With beauty-Advent-calendar season mostly behind us, we can now turn our attention to the just-as-numerous beauty gift set releases. The, well, beauty of a beauty gift set is supposed to be two-fold: the bundling saves you money, and the packaging should make the products more giftable than they would be if you bought them separately. The problem is a lot of brands go heavy on the minis, which doesn’t actually offer much in the way of savings. To save you time, I’ve crunched the numbers myself (and given out some bonus points for harder-to-quantify-but-just-as-important festive qualities like packaging and limited-edition scents) to find the actually good gift sets worth your money.
Slip’s silk pillowcases alone are $89, which makes this $71 on-sale gift set a real steal, since the brand has also thrown in two scrunchies.
I got my roommate this set for Christmas and it’s a steal. The jumbo-size shampoo alone costs $67 (and it’s a big enough bottle to last until Memorial Day), plus you get the jumbo-size conditioner and a mini dry shampoo for just $100.
The iS Clinical gift sets aren’t getting points this year for packaging, but the savings are pretty good. This one, ideal for those with acne-prone skin, includes several of my favorites like the Cleansing Complex and its Eclipse sunscreen, plus its Active and Hydro-Cool serums. All together, the set saves you close to $40.
This very nicely designed set includes Aesop’s perennial favorite geranium-leaf body cleanser, scrub, and balm for just $110, which saves you 20 bucks.
If you’re dealing with a lot of redness this winter, Tower 28’s aptly named SOS Rescue kit is here to save the day. It includes a full size SOS Rescue Spray and LipSoftie Lip Treatment Balm (which together retails for $44) plus a mini SOS Cream to keep in your toiletries case.
If your body has been bearing the brunt of dry, itchy skin this season, I recommend Osea’s $90 set. It includes a body brush for pre-shower dry brushing, an in-shower body polish for additional exfoliating, and the brand’s cult-favorite body oil for post-shower hydration. All together, those three products cost $128, so this set is a savings of 30 percent.
I swear by Sofie Pavitt’s cleanser. It deeply cleans your skin without stripping it, thanks to the inclusion of nourishing panthenol. And the micellar wipes are a great prep step beforehand to rid your skin of makeup. These two products usually sell for $58 total. So why is the set $68? Because of the real treat, these nifty wrist wash bands, which the brand doesn’t usually sell year-round. They’re a little silly, but they really do work to keep my arms and shirt from getting soaked when I wash my face in the sink. Plus, they make the set feel a little bit more gift-y.
Nécessaire’s holiday offerings are very generous this year. This $100 set includes full sizes of the brand’s cult-favorite body wash in eucalyptus, plus the body exfoliator, the body serum, and the body lotion.
While this Diptyque candle set won’t save you any money (a single holiday candle is $50, and this set is priced accordingly at $150 for all three of this year’s holiday scents), the brand’s packaging never misses. I’ve gifted its holiday sets for years and never gotten a lukewarm reaction. The set includes Sapin, with notes of Siberian pine, resin, cedar; Friandise, with notes of gingerbread, cinnamon, and orange peel; and Étoile, with notes of rose, sandalwood, and mimosa.
If you don’t know what to get your college-age niece or best friend’s tween daughter, go for the ever-popular Laneige. This set includes a full-size glowy balm (retail price $19) and a mini sleeping mask. While I usually try to avoid minis when buying gift sets, I’m giving this one points for the limited-edition holiday peppermint scent and the stocking-stuffer-ready packaging.
While I was initially skeptical of Kate McLeod’s body stones, I’ve been slathering myself in their deliciously scented cocoa butter all winter. The refillable-size stones are usually $38 a piece, and this on-sale duo (in limited-edition peppermint mocha and gingerbread) is only $50, saving you $26. I also am giving out bonus points for the truly adorable packaging it comes in.
K18’s bond-building mask is a staple in my routine (and in the routines of fellow writer Tembe Denton-Hurst and Strategist beauty columnist Rio Viera-Newton), but the $75 mask is admittedly pricey. With this set, get the mask and the $14 clarifying Peptide Prep shampoo for free.
With this on-sale set you basically get two Cosrx snail mucins for the price of one, plus a retinol cream sample.
While this isn’t technically a holiday gift set, I had to include it anyway because J. Hannah’s varnishes are seriously giftable. The interesting-but-still-neutral shades are pretty much perfect, and since a single polish is $22, three for $56 offers a ten dollar savings.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
