Beauty Gift Guide: The Best Makeup Picks for the Festive Season

An ultraluxe all-in-one cosmetic set from beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury is guaranteed to please even the biggest makeup aficionado in your life. Containing an eyeshadow quad palette, powder blusher, lip liner, and matte lipstick in a universally-flattering berry-rose shade, the “Walk of No Shame” face kit has literally everything you need. And if stocks run out, the Pillow Talk Makeup Secrets set lets you pick the same four items, just in the brand’s signature nude-pink Pillow Talk shade.

There are some standout blush products out there, especially in more trendy multi-use, cream-liquid formats, but our pick is the Clinique Cheek Pops – a gorgeous pressed powder that is easy to blend and build up to your ideal pigmentation, delivering a soft sheen of colour to the cheeks. Available in 17 brilliant shades, this is a bestseller for a reason. We also love the Rare Beauty blushes (both liquid and cream-powder – go for this cute Mini Soft Pinch Liquid Blush Trio for gifting!) and the Chanel LES BEIGES Water-fresh blush.

An admittedly difficult choice – we also considered Huda Beauty’s gorgeous nine-pan Obsessions Eyeshadow Palettes (Brown, Nude, Wild, Pastels) and the super cute stocking-stuffer minis from NARS, but our eyeshadow pick is the Natasha Denona Mini Eye Palettes. It’s already a little bit of a bargain going for an entire palette when gifting so we’d suggest going for a mini with a luxurious high-end formula and a flattering but not intimidating colour story. Just make sure to have a little peek at your giftee’s existing collection!

Full disclosure, this is me. If someone in your life is all about their eyebrows (shaping and filling them in, experimenting with their look and style) and you know they use product on them – then it’s likely they use something on their brows nearly every day or, at the very least, with every makeup look. So you can’t go wrong with the Defined & Volumized Brow Kit from Anastasia Beverly Hills, which includes a full-size Brow Wiz fine-tipped pencil (a cult favourite!), along with a mini Brow Wiz and mini Dipbrow Gel. Alternatively, you could pick up the Anastasia Beverly Hills Fuller Looking + Dimensional Brows Kit that comes with a pencil, pen and clear gel.

It may be bold of us to claim Rihanna helped bring gloss back – but the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bombs are something like a gateway product into a glossy, plumping lip world. The best part about lip gloss is that it really is universally flattering – as long as your giftee likes some shine on their lips, you’re good to go without fear of shade matching and the risk of not suiting someone’s undertones. Pick up the Fenty Beauty Glossy Posse Fantasy 4Sum Set, a holiday set that includes a full-sized Gloss Bomb Cream and three shimmering minis.

Now ideally, you’d go for one of Giorgio Armani’s bestselling foundations (like the cult-favourite Luminous Silk) but you might want to leave purchasing a base product to the wearer themself. Instead, go for the equally glorious Fluid Sheer Glow Enhancer liquid highlighter, with a weightless formula that delivers the perfect natural-looking glow. Layer it under or over foundation, or even mix it in with base products. It’s available in multiple shades.

Still feeling completely stuck? As long as you’re shopping for someone who wears makeup, you can always go for the safest option – something for priming and setting. We like the award-winning All Nighter Setting Spray from Urban Decay, and this giftable duo means you can just start handing them out (or even keep one for yourself!) Breathable but powerful, you can use the spray to prime, set and refresh while it ensures both a flawless finish and a long-lasting look for up to 16 hours. And, it’s a vegan formula!