Whether you’re buying a gift for Karen in finance (who you’ve spoken two words to since you started your job), your work bestie or you’re looking to spoil your nearest and dearest, here at Cult Beauty we’ve rounded up the best gifts to give for secret Santa – no matter the budget.
SECRET SANTA GIFT IDEAS
From make up marvels and hair care heroes to skin care saviours and fragrance favourites, we’ve got the perfect gifts to give for secret Santa no matter who’s name you draw…
BEST SECRET SANTA GIFTS UNDER £30
We can’t talk about gifts to give for secret Santa without serving up Benefit's Whole Latte Lashes set. Featuring the brand’s iconic BADgal BANG! and Fan Fest Mascara, this dynamic duo not only takes flutters to new and improved heights but coats and separates each lash to grant lift, strength and length too. We’ll cheers to that!
SHOP ALL BENEFIT >>>Whether they enjoy a party or pamper session, Patchology's O' Glowy Night Illuminating Party Prep Kit is the perfect present for the self care obsessive. While the set’s Illuminate Sheet Mask hydrates, brightens and evens skin, its FlashPatch Illuminating Eye Gels and Lip Service Gloss-To-Balm Treatment delivers a daily dose of hydration to your pout and peepers. The result? A soothed, smooth and supple complexion ready for wherever the night takes them.
SHOP ALL PATCHOLOGY >>>Give the gift of a sun-kissed skin this season, courtesy of TAN-LUXE's Mini The Face Bauble. Housed in festive packaging, this skin care-meets-bronzing hybrid melds raspberry seed oil, vitamin E and aloe vera to enhance radiant results while leaving your complexion looking nourished and evenly toned.
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SHOP ALL GIFTS UNDER £30 >>>BEST SECRET SANTA GIFTS UNDER £50
Set the scene this winter with NEST New York’s Festive Votive Trio. Filling their space with cosy vanilla, warm woody and refreshing earthy notes, each candle is made with the brand's proprietary premium wax to ensure a clean and even burn when lit. What’s more, housed in decorative gold glass vessels, each home scent is made to compliment everything from their coffee table and bookshelf to their bathroom shelf and more.
SHOP ALL NEST NEW YORK >>>Bring the salon straight to their front door with Color Wow's Volumising VIPS. And when we say VIP, we’re talking everything from the brand’s Travel Color Security Shampoo and Travel Money Mist to the Raise the Root Thicken and Lift Spray *and* Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer. Filled with iconic formulas loved by celebrity hair stylists and beauty editors alike, this bestselling bundle ensures bigger, bolder and better ‘dos all season long.
SHOP ALL COLR WOW >>>There’s no better gift to give for secret Santa than happy, healthy and hydrated skin. Cue: Sunday Riley’s Glow Goals Bundle. Featuring not one, but three, of the brand’s bestselling C.E.O formulas, this seasonal set visibly brightens complexions while reducing the appearance of dark spots, fine lines and premature wrinkles.
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Boost their beauty routine – from the inside out – with Vida Glow's Super Skin Set. Powered by the brand’s hero ingredient, natural marine collagen, this kit includes 15 Collagen Liquid Advance Sachets *and* 15 of the signature Natural Marine Collagen Sachets in 'Original’ to help skin look healthier, hair look thicker and nails feel stronger.
SHOP ALL VIDA GLOW >>>‘Tis the season to… slumber! So why not treat your secret Santa to the ultimate wind down session with ELEMIS x SLIP Dreamy Skin Collection? A four-piece set dreamt up to upgrade your evening routine, this nighttime ritual not only cleanses away the day with ELEMIS’Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm andPro-Collagen Energising Marine Cleanser, but quench’s your skin’s thirst with ELEMIS’ Pro-Collagen Night Cream while ensuring some sweet shut eye with SLIP's special edition eye mask too.
SHOP ALL ELEMIS >>> The ultimate cosy companion, HigherDOSE's Infrared Sauna Blanket V3 not only keeps them warm during the colder climes, but also helps comfort and calm sore muscles too. Made from a blend of 35% bamboo and 65% combed long-staple organic cotton, the self care staple raises your body’s thermal energy while its far infrared rays prompt a deep sweat that encourages your system to dispel all unwanted toxins. Now they don’t need to leave the house when wanting a spa session!
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Looking for a luxury gift to give for secret Santa? Let us introduce you to Dr Barbara Sturm Townhouse 2024. Almost too good to give away, this superior set is bursting with five dew-boosting formulas designed to level up all daily routines. Up first there’s the Cleanser which removes make up and impurities along with the Enzyme Cleanser that gently exfoliates to remove dead skin cells. As for the rest of the of your regime? The Hyaluronic Serum floods complexions with hydration before the Super Anti-Aging Face Cream gets to work on reducing the look of fine lines. Last, but not least, there’s the Glow Drops which restores their natural radiance. Need we say more?
SHOP ALL DR BARBARA STRUM >>>Uniting skin care-grade technology with the understanding that healthy hair is essential for opulent styling, Oribe’s Gold Lust Collection is the answer to soft, smooth and shiny swishes. Filled with the collection’s bestsellers (we’re talking the Gold Lust Repair & Restore Shampoo, Conditioner and Nourishing Hair Oil), this lock-loving routine will ensure they provide mane character energy at every festive event – think office parties, NYF and everything in between.
SHOP ALL ORIBE >>>Rival the effects of filler with Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare's Plumped Perfection Kit. A conditioning collection of lip-loving formulas, this set includes the DermInfusions Plump and Repair Lip Treatment to volumise and define their pout and the iconic DRx Spectralite LipWare Pro which boasts 56 red LED lights band together to enhance the look of their natural lip colour, fine lines, dark spots and firmness in surrounding areas. Plus, complete with a LipWare Pro Travel Case, it’s ideal for when at home or away.
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SHOP ALL GIFTS OVER £100 >>>GIFTS TO GIVE FOR SECRET SANTA FAQS
What are Secret Santa rules?
For secret Santa members of your group – whether that be family, friends or co-workers – draw names at random to be their gift giver. Then typically, the secret Santa is given a wish list of gift ideas to choose from to give to their chosen giftee. After opening their present, the giftee has to guess which member of the group was their Secret Santa.
What to get someone for Secret Santa last minute?
Getting a last-minute secret Santa gift needn’t be stressful. When it comes to these festive gifts anything goes. The most common gifts to give for secret Santa includes everything from scented candles and discovery fragrances to face masks and make up brushes. And if you’re really stuck on what to get, a gift card is always a great option.
How to spice up Secret Santa?
There are many ways to make you secret Santa game more interesting. The most popular option? The Yankee Swap (otherwise known as Dirty Santa). Here each participant supplies a wrapped gift and places it in a centre location. The participants will then randomly draw a number and the person with the lowest number goes first in selecting which gift they want. They unwrap the gift for all to see. On subsequent turns, each person has the choice to either unwrap a new present or to steal another's. When a person's gift is stolen, that person can either choose another wrapped gift to open or can steal from another player. Each gift can only be stolen a specified number of times per game (two is common, which means the third holder of the gift keeps it). The game is over when everyone has a present.
So, now you have all the best gifts to give for secret Santa it’s time to put you elf hat on and pick the perfect present for your lucky giftee.
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