The Normal Girl's Guide to the Holidays!

Whether you are a makeup junkie or not, we all know at least one person who would love a makeup-related gift this holiday season. The problem is choosing which ones! With so many beauty gifts out there, The Normal Girl's Guide to Makeup is here to help you pick the perfect gift for your loved one. Click on the name of the product to find websites where you can buy them!

Assortment Kits

Whether you aren't sure of their preferences or aren't sure what they already have, an assortment kit with a mixture of brands and types of products is a great way to go. If there is one holiday gift product I would recommend over every other one, it would be the Sephora Favorites kits. There are many different types - true assortment kits with a variety of products and brands, product-centered kits for a specific type of product (lip products, highlighting products, perfume samples, etc.), and even some geared toward men!

Sephora Favorites Kits, ranging from $25.00 to $75.00

One-Type-of-Product Kits

Many brands put out these kinds of kits for the holidays. They contain different shades/versions of the same type of product so that you can try various colors if you like the formula. If you explore beauty websites, you can get lost for hours looking through these. Here are some of my recommendations!

Lips

For a lip kit, unless you're sure of the shades they like, I recommend a kit that has an assortment of neutral, dark, and bright shades. This kit from NARS has just that, and since this is a new formula released just a few weeks ago, there's a good chance that the receiver hasn't tried it yet.

NARS Mind Game Velvet Lip Glide Set, $45.00

Brushes

This is a truly awesome gift. Real Techniques is an amazing, affordable makeup brushes brand, and this kit contains all the must-haves. This would be perfect for someone just starting out in makeup who might need some brushes!

Real Techniques Mega Set, $49.99

Cheek Products

A kit with cheek products in it is a great gift for all types - full-on makeup addicts and minimal makeup wearers - because pretty much everyone wears blush! This product from Benefit has several of their bestsellers and would definitely be useful for anyone.

Benefit Cheekathon Blush and Bronzer Palette, $58.00

Eyeshadow Sticks 

This might be a present for a more seasoned makeup user, as cream eyeshadow is not the easiest thing in the world to apply. However, the Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks are amazing quality and anyone who loves makeup would appreciate this gift!

Laura Mercier Layer Up Caviar Stick Eye Colour Collection, $38.00

Lip Balms

Here's your go-to for when you want to buy a gift for someone you don't know well. Everyone loves a good lip balm, and these tinted ones from Fresh are amazing quality.

Fresh Sugar Lip Spree, $37.00

One-Brand Assortment Kits

Brands also put out miniature assortment kits with a variety of types of products within their own line. These can be great to help someone try several things from a brand! Here are a few great ones:

Kat Von D The Bow N Arrow Set, $20.00

Bobbi Brown Bobbi's Party Picks Set, $105.00

Benefit Cosmetics Girl O'Clock Rock 12 Benefit Bestsellers, $45.00

LORAC Pro To Go Eye/Cheek Palette, $38.00

Clinique The Sweetest Thing Set, $39.50

Make-Your-Own Kit

Another option to consider is making your own gift kit! This could involve you buying several shades of a lip product, some of your favorite makeup items, or the essentials for a "Makeup Starter Kit," and simply wrapping them up together in a cute way! This can be much cheaper and you can personalize it more when you're picking the products.

What to Avoid

There are a few beauty items that I would recommend avoiding when you are gifting someone.

The first is color-dependent products, or products that depend on the person's skin tone. This would include foundation, concealer, and eyebrow products, which all require color matching and vary greatly from person to person!

The second is person-specific products, or products that people tend to have very different opinions of and preferences for. One could argue that all beauty products are person-specific, but I am mainly talking about hair products and skin care items. Each person's hair needs are so different, and no one knows your skin better than you. To be safe, I would avoid either of those unless you know the person really well!