With parties and events, the days leading up to December 25 always whip past. The last thing you need is a panic-buying spree on December 23 just so that you have something, anything, to wrap under the tree.
Whether you’re shopping for a beauty obsessive or someone you don’t know very well, a well-chosen beauty present usually goes down a treat. Depending on what you choose, you could introduce your favourites to a potential new fan, or help them replenish their stock with a brand you know they adore.
Beauty brands always deliver at Christmas with limited edition or supersized versions of their bestsellers, but the real gifting gold is unearthed in festive beauty sets.
Bundles always feel more impressive than a solitary lotion or potion and don’t cost much more. Most will come beautifully wrapped, too, so there isn’t much more to do except for jotting your festive message down on the gift tag.
What to avoid? Try to steer clear of minis if you intend to give beauty as the main gift. It looks stingy, unless there’s enough of them to make a generous impression (think advent calendar volumes). Save them for bulking out the stocking instead.
Don’t target specific concerns, unless your recipient has hinted at a fix — avoid acne-soothing products, or anything in the deodorant or dandruff category. A well-meaning uncle once gave me anti-wrinkle cream in my early twenties; it’s now one of my primary descriptors for him.
To make narrowing the selection even easier, I’ve categorised options into:
- Blow the budget beauty gift sets
- A bit of everything beauty gift sets
- Skincare gift sets
- Makeup gift sets
- Fragrance gift sets
- Minis gift sets
As is the case with all things gift-giving, the priority should lean towards ‘want’ more than ‘need’, unless they’ve voiced otherwise. Something special with which to pamper or preen at the end of the year. Who wouldn’t want that?
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Blow the budget beauty gift sets
DUAbyAB skincare collection
When the legendary skincare brand unveiled its A-list collab with Dua Lipa last month, shockwaves of excitement rippled through the beauty world. Here was a collection boasting Augustinus Bader's famed TFC5 technology at an affordable price-point and fronted by one of the UK’s biggest chart-toppers. And right before Christmas, too! If you're shopping for a beauty lover, does it get any more serendipitous?
The capsule collection, called DUAbyAB spans three products: The Renewal Cream (£60); the Supercharged Glow Complex (£65); and the Balancing Cream Cleanser (£32). Tie all three up with a big bow for a gift that will have them practically levitating with happiness.
Buy now, DUAbyAB
La Mer The Refreshing Balance Collection
Few beauty gifts will spark such excitement as La Mer. The skincare specialist's hero products speak for themselves, with thousands of fans swearing by their rejuvenating properties. Give it to the beauty buff with a taste for the finer things, and watch them light up with joy.
Buy now £170.00, Lookfantastic
111SKIN Everyday Bestseller Trio
Give tired complexions luxurious TLC with 111SKIN's gift set, which comes with three products to brighten and fortify the skin barrier. A lovely piece of luxe that they can enjoy daily.
Buy now £200.00, Liberty
ISAMAYA Beauty WILD STAR set
Suitably outrageous with the right amount of rock star quirk, this Isamaya Ffrench gift set includes the equine-themed WILD STAR eyeshadow palette, LUCKYKISS lipstick, LASH WRAP mascara, DAZZLE UP highlighter, and SPUR STICK lip liner.
Buy now £210.00, Selfridges
A bit of everything beauty gift sets
Lookfantastic The Christmas Present Edit
Lookfantastic adores a bundle, and comes up trumps this Christmas with this beauty-packed edit. The set includes mid-range brands: Rodial, Molton Brown, Olapex, Eyelure. The seven-piece gift set is one of the retailer's bestsellers — with contents worth over £150, it's no wonder. A great gift for a sister or best friend.
Was: £50
Buy now £35.00, Lookfantastic
Cult Beauty The Ultimate Holiday Edit
With contents sorted into two drawers, Cult Beauty's Christmas beauty edit makes a very pleasing first impression indeed. It's not all looks though: the products inside are mostly full-size, and include the likes of Benefit, Kate Somerville, Medik8, Glow Recipe and Laneige. In all, it's worth over £270.
Was: £70
Buy now £49.00, Cult Beauty
Skincare gift sets
ESPA Experience Collection
That suspended time week between Christmas and New Year is made for pampering. ESPA brings the spa experience home with this collection of soothing and conditioning goodies, which come in a lovely vanity box as a bonus present. Full-size heroes await inside; my favourite is the refining skin polish, which brings radiance back to winter-worn limbs.
Was: £145
Buy now £116.00, ESPA Skincare
Aromatherapy Associates The Ultimate Selfcare Heroes
Who couldn't use a moment of calm in December? Aromatherapy Associates comes to the rescue with this gift set of bath and body heroes, all infused with the brand's signature scents.
Was: £100
Buy now £100.00, Lookfantastic
Trinny London The Back to Life Skin Set
Parties, late nights, horrible weather; they all take their toll. Bring skin back from the brink with Trinny London's complexion-boosting set, which comes with facial massage tools alongside a range of the brand's hero products.
Buy now £120.00, Liberty
Dr. Dennis Gross Bring the Clinic Home Smooth, Plump, & Firm Skin
For a more clinical approach to beauty gifting, call on Dr. Dennis Gross. This bundle takes users through a three-step regimen aimed at boosting radiance and easing signs of ageing.
Buy now £59.00, Space NK
Makeup gift sets
Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Come True Limited-Edition Kit
Themed on the beauty behemoth's bestselling shade Pillow Talk, Charlotte Tilbury presents this bumper kit, worth £430. The selection includes makeup and skincare, all sumptuously presented in an oyster pink box. Glam in the bag.
Buy now £320.00, Selfridges
Hermès Rouge Hermès Gift Set - Celebrating with Hermès Edition
Expect bright smiles all around when your recipient unwraps this chic trio of lip care products from Parisian powerhouse Hermès. They come in a lovely presentation box in the brand's signature hue.
Buy now £189.00, Cult Beauty
Victoria Beckham Beauty Lip Essentials Set
Who better than Victoria Beckham to advise on the perfect pout? VB's lip essentials bundle makes a wonderful gift for the stylish someone on your Nice list. The brand allows you to pick and mix between shades to help you nail the perfect combo.
Buy now £87.30, Victoria Beckham Beauty
Westman Atelier The Radiance Skin Set
They can tell colleagues they spent Christmas on a Caribbean beach, thanks to this gift set by Westman Atelier. Worth £141, the trio of face brighteners includes bronzing drops, blusher and highlighter, nicely parcelled into a gold-coloured gift box.
Buy now £126.00, Cult Beauty
Jones Road The Hero Kit
For mums who favour natural-looking makeup, Jones Road is the place to go. The brand was founded by MUA extraordinaire Bobbi Brown and continues her ethos of you-but-better prodcts. The Hero Kit comes in two colour options, each packing five award-winning staples (two mini Miracle Balms, a brown pencril liner, eye cream and mascara) into a paper bag-style bag that can easily be slipped into a tote or overnight bag. Now's the perfect time to lock it down - it's currently on sale.
Was: £122
Buy now £84.00, Jones Road
Merit The Winter 2025 Set
For the woman who likes to keep it simple but polished, Merit's latest beauty bundle should be on your radar. The six-piece set has everything you need to create a winter-ready look, featuring four new exclusives. Products include a tinted lip oil, cream eyeshadow, blush balm, mascara and a makeup brush, all in handy travel sizes: everything but the base.
Was: £111
Buy now £87.00, Merit
Morphe Lip Filter and Signature Lip Kit 2025
A dozen lip colours, one for every month of the year. Makeup buffs can mix and match the filters and pencils to create custom looks. A crayon set for grown-ups.
Buy now £250.00, Selfridges
Fragrance gift sets
Dior The Perfumer’s Palette
The House of Dior presents La Collection Privée this Christmas. The set of eight 10ml miniatures spans Dior's olfactory spectrum, from Gris Dior to Lucky and Bois d'Argent, each one masterfully bringing together couture and perfumery.
Buy now £298.00, Dior
Jo Malone London New Year Countdown Collection
The London fragrance house has chosen a Fun & Games theme for this year's festive collection, which extends to this New Year Countdown Collection, housed in a jolly harlequin bag. There are three mini colognes in the mix, along with skincare goodies — all heavenly scented, of course.
Buy now £90.00, Jo Malone London
Miu Miu Miutine Eau de Parfum Spray Gift Set
Your favourite Miu Miu scent now comes with a purse-sized sidekick, so you can spritz on the go. Haven't tried it? This will delight sweet scent types with notes of vanilla and brown sugar, a hard of gardenia and an initial burst of wild strawberry.
Buy now £148.00, The Perfume Shop
The Byredo Christmas Advent Calendar 2025
Available at Selfridges exclusively, Byredo's Christmas 2025 advent calendar comes, as you'd expect, packed with the fragrance house's bestsellers. Fans of the Gypsy Water, Bal d'Afrique and Blanche scents will be particularly pleased. Alongside EDPs, candles and hair perfumes, you will uncover a selection of accessories in the run-up to December 25.
Buy now £650.00, Selfridges
Minis gift sets (if you must)
Dr. Barbara Sturm Winter Kit 2025
Merry and bright on your Christmas beauty wishlist? Tick both off your list, courtesy of Dr. Barbara Sturm's Winter Kit 2025, a curated selection of luxury minis made to combat the effects of wintry weather. The seven-piece kit comes in a green velvet bag — tie a ribbon with a gift tag around the top for the final touch.
Buy now £225.00, Dr. Barbara Sturm
rhode Holiday Glazed Trio Gift Set
They've already got the phone case/ lip holder, now it's time to boost their rhode beauty stock with this gift set, which includes two sweet-flavoured lip treatments and a 50ml tub of Mini Peptide Glazing Milk.
Skin to rival founder Hailey Bieber before they know it.
Buy now £49.00, Sephora
Kate Somerville Stressed Skin Saviors
Aside from the outstanding ExfoliKate range, Kate Somerville's Goat Milk range is one of my favourites. This soothing trio of a cleanser, cream and body lotion, conditions skin without stripping it of oils.
It’s ideal for road-testing before deciding which one to buy full-size versions of.
Was: £55
Buy now £34.00, Lookfantastic
