In case you missed it, the holiday season is impending. While this doesn’t mean you’re late on shopping for everyone on your list (yet), the best beauty gifts are already flying off the virtual shelves. Are you surprised though? TikTok makes it near-impossible to snag popular products the first time they go viral, and nowadays everyone—your teenage cousin, hard-to-please mom, and your seemingly uninterested (but high-key very interested) dad included—has some kind of beauty routine.
That makes both our, and your, jobs easier; the best beauty gifts of 2024 are a-plenty, but how to choose the perfect one(s) for your lucky giftees? We’ve broken them down into various categories—and price points!—to help you give even Santa a run for his money.
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Beauty advent calendars are arguably the best gifts money can buy. These interactive calendars—-filled with up to 25 mini-size and full-size beauty products—are a dream for indecisive buyers and equally exciting for the recipient to open up and indulge in. Plus, your giftee can repurpose the boxes as storage—makeup, jewelry, you name it.
Best Skin-Care Gift Sets
Skin care can be a difficult category to gift, but all you need to do is tune in to some of their biggest complexion concerns. Do they often moan about their puffy undereyes? Are they prone to dryness, no matter what time of year? Are they headed off on vacation soon and need some travel-size goodies to accompany them? See—it’s easier than you think.
Yes, we test and shop for lipsticks, highlighters, and eye shadow palettes all year long, but the holiday season brings value-stuffed curated sets that are begging to be gifted, whether to a friend or yourself. These sets from Kosas, Merit, Ilia, and Nudestix are bound to make them fall in love with new products that’ll become mainstays in their GRWM routines.
Best Hair-Care Gifts
Smart hot tools that do the work of multiple devices? Curated hair-care sets for silky-smooth strands? Adorable claw clips that’ll fit seamlessly into their everyday “woke up too late” getting-ready routine? Yeah, we’ll call it now: These prezzies will be put to damn good use.
Best Everything Shower Gifts
Newsflash: There is a proper order for everything you do in the shower. The everything shower trend is still going strong, whether you ask our editors or your besties. Give their bathroom a much-needed upgrade with all-over treatments that’ll leave their skin gleaming and hair smoother.
Whether you’re getting a holiday gift for your 16-year-old niece or looking for the perfect Christmas present for your tween daughter, we’ve got you covered. Teens can be a tough group to shop for, but we did our research (ahem, TikTok scrolling) to pull out all the beauty stops. Peep a delicious-smelling body-care set, LED mirror, and colorful lip balm trio they won’t get enough of.
Yes, we have to show some restraint for most of the calendar year, but if you’ve got the means to splurge a little come the holidays, now is the perfect opportunity to finally help them cross off that one thing sitting pretty at the top of their wish lists. Your loved ones deserve the very best eye (and lip) (and hair) candy.
Allure editors test out the latest perfumes from the biggest fragrance houses and the smallest indie brands before they even make it to market, so we can get an exclusive look—or, um, sniff—at what the upcoming season’s best perfumes will be. If you think walking by a department store’s fragrance counters is intimidating, you should take a peek at our shared beauty closet. Here are some of our favorite scents of the year.
Best Nail Gifts
Nail appointments quickly add up, so why not help bestie rein in her budget and give her the tools she needs for a fabulous at-home manicure? We have all the options, including Best of Beauty-winning sun-cured strips, adorable Hello Kitty and Friends press-ons, a classic wardrobe of reds, and all of the conditioning goodies they need to keep their nails healthy and strong.
You’re probably already visiting the ‘Zon approximately 20 times a week shopping for essentials (and non-essentials), so why not browse their gifting options? This time of year, there’s no shortage of holiday bundles from our favorite brands like Peach & Lily, Caudalie, Hally Hair, and K-beauty trending brand Torriden.
Best Gifts Under $100
No matter your budget, we’ve got you covered. Whether their 2024 beauty resolution is to master the “quiet luxury” makeup trend, style their hair more often, or get better shut-eye, these gorgeous (yet practical) picks from Hourglass, Charlotte Tilbury, Revlon, and Brooklinen will make their eyes light up and skin glow like no other.
Best Gifts Under $50
$50 is a sweet spot of gifting budgets. Whether you’re in year one of your first adult job and budgeting accordingly, shopping for your situationship person, or buying your boss or fave coworker a little something-something to show your appreciation, these gifts speak volumes (and will have them feeling good).
Best Gifts Under $25
These aren’t your ordinary stocking stuffers—because, as professional shoppers, we know you don’t have to shell out a ton of cash to gift your loved ones something they’ll use and appreciate every day. (After all, we have guides dedicated to gifts under $25.) Go ahead, buy multiples of these crowd-pleasers and cross off besties, sisters, and coworkers all at once.
We’re just getting started on our holiday shopping, and the recs are already abundant. Join us?