By Jude Chao
The Holidays are here, and for beauty lovers like us, the pressure to gift our bestie with skincare, haircare, or makeup products she’ll love, can get really real! Mainly because beauty gifting can be fraught with hidden minefields. We don’t always know what someone’s hidden insecurities are, and we don’t want our well-meaning gift to inadvertently hurt feelings or send a message that we don’t mean. Just because you’re over-the-moon excited about that new and innovative cellulite-busting cream, doesn’t mean your bestie was even aware that her cellulite needed busting; until your gift told her!
When giving advice on beauty gifts, I always suggest that you make absolutely sure the person you’re gifting products to truly wants them and will welcome them. The easiest way to avoid issues is, of course, only giving the products on your friend’s wish list or making sure you premise beauty gifts with ‘I love it and thought you would to!’
But if you don’t want to ruin the surprise by directly asking for a wish list, minimize any risk of a snafu by following a couple of key rules:
- Prioritize the experience of the gift rather than the intended results of the product
By this I mean look for gifts that deliver a beautiful sensory experience, rather than some practical skin fix. The holidays aren’t a time to gift someone an unrequested acne clearing product or an intensive peel for aging skin.
Don’t look for gifts that solve a problem. Look for gifts that spoil the person. For a friend with an interest in skincare and/or Korean beauty, for example, legendary luxury brand Sulwhasoo offers a multitude of gorgeously packaged and thoughtfully organized gift sets. You can find more budget-conscious but still highly enjoyable gift sets and ideas from eco-conscious Korean brand Innisfree. For makeup lovers, meanwhile, stay away from concealers, foundations, and other “problem hiders” or products that require a precise shade match, and think fun: palettes and lip sets to extend their collections without implying that there’s anything your giftee needs to fix about themselves!
- Gift sought-after items that many people wouldn’t splurge on for themselves
Haircare can be a less tricky beauty category to gift. With all sorts of exciting styling tools and indulgent haircare products, it’s almost guaranteed that your bestie with an interest in beauty has their eye on a few splurgey haircare items. Many of us find it hard to justify a big-ticket haircare purchase, however, so those wishlisted items just remain wishes.
Ready to go big with your haircare gift? Sephora.com has bundled a Drybar Ultimate Frizz-Free Blow-Dry and Styling Set that includes a blow dryer, round ceramic brush, straightening iron, dry shampoo, styling serum, heat protectant spray and finishing spray all in one set. For a less extravagant gift that’s still miles ahead of typical bath and beauty gift baskets, product sets like Briogeo Apple Superfoods Shampoo & Conditioner Hair Pack can elevate your giftee’s haircare experience. And universally useful tools like the Aquis Lisse Luxe Hair Turban are a budget-friendly way to give the gift of beauty.
- Don’t forget about stocking stuffers!
Stocking stuffers and little hand-curated gift sets are another fun way to give your loved ones beauty products, and here, the sky’s the limit. But just about everyone loves sheet masks these days. Grab a couple of boxes of sheet masks from a trending brand like Annie’s Way, stock up on relaxing eye masks, and watch those soon-to-be-pampered eyes light up as your gifts are revealed!
We love giving things we love to the people we love, and that’s what the holiday season is all about, the thought. Make your gift choices with care, considering what your giftees would enjoy the most, and make this holiday season a merry one, full of gorgeous presents and glowing skin!
Photo by DiEtte Henderson on Unsplash
Christmas photo created by rawpixel.com – www.freepik.com
