Holiday Gift Guide: More Affordable Gifts
So I know I did a little first impressions of what I saw on the holiday gift sets... but I kind of wanted to go a little further and do a few more affordable things that I think you could get. Some are gift sets, some are just kind of things you might not think would make a good holiday gift. I'm going to try to suggest things in the $30 range because you can get some really exciting things for people for $30. Just as exciting as some higher end things.
Colourpop
I think if you really want to give someone a "Wow" gift for an affordable price, Colourpop is a great option. Plus they're still a pretty new brand and they're so unique that a lot of your friends or family would really like this. I think this would be good if you're buying them for a teenager or something too.
Now they have sets that are usually like 20-30 dollars... I think some of their cheek sets are like $39 cause they're cheek products are more expensive. You get free shipping with $30 and I think you get $5 off if you use the code thanksbabe... idk if this is still working or if it works more than once, you may need to subscribe to their emails for it... but I think that code still works. Not an affiliate code or anything, just a code everyone gets.
I have a few of their sets, I have the Kathleenlights Where The Light is Quad, the CoffeebreakwithDani Metamorphosis quad and a summer set that they have that I think is still available online. They have lip sets, eyeshadow sets, cheek sets and eyeliner sets... so there's a lot you can choose from.
But they come in cute packaging even if you don't get a set, so you could just pick out like 6 eyeshadows and wrap that up and that would still be a good value. I know not everyone loves cream eyeshadows or knows how to use them... the good news is there are tons of videos on these online, so if you don't know how to use them... you can easily find out how to.
Marc Jacobs Dot Perfume
Okay I know what you're thinking. "Shannon, you're crazy. That is $60. That's way more than $30." Is it though? Lol I found it at TJ Maxx for $30 and I love it! This is a great way to get a Fragrance gift because I know its hard to spend money on a fragrance and people don't spend this on themselves. This is a thoughtful gift and if you want it a little bit more affordable go to TJ Maxx. I feel like people would be just as excited getting the $30 one as the $60 one.
TJ Maxx has some great presents other than that. They have slippers and things, so its just good all around. If there's a toy drive in your area or something, they have a nice toy selection... so yeah.
Pacifica Rollerball Trio
Pacifica actually has some great holiday sets available at Ulta. They're a natural brand with all organic products and things like that and they have some new flavors that they put in their rollerball set. Last year they had Tuscan Blood Orange, Indian Coconut Nectar and then some sort of florally one... this year the only repeat scent was Tuscan Blood Orange. These are 3 Full Sized Rollerballs and the set is like 19.99 I think... Plus this would count towards any of Ulta's coupon deals I think since it is not a prestige brand... so you could use the 20% off coupon or the 3.50 off coupon and it would work. I think they usually do 20% off everything closer to Christmas... so that's cool too.
Manicure Set
This would be a DIY type of thing. First off, Nail Tools are really easy to find at an affordable price, and usually there are manicure sets at different places around the holidays that are usually cute. This is something I have quite a few of and these are some of the most useful sets.I use them all the time, my sister uses mine too (I'm probably going to get her one for christmas or her birthday. Shhhh... don't tell her!)
You could also kind of personalize this by getting them some nail polish. If you have a friend that asks you about your favorite nail polishes or that compliments you on your nail polish... take note of that and maybe get that for them. My favorite nail polish brands are all really affordable! I would recommend Wet N Wild Megalast and Essence over brands like Essie. Color Club is good... that's not super affordable everywhere, but I buy mine at Beauty Plus Salon and its really quite affordable there. I even won a set last year! Lol.
So this would be thoughtful.
Full Sized gift sets
Even at places like Ulta and Sephora, you can find full sized items from high end brands at affordable prices. Lorac was really killing it with their lip sets this year I noticed. They have a Full Sized Lipgloss set that comes with quite a few glosses for $25, there's a matte lip set with 3 full sized items that is definitely in this price range and I think they even have a lipstick set for around that price. If you know someone more into blush than lipsticks or lip glosses, Lorac's Unzipped Cheek Palette are some of my favorite blushes. I would definitely say that is a great set for $25. I think its great!
Sephora's in store brand has some great values for full sized products also. They have palettes that are like $10 or $15 and I've seen swatches and they look amazing. They also have a full size lip set I know and a set of 3 of their little tinted lip balms. These are an adorable stocking stuffer type of gift on their own and the set is only $18 for 3 of them... so thats pretty cool. Makeup Forever has a Pixi gloss set that I think is under $35... I'm going to look that up now... Nevermind its $43... so thats still a good gift considering the full size is $19. The Mini Plexi glosses aren't as good though, so if you see a mini set, don't waste your money on that. The applicator on the minis is really weird, but on the full size its really nice. I see they have a duo of 2 minis for $20... waste of money. Lol. Just my opinion... but they're so tiny and they just aren't as good.
Also the owner of Jouer mentioned on her snapchat that a lot of brands in sephora are owned by Sephora. And the Sephora In House brand is a little bit cheaper because they don't do the marketing. So a lot of the price of products is marketing. So keep that in mind before passing over the Sephora brand. I think if its a brand sold exclusively at Sephora and you can't find it at like Nordstrom or Ulta or Macy's or anything, it is likely owned by Sephora.
It Cosmetics
It cosmetics have some great sets for their makeup and brushes that are all in the $30 ish price range. I think one that seems like the best deal is a little mini palette with a mini mascara. I've always wanted to try their mascara even though I hear the ball part of it breaks off. The eyeshadows are also really good and they're all matte and then have a shimmery color that transforms your shadows. I liked the holiday set last year a lot, and this looks really nice and travel friendly too.
Brush Sets
Brush sets are always a good gift. Who doesn't need more brushes? Plus no one likes buying them for themselves. If you want a really affordable set, theres an Elf one... which is okay. They don't last that well after washing to be honest, but they have good eye brushes.
Real Techniques always has great brush sets. There's one I'm looking at that I may get since I don't think I'll be able to get the Tarte gift set. I'd stick to the more affordable line that they have. They have a more luxurious line that I haven't tried... but their regular brushes are so good, idk if you need to pay the extra few dollars for that.. idk if I'm paying a lot for a brush I want it to be better than Real Techniques... and somehow idk if these would be.
I recently reviewed an I on Beauty kit thats good. It cosmetics has some good travel sets, Ecotools is good with them. Sonia Kashuk always comes out with a nice set. Brushes are always good to have and they make good gifts! Especially if they look cute. Lol.
Bath and Body Products
There are always great deals on Bath and Body products. Whether its buy 3 get 3 free at Bath and Body works or 3 for 30 at Victoria Secret or buy 2 get 2 free at ulta... you can find good deals on Bath and Body Products and this is a good thing to get if you have a group of friends. Get bath and body products in scents that they will like... and yeah.
Ulta also has 5 for $5 deals around the holidays... I love those too. The Hand Creams from them are the best, they also have good nail polishes and stuff. Its not like crappy $5 things, they actually have good stuff there... so yeah. That's always fun to try.
And I think that is it. Even if something isn't in a holiday package or anything, you can still make it holiday-friendly and it's cute and good. Just because something is in a cute holiday package doesn't mean its the best quality, and just because theres a value kit with a ton of stuff doesn't mean its good quality. So these more affordable gifts in the $30 price range are usually pretty good. And its easy to get creative with!
Byeeee!
-SHannon
Colourpop
I think if you really want to give someone a "Wow" gift for an affordable price, Colourpop is a great option. Plus they're still a pretty new brand and they're so unique that a lot of your friends or family would really like this. I think this would be good if you're buying them for a teenager or something too.
Now they have sets that are usually like 20-30 dollars... I think some of their cheek sets are like $39 cause they're cheek products are more expensive. You get free shipping with $30 and I think you get $5 off if you use the code thanksbabe... idk if this is still working or if it works more than once, you may need to subscribe to their emails for it... but I think that code still works. Not an affiliate code or anything, just a code everyone gets.
I have a few of their sets, I have the Kathleenlights Where The Light is Quad, the CoffeebreakwithDani Metamorphosis quad and a summer set that they have that I think is still available online. They have lip sets, eyeshadow sets, cheek sets and eyeliner sets... so there's a lot you can choose from.
But they come in cute packaging even if you don't get a set, so you could just pick out like 6 eyeshadows and wrap that up and that would still be a good value. I know not everyone loves cream eyeshadows or knows how to use them... the good news is there are tons of videos on these online, so if you don't know how to use them... you can easily find out how to.
Marc Jacobs Dot Perfume
Okay I know what you're thinking. "Shannon, you're crazy. That is $60. That's way more than $30." Is it though? Lol I found it at TJ Maxx for $30 and I love it! This is a great way to get a Fragrance gift because I know its hard to spend money on a fragrance and people don't spend this on themselves. This is a thoughtful gift and if you want it a little bit more affordable go to TJ Maxx. I feel like people would be just as excited getting the $30 one as the $60 one.
TJ Maxx has some great presents other than that. They have slippers and things, so its just good all around. If there's a toy drive in your area or something, they have a nice toy selection... so yeah.
Pacifica Rollerball Trio
Pacifica actually has some great holiday sets available at Ulta. They're a natural brand with all organic products and things like that and they have some new flavors that they put in their rollerball set. Last year they had Tuscan Blood Orange, Indian Coconut Nectar and then some sort of florally one... this year the only repeat scent was Tuscan Blood Orange. These are 3 Full Sized Rollerballs and the set is like 19.99 I think... Plus this would count towards any of Ulta's coupon deals I think since it is not a prestige brand... so you could use the 20% off coupon or the 3.50 off coupon and it would work. I think they usually do 20% off everything closer to Christmas... so that's cool too.
Manicure Set
This would be a DIY type of thing. First off, Nail Tools are really easy to find at an affordable price, and usually there are manicure sets at different places around the holidays that are usually cute. This is something I have quite a few of and these are some of the most useful sets.I use them all the time, my sister uses mine too (I'm probably going to get her one for christmas or her birthday. Shhhh... don't tell her!)
You could also kind of personalize this by getting them some nail polish. If you have a friend that asks you about your favorite nail polishes or that compliments you on your nail polish... take note of that and maybe get that for them. My favorite nail polish brands are all really affordable! I would recommend Wet N Wild Megalast and Essence over brands like Essie. Color Club is good... that's not super affordable everywhere, but I buy mine at Beauty Plus Salon and its really quite affordable there. I even won a set last year! Lol.
So this would be thoughtful.
Full Sized gift sets
Even at places like Ulta and Sephora, you can find full sized items from high end brands at affordable prices. Lorac was really killing it with their lip sets this year I noticed. They have a Full Sized Lipgloss set that comes with quite a few glosses for $25, there's a matte lip set with 3 full sized items that is definitely in this price range and I think they even have a lipstick set for around that price. If you know someone more into blush than lipsticks or lip glosses, Lorac's Unzipped Cheek Palette are some of my favorite blushes. I would definitely say that is a great set for $25. I think its great!
Sephora's in store brand has some great values for full sized products also. They have palettes that are like $10 or $15 and I've seen swatches and they look amazing. They also have a full size lip set I know and a set of 3 of their little tinted lip balms. These are an adorable stocking stuffer type of gift on their own and the set is only $18 for 3 of them... so thats pretty cool. Makeup Forever has a Pixi gloss set that I think is under $35... I'm going to look that up now... Nevermind its $43... so thats still a good gift considering the full size is $19. The Mini Plexi glosses aren't as good though, so if you see a mini set, don't waste your money on that. The applicator on the minis is really weird, but on the full size its really nice. I see they have a duo of 2 minis for $20... waste of money. Lol. Just my opinion... but they're so tiny and they just aren't as good.
Also the owner of Jouer mentioned on her snapchat that a lot of brands in sephora are owned by Sephora. And the Sephora In House brand is a little bit cheaper because they don't do the marketing. So a lot of the price of products is marketing. So keep that in mind before passing over the Sephora brand. I think if its a brand sold exclusively at Sephora and you can't find it at like Nordstrom or Ulta or Macy's or anything, it is likely owned by Sephora.
It Cosmetics
It cosmetics have some great sets for their makeup and brushes that are all in the $30 ish price range. I think one that seems like the best deal is a little mini palette with a mini mascara. I've always wanted to try their mascara even though I hear the ball part of it breaks off. The eyeshadows are also really good and they're all matte and then have a shimmery color that transforms your shadows. I liked the holiday set last year a lot, and this looks really nice and travel friendly too.
Brush Sets
Brush sets are always a good gift. Who doesn't need more brushes? Plus no one likes buying them for themselves. If you want a really affordable set, theres an Elf one... which is okay. They don't last that well after washing to be honest, but they have good eye brushes.
Real Techniques always has great brush sets. There's one I'm looking at that I may get since I don't think I'll be able to get the Tarte gift set. I'd stick to the more affordable line that they have. They have a more luxurious line that I haven't tried... but their regular brushes are so good, idk if you need to pay the extra few dollars for that.. idk if I'm paying a lot for a brush I want it to be better than Real Techniques... and somehow idk if these would be.
I recently reviewed an I on Beauty kit thats good. It cosmetics has some good travel sets, Ecotools is good with them. Sonia Kashuk always comes out with a nice set. Brushes are always good to have and they make good gifts! Especially if they look cute. Lol.
Bath and Body Products
There are always great deals on Bath and Body products. Whether its buy 3 get 3 free at Bath and Body works or 3 for 30 at Victoria Secret or buy 2 get 2 free at ulta... you can find good deals on Bath and Body Products and this is a good thing to get if you have a group of friends. Get bath and body products in scents that they will like... and yeah.
Ulta also has 5 for $5 deals around the holidays... I love those too. The Hand Creams from them are the best, they also have good nail polishes and stuff. Its not like crappy $5 things, they actually have good stuff there... so yeah. That's always fun to try.
And I think that is it. Even if something isn't in a holiday package or anything, you can still make it holiday-friendly and it's cute and good. Just because something is in a cute holiday package doesn't mean its the best quality, and just because theres a value kit with a ton of stuff doesn't mean its good quality. So these more affordable gifts in the $30 price range are usually pretty good. And its easy to get creative with!
Byeeee!
-SHannon
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