HOW are the holidays here already? I feel like every year it gets more and more shocking how quickly the holidays sneak up on us. I wasn’t ready to let go of October! But the season is here and it’s time to start thinking about holiday gifts. Need ideas? Look no further, because I have found the best cruelty-free holiday, skincare, and beauty gift ideas for all of your beauty-loving family and friends!
Cruelty Free Beauty Holiday Gift Guide 2021
The holiday season is just around the corner, and that means it’s time to pick out those perfect gifts for your friends and family. This year why not give them some cruelty free health and beauty products? Here are some of the best cruelty-free holiday health and beauty gifts you can find in 2021! This year I wanted to focus on a few unique gifts for unique people rather than list off everything that you can find online with a quick Google search. What do you get for the person who has everything? How about a gift that is ethical and cruelty-free? These gifts are guaranteed to make their holiday merry and bright!
Best Gift Set for the Mom Who Needs to Treat Herself
Dermalogica holiday gift sets are always a good idea. But they are an especially nice gift for the mom in your life who never takes the time to treat herself. She’s always taking care of the family and everyone else, but not herself. There are several artist-designed Dermalogica gift sets to choose from. Pictured is the Our Best Cleanse + Glow ($143 value for $95), which comes with full-sized versions of my favorite Dermalogica products: PreCleanse, Special Cleansing Gel, and Daily Microfoliant. Our Hydration Heroes ($115 value for $85) gift set comes with everything mom’s skin needs for the dryer winter weather: full-sized Hydro Masque Exfoliant, deluxe travel sized Multi-Active Toner, and deluxe travel sized Skin Smoothing Cream. These are also a great value if you want to stock up on your own cruelty free skincare favorites.
Best Gift for the Friend Who Really Needs a Spa Day
We all have that one friend who gives so much to everyone else but never gets any me-time to relax in a REALLY nice spa. Give her the gift of a free spa day with a milk + honey gift card! I visited milk + honey in Brentwood recently and I can’t say enough good things about this place. It’s absolutely beautiful and tranquil. I had an amazing facial that included a skin analysis, cleansing, exfoliation, a mask, very thorough extractions, toning, a wonderful face/neck/shoulder massage, and ended with a good moisturizer.
They also offer massages, lash extensions, body treatments, natural nail services, waxing, and medical aesthetic services at select locations. The spa has several locations in Houston, Fort Worth, and Austin, Texas, as well as their newest one in Los Angeles. If your friend doesn’t live near these locations, consider sending them some milk + honey cruelty free beauty products. The body creams and room sprays are AMAZING!
Best Kit for the One with all that Beautiful Hair
If you have a friend with curly hair, I have the perfect gift idea. Cruelty free and vegan haircare brand, VERB, has several gift sets to choose from (for all hair types). The define + shine kit is a curly girl’s dream. It’s just $25 and comes with Curl Cream and the cult favorite, Ghost Oil. You only need 2-3 drops of this yummy oil on damp or dry hair to smooth away the frizz and add all-day shine without weight. These products work on every variety of curly hair: wavy, curly, coily, fine, thick, or course.
Best Gift for a Healthy Family
With everything going on this year, is there anyone who ISN’T thinking more about their health? I know I am. For years I have had an air filter in pretty much every room of my house. But changing those air filters gets expensive, and they can be loud (especially during Zoom calls for work). When I heard that there was a completely quiet air purifier that doesn’t need air filters, I was immediately intrigued!
AirFree makes air cleaners that heat and kill 99.99% of fungi, bacteria, viruses, pollen, pet allergens, dust mite allergens, and other nasties. So, instead of sticking to a filter, the air pollutants are actually heated to 400 degrees and sterilized (it’s the same concept as boiling water, but no water is needed). Then, the air is cooled and released, so it doesn’t heat up your room. It’s perfect for a baby or kids’ room.
It’s completely silent, there are no filters, it releases no ozone or ions, it’s fairly small and unobtrusive, it doesn’t use much electricity, and there’s no maintenance required. You just plug it in and let it stay there to clean your air! There are several different models. I received the AirFree P ($299.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond) to test out and I’m a fan! Check out their site here. Maybe you need one for yourself AND one as a gift for a healthy family in your life?
Perfect Holiday Gift for the Aspiring TikTok Makeup Influencer
What do you give someone who loves TikTok and aspires to be a beauty or makeup influencer? An Ilios Beauty Ring lighted mirror will make their day! It has five brightness settings, three color modes, a close-up mirror (and optional 10x mirror), and doubles as a ring light! You can remove the mirror, dock your camera phone, and record videos or live-stream.
You can even use it for Zoom calls. I like to use the mirror to touch up my face right before a work call, and I use the lower setting on the ring light to brighten up my face while on camera. The brightest setting is SUPER bright – possibly the brightest mirror/ring light I’ve ever seen! It was designed by lighting experts and perfected by celebrity makeup artist, @makeupbymario. Kim Kardashian called it “the best makeup light ever!”
Best Gift for the Work Wife or Work Husband
Do you have a work friend on your gift list? Maybe you don’t want to go crazy, but you want to get them a little something to show your appreciation? First Aid Beauty has the perfect gift at the right price point. Their Clean Karma gift ($11) comes with a 2 oz deluxe travel-sized Face Cleanser in a super cute gift box that doesn’t even need to be wrapped! I love this cruelty free face cleanser because it works for all skin types (really) and makes my skin feel refreshed and clean. This cute little dose of clean skincare in a box also makes a great stocking stuffer or Hanukkah gift!
Over the Top Holiday Gifts for the One You Love the Most
The Drunk Elephant Trunk 5.0 ($676 value for $450) is the gift to rule them all! This limited edition set comes in a Drunk Elephant branded Monos carry-on suitcase that is packed with TEN full-sized Drunk Elephant skincare products! You get all of this (plus some additional samples): Protini Powerpeptide Resurf Serum, A-Passioni Retinol Cream, C-Firma Fresh Day Serum, T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum, B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum, C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream, Protini Polypeptide Cream, Lala Retro Whipped Cream, Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser, and my favorite, T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial! It’s currently out of stock at Sephora, but you can get it directly from Drunk Elephant or from SpaceNK.
The Trunk 5.0 is obviously a really nice gift, but also a bit pricy. If you’re looking for a slightly more affordable way to give the gift of luxury skincare with Drunk Elephant, check out the Saving Face Resurfacing Skincare Kit – The PM Routine ($155 value for $98). This cute little egg-shaped box comes with a full-sized T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Resurfacing Night Serum, and travel-sized Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser, Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer, and F-Balm Electrolyte Waterfacial Mask.
There you have it – the best cruelty free holiday health & beauty gifts that I’d personally love to receive! Those are some of my top picks for 2021. I hope you find something that will work well for your loved ones and give them a little extra pampering during the holidays. Happy shopping!
wonderful ideas