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Products that fall under the beauty umbrella, like hand soaps and candles, almost always make a great gift — but if you’re talking about skin and hair care products, things can get a bit trickier. That’s because so many beauty products are gimmicky rather than effective, and since people’s hair and skin types vary so widely, knowing what types of products someone else will actually use can be tough. Instead of taking a risk, stick with a product that’s universally adored and versatile enough to work for anyone. For example, the 40 beauty products featured here are extremely popular gifts because they work so well — so if you’re shopping for someone else, there’s practically no risk involved.
Though the products on this list fall into different categories — hair, skin, and makeup — they all have a few things in common. One, they boast firm fan followings or come highly recommend by our own team of editors; two, they’re aesthetically pleasing (a key factor when it comes to choosing a great gift); and most importantly, they really, truly do work. So what do you have to lose? By choosing a gift off this list, you’re practically guaranteed to please the beauty enthusiast in your life — though it may come as no surprise that you’ll find a few things for yourself, too.
1This Cult Korean Cleansing Set For Bright, Radiant Skin
Brighten up your skin with this two-step cleansing set from K-beauty powerhouse The Face Shop. The lightweight cleansing oil goes on first to break down your makeup, followed by the gentle cleansing foam to remove any leftover residue. Both are made with rice water, an ingredient used in Asian beauty for its brightening and softening properties, and they feature the same heavenly-fresh scent. You’ll get two bottles of the cleansing foam in this set, the smaller size being perfect for travel.
2This Easy-To-Use Eye Balm That Brightens, Hydrates, & Cools
Made with probiotic extracts and superfoods — like caffeine, aloe, and blueberry, to name a few — as well as hyaluronic acid, rosewater, and rosehip oil, TULA’s Brightening Eye Balm can be used anytime, anywhere to soothe, hydrate, and brighten your under-eye area. Since it has a subtle hint of shimmer to it, it can also be used as a highlighter for your cheekbones.
3A Wave Spray That Makes Your Hair Shiny & Soft, Not Crunchy Or Stiff
Oribe’s Apres Beach Wave & Shine Spray makes effortless beach waves attainable no matter your proximity to the ocean, with plenty of shine and without any added crunchiness. It’s designed to swell the hair shaft and create piece-y texture with light hold, making it the perfect one-and-done product to give hair an effortless, wavy look. Fans of the product especially love its distinct Cote D’Azur scent and how convenient it is to use. “So easy and fun to work with,” raved one of the 800-plus reviewers who gave the product five stars. “Spray, scrunch, done!”
4This Gaga-Approved Lip Gloss That Any Makeup-Lover Would Appreciate
With mostly five-star ratings on Amazon, this lip gloss from HAUS LABORATORIES (Lady Gaga’s beauty brand) sparkles and shines like the pop star herself. Available in over 30 colors (some shimmery, some not), this versatile gloss can be layered on top of your lipstick to punch things up, or worn alone for a more subtle effect. Its glamorous, creamy finish and multi-dimensional shine are sure to win over even the toughest critic on your gift list.
- Available colors: 31
5The Life-Changing Styling Tool That Anyone With Long Hair Should Own
Revlon’s One-Step Hair Dryer Brush is a number-one best-seller for a reason — plenty of reasons actually, according to its 200,000-plus fans on Amazon (and thousands — or maybe even millions — more around the globe). Designed to style, dry, and volumize your hair in one step, the vented brush comes with three heat settings and tufted bristles to give you better control. It’ll make your life so much easier, especially if you have long hair, as it takes all the fuss out of drying and styling your hair. The perfect gift for any busy person (or anyone with hair, really).
6A 10-Pack Of TonyMoly’s Most Popular Sheet Masks
From skin-soothing calendula to moisturizing Aloe, this 10-piece set of pulp sheet masks from K-Beauty brand TONYMOLY is designed to hydrate, soothe and soften a variety of skin types. Simply apply to a freshly-cleansed face and wait 20 to 30 minutes before patting dry. “These soothe, plump and moisturize my skin like none other,” one of its five-star reviewers enthused. Keep them stored in the freezer for a luxurious cooling effect.
7A Set Of 5 Handy Makeup Sponges That Come With A Holder
These versatile makeup sponges work with every product in your routine, whether it’s powder, concealer, or liquid foundation, and even come with a flexible sponge holder for drying out between uses. Fans on Amazon love how they feel — “They are super soft and expand a great deal once wet,” one reviewer explained — and agree that they’re a steal for the price. Plus, with its charming pink gift box, the set arrives ready-made for gifting.
8This Fan-Favorite Body Oil With A Sultry, Spicy-Sweet Scent
Spray on a thin layer of the weightless Moroccanoil Dry Body Oil after showering and lightly massage into your skin for soft, silky results. Infused with argan, olive, and avocado oils, this soothing and absorbent body oil has beguiled thousands of Amazon users for not just how it feels, but smells, too (that’s thanks to the brand’s signature, spicy-sweet fragrance). “Nothing smells better,” one reviewer raved. “So many people I know have started using this product because I showed it to them,” another wrote.
9A Leave-In Conditioner That Works Miracles On All Hair Types
Give the gift of this moisturizing leave-in conditioner and find out why it brands itself as a miracle. Or just ask the 2,000-plus fans on Amazon who can’t live without it. “OMG, this has been such a huge time-saver for me in the mornings,” one reviewer raved. “A must for tangled hair,” declared another. Specifically designed for all hair types, the lightweight conditioning spray goes onto clean, towel-dried hair to moisturize, strengthen, smooth, and enhance shine, among other things. Its pink, holographic packaging is basically begging for it to be wrapped up and gifted.
10A Small-But-Mighty Skin Care Trio That Covers All Your Daytime Bases
This ultra-popular skin care set from I DEW CARE lets the lucky recipient on your gift list take their vitamins “to glow” with its full-size Plush Party lip mask, travel-sized moisturizer, and mini brightening serum. (If you prefer something more revitalizing, you can opt for the The Mighty Trio set). Either way, these fact-acting trios are sure to become a skin care staple for whomever gives it a try, and come ready-made for a quick gift wrap.
11A Cult-Favorite Shower Oil That Leaves Skin Silky & Smells Like Pastries
Over 80% of Amazon customers who’ve tried L’Occitane’s Almond Shower Oil have reported that it is, in fact, perfect. “It smells amazing and lasts a really long time,” one reviewer said. “Especially wonderful for dry skin,” explained another. Rich in almond oil and nourishing lipids, this luxe French shower oil can be used for both cleansing and shaving, and is designed to leave skin satiny-soft all over. Bonus points for the fact that it smells like freshly baked almond croissants.
12A Set Of 6 Organic Lip Balms For Less Than $10
The perfect stocking stuffer or small gift for the green beauty lover in your life, this set from Cliganic comes with six USDA certified-organic lip balms in assorted flavors (including one unscented option). Divvy them up and give one each out to your friends, or save the whole box for the most devoted lip balm obsessive you know.
13A Bottle Of 100% Pure Marula Oil At An Amazing Price
As far as face oils go, marula oil is the gold standard since it’s noncomedogenic, fast absorbing, and boasts so many skin benefits, thanks to its high concentrations of antioxidants and fatty acids. In addition to slathering it all over your face as a moisturizer, you can use this versatile oil on your hair to hydrate the ends or tame unwanted flyaways; to soften cuticles; or even to remove your makeup.
14A Set Of 18 High-Quality Makeup Brushes That Look & Feel Expensive
A set of 18 high-quality makeup brushes for $15? Sold. In addition to its unbeatable price, you (or your lucky gift recipient) will love these brushes for their super-soft bristles, luxe rose-gold hardware, and the sheer range of shapes and sizes on offer, from a big, fluffy blush powder brush to a fine-tip eyeliner brush. The order comes with a sleek black case for storage, as an added bonus.
15A Soothing Rosewater Mist Infused With Hydrating Glycerin
Buying skin care products for other people can be risky, but this Heritage Store rosewater mist is so simple and gentle, it’s a safe bet for any skin type — or any skin care routine. Made with a blend of purified water, glycerin, and rose flower oil, this mist works to soothe, hydrate, and refresh your skin, whether you use it in lieu of toner; after applying your makeup; or for midday refreshes. Might as well pick up a bottle for yourself, while you’re at it.
16An Oil Cleanser & Lip Cream Duo That Nourish Dry Skin & Lips
Along with the cult-favorite DHC Deep Cleansing Oil — one of the best, most effective makeup removers on the market — this order comes with the brand’s equally beloved lip cream, a soothing, nourishing treat for dry lips. The oil is a must for makeup wearers, but even people who don’t wear makeup will love how soft and supple it makes their skin feel — and pretty much anyone can appreciate a soothing and protecting lip balm.
17This Award-Winning Serum That Promotes Thicker, Longer Lashes In Weeks
This award-winning lash serum promises to promote stronger, longer lashes in weeks, thanks to a potent combination of amino acids, hyaluronic acid, and several antioxidant-rich botanicals. According to over 15,000 Amazon reviewers who left it a five-star rating or review, the serum lives up to that promise: “My lashes are so long, and it's like I have a double row of lashes,” one reviewer wrote, while another raved, “My lashes are so long and have become darker...when I wear this with my good mascara, people always ask if I have falsies on-and I'm a blonde!!!”
18A 3-Piece Skin Set From An Amazing Black-Owned Brand
Made by Black-owned brand Buttah by Dorion Renaud, this three-piece set checks off all your most essential skin care boxes. It’s sold in three versions, all of which come with the brand’s vitamin C serum and gentle gel cleanser, but you get to choose from three moisturizers: a rich shea butter for your face, a lightweight gel cream made with hyaluronic acid, or a nourishing cream made of both cocoa and shea butter.
19The Hair-Repairing Treatment That All The Pros Swear By
Pretty much every beauty editor and professional hair stylist swear by Olaplex No. 3 for repairing dry, weakened, damaged hair. If you, or someone else in your life, do a lot of dyeing, highlighting, and/or heat styling, it’s a must-have. One Amazon reviewer wrote, “This literally changed my life. I am so amazed at how incredibly well this product works even from just one use. My hair has never been so soft, shiny, and healthy in my entire life! I just wish I started using this sooner.”
20A Set Of Skin Care Tools To Cover All Your Spa-Day Bases
Take at-home spa days to the next level with this four-piece skin tool set. Included, you get a classic jade roller, a ridged jade roller, a gua sha, and a silicone brush. The former three are great for massaging, soothing, and sculpting your face, while the latter is ideal for applying clay masks and other mess-prone skin care products. It’s a great gift for anyone who could use an at-home spa day.
21A Collection Of All The Makeup You Could Ever Need
So many all-in-one makeup sets contain makeup that — to put it gently — isn’t the best quality, but not this one. It comes from Physicians Formula, one of the best drugstore makeup brands, and it contains their best-selling bronzers (in eight shades), as well as blushes, highlighters, eyeshadows, and lipsticks. There’s even a pop-up mirror inside, so it’s the perfect kit to take with you when you travel.
22A Boar Bristle Hair Brush That’ll Last A Lifetime
This Misel boar bristle brush is an amazing, much-less-expensive alternative to the iconic Mason Pearson hair brush. If cleaned and cared for properly, it can last a lifetime, making it a worthwhile onetime investment. It helps promote smooth, silky hair by distributing the natural oils from your scalp evenly throughout your hair, and it’s great for styling and detangling, too.
233 Water-Light Lip & Cheek Tints In Assorted Colors
Get not one, not two, but three of Etude House’s best-selling Dear Darling Water Tints for just $15. These buildable tints can be used on both your lips and cheeks, and elsewhere if you’re creative, and come in three shades to suit any makeup look: orange, pink, and red.
24A Bubble Bath That’s Great For The Body & Mind
Not only does this Dr Teals foaming bath produce lots of bubbles, but thanks to the infusion of ginger, clay, and epsom salts, it’s also good for your body and mind. This would make a nice gift for athletes or anyone who could use some major unwinding time, but since a bottle costs just $5, you may as well pick one up for yourself, too.
25A Sunscreen That’s Truly Invisible On Everyone
Supergoop!’s Unseen Sunscreen has developed a cult-like following for its truly invisible formula and lightweight, barely-there. An amazing gift for the skin care obsessive in your life, trust us: There’s no way they’re not going to appreciate (and use) this.
26A Starter Kit For Doing Your Own Gel Manis & Pedis At Home
For the person who’s never without a manicure, gift them the ease of doing their nails at home with this genius DIY gel polish kit. The best-selling kit comes with everything you need to get started, including a UV curing lamp, seven bottles of polish, a base coat, top coat, and nail primer, nail art stickers, and all the tools you’d ever need, from files to clippers to cuticle pushers. All of that, for just $50.
27The Best Mascara In The World, According To In-The-Know Shoppers
In-the-know beauty insiders — editors, Redditors, makeup arists, et cetera — will tell you that Heroine Make is the best mascara on the market. It’s a hard-to-find, waterproof mascara from Japan, but thanks to Amazon, you can get it easily Stateside now. It’s notoriously hard to remove, though (it’s so waterproof, you can swim in it), so consider including the brand’s mascara remover in your gift bag.
28A Spa-Worthy Facial Cleansing Brush For Less Than $25
Facial cleansing brushes are infamously expensive — but this one, from Olay, isn’t, and it works just as well as its pricier counterparts. A number-one best-seller on Amazon, it comes two brush heads, one for deeper exfoliation and another for daily cleansing. It comes packaged in a ready-to-gift box, and even includes the required batteries.
29A Flat Iron With Over 50,000 Five-Star Amazing Ratings
If someone you know could use a new straightener (or maybe you’re that person), you simply can’t go wrong with the HSI flat iron. It’s the most popular flat iron on Amazon, with over 50,000 five-star ratings and 20,000-plus five star reviews. As a bonus, it comes with a glove to protect your hand, a packet of argan oil, and a silk pouch for storing the iron away when you’re traveling.
30A Skin-Soothing Bath Soak Made With Lavender, Manuka Honey, & More
If you have dry, sensitive, or irritated skin, meet your new favorite bath soak. It’s made with some of the best soothing and nourishing ingredients out there, like colloidal oatmeal, manuka honey, chamomile, and calendula, while lavender adds a calming touch, making it great for P.M. soaks. Amazon reviewers have reported success with treating dry skin, eczema, muscle pain, and more.
31A Pro-Quality Eyebrow Kit That Comes With Everything You Need
This brow kit contains everything you (or someone else) needs for flawless brows, including brow powders in a variety of shades to suit any hair color and/or skin tone. It also comes with a double-sided brush, tweezers, a stencil, brow pomade, and more. Whether you use the stencil or not, this kit is great for both newbies and professionals alike.
32A Light-Up Makeup Mirror That’s Great For Travel
A great gift for the person who’s always traveling, this light-up makeup mirror can be folded down to the size of a small tablet, so it’ll take up barely any space in a bag. When you are using it, it stays upright and illuminates your face so you can see exactly what you’re doing, even in bad lighting. “The light on this mirror is so bright and has a ton of different settings. If, like me, you struggle to accurately apply makeup in your bathroom mirror, with its unflattering overhead lighting—this is for you. Well designed, USB cable (no batteries to worry about). Good value, great product,” one Amazon reviewer summed up.
33A Clay Mask Made With All The Most Effective Purifying & Exfoliating Ingredients
This mask from green beauty brand Follain quite literally contains all the best ingredients for purifying, resurfacing, and exfoliating your skin, including three types of clays and AHAs, BHAs, and PHAs (in the form of salicylic acid, lactic acid, glycolic acid, and gluconolactone). What’s more, it’s made with antioxidant-rich botanicals to boost your skin’s radiance, as well as glycerin and grapeseed oil to leave your skin smooth and soft, not dry and tight.
34A Skin-Smoothing Body Scrub That Smells Like Coconut
Any product that can be used for pampering makes a great gift, like this Brooklyn Botany body scrub. It uses Dead Sea salts to exfoliate and coconut milk to moisturize, and it smells like a delicious, coconut-y dessert. If you don’t love coconut, it also comes five other versions, like coffee, blueberry, and lavender.
35One Of The Best Liquid Lipsticks Out There — Period
You literally can’t go wrong with a tube of stila’s Stay All Day liquid lipstick. The budge-proof lipstick truly stays on all day long, and it dries down instantly — no risk of smudging. Choose from 18 stunning shades, from ‘Beso’ (pictured), a true red favored by AOC, to ‘Romanza’, a rosy nude that looks amazing on everyone.
- Available shades: 18
363 Gorgeously Packaged Tins Of Pure, Whipped Shea Butter
These three tins of pure, whipped shea butter from mother-daughter duo Eu’Genia make a truly perfect gift. Not only are they beautifully packaged, but they can be used all over your body to promote super-smooth, moisturized skin. It’s also a gift that lets you give back: 15% of the company’s profits go back to the founders’ communities in Ghana to fund education initiatives.
37This Cult-Favorite Exfoliating Gel From Japan
Made with activated hydrogen water, this cult Japanese exfoliating gel is a gentle alternative to other, harsher chemical exfoliants — but it does just as good of a job at leaving your skin smooth, bright, and soft. And when we say cult, we mean it: It’s the number-one best-selling exfoliator in Japan. Gift a bottle to the beauty obsessive in your life who will appreciate this rare, under-the-radar find.
38A Handy Toiletry Bag For Your Most No-Nonsense Giftee
With a near-perfect 4.8-star score, over 15,000 five-star ratings, and number-one best-seller status on Amazon, this BAGSMART toiletry bag is sure to please any practically-minded beauty lover in your life. It’s just so dang useful. Water resistant and easy to carry, it works as both a bathroom catch-all and trusted companion for travel, be it overseas adventuring or just a quick trip to the gym. It’s available in a range of colors from neutral to bold, with transparent inner pockets that make finding and grabbing toiletries a breeze.
- Available colors: 6
39This Bold & Beloved Dye For Magical Unicorn Hair
We all know and love mermaid hair. Unicorn hair, though? That’s next level — and it can be yours, or a loved one’s, with a bottle of Lime Crime Unicorn Hair Dye. Available in bold, whimsical shades like ‘Bubblegum Rose’, ‘Dirty Mermaid’, and ‘Strawberry Jam’, this full coverage, damage-free dye is designed to leave hair feeling soft and smooth, and to effortlessly wash out over time. With over 6,000 five-star ratings on Amazon, this popular hair dye has captivated users of all ages and hair types. “I went from a dull silver/rose to a vibrant magenta!” one reviewer raved. “So pigmented,” commented another. “It smells really good, too.”
- Available colors: 10
40A Lavender-Scented Peel That Gives You Baby-Soft Feet
“I started using Baby Foot every couple of months a year ago and my feet are now soft and smooth,” one of the whopping 30,000-plus fans of this lavender-scented foot mask on Amazon raved. Crafted from 16 natural extracts including lavender, orange, grapefruit, sage, and chamomile, the single-use foot mask is designed to contour to a range of foot sizes and exfoliate feet for a baby-soft feel. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more thoughtful gift for the athletes in your life.