Let’s celebrate! Birthday shopping for someone special can be a minefield, but there are some beauty gifts that are reliable crowd pleasers. From body care and skincare to liven up their everyday routine, to candles sure to lift their spirits and the makeup they’ve been eyeing all year long, our guide will guarantee you spend less time stressing about the present and more time focused on the enjoying the present.
BEST BODY GIFTS Body care a tried-and-true gifting staple – after all, everybody showers! The skin on your body is also generally less sensitive than the skin on your face, so you don’t usually need to worry about whether your present will cause your giftee breakouts or redness. Plus, body care often isn’t at the top of people’s beauty priorities, so an indulgent body product may be something they’d never treat themselves to – and isn’t that the essence of a great gift?
● On a budget? The Soap & Glory Birthday Washes set includes a travel-sized duo of their cult-favourite body wash and butter. ● If you know they’re a fan of the Sol de Janeiro Bom Dia Bright Cream, complete their kit with the complementary Body Scrub and Brazilian Crush Cheirosa ’40 Perfume Mist. ● With a hybrid scrub/cleanser and dry oil, Frank Body Grab My (Rose)Hips Kit delivers a double dose of fan favourite rosehip to leave skin ultra-soft. ● Want to gift something luxe, but not sure if they’re keen on the scented stuff? Nécessaire's The Body Oil, The Body Exfoliator and The Body Lotion offer aesthetically pleasing packaging (important!) and skincare-quality ingredients, minus the fragrance.
BEST FRAGRANCE GIFTS Gifting fragrance is incredibly thoughtful, but it can also be tricky; scent is extremely personal, and what delights the nose of one person may offend another’s! But there are ways to be a successful fragrance gift giver: select a scent that sits in the same fragrance family as another you know they like or think outside the box and opt for a home fragrance, like a chic candle.
● Floral, herbaceous and citrusy all at the same time, Flamingo Estate's Euphoria Candle will light up their space – and their mood! ● The Malin+Goetz Dark Rum Candle blends dark and spicy leather and rum with crisp bergamot and ripe plum. ● White floral fans will fall for Officine Universelle Buly Eau Triple Mexican Tuberose Perfume, a sweet-and-spicy take on the classic bloom. ● Ripe (blackcurrant), raw (cedarwood), floral (rose) and warm (vanilla) come together in the fruity-floral Boy Smells LES Candle, inspired by New York's Lower East Side. ● The cult-favourite Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 EDP will guarantee you 'Best Gift Giver Ever' status. ● A hypnotic 'skin scent', Le Labo’s AnOther 13 EDP is the wear-everywhere fragrance they'll never want to wash off. ● Made exclusively for MECCA, D.S. & DURGA's Plumes EDP basically bottles summer!
BEST SKIN GIFTS You can go a couple of different ways when choosing skincare for someone else: a mini set (samplers, kits and duos) so they can try out a brand and see what works for their skin, or a standalone luxe or cult product. The only rule: stick to ingredients (think hyaluronic acid and squalane) and outcomes (like hydration and nourishment) that work for most skin types and leave the actives for their own personal shopping.
● When it’s a cult product that basically everyone loves — hello, Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask — then you know it’s a no-brainer gift. ● Skin ‘superfood’ Greek yoghurt plays a starring role in Korres Greek Yoghurt Probiotic Superdose Face Mask, delivering nourishment and an instant cooling sensation. ● sans [ceuticals] DIY Pro Facial Kit has everything needed — cleansing oil, exfoliator, overnight mask — to make their next spa-at-home session a memorable one. ● Make it a double Tatcha treat with the Dewy Skin Cream, a MECCA favourite for its instant glow, and the ultra-soothing The Kissu Lip Mask. ● Elevate their #SelfCareSunday with the Go-To Sunday Night Kit face mask duo, featuring The Removalist (to detox) and The Repair Shop (to replenish).
BEST MAKEUP GIFTS There are so many options when it comes to gifting makeup — will it be a face palette, lip colour or eyeshadow? Tools and brushes? A value-packed set or a covetable, almost-too-special-to-use treat? Here’s why all that choice is actually a good thing: you can pick a gift that works for pretty much any budget. Silver linings!
● Luxury lovers are guaranteed to fall for the packaging of Tom Ford’s Eye Colour Quad and be head over heels for the deeply pigmented, multidimensional eyeshadows inside. ● Don’t be surprised if you pick up a Westman Atelier Lip Suede for your giftee and then grab one for yourself, too! The buttery formula and natural shades are that good. ● Refresh their tool kit – or get them started on building the perfect one – with the Morphe x Ariel Signature Look 12-Piece Face & Eye Brush Set, designed with makeup-artist-to-the-stars Ariel Tejada. ● You don’t have to choose and neither do they: Chantecaille Lip Chic combines t he shine of a gloss with the colour and coverage of a lipstick. Win, win!
BEST HAIRCARE GIFTS Is there anything better than a good hair day? Yes – gifting someone else a good hair day. Whether it’s an ultra-rich and restorative treatment product, a styling must-have that will transform their routine or a grooming favourite for the beard or moustache-havers in your life, these gift ideas are guaranteed head-turners.
● Even the unhealthiest, unruliest hair will become infinitely easier with Hair by Sam McKnight Deeper Love Intense Treatment Mask, which helps seal off split ends and drenches hair with nourishment. ● ARKIVE Prologue Hair Primer preps and protects hair so it’s ready for any heat styling that follows – and the spicy-fresh scent smells more like a cologne than a hair product! ● No residue here: Murdock Barbers of London Beard Balm coats facial hairs in conditioning argan oil for pliable shape and hold, plus patchouli for a fragrance hit. ● Know someone who can’t start the day without their green smoothie? Give their hair the same treatment with the Briogeo Superfoods™ Avocado + Kiwi Mega Moisture Superfoods Hair Mask. ● Streamline the routine of medium and long hair-havers with the two-in-one wonder of ghd’s Duet Style! This revolutionary wet-to-dry device dries and straightens hair at the same time, leaving it incredibly silky, smooth and shiny.
Get gifting, all year round – find the perfect present for your nearest and dearest, for any occasion and any budget, with our gifting edit.
