The holiday season is a time of giving. When it comes to beauty treats, why not include giving to yourself? Let the gift giving begin
The holiday season isn’t just about yummy food, parties and gift giving. It’s the time of year that beauty enthusiasts breathlessly anticipate.
‘Tis the season of limited editions –those prettily packaged, special combinations of favourite products from our favourite brands. Not only do these combinations look pretty, but often they’re more economical to buy in the holiday format. Some items are truly special editions for the holiday as formulations have been tweaked or the colour is seasonal.
The festive collections are perfect gifts for your favourite people or for yourself. The only caveat is to move fast if something catches your eye as the holiday-themed collections tend to sell out quickly.Here’s a selection of some of this year’s offerings.
Beauty Goddess
Embrace your inner goddess and treat yourself (or someone special) to this luxe Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Universe collection that boasts some of her most popular makeup and skin care creations. Constructed much like a beauty wardrobe, each drawer in this chest has one luxurious item: Multiple Miracle Glow, Goddess Skin Clay Mask, Wonderglow primer, Supermodel Body magic cream, Eyes to Mesmerize and Colour Chameleon eye shadow, Full Fat Lashes mascara, Classic eyeliner, Shadow crayon, Take It All Off makeup remover, CT signature lipstick and lip gloss.
Nordstrom, Holt Renfrew, charlottetilbury.com | $200
Couture Collection
A Dior handbag might not be viable for the wish list but a limited-edition clutch gift set, featuring the iconic Dior 999 Red Matte lipstick, is an affordable luxurious alternative. This Dior 999 lip set includes a limited edition, refillable case along with five lip refills engraved in one of the following wishes for the year to come: “Love,” “Faith,” “Luck,” “Bliss,” “Thrill” and “Fame.”
Dior counters nationwide, Sephora.com | $199
The Season to Shimmer
Stila believes the holiday season is a time to shimmer and glow. This festive season they released a travel-size trio of their long-wearing, shimmering, liquid shadows called Shimmering Heights. It is small-small-particle pearls that create the shimmer effect. They apply smoothly and are long wearing – optimal for those nights with back-to-back holiday parties. The set includes Stila’s iconic colour Kitten, Cloud and Twig.
Shoppers Drug Mart, Sephora.ca, Shoppersdrugmart.ca/beauty, Murale and stila.ca | $33
Holiday Hydration
From Korres, the Greek apothecary skin care brand, comes the Buttery Smooth Skin Trio, a three-piece set of rich body butters scented with the tropical fruit and floral extracts of guava, fig and jasmine. Formulated with skin-skin-nourishing vitamins C and E, almond oil, and shea butter, these creamy body butters are designed to deliver skin-softening hydration.
Exclusive to Shoppers Drug Mart, beautyBOUTIQUE.ca | $42
New Year, a Refreshed You
Maybe anti-aging skin care isn’t the most diplomatic gift if the recipient hasn’t put it on their list, but Caudalie’s Resveratrol Lift set might just calm some ruffled feathers. Created with their proprietary vine resveratrol combined with hyaluronic acid, this formulation uses – what the French brand terms – phospholipids to effectively deliver the active ingredients to skin in an ultra-lightweight cream. The Lift collection is aimed at hydrating, diminishing wrinkles and restoring firmness and volume to skin. This set includes the soft cream, serum and eye treatment.
Sephora | $88
Invisible Ties
What’s better than invisible stay-put hair elastics? Holiday-themed ones of course! The invisibobble SLIM – in the new holygraphy colour – is a chic, festive hair accessory that will keep your tresses sleek and in place all year long. Packaged as a tree ornament, the SLIM is a perfect stocking stuffer or giftwrapping accent. The brand also has packs of classic hues with star and teddy bear charms – cute for the junior set.
Shoppers Drug Mart | $10
Perfect Definition
From the brand that transformed brow grooming comes the Magical Brow Stars! limited edition. Packaged in a signature, whimsically-designed box, this collection of full-size Benefit brow bestsellers is a treasure trove for those who are serious about brow grooming. The “magic trunk” is packed with Foolproof Brow Powder to create fullness; Precisely, My Brow Pencil ultra-fine brow defining pencil; Goof Proof Brow Pencil for easy brow-filling and shaping pencil; the Ka-BROW! cream-gel brow colour with brush; and Gimme Brow brow-volumizing fibre gel. The set is available in shades #3 and #5.
Sephora | $79
Fizzy Festivities
From bath bombs to shower gels to bubble bars, Lush offers up the Twelve Days of Christmas limited edition of a dozen bath and shower treats. There are new and old favourites like the Snow Fairy shower gel and the Naughty Elf bubble bar, Buck’s Fizz Body Conditioner, Golden Pear Soap and more. Crafted from ethically-sourced, natural ingredients, this collection of bath and shower goodies – which are vegan-friendly and animal-cruelty free – are presented in a festive gift box ready to place under the tree.
Lush | $99.95
Get Up and Glow
Every holiday season MAC cosmetics delivers a Santa bag full of treats to choose from – and it’s oh-so-very difficult to make that choice. This year they went for seasonal sparkle. To make it simple this season to be holiday-glow ready, MAC combined the Extra Dimension Skinfinish (available in Oh Darling Metallic Gold or Snowflushed Metallic Bronze Pink) with strobe cream and a customized brush to perfectly achieve your glow. Set in glam packaging, it’s primed for gift giving.
MAC locations, maccosmetics.ca | $47.50
Kitty-cat love
From the cosmetic arm of the French fashion brand Paul & Joe comes this Lip Treatment Balm Duo packaged in signature cat-themed, limited-edition tins. Infused with spicy and fruity extracts, the scents are meant to inspire memories of a traditional Parisian Christmas. The balms are formulated with orange flower water, white lily extract, lavender and olive oil to hydrate and smooth your lips.
Select Shoppers Drug Mart and Murale locations, beautyBOUTIQUE.ca | $36
