Out of everything to purchase ahead of the holiday season — from gifts for the one-year-old you know to gifts for your boyfriend — beauty gifts are ones we’re most excited about.
There’s just something about unwrapping a quality skin care set your giftee wouldn’t normally purchase themselves, or taking out a freshly minted Revlon Blow-Dryer Brush out of its packaging.
We’ve been monitoring the latest drops from top department stores like Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Sephora, along with affordable buys on Amazon and more to make your shopping experience a snap.
So, we pulled the 40 best beauty gifts and sets to give for the holidays this year. We’re all about spreading some Christmas cheer, and part of that includes picking up an item or two for yourself (they’re that good this year!)
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Best Beauty Gift Sets
If you’re looking for that perfect $50 gift, look no further than the Mario Badescu Essentials Kit. Its Enzyme Cleansing Gel is one of our all-times favorites, and you’ll enjoy its best-selling Facial Spray and TikTok-viral Drying lotion as well.
We’re all about the Charlotte Tilbury and Bloomingdale’s collab, especially when the brand’s Magic Cream is originally $100 on its own. With this luxe set, you’ll also receive the oh-so-popular “Pillow Talk” lipstick, liner and gloss, along with her signature mascara.
Check our our full brand review on Charlotte Tilbury for more.
Join the craze and pick up the Olaplex Bond Maintenance Set for someone you love (or yourself, TBH). With the Hair Perfector, along with the brand’s viral No. 4 Shampoo and No. 5 Conditioner, you’ll have salon-quality hair in no time.
For more options, check out our reviews to the best shampoos and hair conditioners.
Enter the most sought-after beauty kit of the season: the Sephora Favorites Makeup Must Haves Set. Inside, you’ll receive an assortment of top-tier products from Anastasia Beverly Hills, Paula’s Choice, ILIA Beauty (the clean beauty brand you need), Urban Decay, Fenty Beauty and more. For less than $55, it’s positively worth it.
If you want to ride the clean beauty wave, we need to introduce you to ILIA Beauty. It’s one of our favorite brands we used in 2022, namely for its hydrating glosses and precise eye products. You’ll adore this set with one of our favorite eyeliners and mascaras, too.
OK, this is the beauty set we’ve tried and can’t stop using. It’s perfect to ring in the new year with (did someone say ‘new year, new skincare routine?‘) and you’ll enjoy Dr. Jart+’s 10 mask variety, including one from its best-selling Cicapair line.
For more options, check out the best face masks we reviewed.
7. Love Beauty & Planet Bath Bombs Gift Set, $12, original price: $21
For an affordable option less than $25, we recommend the Love Beauty & Planet Bath Bombs Gift Set. Not only is it the bomb-dot-com, but its perfectly packaged with six spa-like scented products, including butter and rose, coconut water and mimosa flower and Argan oil and lavender.
We’ve had the LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask on our nightstands for an entire year, so naturally we’re going to become obsessed with the brand’s Midnight Minis Lip Sleeping Mask Set. It comes with five delicious, hydrating options that just melt on — for less than $20, too.
For more options, check out our guide to the best lip balms we reviewed.
Say goodbye to non-sustainable makeup wipes and hello to the new and improved way to cleanse and remove makeup: cleansing balms! There’s no better option than Farmacy’s Green Clean, and now you can enjoy its smooth-to-the-fingertip formula in three fresh Holiday Party scents.
Perfect for your long-distance BFF or travel-obsessed family member, the Benefit Cosmetics Stamp of Beauty Holiday Set surely receives our stamp of approval. Namely, it has three best-selling products — one for your brows, one for your lashes and one to prime your face — to complete this adorably packaged $30 set.
If there’s one thing we want, it’s to stay glowy. Keep your skin as dashing as can be with the Beauty Finds by ULTA Beauty Gift of Glowing Skin gift set. Inside, you’ll find favorites from Proactiv+ (which is great for acne-prone skin, specifically), First Aid Beauty, Origins and more. Oh, and it’s a wonderful way to sample some brands you haven’t tried.
Though festival season isn’t among us anymore, we think this skincare nod to the on-trend aesthetic is too cute not to gift. With REVOLVE’s Beauty Festival Kit, you’ll find some incredible items to add to your makeup bag, including Tower28 Beauty’s Lip Gloss (one of our favorites), Sol de Janeiro’s Brazilian Bum Bum Cream (a top body butter of ours) and more.
If you (or someone you know) is serious about brows, Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Natural & Polished Deluxe Brow Kit is a game-changer. With its crowd-followed Brow Wiz, Brow Definer and Clear Brow Gel (the latter we use every day), you’ll feel good about your purchase.
If this Too Faced set doesn’t scream festive, we don’t know what does. It offers a mix of matte, metallic and shimmer shades so you’ll never get bored of an eyeshadow palette ever again. Too Faced is serving up the baked goods and the gorgeous, must-have shades, if we’re being honest.
We recommend amika to quite literally everyone we know (it’s just that good!) Its Good Vibes Only Hydration + Repair Hair Mask Set is an incredible value at just $39, especially for containing its Overnight Hydration Treatment we love to use every other day after washing our hair.
The party doesn’t start until Drunk Elephant walks in, and we’re beyond excited it came out with a Drunk Break gift set that’s perfect to kickstart (or improve) your skincare routine. With a top-selling vitamin C serum and popular Protini Peptide Moisturizer, it’s golden.
If you’re getting tired of your run-of-the-mill makeup brushes, it may be time to grab another set. What perfect timing, too, as Sephora Collection has a Ready to Roll Brush Set that looks like it’s in every MUA’s back cabinet. For less than $75, we may pick it up ourselves.
For more options (including how to clean them), check out our guide to the best makeup brushes.
18. Lancôme La Vie est Belle Set, $90, original price: $106
This guide would be incomplete without a mention of Lancôme’s La Vie est Belle Set. For less than $100 right now, its dainty, feminine-leaning perfume comes with two lotions to have you smelling fresh and floral every day.
Ever since the Caudalie Detox Mask went viral on TikTok, we’ve been obsessed with it. Now, you can also grab its best-selling Beauty Elixir to go along with it for less than $25! This is one of the most affordable beauty gifts and especially great for a White Elephant gift exchange.
As shopping reporters, we’ve seen the Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez’s Soft Pinch Liquid Blushes go in and out of stock. Finally, the brand came out with a three-piece set that seems like an answered prayer. It’s perfect to swipe and go for a dewy, glowy look.
For more options, check out our guide to the best cream blushes.
Best Beauty Gifts
It’s back, baby, and better than ever. The Dyson Airwrap Multi-Styler is a splurge, but a good one at that if there’s a beauty lover on your list you’re looking to surprise. Though there’s a bit of a learning curve with this product, there are a million tutorials on YouTube to browse and learn from.
With more than 316,000 rave reviews, viral is one way to explain the Revlon One-Step Volumizer Blow-Dryer Brush. We reviewed it and are impressed by how it provides a soft wave for less than $35 — therefore making it the ultimate beauty gift.
La Mer’s The Moisturizing Soft Cream Moisturizer is $200 and a surefire beauty splurge that’ll make any beauty lover scream with joy. It’s one of the most ultra-rich moisturizers you’ll ever use, too.
Though upwards of $130 may seem like a splurge for hand soap, trust us when we say this: it’s one of the best beauty gifts to buy, especially for someone you know who’s an apartment or home owner. Its freshness is unmatched and we need to get you in on.
CO. by Colgate’s SuperNova Rechargeable At-Home Teeth Whitening Kit has to be one of our favorite reviews by far, simply because it completely transformed the brightness of our teeth. With an easy-to-use pen and a light-up tray, it’s great to have on hand.
What’s great about 111SKIN’s Celestial Black Diamond Face Mask is how smooth and supple your skin feels afterward. The masks come individually for $35 or in packs of four or five for you to try. Even better, you can use one per month and you’ll see the skin benefits for about 30 days straight (and after)!
We’re done gatekeeping one of our favorite fresh scents: AERIN’s Mediterranean Honeysuckle. It’ll instantly transport you to your favorite island and has a stunning packaging we love to display on our dresser.
Though a hair brush may seem random, investing in a good one is well worth your coin (especially as a gift). The Drybar Lemon Bar Paddle Hair Brush is a wonderful option that won’t tug on your locks and will last for years.
We’re mesmerized how one hair oil can nearly break the internet. Gisou’s Honey-Infused Hair Oil is, by far, the quickest way to treat your split, dry or damaged ends to a douse of hydration. Plus, it comes in three different sizes to choose from, depending on your budget.
For those self-care showers and long self-care days, you can’t do it without a Brooklinen Waffle Robe. Brooklinen’s Waffle Robe is one of our favorites, namely for its cozy fit and spa-like quality. Just shy of $100, it makes the perfect gift.
For more options, check out our guide to the best robes.
11. NanoSteamer Ionic Facial Steamer, $40, original price: $65
If the beauty lover you know, the NanoSteamer Ionic Facial Steamer is a great makeshift option to help clear pores and refresh your skin. For less than $50, we’re ready to head on over to this Amazon beauty buy.
For a lipstick without that “lipstick feeling” (you know, that glossy on-trend sheen), there’s none better than the Dior Addict Lip Maximizer Plumping Lip Gloss. It’s great if you find that signature shade and is always in our work tote for midday touch-ups.
The second we tried the Gucci Luminous Matte Beauty Blush, we knew it deserved a spot on this edit. Not only is it wonderful for any skin type but it leaves the most natural pink flush to the apples of your cheeks. Oh, and the packaging will make you feel like a million bucks.
When we come out of the shower, we always turn to Nécessaire’s Body Lotion. What we love most about it is that it’s infused with niacinamide to help your skin look boosted and plump. Before use, we grab the brand’s Body Serum ($45) to make a dynamite pair.
For more options, check out our guide to the best body lotions.
You spend a third of your life in bed, so why not have a silky smooth pillowcase that’ll benefit your skin? Grab the Slip Silk Pillowcase for either you or your bestie (or both).
If you’ve ever wanted to try a beauty brand in its entirety, now’s your chance. Elemis has a Skin Wellness Advent Calendar that’s a definite splurge, but will add some excitement and spice (oh, and great skin) to your life this season.
We’re amazed by how Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare’s DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro is a staple luxury skincare item. Its combination of red and blue LED lights work together to help smooth wrinkles, firm skin and diminish discoloration.
As seen inside our work desk drawer, the 54 Thrones African Beauty Butter is a wonderful beauty item less than $25 that’s BIPOC-owned and ultra-hydrating. The beauty butter was featured on “Shark Tank,” too, and comes in a great number of scent notes.
We’ve stayed away from quite a few manicure appointments this year, simply because Deborah Lippmann’s Gel Lab Pro Nail Polish exists. One bottle will last you for months, too, and you’ll be glad to know they don’t chip for at least a week, more toward a week and a half.
Ah, Supergoop!, how we love you. The brand’s top-of-the-line Glowscreen is the perfect addition to your skincare routine (right after your moisturizer, of course). It makes a great gift for someone who wouldn’t normally splurge on it themselves.
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