Written by Audrey
Today freelance makeup artist Audrey of Makeup by Audrey has three ideas for fun makeup sets to add to your Christmas list.
I have such a weakness for makeup sets. They usually suck me in with cute packaging and then seal the deal by offering a good price.
During a recent visit to Sephora (ahem, purely for educational purposes), I discovered a bunch of fun makeup sets that tickled my fancy. Did I need any of them? No. But did I want them? Of course! And guess what? It’s that perfect time of year for frivolous expenses!
To help you write your letter to Santa (or be a gift-giving Santa yourself!), here are my top three favorite makeup kits this holiday season:
Benefit Cosmetics Her Name was Glowla $36 Benefit delivers yet another cutely packaged set (although let’s face it, not very durable or travel friendly) designed to give you a glowing face. It’s quite comprehensive with a set of very pretty shimmery eyeshadows in neutral shades, the popular Coralista blush, mascara, and a coral lipgloss. It even boosts the “glow” factor with a set of High Beam and Moon Beam highlighters.
This kit is very novice-friendly as it includes a fold out instruction card that shows step by step where you would place each of the products, even describing which applicator should be used! Speaking of which, it should also be noted that this set includes a blush brush and a double ended eye shadow brush. In my experience, these are decent brushes that are definitely usable and not the “throwaway” kind you usually get in other sets.
Who Would Love This Gift: Pretty much any gal! The colors are universal and would make a great daytime look for anyone.
Smashbox Eye Wish Palette $45 My eyes were first drawn to the stunning gold packaging of this eye palette. After a closer look, I fell in love with the mix of shades and finishes. It comes with 12 eyeshadows, and you’ll probably never guess which one is my favorite. Ready? The matte bone shade! — otherwise known as the most boring color in the set. But it is also the shade that I use 99% of the time on my browbone. I’m all for experimenting, but it’s also nice when you can do a complete eye look with one palette and they almost never include that basic matte shade. It’s usually all shimmer city, and I’m not really one to bust out disco ball eyes.
The bottom four shades are cream eyeliners that can also be used as bases. One drawback is that this kind of packaging is not ideal for creams as they’re more likely to dry out. You’ll have to be careful with that. This kit really thought of everything and even includes mascara and the always-essential eyeshadow primer (I have the full-size version at home — works great, but might be a little drying).
The big bonus here? Similar to the Benefit kit, this one also comes with instructions. The difference here is that Smashbox provides a set of instructional eye charts for 10 different looks that are all nicely stored in a little slot under the mirror.
Who Would Love This Gift: The sultry, sexy gal who knows how to rock a smoky eye and loves to experiment with different kinda of colorful looks.
Too Faced Pixie Perfect Collection $42 Once again, I was drawn to the cute packaging of this makeup set by Too Faced. The quilted, decorated case makes a perfect “on the go” makeup bag. They also did a great job with on the products. I really like the bronzer/blush duo — the blush coincidentally looks very similar to the Benefit Coralista blush mentioned above. Also similar to Benefit, they included their own popular mascara as well as a pretty coral lipgloss. And, of course, Too Faced made sure to include a miniature version of their flagship product, Eyeshadow Insurance (a primer which works well and, to the point above, isn’t drying).
I was really intrigued by the eyeshadow quad. You have a matte taupe shade and two shimmery shades of brown that I think could work well for both daytime and nighttime looks. But I was truly fascinated by the fourth shade. It’s hard to tell in the picture here, but it’s basically a cream color with tiny flecks of gold. Now to be honest, I usually stray away from any shadow with any kind of chunky glitter in it (I’m looking at you, Urban Decay!), but this is very fine and delicate, like pixie dust! Would I wear it to work? No way! But to a holiday party? Most definitely!
Who Would Love This Gift: The girly girl who loves to glow *and* sparkle. 😉
Have you tried any of these? If so, please let me know what you think!
I would also love to know if there’s any makeup on your Christmas wish list this year! Do tell.
Written by Audrey
This post was written by Audrey, a freelance makeup artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her makeup creations can be found on Makeup by Audrey. She welcomes you to follow her makeup adventures on Facebook and Twitter.
I have Urban Decay’s Naked Palette & 24/7 Jackpot Set plus Sleek MakeUP’s newest limited edition eyeshadow palettes (among other things) on my Christmas wishlist :).
i quite like all of benefit’s holiday sets this year. i’ll probably be adding some of them to the wishlist as well ;).
Hi Dani! Great picks, I love both the UD Naked Palette and 24/7 pencils! I love all the colors in the naked palette and they are very wearable. And I picked up the 24/7 sets in past years so I can see that Jackpot set being a big seller.
I never heard of the Sleek MakeUP line – I took a look and it looks pretty nice 🙂
I think that the Smashbox set looks great and may get it with my discount at work (Ulta). I have the new Urban Decay 24/7 jackpot set like Dani and absolutely love it! Limited edition sets are fun 🙂
Oooh… Ulta discount? Nice hookup! Aren’t the 24/7 pencils the best?
Happy Thanksgiving! I soooo want to get the eye wish palette, the colors are gorgeous in person!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Vanessa! Yes, Smashbox did a great job with these colors!
I have wanted the Benefit set for awhile, but just haven’t gotten off my butt to get it yet. :S
Haha, get to it, Maria! 😀
Benefit Blushes are the best. If you are are looking to win free beauty products this holiday season check out http://blog.imagebylauren.com. Todays give away is a Tweezerman Eye Lash Curler. xoxox
All you do is have to comment on the post: http://blog.imagebylauren.com/beauty/tweezerman-eye-lash-curler/
OK, thanks for the heads up, Jessica!
I am after the UD 24/7 Jackpot and the Benefit “Some Beauty To Love”: both contain items that I always wanted to try, but was reluctant to buy full size/price! I will have finished my exhausting P10P in one or two days, so… Sephora I am coming!!! ^_^
Definitely think sets are the way to go for 24/7 pencils… other than zero, I don’t think I need full size of the other ones 🙂
That Benefit kit is a good one, too! I’ve always wanted to try “That Gal” myself.
And you were successfully able to complete P10P??? Wow, kudos to you! I don’t have that kind of discipline. 😉
The Smashbox set looks great! Love the shadows and the packaging. I’ll probably check it out soon.
Yes, it’s fabulous! 😀
I got the Wish eyeshadow set last year, the bright pink one, and it was just not that great. I felt like the formula of the shadows were not the same as Smashbox’s usual offerings. I ended up giving it to my sister, who isn’t a makeup snob in the least, and even she had complaints.
Oh, no, really? Well, that’s disappointing! Thanks for the heads up! Maybe Smashbox got feedback on last year’s set and improved this one???
I really want the Nars lipgloss set ( Follow the Boys) and I recently picked up Benefit’s Some Beauty to Love set. i love it! It comes with 2 full sized products along with 2 deluxe size for an amazing price.
Ah that NARS lipgloss set looks amazing! And yes, that Some Beauty to Love set is another good pick 🙂
I really really want the Benefit kit but I bought myself a Chanel quad last week … Not sure if I have enough time to turn things around with santa, now. It’s less than a month away.
Ooh a Chanel quad… very nice! Well you never know – stay on his good list, and maybe Santa will surprise you! 😉
The packaging of the Too Faced set is by far the best. I love the four shadow compact. It’s perfect to throw in your bag and always have on hand.
Yes, I agree, the Too Faced set is super adorable! And I agree about the eyeshadow compact – great color combo!
I really want Bobbi Brown’s Sparkle Glamour Quad, and Dior’s Five Golds palette. Gorgeous!
Ooh, yes, those two are gorgeous and luxurious!!!
Hey I loved this post! I really like the toofaced set- will def be on my Christmas list ;)!
Thanks Brittany! Fun – hope you get it! 😀
I’d heard the bad reviews about last year’s Smashbox Eye Wish palette, too, but ended up taking a chance on this year’s anyway. I’m so glad I did. I received it about a week ago, and I’ve worn it every day since – never the same mix of colors twice, and I’m amazed at how great they all look together. The shadows are nicely pigmented, creamy, easy to apply, and seem to have good staying power (though I’ll admit, I always use a primer). I’ve enjoyed the liners – nice departures from basic black or brown – and I’ve been a fan of Lash DNA since receiving a sample in another set. Overall, this is a really nice set. If I had any friends or family who were into makeup, this is definitely what they would be getting for Christmas.
Great review, Alison! I’m so glad you like it!!! The last thing I need is more eyeshadows but this one might be hard to resist 🙂