Beauty Gift Guide 2020 Part 1 | Stocking Fillers

It… it happened again.

“We might make the Gift Guide a little smaller this year. It’s pretty time consuming.”

And time it did consume- but it was worth it. The 2020 Glow Journal Beauty Gift Guide contains 123 (I did not plan this number yet am thrilled by it) carefully selected beauty gifts across three budget categories, priced from $9 to $673.

Despite its size, I’ve once again been discerning in making my Guide selections. As per previous years, I personally reached out to each and every brand, one by one, to work through their Holiday offerings and curate this edit. The gifting options in the Glow Journal guides all come from brands I have used and loved, many of which are limited edition riffs on permanent line products that I’ve long relied on, or holiday themed sets and kits of existing products you would find in my personal collection. Every gift has been thoroughly considered before inclusion, and any option that I would not feel proud to give nor thrilled to receive has not made the final edit.

For the uninitiated, the annual Glow Journal Beauty Gift Guide is now in its forth year, having come to be after I identified a gap for a holiday beauty gift guide that didn’t consist of stock imagery (I want to know that the writer had, at the very, very least, held the product in their hand, rather than pulled a photo from a press release), divided the gifts into separate guides based on price (I know how much I want to spend- there are few things more frustrating than scrolling through a gift guide to find a product that doesn’t suit my budget), contained absolutely no sponsored placements and physically told you something about each product- specifically why it would make a beautiful gift. I want readers to be able to identify their budget, then be able to quickly and easily select a gift from a list of brands that have been personally recommended to them by someone who has, quite literally, tried them all.

We begin this year’s Glow Journal Beauty Gift Guide with Stocking Fillers- gifts priced below $40 that, despite their price, do not skimp on quality. You will not find a chemist-value-pack-hamper-stuffed-with-tissue-paper nor a bumper-size-chalky-eyeshadow-palette-that-you-will-not-use on this list. You deserve better than that.

I sincerely hope this is of use to you- whether you’re shopping for others, or if you need to forward this on to someone as a not-so-subtle hint.

Please enjoy Part 1 of the 2020 Glow Journal Beauty Gift Guide, and stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3.

There are very few things I love more than limited edition beauty sets. One such thing is a limited edition beauty products (or set, I’m not fussy. Just kidding yes I am) housed within Holiday specific packaging. Take those elements, ensure the aforementioned product(s) are of cult status, and there is literally nothing on earth that could convince me that this is not an exceptional beauty gift.

NARS’ Laguna and Orgasm cheek colours (a bronzer and blush, respectively) are both bonafide cult beauty icons, and the brand’s 2020 Holiday offering sees them both shrunk down to travel sized, repackaged in festive finery and wrapped up with a matching lip balm. The Instant Orgasm Christmas cracker contains a mini Orgasm blush and lip balm, while the Laguna ornament includes a mini bronzer and lip topper.

NARS Instant Orgasm Mini Blush and Balm Cracker, $38
NARS Mini Laguna Lip and Bronzer Duo, $38

A cult product in a festive ornament. It’s a winning combination and one I can’t see myself tiring of. This season sees MAC’s iconic Velvet Teddy lipstick hit shelves inside a sparkling pink Christmas ornament- the glitter in this ornament, I can’t quite describe it, but it’s like those cups we all had in 1998 where the glitter moved around. It’s as mesmerising now, trust me.

MAC Baubleburst Ornament in Velvet Teddy, $21

Away from permanent icons reimagined in festive packaging, MAC’s 2020 ‘Frosted Firework’ Holiday offering also includes existing products in limited edition shades- like the Tinted Lipglass gloss, available in Break The Ice (a peachy pink with pink pearl snow reflected) this season.

MAC Frosted Firework Lipglass in Break The Ice, $37

“Stocking Stuffer” or otherwise, Mecca Max (Mecca Maxima’s signature line) have produced many of my favourite gifting options year ’round, given that their products are both affordable and high quality- a surprisingly difficult balance to strike. My picks from the line’s Holiday collection are the Gloss Posse Mini Lipglaze Trio, a set of three universally flattering lip glosses, and Zoom Shadow Stick Duo, two wearable neutral eyeshadow sticks, designed to be scribbled onto the lid and blended out with a finger.

Mecca Max Gloss Posse Mini Lipglaze Trio, $28
Mecca Max Double or Nothing Zoom Shadow Stick Duo, $29

If I made it seem like my Mecca Max gifting edit ended there, then I apologise.

Sort of.

Palettes are always appreciated-when-gifted as people are generally excited to see a few different colours and/or textures in front of them at once, which is why so many people fall into that cheap bumper palette trap. They’re good upon opening, then never used. The trick is to choose palettes that exclusive contain wearable (and I’m talking day-to-day wearable) shades in quality textures to ensure said gift isn’t pushed to the back of the cupboard and never used again. Mecca Max’s Golden Hour, Summer Sunsets and Mood Lighting Palettes will be met with excitement and used with love. Tick, tick.

Mecca Max Golden Hour Everyday Palette, $35
Mecca Max Summer Sunsets Eyeshadow Quad, $12
Mecca Max Mood Lighting Cream Highlighting Palette, $29

Lip colour sets always* (*if the formulas are high quality) make wonderful gifts as you can cover a few bases with the one gift. Even if you’re shopping for someone you’ve never seen in a bold lip before, chances are they’ll get good, solid wear out of at least one colour in the kit, and the other will ideally become their “special” lipstick. BECCA, Fenty and BITE all make consistently excellent lip formulas, and their Holiday offerings are genuinely great value. I’d recommend the BITE kit for your Kris Kringle, Fenty for your coolest friend and BECCA for anyone who watched Euphoria.

BECCA x Barbie Ferreira Prismatica Lip Gloss Kit, $37
Fenty Beauty Two Lil Stunnas Mini Longwear Lip Paint Duo, $39
BITE Beauty Midnight Mood Power Move Lip Crayon Trio, $38

Cult product in a festive ornament. I wasn’t fibbing when I said it was a gifting formula one could not go wrong with. This one it Too Face’s iconic Better Than Sex (big call) Mascara, housed within a swan ornament. A swan wearing a big gold crown. Festive!

Too Faced Better Than Sex Ornament, $22

Yes! It’s another iconic product encased in a Christmas bauble. But this one is skincare! Eve Lom’s Cleansing Balm is a legitimate beauty icon and is undisputedly the product that shot the brand to mainstream stardom. You’re buying a piece of history with this cleanser! It’s also my personal favourite cleansing balm. This ornament has “Iconic” in its name, and also comes with a very nice muslin cloth. More on how to use cleansing balms here.

Eve Lom Iconic Cleanse Ornament, $37

Hand creams and treatments are always a pretty failsafe gift, but in 2020 they’re guaranteed to be met with coos of “And my hands have been so DRY this year! Thank you!” A gift met with a coo is a very good gift indeed.

This Malin + Goetz set contains a miniature Almond Hand Treatment and Lip Moisturiser, and the packaging has a little ribbon on top which means it too is an ornament.

Malin + Goetz In Good Hands Set, $35

I sincerely believe that every Gift Guide I have ever written has included some iteration of This Works’ Sleep On It Bauble. Gifts with “Sleep” in their name are also failsafe. When was the last time you heard someone say “I am consistently well rested”? Never. People don’t talk that way. This set (also an ornament, you’re welcome) consists of a Calming Spray, Deep Sleep Pillow Spray and Stress Check Roll-On.

This Works Sleep On It Bauble, $27

I am a known SPF Bully, and if you thought that you might be able to get through a Beauty Gift Guide with no sunscreen recommendations then you are, quite clearly, very new here.

Mecca Cosmetica’s signature line To Save Face Superscreen was the first SPF50+ I ever truly fell in love with, some years ago. This festive season sees it available inside a very lovely Cosmetica travel bag and rooming with an Original Lip De-Luscious with SPF 25- similarly the first SPF rich lip product ever fell in love with.

Mecca Cosmetica Daily Defenders Duo, $30

L’Occitane are just one of those brands who know Holiday gifting. Their products are beautiful, and the way they curate their festive offering is beautiful plus.

Ornaments! Two of my favourites from L’Occitane’s 2020 Christmas collection are their Almond and Shea Butter Baubles, respectively. The former includes a Shower Oil (the best shower oil OF ALL TIME, in my not-at-all humble opinion. I could use this every day, forever, and be satisfied.), Hand Cream and Milk Concentrate, while the latter includes a Body Cream, Hand Cream and Milk Soap.

L’Occitane Almond Christmas Bauble, $25
L’Occitane Shea Butter Christmas Bauble, $25

The Body Shop just get holiday gifting so right every year. They always have. Their gifts are fun, festive and high quality. Their Christmassy Hand Cream Trio will be appreciated this year more than ever before, and their Things Might Get Messy Masking Kit is as much a wonderful gift as it is a reflection on that year that was.

The Body Shop Christmassy Hand Cream Trio, $20
The Body Shop Things Might Get Messy Masking Kit, $35

Aside from their Holiday gift sets, The Body Shop produce the most beautiful, limited edition, Christmas themed fragrances with which to spike their existing products each festive season. My picks this year are Winter Jasmine, Warm Vanilla and Festive Berry, all of which take shape in a full product range.

The Body Shop Winter Jasmine Body Butter, $25
The Body Shop Warm Vanilla Lip Scrub, $9
The Body Shop Festive Berry Exfoliating Sugar Body Scrub, $29

As much as I love an ornament, I may just love a Christmas Cracker even more. I’m not sure if it’s the festive packaging just on a surface level, the knowledge that a beauty icon lies within it, or the fantasy of one day being organised enough to throw a dinner with beauty product filled crackers as party favours.

This one is beautiful to look at and contains a very, very effective hand cream.

Mecca Cosmetica Nourishing Hand Cream Cracker, $22

It wouldn’t be a Glow Journal Gift Guide without Frank. See this, THIS, is what I mean by brands curating their best sellers into perfect, PERFECT little gift sets. Any one of these (and, honestly, all of Frank’s holiday sets. They’re all beautiful) will be beloved by whomever opens it. I was about to add a disclaimer about making sure check that the recipient does have a bath before buying the Mini Dream Team kit, but I actually just used it as a shower scrub and it PERFORMS. So don’t mind me- anyone can use it.

Frank Body Mini Dream Team Kit, $19.95
Frank Body Shower Party Kit, $19.95
Frank Body Bright Side Kit, $34.95

Home fragrance. SO much simpler a category to gift from than personal fragrance. This Circa Home bauble (a bauble!) houses a Lychee & Rose Candle, and is probably the only one of these beauty baubles that I’d actually consider repurposing as a Christmas tree bauble, if we’re being totally honest.

Circa Home Lychee & Rose Christmas Candle Bauble, $19.95

You say bon bon, I say cracker. Whichever side of the street you were brought up on, you will love this Glasshouse Kyoto in Bloom Christmas set- a perfect, festive-red bon bon with a travel sized body lotion and eau de parfum hidden inside, both scented with camellia, lotus and amber.

Glasshouse Fragrances Kyoto in Bloom Christmas Bon Bon, $15.95

Sincere and special thanks to the teams at Mecca Brands, Estée Lauder Companies, MCMPR, Stark Matthews, One Green Bean, Frank Body, Echo Communications and Sarah Humphries Agency.