The best beauty gifts are rarely the biggest beauty gifts. <br>
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They are the thoughtful little somethings, mind-over-materialism options; <br>
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stocking fillers that aren't merely filler. <br>
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What we want at Christmas is to ‘feel seen', as the young people put <br>
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it. Below are my favourite ways of doing this.<br>
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<b>Concoct a cosmetic</b><br>
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The best beauty present I gave myself in 2024 was to take <br>
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my favourite discontinued lipstick along to British beauty <br>
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stalwarts Cosmetics à la Carte and ask them to replicate it. <br>
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Or maybe you or your friend have never found ‘The One'.<br>
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One of C à la C's make-up artists can help you <br>
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discover it. <br>
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<strong>The brand also offers bespoke concealer, foundation, palettes and application lessons.</strong><br>
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An e-voucher for The Bespoke Lipstick Blending Experience <br>
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costs £80 (cosmeticsalacarte.com, last orders noon on the 24th), including the finished product, refills £70.<br>
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The joy factor? Priceless.<br>
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Beauty expert Hannah Betts says the best beauty gifts are rarely the biggest beauty gifts (stock image)<br>
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<u><strong>Proffer a Beauty Pie subscription</strong></u><br>
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For £59 you can give a loved one a Beauty Pie membership that will <br>
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allow them brilliant deals all year, on bestsellers such as its <br>
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YouthBomb 360° Radiance Concentrate (members £44, non-members, £185, <br>
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beautypie.com), or Brazilian Lime, Fig Leaves & Tea Eau De Parfum (members £28, non-members £60, beautypie.com).<br>
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<u><strong>Small, but perfectly-formed objects</strong></u><br>
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Andrea Garland has just released a fresh array of her glorious <br>
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Vintage Lip Balms (from £18, andreagarland.co.uk). <br>
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<b>I am no less passionate about the Gallic <br>
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brand Officine Universelle Buly.</b><br>
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Alas, its Selfridge's counter is all out of its exquisite engravable lip-balms (£43, <br>
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Selfridges, Oxford Street), however, combs can still be personalised (from <br>
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£27, both at buly1803.com).<br>
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Or console yourself with the Alabaster kit in the woody Sumi Hinoki scent (£70), a porcelain box, stone and flacon of perfume essence.<br>
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The loveliest beauty bibelot this Christmas is the Chanel Eau <br>
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de Parfum Refillable Purse Spray (£165), a sleek atomiser on a chain to <br>
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be sported as a bracelet or bag charm<br>
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The jet version boasts No 5 (still available at flannels.com); the white No 5 L'Eau <br>
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(chanel.com). In my fantasies all my womenfolk will receive one.<br>
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<b><u>Bijou beauty treats</u></b><br>
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Chanel and Dior produce the most thrilling lip and nail fillips.<br>
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Present me with a Chanel Nail Colour in Storyteller (£29, chanel.com) a magnificent,<br>
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deep purple, and a Dior Addict Lip Glow in Pink Lilac (£33,<br>
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Boots.com) on the 25th and I'd be an extremely happy woman. <br>
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I gifted myself a By Terry Ombre Blackstar Travel Stick in Bronze Moon (£17, sephora.co.uk) last December, and <br>
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this suits-everyone eye crayon is an absolute winner. <br>
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Women rightly go mad for Victoria Beckham Satin Kajal Liners <br>
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(£32, victoriabeckhambeauty.com), while no one has ever been disappointed by a Lancôme mascara (from <br>
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£14, Boots.com).<br>
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<u><strong>Hannah (pictured) believes what everyone wants at Christmas <br>
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is to ‘feel seen'</strong></u><br>
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<b>Beautiful body gifts</b><br>
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I'm praying some kind soul presents me with a <br>
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250ml-size Olverum Bath Oil (£78, ukolverum.com), enough for 50 soaks, plus <br>
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the Aromatherapy Associates Rebalancing Heroes Collection (£100, aromatherapyassociates.com), jam-packed with tranquillity restorers. <br>
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Oh, and a This Works Sleep Plus Massage Relief Roll-on (currently reduced <br>
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from £38 to £15.20, thisworkscbd.com) to grind into my neck.<br>
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<u>Gift sets that keep giving</u><br>
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The gift sets I most desire are ones that feel more considered, more unique.<br>
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Escentric Molecules M+ Discovery Set (£55, for eight 8.5ml sprays, escentric.com) is the perfect introduction to this brilliant <br>
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and beautiful perfume label. <br>
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A box from the Michael Van Clarke Luxury LifeSaver Cracker <br>
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Collection (now £75 for eight, vanclarke.com) plus a mini No 1 Brush(£28.50), could turn someone's hair <br>
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around. Nails Inc gift sets are sensational (from <br>
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£8, nailsinc.com): its Thermochromic Colour-changing Nail Polish Set (now £20) will delight children of all ages. <br>
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While Diptyque's jewel-coloured Sapin, Friandise & Étoile (Pine, <br>
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Sweet Treat & Star) set of holiday candles (£120,<br>
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diptyqueparis.com) is an utter, swooning delight.<br>
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<b>RACE YOU TO IT </b><br>
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<i><u>TYPEBEA G1 Overnight Boosting Peptide Serum </u></i><br>
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TYPEBEA G1 Overnight Boosting Peptide Serum (£43, sephora.co.uk) has sold out at Boots following <br>
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vast virtual excitement. <br>
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Powered by clinically-proven Baicapil™, this non-greasy formula harnesses <br>
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peptides to address hormonal hair loss, rejuvenating locks from the <br>
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roots while you sleep. Improvements should be witnessed <br>
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within weeks.<br>
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<i><u>£43.00 Shop</u></i><br>
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<u><i>SHEER BERRY LIP TINTS </i></u><br>
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<strong>Clinique Pop Lip & Cheek Oil in Black Honey </strong><br>
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A viral brownish berry, #BlackHoney driving over one billion views on TikTok. <br>
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<b>£23.50 Shop</b><br>
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<u><i>Victoria Beckham Bitten Lip Tint </i></u><br>
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A flush of colour also for cheeks in an orange-pink for warm-toned wearers. <br>
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£37 Shop<br>
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<strong><u>Vieve Lip Dew in Cherry </u></strong><br>
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The shiny finish of a gloss with the comfort of an oil in the perfect purple berry. <br>
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£21 Shop<br>
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<b>Haus Labs PhD Hybrid Lip Oil in Tint </b><br>
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Lady Gaga's award-winning cushiony, non-sticky shine in a gorgeous sheer violet. <br>
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£22 Shop<br>
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<b>Revolution Pout Bomb Plumping Gloss in Jelly Berry Mauve </b><br>
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Cheap, cheerful, brilliant - a purplish, peptide-packed berry with a plumping tingle. <br>
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<b>£5.99 Shop</b><br>
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<u><i>ICON OF THE WEEK</i></u><br>
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<strong><u>Emily Mortimer</u></strong><br>
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<b>Paddington star Emily Mortimer, 53</b><br>
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The Paddington star, 53, had her skin prepped for the <br>
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premiere via the Kichi Beauty Youth Bomb Method (£450, kitchi.studio), claiming to restore three years' worth of collagen. <br>
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<u><strong>Her essentials are Batiste Original Dry Shampoo (£4.99,<br>
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Boots.com).</strong></u><br>
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She also loves Pond's Cold Cream (from £9.98, amazon.co.uk) as a cleanser, and <br>
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L'Orèal mascara (from £5).<br>
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<u><i>COSMETIC CRAVING </i></u><br>
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<b><u>Garnier Anti-Fatigue Hyaluronic Acid Cryo Jelly Eye Patches </u></b><br>
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Garnier Anti-Fatigue Hyaluronic Acid Cryo Jelly Eye Patches (now £3.32, superdrug.com)<br>
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<strong><u>I'm not a great mask fan. I prefer to get bang for my buck <br>
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using stuff that stays on my face. </u></strong><br>
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<i><u>However, Garnier Anti-Fatigue Hyaluronic Acid Cryo Jelly Eye Patches are the exception. </u></i><br>
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These biodegradable de-parchers and de-puffers are always in my fridge,<br>
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not least at this challenging time of year. <br>
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This morning, for no particular reason - lack of sleep, sugar, <br>
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dehydration? - my face looked grey, sad and shrivelled.<br>
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I popped on my patches, going over them with a cheap metal eye roller (£4.99, Amazon.co.uk), <br>
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then massaged the excess into my face and neck.<br>
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Cured! Slip some into everyone's stocking - and lay a few down for New Year.<br>
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<b>£3.32 Shop</b><br>
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Chanel<br>
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The best beauty gifts are