2016 Gift Guide: No need to be stumped when Sephora’s around

NARS’s Liquid Gold Set ($42), one of the many fantastic Christmas and Hanukkah gifts you’ll find at Sephora.

For some of my giftees, Christmas shopping is easy. By September I already know what I’m getting them. Then there are other gift recipients who stump me or last minute recipients who propose exchanging gifts after I’ve made my lists.

For those who stump and those who surprise, Sephora is a godsend. Their plentiful gift section is overflowing with ideas for anyone — male or female — with options that are sure to fit your gifting parameters.

Have  friend who loves a little brightness and sparkle? I highly recommend gifting them the Liquid Gold Set ($42), a trio of rose gold highlights with subtle shimmer that sets off an outfit of deep jewel tones perfectly. Other good gift options for sparkle, shimmer and shine are the bareMinerals Let It Glow Set ($39) and the Stila Stay All Day®, Sparkle All Night Set ($39).

Inside, more gift ideas sure to please when it’s presents opening time…

Help your jet-setting friends stay moisturized with the Moroccanoil Hydrating Travel Kit ($48).

Anyone who travels a lot can tell you this time of year is particularly hard on skin and hair — all that dryness up in the air. Help your friends and family replenish their moisture in the cute, travel-sized Moroccanoil Hydrating Travel Kit ($48). These products are some of the best out there for quick hydration — this set keeps selling out — and it comes in an adorable reusable pouch your traveler is sure to appreciate.

In this same vein, I also really like the carry-on friendly Iles Formula Discovery Pack ($24) which focuses on hair. Dosed for long hair (and therefore longer lasting if your hair is shorter), these serums give an instant shine to even the dullest hair, which is just what one needs for the holidays. The serums also come in a larger pack, the Iles Formula Haute Performance Set ($99) which is an amazing value but will need to go in checked luggage. The latter sells out quite quickly when it is available!

For skin, the MILK MAKEUP Limited Edition Triple Threat Glow Set ($42) is a travel-ready winner. With products for facial hydration and highlighting, this is the kind of set someone can travel with, use on the trip and then dispose of, freeing up room in their bag for trip-purchased goodies. The MILK MAKEUP It’s All a Blur Set ($48) has even more products to try on the road and comes in a very cool reusable clutch.

A full line of skincare awaits in Amore Pacific’s Essentials Collection ($65).

Of course you needn’t travel to feel winter’s wrath on your skin, and one of my favorite skin care lines has a surprisingly complete gift set that’s sure to delight anyone who unwraps it. The Amore Pacific Essentials Collection ($65) delivers cleansing, hydration and repair in gentle, soothing products that don’t harm sensitive skin like mine. I’m a really big fan of this set!

The scent of Fresh products always make me think of the holidays, and the Fresh Skincare Treasures ($67) is a set I like to leave out for guests when they come to stay with me. Face cleanser, polish, and creme all have presence here in a SPF-15 form. Your face will feel great, and you’ll smell wonderful too! With very close friends I’ll send them home with the Fresh Mini Mask Spa ($93), a set of polishes and masks to use just before bed and overnight to wake up feeling and looking refreshed. The set sells out quickly, but I have seen it come back into stock a few times now. Grab it while you can!

When I’m hosted, great hostess gifts include the Origins Bestsellers ($45) set and the L’Occitane Hand Cream Soirée ($79). Both come in beautiful packaging and have a wide array of products to try and delight in!

A cute clutch never hurts! Great color assortment awaits in the 

For the friend who’s always asking what lip color to get, there are a plethora of gift sets to help them find the right options. I lean towards gifting the Marc Jacobs Beauty Up All Night Five-Piece Petites Le Marc Lip Crème Collection ($49) myself, because I adore gift sets that come with cute reusable clutches! This set is also very helpful in that it has a wide range of colors.

If staying power is your friend’s complaint, then the NARS Mind Game Velvet Lip Glide Set ($45), a rouge to dark red gloss set, is where you should turn. The colors are all semi-matte with all-day-all-night lasting power (I can personally attest to it!).

For friends whose lips fall prey to wind and dryness, then I’d gift them the Fresh Sugar Lip Spree ($37). This set is always a hit for Christmas! Just warn your giftee that these smell amazing, to the point that it’s hard to resist eating them off your lips. Not that I’d know from personal experience or anything…

And then, if you have someone close to you that you really want to delight, then let them open a small box to find one of Tom Ford’s Soleil Lip Foils ($53) in the box. At $50+ a pop these lipsticks are not cheap, but they have a brilliant application that tends to last all day and there’s something very fun about knowing you have a stunning lip foil in your purse at all times. My favorites are Venus Rising, a light pop of pink that brightens up the cold weather blahs, and Aperture, a warm mauve with cinnamon undertones.

The Marc Jacobs Fragrances Daisy Gift Set ($104) will look great displayed and smell great on.

I have a friend who loves to display her perfumes. Visiting her beauty area is always a delight because I love to look at all the options in their fun bottles. So I have no doubt that she’ll love the Marc Jacobs Fragrances Daisy Gift Set ($104), which looks display-ready and happens to smell amazing too. It’s one a few display sets Marc Jacobs has — I also like the Decadence Gift Set ($128) and the Daisy Dream Gift Set ($104).

Fragrance gifts should look cute in my opinion, a feeling that the MIU MIU Gift Set ($97), Chloé Roses de Chloé Gift Set ($127), Dior J’adore Gift Set ($104) and deeply fragrant TOM FORD BLACK ORCHID Gift Set ($150) all seem to share. Any of those sets will please both visually and olfactorally. (Yes I just made up a word.)

For the friend that’s still trying to find her scent, gift her the Sephora Favorites Perfume Sampler ($65), an array that’s sure to last the year and help her find what feels good on. You can give a friend a little taste of luxury with the HERMÈS 4-Piece Colognes Collection Travel Set ($128), or gift her my personal favorite the Chloé Chloe Signature Gift Set ($80) which has amazing skin lotion in it. My skin never feels as silky as with that stuff!

Your guy will enjoy the Ralph Lauren World of Polo Gift Set ($60) especially if he’s always asking what cologne you like — trust me, you’ll like these.

What kind of makeup gifts do you like to gift and receive?


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