As a bona fide beauty obsessive, I’ve learned a few key moments to shop for beauty products. Chief among them? The holidays are one of the best times of year to buy items on your wishlist, especially during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I’ve seen firsthand makeup products that rarely go on sale throughout the year being slashed up to 50 percent off. Coupon stacking and deals at some of my favorite beauty retailers can bring $500 hair tools down to just a fifth of their original price. Skincare brands release bundles that can keep you stocked on your favorite formulas well into the new year. This season is chaotic, and I live for it.
That said, I’ve definitely fallen into the trap of buying items just because they’re on sale, only to end up barely (or never) using them. I like to think that all those instances were just building blocks to develop my expertise, so I can then tell you, dear reader, which products are actually worth picking up during the 2025 Black Friday/Cyber Monday season. Makeup is one of my favorite categories to refresh during this season, but I’ve also included a few other categories I'm shopping as well.
Whether you’re having a treat-yourself moment or getting started on your holiday shopping, this list is curated by someone with oily, acne-prone skin who loves minimal effort with maximum impact. If that sounds like you or someone you know, keep reading for a list of beauty items you can save on in the coming days.
Makeup
I love a festive holiday glam, and the products below combine my love for blushed cheeks with a minimal, yet perfected, complexion.
This set from Rare Beauty comes in what I believe is one of the best colors in the brand’s color cosmetics lineup: Worthy. It is the neutral-toned peach shade of my dreams, and the set includes a liquid and powder blush formula, as well as a tinted lip oil, all in miniature sizes. Please do not let the sizes of the products fool you. The blushes, in particular, are intensely pigmented. I have gifted friends miniature sizes from this same brand that they are still working on two years later. Tack on a sale, and your cost per wear is probably going to go into the negatives. So, it’s basically free.
This Make Up For Ever cream palette includes blush, bronzer, foundation, and highlighter. If you’re traveling this holiday season, this is practically half of your entire routine that you don’t have to pack with you. Not only is the actual makeup formula spectacular quality (as to be expected from one of my favorite brands of all time), but with it being 30 percent off, I can tell you right now that this is one of the smartest beauty products that you can spend your money on this holiday season.
Skincare
My oily, acneic skin surprised me when I realized it’s actually really dehydrated, which is partly why I look like an oil slick by the end of the day. Enter: one of the hydrating sprays that has changed my life. Plus, the product that (begrudgingly) got me into pimple patches.
Sunday Riley’s Detox Darling mist should be on everyone’s radar, especially if you have acne-prone skin. The brand’s Breakout Breakup cleanser from this line is one of my holy grail products, so I had high hopes when I incorporated the spray into my routine. Long story short? It delivered, and then some, and I’ve noticed a drastic difference in the number of breakouts I have and in my overall oil production throughout the day since I’ve started using this product.
The rhetoric around pimple patches is very cute, but as someone who has seriously struggled with acne for pretty much my entire life, I didn’t want to walk around with 70 patches on my face. That being said, these are the pimple patches that first made a believer, and even though I still don’t wear them out of the house, I can’t tell you how many packages of these stickers I have gone through. I opt for using them overnight, and usually, by the time I wake up, the pimple has come to a head. A 10/10 product.
Hair
I’m someone who wants to touch my hair as little as humanly possible, while still achieving the most impact. The products below help me to do just that.
Every beauty editor will recommend that you pick up a Dyson during this Black Friday/Cyber Monday season, and it’s for good reason—it works. I have never dried my hair as quickly or as easily as I have with this tool, and on top of being a blow dryer, it can also style your hair. This is an investment I stand behind 100 percent. I don’t say this often, but this is a hair tool that truly changed how I look at wash day for the better.
Kenra is a brand I trust so much that I would happily be blindfolded, pick any product, and be satisfied with it. I never do my hair without the blow-dry spray, and I have this anti-humidity spray sitting in my cart to go with it right now. Now that it’s on sale, I will definitely be buying it and recommend you do the same if you want salon-quality hair products that are easy to use at home.
Body Care
From proper hair removal methods to the foot peel that will both gross you out and make you a fan, these are the body products I can't live without, especially in winter.
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I didn’t learn how to properly shave “down there” until this year—at the ripe age of 28, that is. After a harrowing first experience that left me, well, traumatized, I went straight into waxing. After starting my laser hair removal journey this year, I had to get back to the basics, and this oil has been a lifesaver. After shaving, I apply a few drops of this concoction to my pubic area, and there is never any irritation or razor burn. I mean that literally. I have never experienced any shaving irritation after using this oil, and for that reason alone, it’s the only one I use now and the only one I will ever use again. (Bonus points, I sometimes put it on my cuticles for a quick hit of moisture).
The first time I tried this foot peel, I was convinced that there was a piece of tape stuck to my shoe. Imagine my surprise when I get to my workout class and that “tape” is my shedding skin. Baby Foot is a beloved editor favorite that will get your feet in tip-top shape in practically no time. Expect some pretty intense (but painless) peeling, but once it’s all gone, your feet will feel like someone hit the factory reset button.
Fragrance
Anyone who knows me knows that my fragrance game is elite. The two picks that made this list have wowed me enough to put them on my top shelf and inspire me to pick them up as holiday gifts.
Carolina Herrera's Very Good Girl smells like girlhood in a bottle. That’s not to say that it’s childish by any means, but the combination of florals and fruity notes creates a scent that feels innocent and coy. It’s flirty but still appropriate for everyday wear, and this one in particular can be worn year-round.
While the deodorant has gone viral countless times on social media, I don’t think many people realize that Donna Karan’s Cashmere Mist began as a perfume. It’s the same powdery, woody scent that we all know and love, just in a traditional eau de parfum. Layering it with deodorant has led to many occasions when my husband sticks his face into my neck and does that deep inhale thing men do. Do with this information what you would like, but trust me that this product is a must for your Black Friday shopping list.
Why Trust Marie Claire
For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.
