In this edition of The Gift, we dish on our favorite (highly giftable) beauty products. Plus: the best lotions, retinols, and what to get for a 90th birthday.
At Wirecutter I cover beauty and gifts, but the truth is, I rarely combine the two. Beauty products are so deeply personal, I’m reluctant to make any assumptions. Who am I to say whether someone might like a scented or unscented face cream, or a mauve or mahogany lipstick? Do they even wear lipstick? Or are they a gloss devotee? The spiral begins. I’d be more likely to gift pickle Band-Aids than eyeliner.
It’s only recently that I’ve realized how much joy I’ve been leaving on the table in my gift-giving game. There’s an intimacy to people’s relationships with their beauty products. The elixirs and serums they slather on their faces, fingers, and toes take on an almost mythical significance. Which means if you really nail it, by bestowing a really great beauty find, you’re helping create that for them. How lovely!
A few guardrails: I still don’t gift skin care (for the most part), and I’d suggest you don’t either. (Gifting to yourself? Totally allowed—more on that below.) And I look for finds that are both universal and unexpected, plus lovely and a little splurgey.
If that sounds like a tall order, here are a few ideas:
- I can’t get through the first five minutes of a catch-up with non-beauty-industry pals without a plea for tips. I always start by recommending this famous eye shadow palette, which is filled with 12 mostly pink-hued neutrals in a variety of matte and shimmery finishes. It’s as close to a universal palette as I’ve ever found, and excellent for easy-breezy everyday looks and more layered, smoky beats, too. And I recently discovered this cutie lip and cheek balm, which I’ve found myself reaching for almost daily because it’s so silky and versatile.
- For the friend who already knows a thing or two about beauty, you can really blow them away with this refillable lip compact. The case is cool and heavy in the hand, almost like a river stone, but the color inside is rich and modern. One side houses a fine powder pigment, the other a clear, creamy balm. It comes in four one-size-fits-all shades—so there’s no need to worry about dialing in a color-match for skin tone.
- I was always a bit of a face mask-skeptic until I tried this luxurious one. The first ingredient is silica pulled from the geothermal waters of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon. (The second ingredient? Seawater.) The first time I used it, I was in the midst of a hormonal breakout. Not only did it calm my redness almost immediately, but my skin also felt notably soft for most of the following week. I think it’d be great alongside a spa headband or one of these cute get-ready-with-me headbands all the kids are wearing.
- If you have a teenager in your life, you know they’re hard to impress, especially when it comes to hair, makeup, and skin-care products. But all the teens I’ve polled assure me that this shiny lip balm is a status symbol and these glowy serum drops will finish any beat. (I’ve tried and love both.)
- Lastly, if you’re looking ahead to Mother’s Day, just a few more ideas for the moms out there. This golden hair pin makes even my saddest mom bun look polished and intentional, and this orb of moisturizer in a twisty bamboo canister feels like a gift every time I get out of the shower. My own mom is a bath aficionado, and for years I’ve given her this sampler of bath and shower gels. This suite of 12 truly unique scents (pink pepper, sea fennel, ginger) lasts her the whole year.
As always, don’t forget a gift for yourself, too. Beyond suggesting you check out our new skin-care recommendations for yourself, I also love this dual-ended makeup brush. While it’s designed for contouring, I use it for any makeup. I’ve never seen a brush like it; it’s fancy. A unicorn, really. (How’s that for mythical significance?)
