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Christmas beauty gift guide 2019

Christmas beauty gift guide 2019

Struggling to settle on a gift for the beauty-lover in your life? We've got you covered with 11 of the best Christmas beauty gifts on the market

For vegan / cruelty-free skincare: Lani

Lani the icons gift set

Not only does this range of products from Lani come in adorably pastel-bright glass packaging which sits beautifully in any bathroom, but all of their products have been designed with vegan and cruelty-free consumers in mind.

Jam-packed with natural, tropical ingredients, the products are hand-made in NottinghamFor Christmas gifting, we’d recommend “The Icons” set, which includes the brand’s three original and most-coveted products—a luxurious body oil, hair treatment and face serum.

After just a week using the body oil, we found lack-lustre winter skin to be visibly restored, noticeably moisturised, firmer and less dull. Perfect for a giftee in need of a luxurious pick-me-up for their morning routine. 

 

For jet-setters: Sanctuary Spa 

Packing your wash bag for a trip can be an unnecessarily troublesome and sometimes messy task, from attempting to fill the fiddly mini plastic containers, to trying to squeeze everything you need into your bag and make it fit in your hand luggage.

Enter this neat collection from Sanctuary Spa: containing everything you may need for a soapy moment of calm and relaxation (such as their signature body butter, an invigorating body scrub and a luxurious body wash) during a busy trip, it comes in a gorgeous yet compact rose gold bag. A practical yet decadent gift that’ll delight the avid traveller in your life.

 

For beauty subscriptions: Cohorted

cohorted's october box

Cohorted subscription boxes offer your giftee the chance to feel that giddy, Christmas-morning feeling all year round. Subscribe to their subscription service, and each month your giftee will receive a carefully curated array of the best premium beauty products on the market. Ideal for those who enjoy switching up their look, and trying the latest beauty innovations.

Premium items are hand-selected by a team of beauty experts, and put together in a way that is sustainable for the environment, with their Beauty For Conservation movement supporting charitable efforts to make the beauty industry more eco-friendly.

We were particularly impressed by the variety in Cohorted’s boxes, which included makeup, skincare, perfume and hair care within each month’s subscription. Boxes can be purchased on an individual or subscription basis.

 

For slow-ageing: PAYOT 

This leading French skincare brand has been around for almost 100 years and if you still haven’t heard of it, it’s about time you checked them out—and their Roselift collagene collection is a great place to start.

This innovative new range is designed to “lift” your complexion, focusing on slow-ageing, rather than “anti-ageing”, meaning it adopts a positive approach of complementing and enhancing the natural process of ageing rather than fighting it. The range includes skincare staples such as a boosting serum, a lifting eye cream, a soothing day and night cream as well as nourishing under-eye patches—all designed to leave your skin glowing, plump and perfectly primed for make-up.

 

For Millenials: Carbon Theory

carbon theory

Know a teenager with a burgeoning interest in skincare? Carbon Theory is the perfect millennial (and Instagram) -friendly brand, that will offer an introduction to caring for your skin.

Their most iconic product, the charcoal cleansing bar, is infused with charcoal, tea tree oil and shea butter to offer a gentle but effective daily clean for spot-prone skin. The tea tree oil daily moisturiser is both anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory to calm the redness and irritation that comes with teenage acne. And the mineral mud face mask is packed full of minerals and comes in a satisfyingly thick, grey consistency, perfect for Instagram photos—#selfcare

 

For hair care evangelists: Champo 

Shampoo: £18.00 - £18.50; conditioner: £20.00 - £20.50 (buy any two products and get the limited edition cotton wash bag free) 

CHAMPO_FINALS_20.jpg

The mysteriously named Champo (which is the Sanskrit origin of the word “shampoo” ) take their hair care seriously. This couture line has developed three unique formulas for three different types of hair: “vata” for reparative care, “pitta” for restorative care and “kapha” for transformative care, which are all based on Ayurvedic doshas, and there’s a quiz specifically designed to find out which type you are on their website.

They’re beautifully designed, high-quality products that make washing your hair feel like a special and meaningful ritual—a touch of mindfulness and enjoyment that we could all use in our otherwise dull day to day routines, making it the perfect Christmas gift for that special someone in your life.

 

For makeup mavens: Too Faced

too faced

Too Faced is a cult cruelty-free brand for a reason. With delectable scents and highly pigmented colours, their Christmas-themed eye shadow palettes are sure to be a winner with any cosmetic queen.  

The Gingerbread Extra Spicy Eye Shadow Palette smells of, you guessed it, toasted gingerbread, and the formula really delivers when it comes to 18 shades of intense colour pigmentation. We particularly love the shades, Plenty of Dough and Butterscotch for warm, everyday looks.

If you just can’t choose which product to gift, the Christmas Cookie House Party set is a very fun choice, with 26 eyeshadow shades, three face products and travel size mascara, lip paint and primer all presented in irresistible gingerbread house packaging.

 

For face mask enthusiasts: Maskologist 

Pocket_mask_rose_white.png

There’s nothing quite like a laidback weekend evening when you have all the time in the world to take a long bath, listen to your favourite records and put on a nourishing, gloriously scented mask to moisturise, feed and cleanse your skin. If that’s something you can relate to, this nifty set from Maskologist is just the thing to pamper yourself with this Christmas.

Containing four of their highly effective masks, including The Lavender Youth Miracle mask and the Rose Glow potion, it’ll leave your skin feeling deeply hydrated and soothed. As a bonus, these masks are completely biodegradable so once they’re done working their magic on your face, they’re fully dissolvable in water and can be used as a body treatment in the bath!

 

For manicure obsessives: Nails Inc

Seeing Stars set, £15

nails inc seeing stars

For those in the know, Nails Inc are the go-to varnish brand for a meticulous home manicure, and their Christmas sets don’t disappoint. Available in an array of gorgeous colours and glitter finishes, these paints will see your giftee through to New Year’s Eve celebrations and beyond.

We particularly love the Seeing Stars set, which combines a classic neutral pink (Get Discovered) with a spellbinding star-shaped glitter polish (Lost in Luna). The formula is so impressive that our home manicure weathered a full week before the first chip.

 

For all that glitters: Tarte

For fans of everything Christmas sparkle, Tarte has you covered. Known all year round for their quality cosmetics, Christmas is when their sparkling formulas really shine. 

Choose from this incredible chrome set—with pigmentation that really packs a punch—or glitter shine lip ornaments for a supremely festive treat.

For those who enjoy a little sparkle all year round, their iconic shape tape concealer now comes with a limited edition gem-encrusted lid—perfect for concealing those partied-too-hard-this-New-Year's-Eve eye bags.  

 

For the difficult one: VOYA 

If you’re looking for a gift for someone you don’t know that well or is perhaps is difficult to buy presents for, an ornate candle or a lavish room diffuser are usually your safest bet, and you can’t go wrong with VOYA’s special Seasonal Spiced Diffuser.

Combining the sweet, yet subtly punchy orange and cinnamon aromas, with potent woody undertones, it’s the perfect accompaniment to a peaceful bath or a hot morning shower that’ll get you in the festive mood. The stylish glass container and the sturdy, thick brown reeds will make it a tasteful addition to your bathroom décor as well.

 

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