Now that the season for gifting is all but over, I’m going to ask you an interesting question – do you or your friends give and receive beauty or beauty related gifts?
I thought about it because I notice that often, when you read gift guides for gifting over Christmas (and especially for the dreaded Secret Santa gifting), when it comes to the women in your life, often, the suggestion of a beauty item pops up.
It could be something small like a hand cream or body wash. Or it might be something more extravagant like a perfume or fancy makeup or skincare.
So, here’s your chance to be anonymous and tell me if you give and receive beauty gifts and if it sits well with you in general? 😉
My friends and I have a little gift exchange every year. They’re all ex-beauty bloggers, and while they may have stopped blogging about beauty, it is never far from our minds.
I think I can safely say that over the many years that we have been celebrating our New Year tradition of kicking off a year with a meet up, belly-aching laughter, fast food and gift exchange, we’ve more or less worked out what each of us enjoys.
And sometimes, there are no beauty gifts in sight! 😀
Last year, my gift recipient asked for a pepper grinder which I had a bit of a hard time hunting down. You’d be surprised at how hard it is to find a decent, wooden pepper grinder! But I loved the challenge – mostly because I love being submerged in the household and kitchen department LOL! 😀
This year, one of my friends asked for, and received a soup mug! 😀 Another received a hand-made pouch. I asked for, and was very happy to receive a blanket LOL! 😀
I know these all sound like random gifts, but they all have a reason behind them and why we wanted these products. It isn’t to say of course, that we avoid beauty related gifts altogether – we are beauty buffs after all! But sometimes, it isn’t just beauty gifts that get us grinning fit to split our faces in two 😀
On a personal note, I do enjoy receiving beauty gifts – often, it is because people know that I have a ton and a half of beauty products already, so they gift me the more unusual brands or products that I might not otherwise use. Sometimes, they gift me their favourites that I might not have come across – I’m not omnipresent after all.
For my birthday last year, a friend gifted me a little gift pack of samples of skincare that she loves, that I had not yet tried because some of them are either very pricey, or hard to get hold of. Needless to say, I enjoyed going through them all, trying new things, and finding something new to love enough to pick up full sizes of in future.
Similarly, I like popping a gift of beauty into my packages as well. I find that gifts of beauty can seem almost extravagant sometimes, because often, it may not be something you buy for yourself. Often also, beauty products are a “want” and not a “need” so if you have a tighter budget, then this will be the first thing you drop from your shopping list.
So, gifting and receiving little gifts of beauty can perk up someone’s day, because it is something so seemingly frivolous, yet extravagant, and perhaps even something you won’t buy for yourself 🙂
I love sharing some of my favourites with others, and hoping that they too will enjoy what I too enjoy. Sometimes, it’s a bright lipstick, just to nudge them to try something bright. Sometimes, it’s a favourite skincare product that I think will work for them.
But when I gift beauty gifts, I try to keep it a little more neutral. I’ve learnt my lesson and skip perfumes, because not everyone loves the same scents you do. Similarly, anything that is strongly scented, I avoid. I also avoid anything too specific skincare-wise, unless you are very familiar with your friends’ skin type or routine. Otherwise, I keep it general, and hope it’s something they might enjoy.
As for my gift I asked for, and received this year, it is a thermal blanket. Now, unlike what the name implies, it is not a blanket that keeps you warm, but a blanket that keeps you warm enough, yet is breathable, so you don’t suffocate in the heat.
I previously had one, but lost it. So, because I want to try cutting back on my use of air-conditioning, I decided to replace it, and our gift exchange came in useful!
It isn’t very expensive if you buy it online (prices range between RM35-60 depending on where you look and the quality), and it is made of lightweight cotton, with a fairly loose weave. For me, this is perfect, because there is enough of it to keep out the chill, yet it is breathable enough so you don’t feel too warm. Importantly for me also, it has a bit of weight – I like a bit of blanket weight as it helps me sleep better.
I plan to use this with the air-conditioning on a higher setting on hot days, and on cooler or rainy nights, with just the fan on. I’d tested it before previously so I knew that it was comfortable.
It might even help me keep my electricity bills low! 😀 At least that’s what I hope!
Do you usually give and receive beauty gifts and is it something you enjoy receiving?
I know that when I run giveaways of beauty products, there are always people who are more than happy to receive them, so I’m guessing that most people do LOL! But joking aside, I’m curious if you’d rather pick out your own beauty products or let someone gift them to you?
Paris B
In those days when I was in the exploratory mode, I was happy to receive beauty related items. However, skin care was a no-go zone because I have sensitive skin and tend to stick to what works. I explore skincare very very cautiously and would prefer to do my own experimentation.
Nowadays, when my beauty routine involves, base, concealer, blush, a bit of powder and a bright lip, I don’t quite enjoy receiving beauty products. I replace what I’ve used up and more or less use the same stuff. Also because I’ve gotten my skin to a state that I’m happy with, I have stepped out with just a light dusting of meteorites and nothing else.
In return, I have been rather “creative” with gift-giving. This Christmas, my friends and I started a new tradition in exchanging Christmas baubles. We pick a special ornament not costing more than $10 to exchange. We place them on each others’ trees when we visit for Christmas dinner/lunches. I’ve also chosen to donate to their favourite charities in their names because I realise we all have enough “stuff”. In a way, we’re choosing to give to others who are less fortunate and give “memories” instead of STUFF. This year, I’ve received paintings (I love and cherish) and a stash of my favourite coffee beans. It’s a gift that keeps giving.
/ends epic thesis
LOL No worries about the thesis – gives me something to read and think about 🙂 I think in many ways, we are probably the same, in that we have worked out roughly what works and what doesn’t so we avoid those that don’t work for us. If I weren’t blogging, I’d probably be a lot like you – more set in my choices of makeup and skincare and less experimental. That said, despite the arsenal available to me, I am still quite set in my choices, which really should tell you something 😛 I think your gift-giving ideas are good ones – not every gift has to be a physical item, and sometimes, a gift need not even be something fancy or expensive. In many ways, I think we are a little past that too 😀 Enjoy your coffee beans! 😀
Hi Paris, yes, I gift, receive and ask for beauty items for Christmas. My friends and I enjoy exploring new beauty items in deluxe sample size or lower price items such as hair care products, hand creams, make up removers, something suitable for all skin types… When we do Secret Santa, I’d love to receive beauty products in Christmas packaging.
Hi Susin 🙂 I think it’s great that you’re all discovering new beauty products together – half the fun of playing around, is having friends to talk to about it afterwards, instead of just keeping your discoveries to yourself! 😀 Oh and Christmas packaging gets everyone ALL THE TIME! LOL! 😀 Hope you got something nice for Christmas!
Gosh… guilty as charged! I’m forever giving good friends beauty related gifts and some, I’ve been doing annually since as long as I can remember! And then, sometimes, when I want to deviate, I try very very hard to not gift them something “beauty” related 😛 Honestly, I think most of em like it, cos they probably don’t/won’t spend that money for it. One of my friend has been using a makeup pouch I gave her for years until I decided to give her a new one so she can retire the old one 🙂 Anyway, I know everyone sees beauty differently, and I always like to think that it is nice to receive something slightly more whimsical. As for me receiving beauty gifts, I always and I mean ALWAYS receive bath and body products. I must give off some sort of vibe or maybe its a hint to tell me I stink and should shower more ( I hope not). It got to a point whereby I received the same exact thing TWICE, one for xmas from friend A and friend B who gave it to me for my bday. Anyway, maybe this year they might up to ante to Le Labo or Byredo toiletries hahahahaha. A girl can only hope!
LOL! You are the skincare queen and your gifts are very thoughtful – I can vouch for it as a very appreciative recipient! 😀 But you are right. Beauty is a bit of a luxury I feel, especially the stuff that smell and look nice, so often, people don’t put it at the top of their list of priorities. So, it’s nice to be gifted something, because it then feels special, and you get something nice and new to play with that you may not otherwise try! Actually, I tend to gift bath and body products too LOL!! The reason is because I figure that everyone would use it (people shower daily right?!) and a nicely scented one is usually nice and a luxurious treat aside from the regular Lux 😀 Also, I find it tends to be safer than things like makeup or skincare, which can be tricky due to personal preferences. I’m eyeing something from Le Labo or Byredo myself! Because the perfumes can be tricky, I might start with the body washes 😉
I love this topic because I LOVE giving gifts! I just love the consideration, planning, searching for and wrapping of gifts (even though I suck at wrapping – but I can use ribbons lol!).
This Christmas/New Years period I sent a whole bunch of L’Occitane goodies to family in Poland. I chose body products and hand creams I love. Nothing too risky (like skincare). I figured it would be a nice gift because L’Occitane over there is very expensive, so it’s a bit of an indulgent gift.
In regards to friends & my Sister, I’m a little more brave because most of my friends love beauty products of any kind and I generally know what they would use. I might buy them a product I love (that’s tried and tested), something they’ve asked for or even one of their staples (especially if its pricey).
For a friends recent 30th, I ordered some makeup brushes from Poland that are hand made in Japan. They were super pricey, but I know she will appreciate them! For my Niece (who is turning 14 this year) I’m thinking of purchasing for her a super expensive hair brush that hopefully she can hold on to and use forever! Strange??? 😉
You’re such a thoughtful gifter Sylvia! Your friends and family are very very lucky! And to send L’Occitane to Poland must have cost a bomb! I didn’t realise it would be pricey there – I had the impression L’Occitane would be more affordable throughout Europe. And no I don’t think a hair brush is a strange gift, if she will use it, or has long hair. If she cares for her hair, it will be something she’ll treasure so nothing wrong with that at all! 😀
My girlfriends and I used to randomly gift each other little skincare items we know the recipient would use and enjoy- a mask from a box of 5, one half of a twinpack, or buying an extra tube of hand cream, because we had such similar tastes. After my skin woes started, I asked them to stop as I’m not able to use anything, but I still got them gifts whenever I saw something I know they’d like. Recently they got me a very lovely YSL lipstick and it made me so happy 🙂 so yes to beauty gifts!
Aww that’s very nice of you and your girlfriends! Skincare is always tricky, but wow a YSL lippie! They must love you hehe… 😉 I do think it’s nice to gift beauty items too – sometimes it’s just too much of a luxury for some people to buy it themselves, and that makes for an unexpected, lovely gift!