Below I am including the perfect gifts for just about anyone and everyone in your life. From the beauty lover, the homebody, tech-enthusiast, and even the men in your life, I am sharing my favorite gifts for each individual person. Each section of this guide also includes specific gifts under $50 as well as splurge worthy items for when you’re feeling extra generous. This post is long, but if you scroll through the headlines you can find exactly what you are looking for.
When making the list, I tried to list items that were both practical but ‘extra’ in their own way. It’s important for me to pick gifts that serve a purpose, (considering anything that takes up space in my house without adding value drives me crazy) but is also fun to receive and something one wouldn’t typically buy for themselves. Additionally, even though each gift below is pretty basic and could be given to just about anyone, each gift below has a personality of its own so that the gift feels personal and thoughtful.
I hope this guide helps you with all your last minute shopping so you can love gift giving as much as I do. Happy holidays! xx.
For Anyone:
Home Gifts:
Home gifts deserve their own section entirely. With coronavirus basically defining 2020, people have been in their homes more than ever and a home gift has never been more meaningful.
I don’t know about you but a good scent in my home can make my whole day. Especially during the colder months and throughout the holidays, there is nothing more I love than a great candle. Here are some of my favorite scents that just about anyone will like.
For the hostesses in your life, I love to give great glasses, dishware, or even these cool coasters and cheeseboard to make hosting all the more fun.
For anyone who loves shots, these shot glasses are cute, fun, and so affordable. These are also a great gift for college students, considering a lot of home gifts aren’t practical for people living in dorms or student housing.
A great blanket will be meaningful to just about anyone, especially around the holiday months. My favorite is the barefoot dreams blanket, I promise it’s worth the hype.
Finally, a silk pillowcase is something you never knew you needed. After buying my first slip pillowcase, it’s hard to ever sleep on a normal pillow case again. These pillow cases make you feel like you’re sleeping at a five star hotel every night as well as they are great for your skin.
Wellness Gifts:
Like home gifts, these gifts are so crucial this year with the pandemic.
The slip face mask is an incredible gift and along with the other slip products I have mentioned, it’s the mask you never knew you needed. Silk is good for your skin so it will help anyone struggling with mask acne, as well as it’s comfortable, breathable, and looks fashionable on. I also love it because when I wear a mask with makeup, I feel like this mask does the least amount of damage.
An essential oil diffuser is the perfect gift for your home and for wellness. I should probably do more research on the specific benefits of essential oils in the air, but I love mine because it sets the tone and makes my bedroom all the more comfortable.
If you have ever seen or experienced one of these massage guns you know they are the real deal. Not to mention it’s currently $100 off at Nordstrom.
Byrdeo hand wash is so bougie, but it doesn’t dry your hands out like other hand sanitizers and smells so dreamy.
In the winter months chapstick is crucial. Here are my favorites.
Hand lotion is also crucial in the winter, but especially with coronavirus making us use hand sanitizer all the time I think we could all use some more hand lotion in our lives. I absolutely hate hand lotions that feel thick, but here are my favorites below that get the job done while also being comfortable to wear throughout the day.
For the wellness junkie or just about anyone, you really can’t go wrong with giving someone a hydroflask.
Lastly, if you are looking to splurge, the Dyson Hairdryer and Dyson Airwrap. When the Dyson airwrap first came out I couldn’t stop thinking about it but was convinced it wasn’t worth the price. I bought it with every intention of returning it after I proved my point, but now it is probably the number one item I cannot live without. Niall Horan also called it the one thing he can’t live without, so I am not the only one.
Loungewear:
With everyone wearing sweats these days, who wouldn’t love some new loungewear?
Tech Gifts:
Whether they are the reader or the type that would enjoy a google home, you really can’t go wrong with a good and basic tech gift.
Personalized Gifts:
These feel special to just about anyone because it lets someone know you were specifically thinking about them when buying the gift. I love giving personal tech accessories from The Daily Edited because they are cute, fashionable, and they have incredibly fast shipping. Another personalized gift I got from my sister one year though that I still love to this day is a hydroflask decorated with redbubble stickers to fit my personality. This gift was so meaningful and something I still use everyday.
For Her:
Jewelry Gifts:
Personally, jewelry is always a go-to when gift giving. Jewelry can be meaningful to just about anyone, but I am always sure to buy the right jewelry for the right person. Below I am including my favorite jewelry pieces for anyone special in your life.
Hoop Earrings
For anyone who wears earrings, a safe bet is always a great pair of hoops. Hoops will always be in style and can go with just about any outfit. You can buy a range of sizes depending on the person and spend just about any price depending on your budget. Personally, my favorite hoops to buy for people are these from Amazon for only $14. I wear them all the time and get endless compliments. They are comfortable, cute, durable, and no one can ever believe how cheap they actually are.
Bracelets and Necklaces from Links by Lauren are always my first go-to when buying a gift for just about anyone. I first got my bracelets from Lauren in October of last year when I was working at SoulCycle and didn’t wear much jewelry. My day to day life consisted of sweating multiple times a day and I was constantly moving around, so wearing jewelry wasn’t practical. These bracelets however have been my favorite and I literally haven’t taken them off since I bought them. I have worked out and showered in them countless times and still wear the same bracelets today that I bought well over a year ago, and somehow they look the exact same. These bracelets are cute, trendy, affordable, and durable making them the perfect gift for literally anyone.
Huggies
Anyone who wears earrings will love a good huggie. They are classic, very in style currently, cute, and so comfortable. A huggie can fit just about anyone’s lifestyle, and especially if they have multiple piercings these earrings can be so fun to stack. These earrings below are thoughtful, cute, and expensive looking while also being incredibly budget friendly.
A Classic Necklace
These never go out of style and can find a place in just about anyone’s jewelry wardrobe. I also love stacking these necklaces below, so they can be great for the minimalist to wear alone or the jewelry addict to layer with their already owned pieces.
Personalized Jewelry
For a gift that feels extra personal, I love buying jewelry with someone’s specific initial or even their name. I love this gift idea because most of the options below are super budget friendly, as well as make the receiver feel extra special knowing you ordered this gift specifically thinking of them.
Fashion Gifts:
Fashion gifts are hard because it is hard to know exactly what size someone is. For this reason, I usually stick to buying accessories for all the fashion lovers in my life. If I am wanting to splurge on someone in particular though, Golden Goose sneakers are my favorite gift because they can find a place in anyone’s closet, as well as they are comfortable, cute, and an unbelievably fun gift to receive.
Beauty Gifts:
When it comes to beauty I love hair care accessories. These can be used by just about anyone and are so adorable. I also am loving makeup and skincare trial sets from my favorite brands below.
Skincare Gifts:
For Him:
For just $50 you can get an entire box of GQ’s favorite products for men curated by NBA All-Star, Kevin Love.
A Plant:
For “plant daddies”…I know, I hate that I just said that too.
Some great plants you can order as gifts for a very reasonable price can be found here.
Whiskey Glasses:
For all the bourbon guys out there, these cups are classy and cool. The option listed here is nice and very affordable, but if you are looking to splurge these designer glasses are it.
Lighter Case:
Wallet or Card Case:
These are all so cool and something guys can easily keep in their pocket.
Money Clip:
Sneakers:
For anyone looking to splurge, Golden Goose sneakers are a great gift for a guy who loves fashion. They are cool, comfortable, and very basic to fit the style of a fashion focused guy. If they are sportier though, a cool pair of Nike’s could be a great option.
Uggs:
Remember when Justin Bieber called Uggs ugly but then apologized when he realized how comfortable they were? (Same I didn’t wear my Uggs for over a year because of it) These Uggs are so cool looking in my personal opinion though, and I don’t think anyone can deny how comfortable they are.
Guys are obsessed with Lululemon and if you know a guy who isn’t, they likely haven’t tried it. My dad refused to try Lululemon until I bought him joggers for Christmas one year and now it’s just about all he wears. When I worked for lulu, I saw guys with the exact same story as my dad coming in all the time.
I hope all these gifts were helpful, check in the top bar above for more specific gift guides and comment your favorite gifts below! I would love to hear your opinions just as much as I love sharing my own.
Been a long minute, I know, but for the past while now I have been saying I want to get back into blogging but “I don’t have time..” well now that we’re in quarantine, I have nothing but time so here we go.
For anyone who knows me, I am obsessed with skincare. Obsessed. It’s all I talk about, all I think about..and while I am by no means an expert, I’ve decided to share what works for me.
My whole life my skin has been somewhat complicated. In high school it was always aggressively dry due to swimming everyday and the chlorine, and it was basically too dry to ever break out. When I went to college and quit swimming however, my skin went psycho. It was oily and all the sudden I was breaking out all the time and I didn’t know what to do. So that’s how I got into skincare. Now I am literally obsessed with anything and everything that will improve my skin, so I am sharing some of my staples below.
April 2020 Skincare Favorites
1.) Goop Replenishing Night Cream
I cannot talk about this product enough. It is by far my favorite product I have ever purchased. This sounds dramatic, but I promise it’s true. Like.. I don’t know if I could even live life without it. While this product is pricey, it is 100% worth it. Out of every product I have ever purchased this one has changed my skin more than any other.
I absolutely love this product because I hate thick moisturizers, which I have found most night creams to be uncomfortably thick. Thick moisturizers are uncomfortable, they clog my pores, and then I end up breaking out even more. Gross. This moisturizer though feels like the perfect thickness, to where it is giving my skin all the moisture it needs while not giving it too much. This moisturizer is also great because it has Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid in it. The Vitamin C brightens my skin so the coloring when I wake up looks amazing, while the Hyaluronic Acid firms, tightens, and moisturizes my skin so my skin wakes up looking rested, but still bright and moisturized.
I literally could not recommend this product enough.
2.) Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream
It took me a while to get into Retinol, but I really love the Drunk Elephant Retinol and definitely would consider it one of my favorite face products. I love this retinol because it is strong, without being too strong. This lets you can use it more frequently and it is also good if you haven’t used retinol before using this product, like myself. While retinol is typically used to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as well as even out skin complexion, I also love it because it kills any and all zits. If I put this on at night, I wake up in the morning with tighter skin and any smaller zits will be completely gone and more cystic ones are basically gone. This product honestly kills cystic acne better than any other product I have ever tried.
I use Drunk Elephant Retinol every two or three nights and follow it with the Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum, and then my Goop night cream I talked about above.
While this product is also pricey, a little goes a long way and the tube will last you forever.
3.) The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
So the most incredible face product I have ever purchased is hands down the Glossier Super Pure serum, but this product has been unavailable for almost a year. Obviously this put me into a full panic, and I therefore had to find another product that would help with my breakouts and skin redness. After doing research, I found The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% and found that it is incredibly similar. While I still think I like the Glossier serum more, this serum from the Ordinary is definitely a staple in my skincare wardrobe. This serum reduces my breakouts and calms my skin, making it dramatically less red. I put this serum on, after my Drunk Elephant Vitamin-C Serum, on every morning.
4.) Drunk Elephant C-Firma Vitamin C Day Serum
For sure the best Vitamin-C serum I have tried. This serum brightens my skin dramatically while also making my skin look and feel tighter. When using this serum however, it is super important you use it right in order to achieve the best results. First, you have to make sure you use this serum before it goes bad. I use this serum every morning, and it’s a bright orange color. If the color gets too dark, you know it has gone bad and you can’t use it anymore. Sad! Next, make sure you use this product on a clear face. I always put this serum on right after washing my face, before any other products. If my skin is too dry, sometimes I will put on Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum before to hydrate my skin, but only if needed.
As someone who definitely has an issue with chapped lips, this product is a must. Ever since I started using this product, my lips have been dramatically less chapped as well as they have been less red and inflamed. Frequently if my lips are too chapped, they will start to get red and inflamed on my lips as well as on the skin surrounding them. This lip mask has totally cured the redness around my lips and made them a pretty pink color. I wear this lip mask every night as well as I put it on throughout the day.
Before I discovered Goop Instant Facial, I loved Drunk Elephant Baby Facial. While I still love Baby Facial, the Goop Instant Facial has replaced Baby Facial on my top-shelf taking the win for my current favorite face mask. This face mask is intense enough to remove basically all dead skin, but not too strong that it strips or harms my skin. I use this mask maybe twice a week to clear my skin of all dead skin and to make it look brighter and softer. I use this mask at night after cleansing, and then I follow with the goop night cream.
7.) Kate Somerville EradiKate Acne Treatment
Definitely my favorite spot treatment. I wear this every night and it not only unclogs my pores but it dramatically reduces redness and gets rid of any zit without overly drying or leaving scars.
From the first time I saw All Access, I loved the colors and the cut of the sets but I had never purchased one for myself until I saw their newest collection of styles and colors. After wearing my new All Access set once, I was immediately hooked. This workout set is honestly one of the most comfortable sets I have ever put on and I now want to wear it at all times. The fabric is so soft, the set fits just right, and it’s so easy to move in, making it perfect for any workout!
I wore this set to SoulCycle the other day and absolutely loved it. The waistband was tight but not too tight, the waistband didn’t roll during my workout at all, and I didn’t ever feel like I needed to pull my leggings up. Will definitely be buying this set in every. single. color!
Bra (All Access) // Leggings (All Access) // Sneakers (Golden Goose, similar linked here and here)
Photography by Hayden Farr
shop more from all access below!
Along with their store just being amazing, their pieces are so cute, they are super high quality, and I am obsessed with the vintage trend! While Reformation’s pieces look vintage, they are also current and very in style.
This top in particular I love wearing out shopping, hanging out with friends, or even dressing it up for a nice dinner. I have worn this top with jeans, jean shorts, high-waisted skirts, or nice pants/skirts with a jacket.
Shop this top in black, or in a pattern now at Reformation!
Top (Reformation) // Jeans (Mother) // Belt (Hermes)
Recently, I have been sharing a lot on my Instagram story about what Reel is, why I love Reel so much, and an exclusive discount for $15 any purchase of $100 or more!
Through Reel, you are able to save for almost anything you could want by paying for the items gradually, so you don’t go in debt. My favorite time to use Reel is when I know I have an event coming up in a few months, but I don’t want to spend my entire budget at once. In order to get all the pieces I want, on time, and not have to worry about saving, I love ordering all my outfits through Reel about a month in advance and Reel will slowly pull the money out of my bank account each day, without me even thinking about it! Reel makes shopping easy and stress-free, so shopping can be as fun as it should be. Whenever my items come in, I feel as if I have no buyers remorse because I know I saved for the item, I know I really want the item since I have waited so long, and I know I deserve it.
My most recent purchase through Reel was a Pop & Suki bag that recently came in and I am obsessed. I have always wanted one of these bags, but I never brought up enough courage to buy it until I discovered I could buy it on Reel. Buying it on Reel made the purchase easy for me since there was little commitment by only paying $10 a day, and the bag was here in what felt like no time!
In the future, I can’t wait to buy more items on Reel for special events or trips I have planned. I am already searching for the perfect dresses for sorority invites, the perfect swim suits for my next beach vacation, and even the perfect bag to reward myself with at the end of the school semester. Reel really does make shopping fun, easy, and so guilt free!
