At first blush, the beauty lover seems like an easy person to check off your gifting list: The possibilities are nearly endless. But while there may be many options to choose from, not all of them make for perfect presents.
Makeup can be tricky, unless you know exactly what the receiver wants. A hair product would be an unexpected gift, and for good reason—shampoo simply doesn’t make for an exciting unboxing. By contrast, masks or moisturizers are always in demand, but how do you choose the right moisturizer, for example? Where do you start?
Allow us to suggest the skincare set. There is no better beauty gift than a Japanese skincare set, There is no better beauty gift than a skincare set, which can offer them them a chance to explore and discover what they like before committing. Sets allow for the giftee to try multiple products in one package, seamlessly swapping them in and out of their current regimen as needed. (Many items in a set also come perfectly sized for travel.)
It also offers a rare opportunity to try a few items from one skincare range. Most companies formulate their different products to work in tandem with others in their collections, providing higher dosages of a particularly key ingredient, or ordering steps so that each application enhances the next one. Tatcha offers a range of sets suited to specific skin types, or that sample some of the brand’s bestsellers, or that simply showcase powerful Japanese botanicals.
On the other hand if you give a full routine, you’re giving more than just a handful of lotions: You’re giving a ritual. That short but significant part of one’s day can become more than just about self-presentation; it can become about self-care. Here are a few suggestions, based on skin type.
A skincare gift for dry skin
Those who deal with dry skin on the regular tend to crave creamy, hydrating skincare products. The Plump & Dewy Skin Trio packs hydration into a three-step skincare routine that begins with a gentle cream cleanse and ends with a rich moisturizer with a serum that plumps in between steps.
These three products are Tatcha dry skin bestsellers, comprising a variety of classic ingredients like squalane and hyaluronic acid paired with the brand’s signature active complex. A good starter skincare routine—or gift for anyone in need of dew.
A skincare gift for oily or combination skin
For friends on the other side of the skin spectrum, the Clarified & Balanced Trio assembles a simple starter pack for oily or combination skin. Whereas dry skin describes a lack of sebum production, oily faces have too much of it, and often benefit from products designed to tweak skin’s natural water and sebum reserves into balance. This oil-friendly routine swaps out a serum for The Texture Tonic, which earns its name from a suite of fruit-extracted alpha hydroxy acids that even out and smooth skin.
A skincare gift for mature skin
Some have oily skin, combination skin, or dry skin, but everybody develops mature skin, and it’s important to follow a skincare routine designed for aging skin. Due to our natural biology, our skin loses its ability to retain water, nourishment, and structure as life bears on. Collagen, elastin, and other proteins that maintain our skin’s integrity aren’t as readily replaced as they once were. Supercharged skincare designed with mature skin in mind helps fill in the gap. The Ritual for Firm Skin contains four steps starting with a luxe oil cleanser, followed by Tatcha’s Hadasei-3 proprietary concentrate of Japanese superfoods with essential amino acids, a wrinkle-smoothing serum, and a rich-yet-weightless gel cream to seal it all in.
A skincare gift for skincare lovers
Everybody has them in their friend group, if they look hard enough—the skincare obsessive. They won’t be impressed by a run-of-the-mill moisturizer. Instead, show them something truly impressive: A range of multi-tasking treatment serums. Enter the Serum Discovery Trio, a sampling of some of Tatcha’s most potent skincare technology: A botanically powered antioxidant serum that gently resurfaces the skin, a brightening powerhouse serum, and their latest addition The Silk Serum, which uses silk extract, plus upcycled cranberry extract and sea fennel forretinol-liker skin-smoothing.
A skincare gift for a group
Meet the Hydration Obento. The latter word is a cheeky reference to Japanese box lunches, but this particular obento isn’t edible. Rather than karaage or katsu, this box contains Tatcha’s bestselling moisturizers crafted with timeless Asian botanicals. There’s one for each major skin care concern, from oiliness and dryness to firmness and redness. If you’re stuck on a gift for more than one friend, consider splitting up this obento of luxurious skincare into four little gifts.
A skincare gift for a mom
Chances are your mother, or a mother you know, already uses a moisturizer. But there’s a good chance they only use one moisturizer. A gift like the Day & Night Moisture Duo not only provides them with two of the brand’s most popular formulas, but it offers the benefits of using separate creams for day and night as it’s a good idea to use two daily moisturizers.
A skincare gift for a makeup lover
There are skincare gifts for the makeup enthusiasts in your life, too, especially at Tatcha, where so many of the brand’s offerings are designed to prime and prep the skin for optimum makeup wear. There’s no need to decide between Tatcha’s popular face mist, cult favorite Liquid Silk Canvas primer, or lip mask, because the Prime & Glow Trio contains all three. Whether the giftee is a concealer fanatic or lip look afficionado, they will certainly appreciate a set that helps them achieve their very best application, every time.
A skincare gift for the one who has it all
Remember those Japanese obento lunch boxes? Imagine opening yours to find a seven-step skincare ritual, and you’ve just imagined the Luxury Obento. This platinum-standard gift for the ultimate skin whiz not only includes the brand’s most iconic skincare staples, from The Camellia Cleansing Oil to the The Rice Polish: Classic, but it also tosses in a few high-tech newcomers—including a retinol alternative and an eye cream that melts into skin for radiant eyes. In a way, this is a hard gift to give because it’s so tempting to keep it for yourself.
