Bring On The Cheer — 10 Great Beauty Gifts You Can Run Out And Pick Up Today!
Ahhh, procrastination… it happens to the best of us. If you’ve been putting off doing your Christmas shopping and are now scrambling to draft a last-minute game plan so you can avoid spending all day jetting from one jam-packed store to the next, read up on these 10 gifts that are sure to make beauty lovers smile. From runway-ready press-on nails to lip plumper sets and holographic eye shadow palettes, these gifts are sure to make eyes twinkle on Christmas day.
Fresh Best of Beauty Bundle, $50. Available at Sephora.com and Sephora stores
Color outside the lines with the Fresh Best of Beauty Bundle set, which is perfect for those who are serious about their skincare regimen and also have a creative streak. The five products inside the playful packaging are surefire crowd-pleasers: there’s the Soy Face Cleanser, one of Sephora’s best-selling products of all time; the Sugar Lip Treatment Advanced Therapy (literally the best lip balm I’ve ever tried — and this coming from someone whose lips crack, peel, and chap in the blink of an eye); the glow-boosting Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy-Boosting Face Mask, which is powered by 50% real crushed citrus fruit (a paste made of clementines, lemons, and oranges) and enriched with vitamins C, E and B5; the Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream, a lightweight moisturizer formulated with Fresh’s proprietary Super 7 complex, a blend of lotus flower extract, blue-green algae extract, hibiscus fruit extract, fig fruit extract, vitamins C and E, and vegetable glycerol; and the Black Tea Age-Delay Eye Concentrate, a firming and brightening eye cream that minimizes the appearance of fine lines and dark circles.
But what makes this set even more magical is that it comes with an orange and a green colored pencil (the green presumably meant to correspond with the soy beans in the Soy Face Cleanser and the orange to match the clementines and oranges in the Vitamin Nectar mask). These colored pencils can be used to color the actual box, which features illustrations of leafy orange groves.
Sally Hansen Peppermint Scented Vitamin E Nail & Cuticle Oil, $4.99. Available at Target stores.
Does the invigorating smell of peppermint conjure up images of red-and-white striped candy canes, filling you with holiday cheer? If so, then you’ll appreciate this limited-edition version of Sally Hansen’s Vitamin E Nail & Cuticle Oil, which not only smells delightful but also leaves hands soft and smooth right in time to show off those snowflake- and glitter-adorned manicures. The brush-on oil contains safflower seed oil, apricot kernel oil, coconut oil, aloe oil, wheat germ oil, and vitamin B5, all of which hydrate parched and cracked cuticles while also strengthening and conditioning nails.
beautyblender Keep.It.Clean, $20. Available at Sephora.com and Sephora stores
Makeup lovers know that keeping brushes and sponges clean can be a time-consuming ordeal. Luckily, the beautyblender Keep.It.Clean kit simplifies the process. This travel-friendly kit features a mini beautyblender solid cleanser, along with a liquid beautyblender cleanser packet, but the star item is the pink textured cleansing mitt, which lets you scrub even the grimiest of brushes and sponges with ease. The mitt is cleverly designed so that there are tiny cut-outs along the teardrop-shaped upper tip and along the rounded corner, so that you can tuck your thumb in along the top area and then thread your fingers through the bottom ridge, giving you a solid grip. Also, the bubble-like bumps on the mitt manage to remove stubborn blush, eye shadows, foundation, powder, and concealer from your makeup application tools without ever damaging them.
Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette, $32. Available at Sephora stores and Sephora.com
You may not be able to get your hands on a pink unicorn with a rainbow-colored mane and a glittery horn, but you can give the makeup lover in your life a dose of fantasy with the Kat Von D Alchemist Palette, which features four otherworldly holographic shades. Formulated with Double Dimension Technology, these shades are packed with 360° refractive pearls, dipped in a prismatic coating, so that they catch the light from every angle and yield unique shades that feel positively magical. The four shades — Emerald (green), Saphyre (blue), Amethyst (ultra-violet), Opal (pink) — can be swept atop lids, applied as highlighters to accentuate brows or cheekbones, or they can be layered atop other eyeshadows and lipsticks. The possibilities are endless!
Check out swatches of these celestial shades:
Boscia Boscia’s Besties Kit, $32. Available at Sephora.com and Sephora stores
Blackheads, breakouts, and dull and sallow skin can put a real damper on those holiday celebrations. The Boscia’s Besties Kit answers all the SOS messages sent by troubled skin. First, the Charcoal Deep-Pore Exfoliating Gel Peel exfoliates dull and dead surface skin cells while drawing out oil, toxins, and dirt from deep inside pores thanks to the magnet-like action of the black charcoal in the formula. Similarly, the peel-off Luminizing Black Mask also helps to decongest the skin, heal and prevent breakouts, and minimize the appearance of pores. The Purifying Cleansing Gel, meanwhile, is perfect for everyday use since it contains purifying hydrangea leaf, along with soothing green tea, thereby providing cleansing and antibacterial benefits without stripping the skin of any moisture. The Tsubaki Swirl Two-Part Gel & Cream Deep Hydration Moisturizer, meanwhile, hydrates and nourishes the complexion with antioxidant-rich camellia oil, leaving it soft, smooth, and luminous.
BareMinerals You Had Me At A Glow Dimensional Powder Palette, $27. Available at Ulta.com, Ulta stores, and Macy’s stores
Women can glow brighter than the string lights on their holiday trees with the bareMinerals You Had Me At Aglow Dimensional Powder Palette, which features six shades ranging from a soft opal to a deep shimmering bronze. The palette contains the following shades: Northern Light, a pearlescent soft white hue; Aurora, a light nude champagne shade; Supernova, a light sun-kissed bronze; Celestial, a warm peachy nude; Galaxy, a golden terracotta clay hue; and Invisible Bronze, a deep, brown-ish bronze.
Below, check out swatches of Northern Light, Aurora, and Supernova:
Next, check out Celestial, Galaxy, and Invisible Bronze:
Ready top enter another dimension of glowing skin?
imPRESS Press-On Manicure Siriano Collection, $7.99 each. Available at imPRESSmanicure.com and select food, drug, and mass retailers.
For its first-ever designer collaboration, Kiss Nails teamed up with Christian Siriano to create a collection of seven limited-edition press-on nails that capture the fun-loving and glamorous, edgy yet elegant, confident and chic aesthetic of the Project Runway alum. The imPRESS Press-On Manicure Siriano Collection features the following designs: Glitz & Glam, a shimmering array of rose gold, glittery mauve, and sparkly amber nails; Stained Glass, a checkered design with a holographic quality; Chevron Chic, which contains matte nude nails alongside accent nails with black-and-silver chevron patterns or vertical black stripes; Red Carpet Moment, featuring mirrored metallic red nails and accent nails with gold, tinsel-like vertical or horizontal stripes; Lacey Rose, which features metallic pink nails with a romantic black lace design; Marbled, which consists of white nails with black swirls; and People are People, a set of matte black nails with accent nails that bear the words “People Are People” in graffiti-like white lettering.
BUXOM Lips Off Leash Gift Plumping 15-Piece Mini Lip Collection, $29.50 (from $59). Available at Sephora stores and Sephora.com
Remember when lip-plumping glosses and lipsticks left your pout tingling, burning, and throbbing? Well, no longer! BUXOM has mastered the art of helping women achieve the full, luscious, come-hither pouts they desire without any of the discomfort. The Lips Off Leash collection, for instance, includes 15 lip colors formulated with a unique peptide and hyaluronic acid booster to stimulate collagen, instantly fill lips and smooth fine lines and wrinkles, and increase lip volume.
First, check out three of the seven shimmery hues: Brooke, a peachy pink; Clair, a guava pink; and Sophia, a cool rose hue.
Next, feast your eyes on the other four shimmery colors: Jasmine, a deep ruby; Stacy, a perky fuchsia; Jill, a deep magenta; and Kayla, a light hot pink.
Those who prefer richly pigmented cream colors with a smooth finish can pick between 8 head-turning shades: Pink Champagne, Peach Daiquiri, Dolly, Mudslide, Berry Bramble, Wild Orchid, Cherry Flip, and Sangria.
Below, check out swatches of: Peach Daiquiri, a whitened peach hue; Dolly, an antique rose shade; Mudslide, a tawny melon hue; and Berry Bramble, a cool raspberry pink.
Next, check out swatches of: Pink Champagne, a whisper-like nude pink; Sangria, a robust and cool-toned red; Cherry Flip, a warm, popsicle-worthy cherry red; and Wild Orchid, a whitened lavender shade.
With 15 shades you can wear alone or mix together, there are more bombshell-worthy looks than there are days left of the year!
Tweezerman 3-Piece Sparkle & Shine Gift Set, $48. Available at Macys.com and select Macy’s stores
What girl doesn’t want perfectly shaped brows and va-va-va-voom lashes? This Tweezerman gift set contains the brand’s award-winning Slant Tweezers in a sparkling rose gold hue, as well as a matching ProCurl Lash Curler — all packaged inside a faux snakeskin pouch in a pale pink champagne shade.
Sally Hansen Holiday Collection Complete Salon Manicure Mini Set in, $9.99. Available at select drugstores and mass market retailers.
Nail the art of gift giving with this Sally Hansen gift set, featuring four mini nail lacquers in festive shades like Red My Lips, a creamy holly red; Let’s Snow, a Frosty-worthy creamy white hue; Wine Not, a sugar plum color with a demure shimmer; and Fool’s Gold, a 14k gold polish with a metallic sheen. All the polishes are chip-resistant and feature keratin to strengthen nails and encourage growth.