Giving beauty products as gifts is a no-brainer. Easy to store, always in style, and sure to fit, these little luxuries make recipients feel pampered -- for less than the cost of an ugly holiday sweater. Here are 10 items to spoil someone on your holiday list, from best friend to secret Santa.
Skin hydration is a must for anyone who frequently travels on planes or in dry, winter air. TSA-friendly, travel-size skin mist from Tatcha ($15) keeps even the most ambitious jet setters looking glowy. With red algae and other emollients (and very little alcohol, which can be drying), this mist soothes dry skin with just a few spritzes.
Kissable lips are a must, even when not standing under the mistletoe. This cute stocking stuffer ($9 for a three-pack) contains a new flavor of EOS lip balm, Visibly Soft honey apple, as well as organic wildberry and passion fruit. These "natural" lip balms are paraben- and petroleum-free. They sell individually for $3.29 each.
This celeb-favorite skin care line (Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton and model Cara Delevingne are reportedly fans) can be found at all Whole Foods locations. The brand is best-known for its winter skin saver, Everything Balm ($16 on Amazon), a rich blend of plant oils including rose hip oil and sweet almond oil. For the multitasker on your list, the product can be used as a lip balm, moisturize the face and hands, and even tame flyway hair.
The indie fragrance company Inkling Scents makes "100 percent pure" essential oil perfumes and colognes (with none of the quickly evaporated alcohol used in most scents). The bestseller is the 0.33-ounce roll-on ($25), which is the perfect size for a purse or desk drawer.
She can't buy beauty sleep, so give her a sleep mask to block out light -- a must for travel. Doie Lounge's 100 percent silk sleep masks ($24) help even the most sensitive of sleepers doze -- without waking up to annoying creases on their skin.
This "right-sized" line of cosmetics ($10 to $25) is perfect for travelers or anyone who doesn't want to be weighed down with a purse stuffed with products. Every Stowaway Cosmetics item -- from lipstick to mascara and beyond -- costs less than $25.
Help someone say good-bye to dry winter skin with this lotion bar gift set from Spoiled Naturally ($24.50 for a three-pack). Each set includes a choice of scents such as pineapple strawberry, lemongrass, and coconut cream. A gift box can be added for $4.
Give the gift of relaxation (a must after holiday mayhem) with Beauty by Earth bath bombs ($25 for six). These handmade bath bombs come in different "flavors" for detox, joint relief, bedtime, and more.
Give the chocolate lover in your life this hot-chocolate-scented body scrub from Giovanni Cosmetics (about $12 on Amazon). The sweet-smelling sugar scrub gently exfoliates using crushed cocoa beans for glowing skin. For those who don't love chocolate, there's also a mint lemonade version.
Give the gift of shimmer and sparkle with a travel-size duo from Becca ($20 at Sephora). This pressed powder and liquid highlighter pairing lights up even the dullest winter skin when swept across cheekbones, brow bones, and the bridge of the nose.