Holiday Gift Guide

The holiday shopping season has begun and there are a number of great beauty and grooming sets this year to suit every kind of recipient at multiple price points. I wish there was a one-gift fits all to make holiday shopping easier and more efficient but this is rarely the case for me. If you want a one-stop-shop, Nordstrom makes it really easy to find gifts for everyone in one place. They will gift wrap your gifts or give you beautiful silver boxes and ribbon to pack things up yourself which makes gifting easy. I’ve teamed up with Nordstrom today to share some of my top picks for gifts by recipient.

For the home, you can’t go wrong with the holiday scents and gift sets from Diptyque. The Holiday Colored Glass Trio ($100 for 3) for this year is absolutely stunning with a huge wow factor. It comes with three 2.4 oz candles in this year’s holiday scents Sapin, Oliban and Liquidamber. I can’t get over how beautiful the packaging is this year. The Diptyque boxes are always beautiful as well.

There are a number of options and if you’re new to Diptyque you might be slightly confused with the options. I’ve done a size comparison post before, but the quick version is shown below.

For the beauty lover who travels a lot, the Laura Mercier Stroke of Genius Set ($98) comes with six short-handled brushes in a dark brown pebbled clutch. I’ve bought many Laura Mercier Brush sets over the years, they always make really good high quality travel size sets. The ones included in this year are Flat Eyeliner Brush, Eye Crease Brush, All Over Eye Colour Brush, Ponytail Brush, Cheek Colour Brush, Secret Camouflage Brush. I’ve bought previous season sets for my mom and aunts and the brushes are well-loved.

For your BFF there are a number of good mini color sets from Laura Mercier. Picking makeup for friends or family can be tricky but Laura Mercier has several sets under $50 that have universally flattering shades. One is the Laura Mercier Haute Lips Trio ($38) which has a full-size Paint Wash Liquid Lip Colour in Petal Pink, a deluxe size Crème Smooth Lip Colour in Pink Dusk and mini Lip Pencil in Baby Lips. I picked up one below but don’t have swatches because it is indeed a gift for one of my friends. Another good trio set is the In the Glow Trio ($38) for cheeks and eyes, these have clutch-sized minis perfect for on-the-go or evening touch ups.

A luxe gift for your BFF is the Chanel Turn Up the Shine Glossimer Set ($92). This is a luxurious splurge, but for that someone extra special you can’t go wrong with Glossimers. This year’s set has Beige Star, Rose Tendre and Murmure, all creams and non-shimmers. I have all three shades and love them. For the person who wants natural color and shine this is a good one. If you think shimmer is preferred, the two shades from the Vamp Attitude holiday collection are stunning. I’ll add swatches below.

For the extra extra special someone or beauty lover who has almost everything, the ultimate splurge is the Armani Luxe is More Eyeshadow Palette ($140). When I saw this pop up online I thought there is no way this palette is worth the high price tag. I swatched it in store and was so amazed by the shimmer and pigment. The palette is pretty large too and the colors have the most exquisite shimmers. I’ll have a detailed review soon. For now a sneak preview of the top and bottom layers. It has 10 eyeshadows, two concealers and one powder.

For the men in your life whether it’s a boyfriend, husband, brother, dad, uncle etc. you can’t go wrong with Kiehl’s or Jack Black. So many of my friends have asked me for grooming recommendations for their boyfriends or husbands. They often want to help steer them into better grooming habits without being too pushy or hurt feelings. I’ve found starter sets with good packaging often get used – no extra nudging or pushing required. The Kiehl’s Men’s Starter Kit ($43) is something I bought for my husband and he’s discovered a number of good staples. It’s priced just right and has a little bit of everything for face, body, hands and shaving. Jack Black’s The Jack Pack ($49) is also another good one, my husband swears by the Deep Dive Glycolic Facial Cleanser but it’s not for everyone (some people like my brother-in-law don’t like the thick mask-like texture).

Either way, both Kiehl’s and Jack Black have good sets to fit everyone’s tastes. There are a lot of unisex sets and I’ve found the holiday offerings have a good sampling of products for those just starting out or looking to try something new. (The Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Cream also comes in a trio this year and it’s my husband’s favorite hand cream formula.)

Last but not least, one thing I like to do for smaller gifts is split up sets and mix and match things. It’s like giving stocking stuffers but one step up. I’m completely obsessed with Sugarfina Champagne Gummy Bears ($7 to $20 depending on size) and I’m so excited Nordstrom has these!! There are a few sweet sets which you can’t go wrong with. I think it would be really fun to mix a small box of gummies with a hand cream and mini candle from a set or mini lip gloss.

I hope you found some ideas from my first holiday gift guide this season! What do you have on your list? I’m up for more inspiration or suggestions as I’ve just started my holiday shopping and have a lot more on my list.

Many thanks to Nordstrom for teaming up to sponsor this post. All items purchased by me. As always, all opinions my own.