pampered princess’ hands supremely soft—even after several hand washings—and won’t leave any lingering scent. Includes Fragrance-Free Satin Hands® Hand Softener, Fragrance-Free Satin Hands® Satin Smoothie® Hand Scrub, and Fragrance-Free Satin Hands® Hand Cream.
Philosophy The Gingerbread Man™ Ginger Hot Salt Body Scrub, $25, philosophy.com
You’d be hard-pressed to find a girl who didn’t find gingerbread men adorable, so the pampering princess in your life is sure to love this hot salt body scrub from the masters in all things adorable—philosophy. According to the brand’s site, The Gingerbread Man will “smooth out the rough spots and evoke a warm sense of holiday joy.” What a guy, huh? Now if we could only mold him into a real man, that’d make the perfect gift! This will do for now, though.