The best beauty gifts are rarely the biggest beauty gifts.
They are the small reflective details, the mind’s choices over materialism; stocking stuffers that aren’t just stuffing.
What we want at Christmas is to “feel seen”, as young people say. Below are my favorite ways to do this.
Make a cosmetic
The best beauty gift I gave myself in 2024 was taking my favorite discontinued lipstick to British beauty stalwarts Cosmetics à la Carte and asking them to replicate it.
Or maybe you or your friend have never found “The One.” One of C à la C’s makeup artists can help you find out.
The brand also offers custom concealers, foundations, palettes and application lessons.
An e-voucher for The Bespoke Lipstick Blending Experience costs £80 (cosmeticsalacarte.com, last orders from the 24th at noon)including the finished product, recharges for £70. The joy factor? Invaluable.
Beauty expert Hannah Betts says the best beauty gifts are rarely the biggest beauty gifts (file image)
Offer a subscription to Beauty Pie
For £59, you can gift a loved one a Beauty Pie membership allowing them to get brilliant deals all year round on best-selling products like YouthBomb 360° Radiance Concentrate (members £44, non-members £185, beautypie.com)or Brazilian Lime, Fig Leaf and Tea Eau De Parfum (members £28, non-members £60, beautypie.com).
Small but perfectly formed objects.
Andrea Garland has just launched a new range of her glorious Vintage lip balms (from £18, andreagarland.co.uk).
I am no less passionate about the French brand Officine Universelle Buly.
Unfortunately, the Selfridge counter has run out of exquisite writable lip balms. (£43, Selfridges, Oxford Street)however, the combs can still be customized (ffrom £27, both at buly1803.com).
Or comfort yourself with the Alabaster kit with the woodsy scent of Sumi Hinoki (£70), a porcelain box, a stone and a bottle of scented essence.
The prettiest beauty bibelot this Christmas is the Chanel Eau de Parfum Refillable Purse Spray. (£165), an elegant atomizer on a chain that can be worn as a bracelet or bag pendant.
The jet version has the number 5 (still available at flannels.com); the white No 5 L’Eau (chanel.com). In my fantasies all my women will receive one.
beauty jewelry
Chanel and Dior produce the most exciting lip and nail fillers. Give me a Chanel nail color on Storyteller (£29, chanel.com) a gorgeous deep purple color and a Dior Addict Lip Glow in Pink Lilac (£33, boots.com) on the 25th and she would be an extremely happy woman.
I treated myself to a By Terry Ombre Blackstar travel stick in Bronze Moon (£17, sephora.co.uk) last December, and this one-size-fits-all eye crayon is an absolute winner.
Women are rightly going crazy for Victoria Beckham’s Kajal satin liners (£32, victoriabeckhambeauty.com)while no one has ever been disappointed by a Lancôme mascara (from £14, Boots.com).
Hannah (pictured) believes what everyone wants at Christmas is to “feel seen”
bbeautiful gifts for the body
I pray that a kind soul will gift me a 250ml Olverum Bath Oil (£78, ukolverum.com), enough for 50 baths, plus the Aromatherapy Associates Rebalancing Heroes collection (£100, aromatherapyassociates.com)full of restorers of tranquility.
Oh, and a This Works Sleep Plus massage relief roll-on (currently reduced from £38 to £15.20, thisworkscbd.com) to grind on my neck.
Gift sets that keep on giving
The gift sets I want the most are the ones that seem the most thoughtful, the most unique. M+ Escentric Molecules Discovery Set (£55, for eight 8.5ml sprays, escentric.com) is the perfect introduction to this bright and beautiful perfume label.
A box of Michael Van Clarke’s deluxe LifeSaver cookie collection (now £75 for eight, vanclarke.com) plus a number 1 mini brush (£28.50), it could change someone’s hair. Nails Inc gift sets are sensational (from £8, nailsinc.com): is Color Changing Thermochromic Nail Polish Set (Now £20) will delight children of all ages.
While Diptyque’s jewel-coloured Sapin, Friandise & Étoile (Pine, Sweet Treat & Star) Christmas Candle Set (£120, diptyqueparis.com) is an absolute, dazzling delight.
RUN TO IT
TYPEBEA G1 Night Enhancer Peptide Serum (£43, sephora.co.uk) sold out at Boots after much virtual excitement.
Developed with clinically proven Baicapil, this non-greasy formula harnesses peptides to address hormonal hair loss, rejuvenating strands from the roots while you sleep. Improvements should be seen within a few weeks.
TRANSPARENT BERRY LIP TINES
ICON OF THE WEEK
Emily Mortimer
Paddington star Emily Mortimer, 53
The Paddington star, 53, prepped her skin for the premiere using the Kichi Beauty Youth Bomb method. (£450, kitchi.studio)Claiming to restore collagen for three years.
Your essentials are the Batiste Original Dry Shampoo (£4.99, boots.com).
He also loves Pond’s Cold Cream (from £9.98, amazon.es) as a cleanser, and L’Orèal mascara (from £5).
COSMETIC CRAVING
Garnier Hyaluronic Acid & Cryogenic Gel Anti-Fatigue Eye Patches (now £3.32, superdrug.com)
I’m not a big fan of masks. I prefer to get my money’s worth by wearing things that stay on my face.
However, the Garnier Anti-Fatigue Hyaluronic Acid Cryo Jelly Eye Patches are the exception.
These biodegradable deflators and deflators are always in my refrigerator, especially during this difficult time of year.
This morning, for no particular reason: lack of sleep, sugar, dehydration? – my face looked gray, sad and wrinkled.
I put the patches on and went over them with a cheap metal eye roller (£4.99, Amazon.co.uk), then massaged the excess onto my face and neck. Cured! Put some in everyone’s stockings and save some for New Year’s.