12 Beauty Gift Sets for Holiday 2014

In a last-minute pickle or just love great packaging? These gifts are ready to give, no wrapping required

Credit: Hudson's Bay

Give the gift of glamour this year with these 12 beautifully packaged pressies

No other holiday can match the sparkle of Christmastime. This is the season to embrace extravagant, over-the-top beauty and during the holidays, what’s on the outside matters just as much as what’s on the inside. We’re talking presents, of course.

Read on for 12 of this season’s most beautiful, decadent, no-need-to-wrap gifts

Credit: MAC

MAC, Keepsakes Holiday Collection, Eyes, $47.50

Buying for a glamour girl? MAC, as always, has the perfect beauty treats for beauty queens. These eye shadow collections are classics (plum, beige and smoky), with eight different colours to create endless looks, from polished professional to weekend sultry. 

This year, the folks at MAC have outdone themselves with some spectacular packaging. These eye shadow palettes are housed in glittery cases, embellished with the collection’s signature cameo. Keepsake indeed.

Available at MAC

Credit: Lush

LUSH, 12 Days of Christmas, $99.95

This book is a fairytale for any LUSH lover. The cover is an opulent teal green with deco designs and gold gilding – simply gorgeous. Inside are 12 concealed doors, hiding some of Lush’s most beloved holiday treats, including ‘Start Light Star Bright’ luxury bath melt, ‘Hot Toddy’ shower gel and Cinders bath bombs.

Available at Lush

Credit: Hudson's Bay

Anna Sui, Holiday Sweets Collection, $39

If anyone knows about ornate, girly packaging, it’s Anna Sui. Her ‘Holiday Sweets’ collection features two gift sets in Sweet Espresso and Sugary Sweet. Each set includes a creamy eye colour, creamy cheek colour, moisturizing lip colour and lip balm jelly, housed in festive packaging and topped with Anna Sui’s signature bow.

Available at Hudson’s Bay

Credit: Sephora

Olfactive Studio, Eau de Parfum, starting at $165

This French fragrance line is technically unisex, so you won’t find overused notes to identify them as predictably “masculine” or “feminine.” The inspiration instead is art itself. Each fragrance was designed by a different incredible perfumer through an even more incredible artistic process that rivals performance art. The result is a series of fragrances that are wholly evocative of a fleeting memory, of nostalgia itself. The packaging – from the box to the bottle cap to the bottle itself – pays homage to art photography. 

Available in-store at Sephora

Credit: Sephora

Too Faced, Everything Nice Set, $56

Too Faced comes out with an amazing set each holiday season and this year’s does not disappoint. ‘Everything Nice’ contains 20 eye shadows, two blushes, one bronzer, one highlighter and three brushes, all housed in a sleek, pretty, portable case (plus a bonus mascara). The set also includes a blinged-out hot pink case that can be used as a clutch or makeup bag.

Available at Sephora

Credit: L'Occitane

L’Occitane, Luxury Shave Collection, $89

Whether your guy is low maintenance or a meticulous groomer, he’ll appreciate this kit, which takes shaving to a new level. This set includes ‘Cade Rich’ shaving cream and a shaving brush and razor by Plisson, a men’s grooming line that has been handcrafting shaving supplies since 1808. Housed in a sturdy, handsome box bearing colours and motifs reminiscent of Provence, this set is an exceptionally good value as well.

Available at L’Occitane

Credit: Sephora

Nudestix, #Giltylove Holiday Kit, $55

Nudestix is a new makeup collection inspired by two teen model sisters whose personal preferences for low-maintenance, nude looks weren’t easily accessible outside a studio. With the help of their chemical engineer mom (and former MAC employee), they created a collection of nude-enhancing colour products mostly all in a chubby pencil format for amazing portability. This holiday collection includes three of their ‘Magnetic Eye Color’ pencils, all housed in a cool, graffiti-ed metal container.

Available at Sephora

Credit: The Body Shop

The Body Shop, The Winter Wonderful Music Box, $40

This pretty red and silver tin not only houses some of The Body Shop’s best selling treats, but it’s also a music box. Give it a twist and the entire tin rotates as a Christmas carol delicately chimes from within – a lovely keepsake after the goods are gone. And as if that weren’t enough, the purchase of this gift will send a child in a war-torn region to school.

Available at The Body Shop

Credit: Kiss and Makeup

REN, Sensitive Gift Set, $56

REN is well-known for their gorgeous smelling, uber-potent products. They know how to pack a punch without ever compromising on what should always be a luxurious experience. This beautiful tin contains four products perfect for anyone, especially those with sensitive skin: ‘Evercalm’ gentle cleansing milk, ‘Evercalm’ global protection day cream, ‘V-Cense Revitalising’ night cream and ‘Vita Mineral Omega 3’ serum.

Available in-store and online at Kiss and Makeup, 1760 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver

Credit: Sephora

Ciaté, Mini Manor Mani Advent Calendar, $72

Ciaté’s beautifully designed manor-house advent calendar conceals 24 pop-out doors and windows. Use as directed and this can reveal a little surprise for 24 days… or, it can thrill with the instant gratification that comes from opening 24 little presents all at once. Either way, this is all you need for a holiday-worthy manicure. The set includes highly pigmented polishes in cream and shimmer finishes, as well as special effect add-ons including Ciaté’s signature caviar pearls.

Available at Sephora

Credit: Kiehl's

Kiehl’s X Craig + Carl: The Collection

International artist duo, Craig + Karl, have teamed up with Kiehl’s this holiday season to provide quirky, kaleidoscopic design labels for some of Kiehl’s most popular products: Creme de Corp, Creme de Crops whipped, Ultra Facial Cream, Calendual Toner, Hand Salve and a lip balm set. Hand-pick the items you want and have them packed in a matching Craig + Carl festive graphic print box.

Available at Kiehl’s

Credit: Sephora

Tarte, Dream Come Hue, $210

This beautifully boxed makeup collector’s dream is packed with Tarte’s award-winning, cult favourites It contains six full-size ‘Amazonian Clay’ 12-hour blushes and six full-size ‘Lipsurgence’ lip tints, both in shades ranging from punchy brights to modern nudes.

Available at Sephora