THE BEAUTY GIFT GUIDE IS HERE

Presents! Gift sets! Christmas and beauty really do bring out the best in each other. There aren’t many items in the beauty world that don't suffice as a present. A toothbrush, for example. Wow! Less exciting would be a packet of support rings for your climbers, or sisal twine for your dahlias. But fancily bottled mouthwash and floss? Go ahead.

It would be easier for me to tell you about the beauty bits that don’t seduce me. I go wild for gift sets. Genius, I think, as if I would never have thought to put a body wash and lotion with a matching fragrance together myself. Mini mascaras in cardboard houses that look like gingerbread? Sign. Me. Up. Nail polishes so small they border on impractical, but hang so sweetly on the tree? I’m there.

This year, beauty has taken on new meaning. It’s helped us feign normalcy when everything else has gone to shit – feral brows and ear-skimming roots. In temporarily relieving us of our anxieties, face masks have vied for therapist status, daring us to dream, if only of more radiant skin. Fragrance has transported us some place else. From Amersham to Amalfi in one fell spritz. Cool, eh? 

And yes, there’s a lot of choice when it comes to beauty. Too much, perhaps. But unlike trundling through the search return of ‘gadgets for walkers’, it’s rarely agonising. That said, because we appreciate the fact that you're busy, we've rounded up some of the best stuff. (And while we go weak at the knees for the behemoth brands, may we suggest you peruse our small and sustainable gift guides, too?)