Christmas beauty gift sets for your friend who loves a good skincare routine
We can always count on Aesop to debut dreamy gift sets during the holidays. This year is no different, but if we had our pick, we’d suggest you get Aesop's The Metaphysical Voyager. After all, it contains products that are the building blocks to good skin — hydration. The illustration is inspired by Brazillian novelist Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis’ ‘The Delirium’, which tells the story of a fever dream where the narrator sits atop a flying hippo. The story itself is available in an e-book and audiobook download as part of the gift set, alongside the Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Facial Hydrating Cream and Lucent Facial Concentrate. The gift box is a biodegradable case made from 100 percent recycled material.
Just in case you’ve run out of Shiseido’s iconic and best-selling serum – the Ultimune – you can now stock up for another one that’s dressed in a limited-edition holiday packaging designed by Noritaka Tatehana: Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate Limited Edition. For those who have yet to be acquainted with the goodness of the Ultimune serum, its core aim is to strengthen skin’s defences from within. By building a strong resistance, it prevents damages against free radicals and outside pollutants. As a result, skin is smooth, radiant, resilient, and healthy.
Purchase the Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate Limited Edition at any Shiseido counters nationwide.
Laneige may be known for its sleeping mask, but its lip sleeping mask series also deserves worthy recognition. It’s the perfect final step in your nighttime skincare routine — just slather on a film of the lip sleeping mask and you’ll wake up to a perfectly smooth and hydrated pout. The fact that it comes in such yummy flavours is also a big bonus.
For this Celebrate Holiday! Lip Sleeping Mask Set, Laneige will be debuting three variants, two of which are limited-edition flavours: Lemon and Grape. The signature Berry flavour is, of course, in the set that comes with a cute tassel for you to dangle on your Christmas tree, if you so wish.
The Laneige Celebrate Holiday! collection is available at all Laneige beauty counters and boutiques nationwide.
SK-II’s Facial Treatment Essence needs little introduction; it has, after all, been dubbed ‘Miracle Water’ for its ability to bring even the dullest skin back to life with the proprietary PITERA. The formulation of this cult favourite might’ve remained unchanged for 40 years, but that hasn’t stopped SK-II from reimagining its iconic bottles for the festive season with the launch of its SK-II Treatment Essence Yellow Street Art Skincare Set.
This bold iteration sees edgy street art by global artists replace its usual frosted glass version and comes with its own matching Furoshiki — a Japanese gift-wrapping cloth— that can even be used as an accessory long after. The limited-edition kit also comes with its clear lotion, gentle cleanser, and the RNA POWER Radical New Age Cream to supercharge your skin.
Available at all SK-II counters nationwide.
Packed within a velvety zip-up case that’ll one day find a second life as a handy travel pouch, the Sulwhasoo Clarifying & Overnight Vitalizing Mask Duo Set set comprises Sulwhasoo’s Overnight Vitalizing Mask and the Clarifying Mask, both of which have become synonymous with clear, radiant skin. The former is a Korean herbal medicine sleeping mask that promises to deliver rejuvenation and moisture while you sleep, while the Sulwhasoo Clarifying Mask is a peel-off mask that speeds up dead skin cell turnover rates to help to clarify the skin. Both offer Sulwhasoo’s signature herbal aroma, a comforting fragrance that alleviates tension before you sleep.
Available at all Sulwhasoo boutiques and counters, Zalora, and Lazada.
Know of someone who could use a glow-up? Korean beauty and skincare startup Glow Recipe makes it easy the Glow Recipe Glow Together Skincare Kit containing two most popular products: The Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask and Ultra-Fine Mist. The antioxidant-rich duo is concentrated with actual watermelon juice and flesh, as well as hyaluronic acid and AHA for hydrated, smooth skin the next morning. For a quick pick-me-up, the travel-sized mist delivers a juicy spritz of freshness while also enhancing makeup.
For the hardcore skincare enthusiast, only the best will do. The Dr. Dennis Gross Peel Glow Be Merry Skincare Kit is filled with superstars such as the Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel, which delivers a strong dose of acids, antioxidants, and vitamins that help increase cell turnover while treating deep lines and wrinkles. The Vitamin C+Collagen Brighten + Firm Serum and Vitamin C+Collagen Deep Cream both provide serious hydration for dry, thirsty skin, all while evening out skin tone for a healthy, glowing complexion.
Drunk Elephant’s got its own SOS kit just in time for the yuletide season too. The Drunk Elephant Dewy the Polypeptide Skincare Kit is a complete arsenal of everything you need for hydrated and dewy skin, starting from Slaai, a makeup-melting butter cleanser to A-Passioni, a vegan retinol cream for lasting hydration and younger-looking complexion. The kit also contains the brand’s Bamboo Booster Exfoliator to brighten dull skin, as well as its Protini Polypeptide Cream and B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum.
Here’s a gift set you might want to keep for your own collection: The Revitalizing Hydration Collection from La Mer. Housed in a pouch you’ll want to bring everywhere you travel to (fingers crossed), the gift set comprises The Cleansing Foam (30ml), the Revitalizing Hydrating Serum (30ml), and of course, the Crème de la Mer (30ml). The perfect trio to give you smooth, moisturised skin.
Available at all La Mer counters and boutiques nationwide.
Why stop at one good thing when you can have two? With Dr. Jart+’s Best Cream Duo gift set, you get the best of both moisturising worlds: calming and hydrating. The Best Cream Duo comprises a Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Cream and Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Cream, both of which have been popular in its own camp of fans.
The Cicapair Cream is perfect for sensitised skin and contains Centella Asiatica Extract to calm irritation and redness occuring within the skin. Meanwhile, the Ceramiding Cream has 5-Cera Complex which aims to quench dehydrated skin, lock in moisture, and prevent further moisture loss within the skin. It’s perfect for those who have extremely dry skin.
The Dr. Jart+’s Best Cream Duo gift set is available online and in-stores at Sephora.
Give the gift of perfectly clean skin to whoever you think needs it with the Foreo Winter Set. The gift set comprises a Foreo Luna Mini 3 and a Micro Foam Cleanser (100ml), which will kick start the quest for good skin. After all, with well-cleansed skin comes better skin — you might want to make that a New Year’s resolution for 2021. We absolutely love the 30-second Glow Boost cleansing mode that speeds up the process without compromising on skin’s cleanliness.
The Foreo holiday gift sets are available online and in-stores at Sephora.
And lastly, those with sensitive skin have probably experienced dry skin on their hands this year from extra washing and hand sanitisers. Much like a facial for the hands, a hand cream goes a long long way for comfort and aroma. Get them the Dr. Hauschka Festive Hand Care Gift Set, containing a shower cream, hydrating hand cream, and Neem nail and cuticle pen.
Dr. Hauschka is available online on their website and Facebook.
