This is the year to be gifting glorious skincare. In recent years, we’ve seen skincare and self-care merge into one, with many of us turning to our nighttime routine to add pockets of mindfulness to our day, incorporating facial massage with our serum application, or meditating while waiting for a favourite clay mask to dry.
And with the cost of living crisis as it is, gifting skincare and self-care for these stressful times is undeniably appealing.
No longer are festive bundles filled with just one or two minis either – this year, we’re spoilt for choice.
Beauty brands have amped up their Christmas game in several ways by including full-sized goodies of trending products with buzzworthy ingredients, all housed in (very) merry packaging.
What’s more, if you plan ahead, you can grab a bargain in the Black Friday sales and get through that Christmas list – read the Eliza beauty team’s guide to the best Black Friday beauty products we’ll be buying here.
In this line-up, I’ve included the crème de la crème of gifts for your loved ones, whether you’re buying for your beauty-obsessed sister, your mother who’s been trying to find the perfect fine line-smoothing cream, or your friends who are always looking for the latest beauty trends to follow.
Spread the love and transform mundane routines into relaxing rituals with these festive skincare sets that do it all…
Sunday Riley Wake Up With Me Complete Morning Routine, £81
The Eliza team is obsessed with Sunday Riley (our fashion and beauty director Krissy is a Good Genes and Luna loyalist), but this set is sure to win over even those who haven’t tried the brand before. In fact, it’s perfect for first-timers to the brand and those who already love it, as it contains all you’d need for a glowing morning skincare routine for less than £100.
In the box you’ll find some of the brand’s best-sellers, including Good Genes, C.E.O Glow, Auto Correct Eye Cream and C.E.O Vitamin C serum, which are the holy grail when it comes to brightening, smoothing and refining your skin. There’s also the Ceramic Slip Cleanser, a luxurious formula with three types of clay and rice and olive oil esters to gently cleanse and nourish the skin, as well as a mini Pink Drink and C.E.O Afterglow moisturiser.
There are seven products in total which are worth £180, saving you juuuust shy of £100 when you buy this gift set.
I recommend Sunday Riley’s Vitamin C range to everyone, so the fact you get not one but three C.E.O products in this kit is an absolute steal, and it’s a great investment if you want to try before you commit to buying the full sizes.
Fresh Bestsellers Limited Edition Gift Set, £32
This soothing and hydrating set from Fresh is, as you might have guessed from the name, filled with four of the brand’s bestselling products. Fresh is a gorgeous brand and will be extra appreciated by those who like to indulge in a ritualistic skincare routine, with glorious natural scents of rose and silky textures that leave your skin feeling satin soft.
The Soy Face Cleanser is an excellent everyday cleanser which gently removes daily dirt, grime and pollution from the skin while maintaining the skins pH level, while the Kombucha Essence is packed full of antioxidants to hydrate, smooth and prep the skin for better absorption of the following skincare.
The Rose Oil-Infused Face Serum is a hydration hero, with a bi-phase formulation that brings together rosewater, damask rose and nourishing oils to keep your skin plumped up and feeling deeply hydrated. Last but not least is Fresh’s best-selling moisturiser, a lightweight cream that contains a super cocktail of rejuvenating and luminising ingredients including super lotus, hyaluronic acid and star fruit leaf extract. This cream is ideal for those looking to keep their skin supple and hydrated while minimising fine lines and improving the skin’s radiance.
Drunk Elephant Wild Night: The Evening Kit, £91
If you’re unsure of what to get a skincare lover for Christmas, these ready-made skincare sets from Drunk Elephant are a quick win. This set is perfect for resetting the skin, with products that are gentle yet fortifying for the skin barrier, as well as a highly effective exfoliator.
Inside the cute pink wash bag you’ll find a lineup of four best-sellers from the brand: a full-size Lala Retro Whipped Cream, Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser, T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum and the Ceramighty AF Eye Balm. This skincare set is perfectly fitting for winter skin that needs a boost of glow as well as protection and TLC. It also works pretty well to combat post-festive party skin, just FYI.
Biossance Overachievers Kit, £46
This brilliant vegan skincare set is filled with both full and travel-sized products that targets uneven, dull and rough complexions. The evening skin saviours included nourish the skin barrier and help to visibly brighten and firm lacklustre complexions.
So what’s included? The Squalane + Lactic Acid Resurfacing Night Serum packs a punch with its gentle but potent exfoliating blend to reveal a softer skin. Squalane + Omega Repair Cream deeply nourishes and strengthens the skin’s barrier with ceramides and lipids, while the addition of Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil helps to brighten, firm and protect the skin for a more radiant glow.
Plus, the brand has also included a super-soft sleep mask that’s made from upcycled ocean plastics to create the perfect night-time routine.
BYOMA Hydrating Starter Kit, £14.99
If you haven’t heard of BYOMA yet, you must be living under a rock!
But seriously – this stuff is extremely good. It’s the perfect beauty buy for skincare fans or your Gen Z cousin (all the cool kids are using it); the only trio of products you need for a supermodel-esque winter glow.
BYOMA’s all about boosting and protecting the skin barrier, which is imperative for maintaining healthy-looking, hydrating and glowing skin. This set has everything you need to start building a simple skincare routine that gives great results.
The brand’s Creamy Jelly Cleanser (god’s gift for oily skin types) is super hydrating, pH-balanced and packed with antioxidants, while its Hydrating Serum is enriched with a powerhouse pairing of Squalane and Glycerine for long-lasting hydration.
Finish with the Moisturising Gel-Cream that feels silky-soft on the skin, infused with niacinamide and green tea to reduce redness. Radiant, healthy-looking and smoother skin? Check, check, and check!
Caudalie The Detox & Glow Trio, £34
If you’re keeping up with #BeautyTok on TikTok, you might have come across Caudalie’s viral pore-clearing face mask that’s racked up over 36.8 million views on the hashtag search for #caudaliedetox.
If you have a friend or relative that loves discovering viral beauty on TikTok and is as easily swayed to buy through the app as I am, then you’ll win extra brownie points for this gift.
This trio includes the famous Vinergetic C+ Detox Mask, which really does clear out clogged pores – the proof is in the pudding (aka TikTok) – plus two more iconic products from the French beauty powerhouse: Vinoperfect Serum, that helps to prevent and correct dark spots and pigmentation, and the cult favourite Beauty Elixir: a fine, natural skincare mist that refreshes and hydrates the complexion.
Faace Festive Kit, £26
An overindulgence of mulled wine, mince pies and Baileys could wreak havoc on the skin – so if you have a friend/sister/cousin who loves festive parties a bit too much, then this mighty duo could be the one for them.
It’s ideal for hungover skin – you know that dull, tired, lacklustre complexion you get after a late night? Detox those sins away with Dirty Faace, a creamy gel cleanser that eliminates all traces of makeup, dirt, excess oil and pollution while treating the skin with purifying zinc and benzoic acid.
The Tired Faace Mask is a lightweight gel mask that – you guessed it – brings tired skin back to life. Packed with caffeine, pomegranate and rosehip oils, it’s the ultimate hangover skin saviour.
I won’t tell if you’re buying for you.
Typology The Daily Skincare Routine, £48.90
French brand Typology offers some of the most chic-looking, affordable skincare solutions for those on a budget who still crave efficacy. For this reason, the brand’s gift set trio is most definitely worth the investment.
The trio features three essentials for any routine. The first is a hyaluronic acid serum for the ultimate hydration; just a few drops of this from the handy dropper will make skin feel quenched with ease.
Next is the Organic peppermint hydrosol, an anti-inflammatory that tightens pores and calms redness in the most soothing manner.
And finally, the brand’s 9-ingredient moisturiser for simple nourishment without the faff.
Finishing up the set is a chic cotton bag that can be reused over and over.
Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Classics Gift Set, £55
Elemis’ bestselling product, its Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm, now comes in both a scentless option, as well as a rose iteration. Whichever is your fave, you’ll no doubt enjoy using all three, and this is the set to pick up if that’s the case.
Each of these beautiful balms removes makeup like a dream and cleans the face effectively, leaving super soft, supple skin.
The set comes packaged in a stunning pink and pale blue presentation box that’s enough to impress even the most boujee skincare fan.
Grab it now before it sells out.
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