Holiday Gift Guide: Makeup & Scent Edit

One of my favorite things to gift around the holidays is makeup. there are just so many  gorgeous gift sets that come out this time of year. It seems like everywhere I turn, there is a new eyeshadow palette or lip set popping up. It can get a bit overwhelming to know what is worth picking up. And if you’re trying to shop smaller brands, it can be ever more difficult to know where to look.

The second in my gift guide series, these are my favorite makeup & scent gifts this season.

 

FACE    ————————————————————————————————————————-

Linda Hallberg Infinity Palette

Want a palette that can do everything? Contour, Bronzer, Blush, Highlight, Brows, Eyes. This bad boy is a power house palette. With a beautiful silky formula, this is the perfect travel palette. The Infinity Palette comes in a combination of four warm and four cool shades, in both matte and shimmery finishes. The best part about is? I truly believe that almost any skin tone could use this.

Kosas Color & Light Cheek Duos

Small enough to fit in a stocking, these cheek duos prove that great things come in small packages.

These cheek duo come in both cream & powder finishes and include a blush as well as highlight. The two that I have included are Tropic Equinox (Cream) & Papaya 1972 (Pressed Powder). I must say that if you like a natural highlight, then the highlights in these are perfection.

The pressed formula is one of the most finely missed powders I’ve ever used, making it incredibly silky. Because of how smooth these are, they almost feel like a cream to the touch allowing them to never feel drying or cakey on the skin. When it comes to blush shades I am very picky & Kosas really has outdone themselves on this one. This truly is the perfect nude-coral shade. Be warned though, the blush does have a good amount of pigmentation to it, so I would recommend using a light hand (as I would recommend for all blushes) & building up to the color you want.

The cream version has an almost oil based consistency to it, so if you have oilier skin, you may want to opt for the powder formulation instead. If you like a dewy look, this is beautiful. I love this specific one (Tropic Equinox) because the blush shade works perfectly as a cream bronzer on my pale complexion & since most days all I use is a bronzer & highlight, this is the perfect on the go duo.

Want both of these shades AND two lipsticks? Kosas makes an Alter Ego set in Future Icon which comes with both of these Cheek Duos as well as a bright red & deep neutral lipsticks.

By Terry Compact Expert Dual Powder

If you are looking for a perfectly milled powder & highlighter compact, then look no further. I believe there are 8 shades available, but since I’m pasty AF, I use the lightest shade: 01 Ivory Fair. All of the shades come with a matte outer ring, perfect for setting your foundation & concealer, and a glimmering highlight in the center. Both powders are incredibly smooth and glide on the skin without grabbing onto any dry patches or accentuating imperfections. The highlight provides almost a lit from within glow without any perceivable glitter particles.

Just looking for a highlight? By Terry recently came out with a Holiday Dual Compact similar to these, but both rings are highlights: By Terry Preciosity Flash Light Dual Compact.

Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Holo

One of the most unique highlighters I have ever come across, Cover FX’s Custom Enhancer Drop in Holo gives of a beautiful lilac glow. These drops can be applied before or after makeup, or mixed into foundation for a luminous glow. I refer to use them mixed into foundation. If a lilac highlight is exactly up your alley, they also offer these drops in a variety of shades that suit almost any skin tone.

 

EYES     ————————————————————————————————————————

Melt Cosmetics Rust Stack

If you are looking for a killer basic matte palette to gift to someone, I would highly suggest looking at Melt Cosmetics. Their Rust Stack is something to be fawned over. The packaging makes it stand out immediately, but it’s really the quality of the shadows that make you reach for it over and over again. The shadows are smooth, buttery, & pigmented while still blending beautifully on the eye. Slightly on the warmer side, I find these shades really make my green eyes stand out, especially the shade Rust (second from the bottom), which has a red undertone.

Linda Hallberg Eyeshadow Palettes

Linda Hallberg calls all of her palettes “multi-functional palettes” because the powder is formulated where you can use them any way you like. These two new palettes I added into the eyes category just because that’s where I thought the shades were most suited, but you are able to use them all over the face & body.

Metallic Mysteries

My personal favorite of the two newly released palettes, specifically because I’m likely to use it more in my everyday makeup routine, these four intense metallic shadows are not quite as soft as the Enchanted Secrets & Infinity Palettes, but give of the most beautiful reflective sheen to the eye. With 3 intense metallic shimmers & one metallic infused with sparkle (Collision), these shades are beautiful as a wash of color all over the eye or as a bright pop in the center of the lid.

Enchanted Secrets

Enchanted Secrets Duochrome Palette is hands down one of the most unique palettes Linda Hallberg offers. These duochrome shadows are softer than silk & transform depending on which color you use underneath. They can be used dry for a light wash of reflective color, or over a dark base to really make the duochrome effect stand out.

Natasha Denona Sunset Palette

One of the most beautiful palettes I have ever seen, I have been debating picking this up ever since it first came out. This really would be one of the most luxe palettes that you could get for someone. The formula is perfection, and the shades are absolutely beautiful. If you are looking for a warm toned luxury palette, you really can’t go wrong with this one.

Looking for an cheaper alternative for the Sunset Palette?

Check out the Sephora Pro Warm Palette. At less than half the price, this is a beautiful palette. The formula obviously isn’t as glorious & buttery, but I find it’s still very easy to work with. There is a little bit of kick-up, but the shades are easy to blend and are fairly pigmented.

 

LIPS     ————————————————————————————————————————

Bare Minerals Send Nudes Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lipcolor Trio

My favorite “liquid lipstick”, the Bare Minerals Gen Nude collection has an almost velvety texture that never dries out your lips. These truly are the most comfortable liquid lip that I have tried. These three nudes all have a warm undertone to them, yet somehow look good even on my slightly cooler toned complexion. If you are looking for a nude lip gift set this holiday season, I highly suggest look at Bare Minerals.

Dose Of Colors Holibae Matte Liquid Lipstick Set

Looking for a red liquid lipstick alternative? Look no further than Dose Of Colors. They have some of the most smooth, opaque liquid lipsticks around. While not as moisturizing as the Gen Nude Liquid Lipsticks, these are not overly drying & I don’t find that they crack on my lips.

Clinique Party Pops Set

Prefer an actual lipstick? This set from Clinique comes with two minis of their Pop Lip Color + Primer: Cherry Pop & Plum Pop. Pop Lip Color + Primer has a luxurious, weightless formula that glides effortlessly onto your lips, providing you with saturated color that stays true and lips that stay moisturized for up to eight hours. These travel sized beauties glide on like butter and never accentuate line or creasing in the lips.

Extra Bonus: With a hanger on the top of the packaging, it makes an adorable Christmas Tree ornament

 

SCENT     ———————————————————————————————————————-

Commodity Style Guide/Gold Perfume

Commodity has long been one of my favorite fragrance brands. My #1 fragrance is the Gold perfume from them. It is pure heaven. With a lingering scent of caramel, its the perfect Christmas scent. The full size of any of gorgeous scents from Commodity would be an amazing gift for that special someone.

If you do not want to buy a full size of a single perfume, or are not exactly sure which scent to pick, I would recommend picking up the Commodity Style Guide. With 9 different 2ml samples, whoever you give this too will be able to test out all the different scents that they have to offer. The best part? All of Commodity’s scents are unisex, so the Style Guide will have something for just about anyone on your Christmas list.

Boy Smells Redwood Candle

A newer candle brand to me, Boy Smells has quickly become a brand I truly love. All of Boy Smells candles are made with Beeswax & Coconut Wax blend. In a gorgeous black glass tumbler, REDWOOD reminds me of going to my Grandmothers house for Christmas. With hints of cinnamon laced beneath a slightly powdery top note, I feel like I’m eight again, running around the Christmas tree with my cousins while my Grandma makes diner for us all. Although not a scent I would typically gravitate towards, there is something so comforting about this scent in particular for me.

SKANDINASVIK Candle in JUL 

I have an obsession with candles, specifically luxurious candles. I have a ridiculous collection, spanning from Bath & Body Works, to Diptyque (the ultimate for someone as candle obsessed as me). When Austin & I are home, there is at least one candle burning. So when Christmas rolls around, everyone knows that they are probably getting a fancy candle from me. One of my current favorites is JUL from SKANDINASVIK. This candle exudes Christmas cheer. It’s a richly spiced scent with bold notes of baked gingerbread, melted honey, cloves, and warm eggnog.

 

What makeup/scent gifts are you looking at picking up this holiday season?

 

 

 

** Some of these were sent to me, however, all opinions are my own.

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