Last week, you saw a peek into a holiday wish list. Because it’s Monday, and because I love lists, here’s another gift guide/wish list for any beauty item you might need to perk yourself up after partying too hard over the weekend. A few of these are tried and true products I have tried myself, and a few are recommended by people I trust. All would be great additions to any girl’s holiday party supplies.
- 1. A while ago, I found out a friend of mine liked all the same scents as me, only he was a guy and liked the guy version, and I am a girl and liked the girl version. We are fraternal fragrant twins. Sadly, there is no male cologne version of this, that I know of, but my new favorite perfume is without a doubt this lovely Oscar de la Renta Esprit d’Oscar (shop with at the links!). I got a free sample when I liked Oscar on Facebook, and, man, does it smell good.
- 2. This Nars illuminator is something I never would have tried if it didn’t come highly recommended by @oscarprgirl. I tried, I love, I pass on to you. Would be a great gift for someone who wants to play with new looks, but wouldn’t drop the dough themselves on a product they haven’t tried before. Place a small amount on your fingers (or, you know, a make up sponge if you want to be professional about it) and sweep the apple of your cheeks, bridge of your nose, right above your eyebrows, and across your decolletage to look awake, radiant, and like you really have it all together. It’s a game changer my friends, and it comes in several colors for many skin tones.
- 3. An eye shadow palette. So many colors! So much fun! This one is Bare Minerals, because my friend commented the other day about how she can’t stop thinking about it. Mindy Kaling suggests Urban Decay. I have this one from Mac that I use pretty much every day. Later on this week I’ll show you how eye palettes can do wonders for taking your look from day to night! Get excited.
- 4. I love a cat eye. It just works for me, and I probably abuse the privilege. To make the perfect cat eye, @thisthatbeauty recommends this Stila waterproof liquid eyeliner. It comes in lots of colors, and waterproof will help it last until New Year’s day.
- 5. This Yves Saint Laurent Radiant Touch Touche Eclat comes highly recommended by @Bergdorfs. Can you tell I have a thing for looking bright eyed and bright skinned and bright everything else? I haven’t tried this yet, but always wanted to, and @Bergdorfs has never steered me wrong before. When she discovered it, it filled my Twitter feed for a solid two weeks, so it must be really good.
- 6. A make up brush kit! You’ve already heard how much I love this idea. How often do you buy fancy brushes for yourself? And how often do you hear about how much they matter in your make up routine? The answers are never and often, respectively.
- 7. For stocking stuffers, why not some great chapsticks, tinted or otherwise? If I can help it, I don’t go anywhere without Bert’s Bees’ Pomegranate lip balm. The Cut recommends Fresh’s Sugar Passion.
- 8. For another stocking stuffer, grab a few nail polishes in fun holiday colors, and your girl will be set for manicured-New Years fun. A few of my favorites are Essie and OPI, which you can find at your local Sephora or drug store, and OPI has a killer Muppets collection that looks really fun for sparkly holiday glam.
My favorite make up gift idea, however, is to give a gift certificate on the condition you take your girl (whether its a friend, lady friend, sister, mother, aunt, whoever) into the store to get her make up done and try it all on and pick a few items you love, together. Fun day out, right?
Whew that was a long list. Hope it gave you some ideas for any make up loving friend and/or yourself. Look for more lists this month and a day-to-night eye palette post later this week!