Posted on Nov 19, 2021

34 Beauty Products That Reviewers Swear Are Great Gifts

These crowd pleasers take the guesswork out of holiday gifts.

BuzzFeed Staff

We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

What a year! The holidays are finally here! And while we’re doing our best to make sure the products we feature will arrive in time, shipping times are especially tricky this year, so we suggest shopping as early as you can.

Stock and shipping times can vary depending on where you live, which product you purchase, and more. So order earlier than you think you need to and be sure to double-check the retailers’ websites for shipping information to ensure that your gift will arrive in time for when you need it.

1. A Revlon hot air brush so they can go from wet, tangled, frizzy hair to a sleek and shiny blowout in minutes.

Reviewer who has straightened hair of their tight curly hair with the hot air brush

Another reviewer with natural curly hair

2. A DevaCurl diffuser if beautifully juicy and defined curls are at the top of their holiday wish list. The attachment looks a little funky, but the weird hand-shaped design surrounds their curls as it dries them, protecting their hair's moisture and keeping their kinks oh-so shiny.

Reviewer with 3c/4a hair showing off their shiny curls after using the diffuser

The green hand-shaped diffuser attached to a hair dryer

3. A skin spatula for the friend who finds it oddly satisfying to see what's lurking in their pores. It helps remove blackheads and de-gunk pores using high frequency vibrations. This can also help their skincare absorb better since their pores won't be blocked with debris.

Close-up of the scraper showing dead skin and sebum

reviewer's before and after three days apart and you can see that the spatula helped improve the texture of their face and made their skin look smoother

4. A Chi automatic curling iron, because they've burned themselves with a regular curler way too many times. With this, they just have to insert a section of hair into the chamber and the curler automatically wraps it around the heated rod. It beeps when the curl has set. The best part: the barrel protects them from singeing their fingers or neck.

Before photo of reviewer with straight hair

Same reviewer with their hair inside the curler

5. A collagen-coating hair treatment to help revitalize a dry, damaged, and overprocessed mane overnight. It's safe for all hair types!

Before and after of BuzzFeed reviewer who used the product, showing it reduced their hair's frizziness and added shine and softness

6. A Balm Dotcom trio that'll hydrate even the driest, most chapped lips. This skin salve is made with castor oil, lanolin, and beeswax to lock in moisture and create a protective barrier.

Three tubes of coconut balm dotcom, mango balm dotcom, and rose balm dotcom

7. A dip powder kit so they can perfect their at-home manicure and save money in the long run. The powder dries fast, and reviewers say the color stays chip-free for weeks — which is great but also a bummer because it's so easy to use that they're gonna wish they could do it all over again.

reviewer with pink nails and pink glitter accent nails on their ring finger and thumb

8. A lip paint and eyeliner set if your makeup enthusiast cousin likes to be the center of attention. Their lips will shine brighter than the star atop the tree.

model wearing the red lip paint and dramatic black cat-eye liner

9. A cruelty-free lengthening mascara for the beauty-obsessed friend who's tried just about every mascara but hasn't found one that won't flake, fade, or streak. Spoiler: this is the one!

before photo of reviewer with bare lashes and after photo of the same reviewer wearing the mascara, which has dramatically darkened their lashes and made them look long and fluttery

10. A cruelty-free brightening facial scrub because bright and glowing skin is always a great gift. A combo of sea kelp, lemon peel, French green clay, and Madonna lily can slough away the dry, flaky dead skin cells and de-gunk their pores to help reduce breakouts.

A before shot of a user with red, angry breakouts and an after photo of the same user with almost no breakouts and skin that's much more even toned

11. An exfoliating water gel to treat even the most sensitive skin to a thorough and incredibly satisfying exfoliation. They'll literally be able to see little "beads" of dirt, debris, and dead skin go down the drain.

A photo of a user with bright, glowing skin. You can't see any breakouts or acne scars on her face

A close-up of a hand showing the "beads" of dead skin, dirt, and gunk that's pilled after using the product

12. A lash serum that'll help them achieve the look of lash extensions without the triple-digit price tag. This miracle in a bottle is stuffed with amino acids, peptides, and vitamins that may make your lashes look longer and thicker.

reviewer photo of their lashes in february, march, and april and you can tell that their lashes get longer and thicker looking as the months progress

13. A versatile pore cleaning clay mask so you can snag the coveted title of World's Best Gift Giver. Sorry, Santa! It's an effective face mask (especially if they mix it with ACV), vacuuming gunk from their pores and brightening dark spots. It's also nice as a hair mask and bath and foot soak.

Before and after of a reviewer with patches of dark acne and scars on her cheek showing the mask dramatically reduced hyperpigmentation and helped get rid of breakouts

14. A long-lasting, super hydrating clear lip gloss if they love having moisturized lips but regular lip balm just isn't extra enough. This adds the perfect amount of shine without feeling sticky.

Reviewer wearing the gloss over a red lipstick

15. A pore-tightening, skin-lifting face mask for making their self-care time a little terrifying because 1. it'll make them look like a zombie when it sits on their face and 2. it's so darn effective.

Reviewer before and after showing the mask made their skin look tighter and reduced the appearance of some wrinkles

16. The Makeup Set — a trio of Glossier's bestselling Boy Brow brow gel, Cloud Paint cream blush, and Lash Slick mascara — because it's a fab collection of basic makeup products for both beginners and peeps who are more advanced.

17. A soft and gentle silicone massager brush to give them a deep clean that they can't get with their hands alone. These lil' scrubbers will exfoliate their sensitive skin, clean out their pores, and loosen dead skin cells to reveal softer, healthier, glowy, scrumdiddlyumptious skin.

Close-up of the brush to show its bristles

18. A Mario Badescu mist set that'll give them three more reasons to love you. Each mist solves a different problem, including the biggest problem of all — what the heck you're going to get them for the holidays!

19. A soothing multipurpose oil blend so they can lock in moisture instead of using approximately 50 million products that say they hydrate your skin...and then don't. Its gentle formula won't irritate rosacea, psoriasis, or eczema, but it will help them say goodbye to dry skin and frizzy hair.

A before photo of the bottom half of a reviewer's face. Their skin is red and splotchy, and it looks irritated

An after photo of the same reviewer. Now their skin looks glowy, even, and much less red

20. A reusable exfoliating Japanese towel if they want their entire body to feel as soft and smooth as a baby's bottom. It sloughs away dead skin to clear those annoying tiny bumps on the backs of the arms, reduces the frequency of ingrown hairs after shaving, and even helps clear backne.

reviewer's skin sleek and smooth after using towel

21. A Foreo Luna Mini 2 for gently exfoliating their skin without leaving it red, raw, or tight. They can wave goodbye to dead skin cells clogging their pores! 👋

BuzzFeed editor using the Luna Mini 2 with text "makeup, dead skin, cells, excess oil, grime, etc. All gone in 60 seconds"

22. A cruelty-free, versatile TooFaced eyeshadow palette because they're sweet on peachy pinks, bright corals, rich bronzes, and deep purples — and this palette is ~ripe~ with them.

Shadow swatches on three arms of different skin tones

23. A set of 16 sheet masks to address any and every skin concern, making it a great gift for the person you kinda sorta don't really know that well but are somehow buying a gift for them this holiday and you want to look like you at least tried.

24. A Haus Laboratories lip gloss from Lady Gaga that'll add disco ball levels of shine to their lips whether they wear it on its own or over another lippie. There'll be no poker faces here; you'll know how happy they are when they open your gift.

25. A three-piece cosmetic organizer so you and your roomie win. They'll finally have a chic storage option for all their makeup and you'll get back valuable counter space in the bathroom that was previously taken over by their makeup collection.

The organizer, which has four rows of drawers and a section for lipsticks, brushes, and nail polishes on top

26. A moisturizing hair treatment if they're the impatient type. In just eight seconds — eight! — it starts working to leave their mane feeling silkier, softer, and smoother after washing.

Reviewer with natural hair that looks voluminous, healthy, and shiny

27. A quartet of Slip silk scrunchies for anyone in the midst of the vicious cycle of needing to get their hair up and out of their face but owning only hair ties that lead to breakage and creasing. ICYMI, these are silk so they won't do either!

four silk scrunchies, one pink, one gold, one rose gold, and one white with mini gold stars

28. A Gillette heated razor because when does a nice warm shave not sound like a great gift? The heat setting is adjustable, and this waterproof razor conforms to the contours of their beautiful face for a super close shave.

29. A tub of brightening, firming, and rejuvenating eye cream to treat your late-night study buddy to a holy grail under-eye cream that'll hide the fact that you were both studying until 2 a.m.

Different reviewer's progression photo showing their eye bags disappearing over time

Reviewer before and after showing the eye cream reduced puffiness and dark circles

30. An Hermès mini perfume set that'll transport them to four lush, beautiful gardens around the world. It's almost like you got them an airline ticket but this is so much cheaper...soo much cheaper.

31. A set of flexible curling rods so they can achieve heatless curls and beautiful curl definition.

Reviewer with 4c hair wearing the curling rods

The same reviewer showing off their beautiful defined curls

32. And a set of face mask brushes if you want to really gift them the full spa experience. They make it easy to apply skincare hygienically, and they wash clean with warm water.

reviewer with wet looking face mask spread thanks to the brush

33. A pack of 24-karat gold collagen eye masks for helping them fool everyone into thinking they got eight restful hours of sleep — except you but, of course, you would never tell. These gold eye masks are rich in collagen and hyaluronic acid that bring back much-needed moisture and elasticity, as well as vitamin A and rose oil to calm, brighten, and protect from UV damage.

Reviewer wearing the eye patches, as well as their before and after photos showing the masks brightened the under-eye area

34. A scalp massager because they take shower time very seriously. A relaxing scalp massage is great for getting that blood flowing to the head while simultaneously breaking down buildup (hello hairspray and dry shampoo) that's making their hair oily and difficult to style.

Side view to show the soft textured bristles

Your giftee opening their presents:

20th Television Animation

The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.

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