The great big Christmas beauty gift guide

Following on from my great big Christmas gift guide, I just had to make a separate gift guide for all the gorgeous beauty stuff I’ve loved this year (and longer). I think beauty just makes the best present, whether you’re buying for teenagers, friends, Mums (or husbands - Mr E loves a bit of skincare), or even for a bit of self gifting (we’re worth it too). You can give eco/sustainable, practical, or luxe that people wouldn’t necessarily buy themselves, and, as I said in my last gift guide, it doesn’t get better than giving someone a gift that is both beautiful and useful (paraphrasing Mr Morris there). So here’s my great big Christmas beauty gift guide/great big roundup of all the beauty bits I’ve adored this year.

Evolve Organic Beauty produce lovingly hand-crafted beauty products in their studio near me in Hertfordshire. They’re all vegan friendly and cruelty free and made in small batches to ensure the highest level of freshness. Their hyaluronic acid serum has won a ton of awards - it’s one of the best I’ve tried. It’s super hydrating but disappears into the skin in seconds. £30 online from evolvebeauty.co.uk - they also have some gorgeous Christmas gift sets.

Created by the lady behind one of my favourite brands, Ultrasun, skinSense by Abi Cleeve is a clever skincare line delivering serious results (the skinSense Retinol Serum that I wrote about here sells out continuously). The skinSense Overnight Leave On Mask is one of my absolute favourites and a staple of my travel kit. It’s a lightweight, hydrating facial mask formulated to give your skin a real hit of hydration while you sleep. It’s the perfect gift for travel lovers (I use it on the plane too - it’s ace at moisturising skin dehydrated by flying). One of the best places to buy skinSense is at QVC - look out for great value offers.

And while we’re talking about skinSense, I can’t miss out Ultrasun. Honestly, it’s just such trustworthy skincare. Remember when we were working out with Fleur East in the full glare of the Antiguan sun? Did I burn? Nope. I was slathered in my favourite Ultrasun Sun Protection Sports Gel SPF50 - the boys love this one too because it’s really quick to apply and not at all greasy. It’s a good pressie for a sporty person actually - brilliant for sun, skiing, watersports - you name it. My hero product, though, is the Ultrasun Face Anti Pigmentation SPF50+ - I use this every day, especially on holiday - it’s tinted, so I skip the foundation. It contains this magical ingredient, Ectoin, which is an anti-ageing marine enzyme only regulated for use in a few really quality brands, like La Mer and Shiseido plus Hexorysorcinol, a proven pigmentation fighter.

Another of my best beauty finds this year is D’Alchemy Holistic Skincare. Again, 100% vegan, natural and organic, and also packaged in very chic black biophotonic glass. I had a tiny tester of their Super Rich Multi Hydrator (around £40) on a recent trip and came straight back and ordered a full-size jar. I get that horrible tight dehydrated forehead thing that feels like it will crack if I move my eyebrows, and this soothed it completely, without any greasiness or shine. Gorgeous. Look out for their incredible travel packs too, plus they’ve got a 25% off Black Friday deal right now.

I’ve been having some skin treatments recently at the skin clinic at Bow House Dental, and my Aesthetician Helena Tepper swears by Medik8 products. When I looked into it further, it turns out they do some gorgeous gift sets, perfect for the skincare addict in our life. This Medik8 Encapsulated Forest gift set comes in the prettiest packaging and contains a four step night ritual, including a 40ml Cream Cleanse, 7ml Retinol Eye TR, 15ml Retinol 3TR Intense and a 15ml Advanced Night Restore. Perfect if you fancy giving the products a go (plus you get lovely little samples with your order - amazing for travel). £59 from Dermacare Direct.

Medik8 Encapsulated Forest

I’ve spoken about S5 Skincare before, with their stunning packaging and beautiful vegan, cruelty free, organic and natural products. The products are made in small batches in Hertfordshire and the Nourish Cleanser (£32, currently £25.60 in their Black Friday deal but not sure how long this lasts) is just absolutely divine – honestly the best cleanser I’ve ever used. It smells delicious, removes every scrap of make-up and leaves skin soft and glowy. Another recommendation that would make a classy gift is their lovely Illuminate Serum (£52, currently £41.60) - light, non-greasy and truly skin brightening.

You all know how I feel about Beauty Pie - their Super Retinol range is a constant repurchase for me . All their products are perfect for gifting (and self gifting) and they have some new products especially for Christmas too (the scented candles are divine). Find out all about how membership works (and get your first month free here.

Lastly, I mentioned the gorgeous REN Christmas gifts sets recently, and their tiny gifts are perfect little stocking fillers. Plus there’s 20% off when you buy two or more gift sets.

Happy shopping!

This post contains gifted items and affiliate links.