Looking for good stocking stuffers for a beauty addict? Want to introduce your clueless sibling to the world of skin care? Looking for a nice, but not too nice gift to give your boyfriend’s sister? You’re going to want to buy a beauty set. You get more bang for your buck (several travel-sized products from one brand instead of one normal-sized product), you can pack them in your carry-on (perfect for, say, visiting your mother-in-law for a weekend in Ohio), and they’re a nice way to introduce someone to something new without forcing them to commit. As a past recipient of beauty-set Christmas gifts, I can testify that they hit the spot: a coworker gave me a Ouai hair-care set last year, which is how I discovered their Wave Spray, which I now love. Thank you, co-worker! Below, a handful of sets that beauty rookies and advanced beauty junkies alike will die over.
This $28 dollar gift set contains three of Benefit’s most beloved, cult-y products: A mini hula bronzer (one of my all-time favorites for achieving a natural, soft sculpt), a mini volumizing mascara (great for post-work cocktails when you want to take your look from day to night), and the Gimme Brow Gel (a small brow gel that reminds me, in a very good way, of Glossier’s Bow Brow). I can’t imagine a person who wouldn’t be happy to receive this combination of essential products.
The beauty world, myself included, is obsessed with Pat McGrath. This trio of mini lipsticks from Pat is the perfect stocking stuffer for a beauty junkie, because the super-pigmented matte lipsticks are some of the most wearable but perfectly mixed shades I’ve ever tried. As a bonus, they come practically already wrapped in stunning sequin packaging.
Did Tatcha peek inside my head, find out which of their products are my favorites, and then combine them into a holiday kit? This has three pieces: (1) a Holy Grail of mine, the Tatcha Dew Mist (no face spray has ever made me look so bright and dewy); (2) the Violet-C Radiance Mask (beloved by Rihanna’s makeup artist, Priscilla Ono); and (3), their Tatcha Silk Canvas Primer, which I love, love, love to death. This is the skin care kit of all skin care kits.
This gift set is especially suited for your teenage sibling or your no-makeup makeup friend. I’ve raved about quite a few of Milk’s products (their eye pigment, their cooling water, and their matcha toner, to name a few), and I pretty much love every item in this set. It comes with three of Milk’s stick formula skin care products (a brightening serum, a cooling water, and a hydrating oil), and three makeup products (a highlighter, a lip-slash-cheek cream in a natural dusty rose, and the extremely dramatic CBD-infused Kush Mascara).
This set will work equally for someone who loves K-beauty and for someone who knows nothing and is ready for an introduction. It’s a set of travel-sized best sellers from Soko Glam, which, in case you don’t know, is an online store that specializes in the best K-beauty products. Its holographic packaging is so cute it makes me squeal, and it includes a variety of must-haves like Time Stops Collagen Serum (an ampoule that stimulates collagen production) and Neogen’s Micro Ferment brightening essence (which I’ve written about before because it gives skin a super lit-from-within glow). This one’s also nice because it’s multi-brand, making it an extra-inclusive introduction for the beauty neophyte in your life.
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