2015 Gift Guide: Beauty Indulgences

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I love Christmas time. Everything shimmers, everything glistens, everything sparkles! The snow, the tinsel, the ribbon, the ornaments, the lights… It’s like a glamorous, shining, festive blanket has covered the entire world. It’s a very decadent time of year. In the luxe spirit, I’ve put together a handful of beauty indulgences perfect for spoiling a special someone in your life–or maybe even yourself!

For the art lover: You can’t go wrong with anything from the NARS x Steven Klein collection, which WHT editor Stef describes as “sexy as hell.” If I were forced to choose just one item, I would choose the One Shocking Moment ($69). Adorned with the work of photographer Steven Klein, the palette holds four blushes (Robotic, Blaspemy, Luster, Dolce Vita), a contouring duo (Paloma, Paloma II, and bronzer (Laguna).

For the traditionalist: I’ve loved advent calendars since I was a kid, but particularly the one my grandma made. It was a tree, and in each numbered pocket was an “ornament.” My brother and I took turns pulling the felt and sequin items out of the pockets, eyes closed, trying to guess which item we had pulled out. Advent calendars just fill me with warm fuzzy feelings. Make it a beauty advent calendar, and it’s the second best thing after my Grams’ calendar! Which is exactly what you get with the QVC Beauty Christmas Advent Calendar 24pc Collection ($96.75), 24 trial sized products from 21 beauty and skincare brands.

For the animal-loving bathing beauty: Anything, and EVERYTHING from Lush. It’s all fabulous, times a million, and they never test on animals. When I walk into my local Lush store, it’s a euphoric sensory overload. Give the gift of 24 seasonal LUSH goodies with the It’s Christmas! wrapped gift ($199.95). It features five soaps, one luxury bath melt, seven bubble bars and eleven bath bombs in festive shapes and scents. You know it’s a luxurious gift, because one of the bath bombs (Golden Wonder) has glittery gold shimmer. Bathing in gold? Heck. Yes.

When money is no object: Fashion designer Tom Ford is all about luxury. The Tom Ford Lips & Boys 50 piece set ($1,950.00) is a truly decadent collection with 50 “clutch-sized” lipsticks, each named after a man admired by Mr. Ford, such as Flynn Justin, Luciano, and Ansel. The formula features Soja seed extract, Brazilian Murumuru butter and Chamomilla flower oil.

Editor’s Pick
For anyone with hair: I love giving people high-end haircare gifts. It seems to be the #1 product that people feel guilty spending money on. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some pretty great drugstore haircare out there. But when you’ve tried the luxury that is Kérastase….well, it’s hard to go back. I speak from experience.

They have several limited edition gift sets this holiday, including ones for dry, unmanageable and damaged hair, but I especially love the Kérastase Reflection Holiday Gift Set ($99) for color-treated hair. A sulfate-free shampoo, shine-intensifying conditioner and protective blowdry primer preserve your color and smell fabulous doing so. Seriously, fabulous. I have become a notorious hair flipper since I’ve started using Kérastase just to catch whiffs of my own hair.

So, treat them! (Treat yo’self while you’re at it too, this set is worth $125 and I know you like a deal.)

There you have it – indulgent beauty gifts that your recipients will flip for. We heartsters – which would you be most happy to get?