50 of the best skincare gifts you can get at Sephora - from cult-favorite newcomers to beauty industry icons
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Skincare, like the convenience of home tech or casual talk about the weather, is an interest that unites a remarkable amount of us. We all want bright, clear complexions - and holiday cocktails, cookies, and late nights out with friends in dry winter air typically work against us.
Luckily, there's no shortage of products - and excuses to stay in watching the Yule Log in a face mask - to help with that, whether you gift them to yourself or opt to bless friends or family with a present that is simultaneously entirely practical and totally luxurious.
Below are 50 of the best skincare gifts you can buy on Sephora, from masks to serums to body wash. They're cult-favorites, industry gold standards, and notable newcomers. There are single products and sets that save you money. No matter what you get, rest assured they'll be excited to get home and use it.
Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.
Fresh Rose Face Mask
This beloved face mask from Fresh comes with real rose petals suspended in a silky gel. Once washed off, the skin looks noticeably brighter, plumper, and better hydrated.
Tatcha Rice Polish Powder
Tatcha Rice Polish Foaming Enzyme Powder, $65
The Polished Rice Enzyme Powder is a water-activated Japanese exfoliator that gently removes dead skin to create a smoother canvas for makeup application. You can also opt for versions that address specific skin concerns like dryness or oiliness.
Dr. Jart+ Dermaclear Trans-Foam Clay Trio
Dr. Jart+ Dermaclear Trans-Foam Clay Trio, $35
This trio of innovative, multi-action Trans-Foam Clay cleansers go on like a clay mask but transform into a gentle foaming cleanser.
Biossance Squalane and Glycolic Renewal Facial
Biossance Squalane and Glycolic Renewal Facial, $68
This is a peel, exfoliator, and mask all in one. Glycolic acids, fruit acids, and gentle mineral spheres work together to smooth, soften, and brighten.
Sephora Face Mask
Sephora Collection Face Mask, $6
Grab face masks that will visibly plump, hydrate, and brighten skin in as little as 15 minutes for just $6.
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment, $24
This dual-action exfoliator is nicknamed “the Hollywood two-minute facial” because it smooths and polishes for a brighter, more even complexion.
Drunk Elephant Pekee Bar and JuJu Bar Travel Duo
Drunk Elephant Pekee Bar and JuJu Bar Travel Duo, $18
Bars are ideal travel companions, not diluted with water and not subject to tight TSA restrictions on fluids. The JuJu bar exfoliates with a unique mix of bamboo powder and thermal mud, and the Pekee Bar gently cleanses, moisturizes, and balances the complexion thanks to natural ingredients like blueberry extract, macula oil, and honey.
La Mer Crème de la Mer
La Mer Crème de la Mer, from $85
La Mer is beauty royalty. The line began when Dr. Max Huber couldn’t find relief from burns suffered in a lab accident. Twelve years and 6,000 experiments later, he created the now-legendary Crème de la Mer.
Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist
Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist, $90
This legendary mist is at its most basic a neroli and rose-scented toning mist that makes skin look firmer and brighter. Omorovicza Cosmetics worked with a Hungarian Nobel Prize-winning laboratory to develop and patent the "Healing Concentrate" to deliver the minerals that naturally occur in the Omorovicza healing waters deep into the epidermis.
Erno Laszlo Detoxifying Double Cleanse Travel Set
Erno Laszlo Detoxifying Double Cleanse Travel Set, $30
The lightweight Detoxifying Double Cleanse travel set is an oil-and-bar team that promotes your skin’s natural detoxification and dissolves the trapped oils, impurities, and residue on contact for a purifying and luxurious experience.
Algenist Secrets of Algae Kit
Algenist Secrets of Algae Kit, $115
Here's a trio of Algenist best-sellers, all formulated with their patented alguronic acid (a naturally occurring compound from algae) to firm and smooth skin and minimize dark circles, fine lines, and puffiness.
Nurse Jamie Uplift Massaging Beauty Roller
Nurse Jamie Uplift Massaging Beauty Roller, $69
Massaging rollers have gone mainstream in the beauty community, and this one leverages a unique hexagonal shape and 24 massaging stones to temporarily lift and energize skin, mimicking the techniques used in signature facials.
Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm
Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm with Echinacea GreenEnvy, $34
Farmacy's award-winning makeup remover and face cleanser melts away makeup to leave skin soft and hydrated. Farmacy's focus on clean ingredients means the heavy lifters include sunflower and ginger root oils, turmeric and moringa extract, and papaya enzymes.
Jack Black The Balmshell Trio
Jack Black The Balmshell Trio, $19
Grab all of Jack Black’s beloved hydrating balms that are nothing like the waxy promotional kinds from our dentist's office that too many of us wind up using. They’re also SPF 25.
Laneige Holiday Edition Lip Sleeping Mask
Laneige Holiday Edition Lip Sleeping Mask, $20
This lip mask put Laneige on the map, and Sephora seems to have a tough time keeping enough in stock. The leave-on lip mask soothes and moisturizes for smoother, more suppler lips overnight. The holiday edition comes in bright packaging with a small pink applicator.
PMD Personal Microderm PRO and PMD Clean Holiday Bundle
PMD Personal Microderm PRO and PMD Clean Holiday Bundle, $223.50
PMD brings the same results as in-office microdermabrasion treatments to the home. The accompanying smart facial cleansing brush deeply cleanses and works to slough away dead skin and lift, firm, and tone.
Peter Thomas Roth Mask Frenzy
Peter Thomas Roth Mask Frenzy, $75
This set of Peter Thomas Roth’s bestselling masks target dryness, pores, and uneven skin tone using a combination of technology and natural ingredients inspired by the family’s 19th century Hungarian spa heritage.
Caudalie Vinopure Natural Salicylic Acid Pore Minimizing Toner
Caudalie Vinopure Natural Salicylic Acid Pore Minimizing Toner, $28
Iconic beauty brand Caudalie makes a popular pore-diminishing toner with 100% natural salicylic acid to control oil and the appearance of blackheads.
Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial
Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial, $80
This now legendary AHA/BHA at-home “facial” gently resurfaces the skin to remove built-up dead skin cells and reveal brighter, more even skin underneath. It’s also won multiple notable beauty awards, including a Best of Beauty from Allure and Reader’s Choice from InStyle in 2017.
Algenist Genius Ultimate Anti-Aging Cream
Algenist Genius Ultimate Anti-Aging Cream, $112
Algenist started out as a renewable energy project in San Francisco, but turned to skincare once their advances in biotechnology showed to have a firming affect. This cream uses that technology (which is mostly newly discovered Alguronic Acid) to combat weathered skin, visibly lift, firm, and brighten the complexion.
IT Cosmetics It’s Your Life-Changing Skincare Secret Set
IT Cosmetics It’s Your Life-Changing Skincare Secret Set, $68
IT was developed with leading plastic surgeons, and it has a particularly loyal fanbase. Their limited-edition gift set comes with a full-size Secret Sauce moisturizer and three minis of other popular products.
Glamglow Supermud Superstar Set
Glamglow Supermud Superstar Set, $39
Glamglow is responsible for much of the Instagram-worthy mud masks, and this colorful set comes with a full-size of their best-selling mask and two tubes of a pore-clearing charcoal and a visibly firming marshmallow leaf.
Bioeffect 30-Day Treatment
Bioeffect 30-Day Treatment, $290
This 30-day regimen is an intensive treatment with three different growth factors. It contains EGF, IL-1a, and KGF, which naturally occurrs in human skin, and is specifically formulated as a highly concentrated boost to regular firming skincare. It’s also Bioeffect’s most potent formula.
Herbivore Self Love Bath and Body Ritual Kit
Herbivore Self Love Bath + Body Ritual Kit, $36
What better gift is there than inspiring someone to take more time to appreciate and pamper themselves? This Body Ritual kit comes with a cohesive set of body polish, body oil, and bath soak with ingredients like Moroccan rose bsolute oil and coconut milk powder.
Drunk Elephant Hydration Serum
Drunk Elephant Hydration Serum, $52
This ultra-hydrating vitamin B5 serum replenishes nutrients in the skin and keeps working throughout the day, improving the skin’s texture and tone as time goes on. Drunk Elephant’s attention to biology means it’s formulated with molecular size in mind, making it lightweight but impactful.
Kiehl’s Head-To-Toe Hydrators
Kiehl’s Head-To-Toe Hydrators, $65
This limited-edition set of Kiehl’s products covers pretty much every body care basic — cream, polish, oil, and an ultimate strength hand salve.
Mount Lai Gua Sha Facial Lifting Tool
Mount Lai Gua Sha Facial Lifting Tool, $28
Facial lifting tools like these are used to address loss of firmness and elasticity as well as fine lines. The tools are smooth and cooling, and the facial massage promotes lymphatic drainage, which in turn depuffs skin. These are typically among the most highly rated by buyers.
Foreo UFO
When used with the brand’s accompanying face masks, Foreo’s Bluetooth-enabled device helps ingredients penetrate deeper into the skin for more efficacious results.
Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream
Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream, $68
Drunk Elephant built this moisturizer as a “protein shake for your face” — packed with a unique concentration of proteins and nutrients that the skin needs to replenish itself. It’s one skincare product I’d personally be most reluctant to give up.
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel, $88
These two-step treatment pads work like daily chemical peels. They’re loaded with alpha hydroxy acids like lactic, citric, and malic, and beta hydroxy acids like willow bark to exfoliate, nourish, and even out skin tone. It’s one splurge we swear by.
OleHenrikson 3 Little Wonders
OleHenrikson 3 Little Wonders, $72
This cult-favorite three-pack is a complete firming regimen — packed with the heavy hitters like vitamin C, AHAs, and antioxidants — formulated to work together as a many-armed team. When used together, OleHenrikson should visibly improve signs of wrinkles in as little as seven days.
Philosophy Limited-Edition Purity Made Simple Cleanser
Philosophy Limited-Edition Purity Made Simple Cleanser, $15
This award-winning cleanser is one of Sephora’s best selling skincare products, and its multitasking formula purifies, melts away face and eye makeup, and tones and hydrates. It’s also a 10-year Allure Reader’s Choice award winner.
Boscia Good Clean Fun Powered by Plants Skin Kit
Boscia Good Clean Fun Powered by Plants Skin Kit, $39
If they’re proponents of healthy and plant-based living, this is an especially thoughtful gift. It includes a cleansing oil, antioxidant mask, and moisturizer, all powered by botanicals and formulated without sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrances, and more.
Foreo Luna 2
Foreo’s LUNA 2 removes 98.5% of dirt, oil, and makeup residue with gentle and antimicrobial silicone touch-points pulsing 8,000 times per minute. It helps minimize the appearance of pores, acne, and blackheads. Foreo Luna is also one of our favorite skincare tools of all-time.
Dr. Jart+ Maskapalooza! Every Mask, Every Concern
Dr. Jart+ Maskapalooza! Every Mask, Every Concern, $139
This 21-piece mask set addresses every skin concern you could possibly have, from acne to dryness to loss of firmness.
Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate
Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate, $47
Kiehl’s famous nighttime oil restores and replenishes the skin while you sleep, when the skin is most receptive to repairing itself.
Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment
Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment, $158
Good Genes is the fan-favorite All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment. It's formulated with high potency, purified lactic acid that immediately exfoliates dull, pore-clogging dead skin cells to reveal brighter and more even skin.
Skin Laundry Hydrating Facial Sheet Mask
Skin Laundry Hydrating Facial Sheet Mask, $10
Not all face masks can say they've been clinically tested to hydrate skin up to 24 hours after just one use and minimize fine lines in as little as two hours. Thankfully, this is one does.
Shiseido Best Sellers Set
Shiseido Best Sellers Set, $60
Shiseido is one of the oldest beauty companies in the world, and this set comes with all their cult favorite anti-wrinkle products, including the eye contour cream many call a Holy Grail product.
Sephora Collection Cleansing and Exfoliating Wipes
Sephora Collection Cleansing and Exfoliating Wipes, $7.50
Sephora Collection has a line of exfoliating wipes, each with a particular skin-refreshing benefit for customization.
Glow Recipe Limited Edition Watermelon Jelly Tote Set
Glow Recipe Limited Edition Watermelon Jelly Tote Set, $35
Glow Recipe's cult-favorite line of watermelon-based products are prone to sell out, so you may have better luck with the highly giftable sets that come with a reusable mini tote. It includes an intense but lightweight daytime moisturizer, sleeping mask, and sheet mask so their skin stays hydrated all winter long.
Origins Our Best of Best
Origins “Our Best of Best” is a great value set. For $34, you’ll get a highly rated cleanser, treatment lotion, moisturizer, eye cream, blemish treatment, and two masks.
Sunday Riley Power Couple Duo: Total Transformation Kit
Sunday Riley Power Couple Duo: Total Transformation Kit, $85
Sunday Riley’s Transformation Kit includes two cult favorites: an all-in-one lactic acid treatment to exfoliate and moisturize the skin and smooth fine lines, and a night oil that has powerful but gentle trans-retinol ester and moisturizing botanical oils.
Josie Maran 100 Percent Pure Argan Oil
Josie Maran 100 Percent Pure Argan Oil, $48
Argan oil is one of those powerhouse ingredients that gets credit for its youth-preserving ability, and Josie Maran’s simple, pure vial of it is like a multitasking liquid gold — you can use it in your hair, on your nails, or all over your face and body to nourish skin and protect it from free radicals and environmental damage.
Drunk Elephant The Littles
Drunk Elephant The Littles, $90
Introduce them to the Drunk Elephant line that's taking the top sellers list by storm with these miniatures in a giftable pack.
Skin Summit First Aid Beauty
Skin Summit First Aid Beauty, $48
This beauty kit contains five First Aid favorites for deep hydration, including the Ultra Repair Cream, which is a rich, whipped emollient that’s clinically proven to increase hydration by 169% immediately upon application.
Lancôme Tonique Confort Re-Hydrating Comforting Toner
Lancôme Tonique Confort Re-Hydrating Comforting Toner with Acacia Honey, $26
This beloved toner by the French brand Lancôme is silky soft and it gently purifies while it rehydrates.
Tatcha Best Sellers Set
In several interviews, Meghan Markle has said that she loves Tatcha products, like the Classic Rice Enzyme Powder from earlier in this list — plus plenty of other best sellers that are in this set.
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence Karan Singh Limited Edition
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence Karan Singh Limited Edition, $229
A little of SK-II’s iconic essence will help lighten dark spots, improve radiance, and reduce the appearance of fine lines. These bottles have also gotten a bright makeover by artist Karan Singh.
Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Day Cream
Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Day Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 18, $60
This rich, fast-absorbing daily moisturizer reduces the appearance of lines and wrinkles and defends skin against the visible signs of aging and damaging UV rays. It’s also SPF 18.