See something you like? Better stock up now before it runs out because these limited edition pieces aren’t coming back. Except on Carousell. Used. Or at a higher price.
1. CHANEL ÉCLAT MAGNÉTIQUE DE CHANEL IN METAL PEACH, $103
Available at CHANEL fragrance and beauty counters.
Nothing says holiday like a luminous glow, so here are our top recommendations. First up, CHANEL opts for a pearlescent shine with their illuminating powder, of the softest skin-melting texture and with subtle gold shimmers, which can be used for gentle face sculpting. Lucia Pica recommends this around the eyes for a fresh feel. Of course, the design itself is exquisite, as the highlighter is embossed with the likeness of a vintage CHANEL button.
2. HOURGLASS COSMETICS AMBIENT™ LIGHTING EDIT – GHOST, $130
Available at Sephora.
Which self-declared beauty guru hasn’t heard of Hourglass Cosmetics’ life-changing powders? We’re always looking to their holiday editions for the best powder palettes, and sure enough, they deliver on this with three new exclusive and three bestselling powders, in ghostly translucent packaging. Oh and they’re called “Ambient™ lighting” for a reason — the soft powders are formulated with technology that helps to capture and diffuse the surrounding light while on our skin, for a flawless and lit-from-within complexion.
3. CLÉ DE PEAU BEAUTÉ REFINING PRESSED POWDER, $180
Available at Clé de Peau Beauté counters.
The intricate art of the kimono comes to life in Clé de Peau Beauté’s Kimono Dream Collection — and we can tell you, their packaging is exquisite. Each item comes in luxurious layers you’ll have to slowly unfurl, and comes inspired by tatou, the folded paper case for wrapping kimono. This time, you get to unveil a limited edition version of their Refining Pressed Powder, a rosy edition, which still has a translucent finish that’ll give you the fresh glow of just-applied makeup. The dream.
4. BURBERRY FRESH GLOW HIGHLIGHTER, $94
Available at Burberry counters.
We’ve talked about festive looks for the holidays with Burberry makeup, and this one’s key — the Fresh Glow Highlighter, for that flattering, luminous highlight that’s more runway than disco ball. Sweep this pearly powder over the high points of your face to lift your best features, and sit back for all the compliments. The intricate lace pattern on this highlighter will make anyone happy the moment they pick this up too.
5. LANEIGE LAYERING COVER CUSHION HOLIDAY EDITION, $43
Available exclusively at TANGS.
LANEIGE manages to capture all our millennial senses with a holiday ‘Dream Bubble’ collection that’s dipped in the dreamiest aurora-inspired colour theme, so call us mesmerised. We’ve got good things to say about their Layering Cover Cushion, in particular the innovative 2-in-1 combination of foundation and concealer in a single product, and that lasting semi-matte finish, but any remaining converts might now be drawn to this holiday packaging — a luminous pastel purple.
6. HERA HOLIDAY ROUGE HOLIC VELVET, $45
Available at HERA counters.
If you’re thinking of lipstick shades that flatter Asian tones, why not look to an Asian brand’s expertise? HERA certainly comes to mind, with their highly-pigmented HERA Rouge Holic Velvet lipsticks, blended with a light oil, for a comfortable and lightweight feel despite its rich colour. This holiday’s festive surprise happens to be a figment of renowned “The Grand Budapest Hotel” graphic designer Annie Atkin’s imagination, hence playful pieces that play with the idea of nostalgia and dice motifs. Here, lipsticks are adorned with a charming tassel detail, and come in limited edition Velvety Red or Velvety Brown.
7. ETUDE HOUSE RUDOLPH PLAY COLOR EYES MINI, $29
Available at Etude House stores.
Always with the cutest designs, Etude House truly lives up to the Christmas cheer with this Rudolph-inspired design, which puts Santa, Mrs Claus, Frosty, and the elves to shame! We do like the festive spin on the six-colour eyeshadow palette too, with a velvety red, sparkling red, neutrals, and a glitter gold that you can use on the inner corners of your eyes. You can either go very Korean-style with the peachy-red eyes, or create your own signature makeup look from these versatile shades!
8. ROUGE DIOR COLLECTOR’S COUTURE LIMITED EDITION SET, $250
Available at Dior counters.
You can’t call yourself a collector of makeup if this isn’t sitting on your desk now. Is this a clutch or a very pretty gift set? Well, as Dior does both fashion and beauty equally well, we’d say this is both, and definitely the ultimate gift for a bougie beauty lover. The glittering gold gift set is perfect for the party season, and contains a jewel edition of the house’s iconic Rouge Dior 999 — their celebrated universal red — and five refills of shades 080 Red Smile, 434 Promenade, 520 Feel Good, 772 Classic Matte and 999 Matte. Pricey, but still a steal.
9. SHISEIDO MODERNMATTE POWDER LIPSTICK
HOLIDAY MINI LIP BOUQUET, $72 [GIVEAWAY]
Available at Shiseido counters and TANGS.
We don’t know about you, but lipstick sets happen to be great gifts — you can be super generous and get the kit to split up among your friends (while keeping the best shade for yourself), or okay, pass this to the friend who swears by lipstick as a form of expression. We all know that girl. SHISEIDO’s holiday collection plays on art light and a creative “riot of flowers”, which translates across the packaging on this box of five clutch-size ModernMatte Powder Lipstick, an innovative formula that we can vouch for its pigmented velvety finish. This set includes soft nudes to reds and mauves, in: 502 Whisper, 518 Selfie, 509 Flame, and new colours, Elemental Rose and Red Force.
10. TOM FORD BEAUTY COLLECTION EYE & LIP SET, $173
Available at Sephora.
Something about Tom Ford’s gilded packaging exudes luxe, so we’d expect the colours within to present glamorous vibes too. Here, the eye quad in 25 Pretty Baby is a series of complementary pinks, purple, and deep brown for a non-run-of-the-mill smokey eye, while the lipstick’s in 69 Night Mauve, a sexy shade for a rich berry pout. Still, no one will be pouting once they receive this grand gift.
11. AESOP THE ORATOR, $240
Available at Aesop stores.
For anyone who has yet to try Aesop, this skincare kit would be the most welcome introduction. First off, their holiday sets are inspired by the ancient Muses of Greek mythology — Calliope, of poetry and storytelling in this case — with items housed in reusable tan amenity cases, each wrapped in a sleeve designed by artist Giovanni Garcia-Fenech. Besides the always beautiful aesthetics, Aesop’s Parsley Seed series is a celebrated regimen of antioxidant-rich products that fortify our skin, very much-needed in this urban environment. This contains: the Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser, Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Facial Toner and Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum.
12. LANCÔME ADVANCED GÉNIFIQUE LIGHT PEARL DUO, $200
Available at Lâncome counters.
There’s so much reviews online and offline, raving about the life-changing properties of Lâncome’s Advanced Génifique range, so you know, time to introduce your close girl pal to this eye and lash saviour too. Why not spring for two right? You can either split the set or pamper her — either way, she’ll enjoy the probiotic, youth-activating formula that smoothens fine lines and wrinkles, depuffs eye bags, and fortifies lashes, all with a flexible massage applicator that’s cooling to your sensitive eye contour skin.
13. LOOKFANTASTIC BEAUTY CHEST, $179
Available at lookfantastic.com.
Swoon-worthy, much? This mega beauty box has to be one of the more indulgent Christmas treats, with 10 full-sized products from the most premium beauty brands, handpicked by their beauty experts and worth over $665. Yes, full-sized. Housed in this deep navy and gold kit comes Eve Lom’s Moisture Cream, Jurlique’s Rosewater Balancing Mist, Christophe Robin’s Cleansing Mask with Lemon, and REN’s Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk, for instance, among an Illamasqua Nude Collection Unveiled Artistry Palette and Burberry Liquid Lip Velvet. You could always drop a hint to your clueless significant other!
14. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence – Fantasista Utamaro Limited Edition, $289
Available at SK-II counters.
Breaking the boundaries of J-Beauty, SK-II’s festive limited edition set of their most famous product, the Facial Treatment Essence, is fronted by campaign model, imma, who happens to be Japan’s first-ever virtual human. Intrigued yet? The clash of manga, mixed reality, and beauty also comes through in the bold bottle designs by Japanese designer, Fantasista Utamaro, who certainly doesn’t play it safe with his colourful, animated art. We like SK-II’s move towards rethinking their translucent bottles, so more to come hopefully!
15. LANCÔME HOLIDAY ADVENT CALENDAR, $220 [GIVEAWAY]
Available at Lâncome counters.
Every girl’s fantasy — counting down to Christmas with little surprises along the way, and even better if they’re Lâncome minis. Don’t scoff at their tiny sizes, every piece is just-as-coveted simply because you can take them onto the plane, or pack them on quick overseas getaways, even staycations, so we’re holding on to every item this lofty gift can yield. Treats like many versions of their famed L’Absolu Rouge, and even fun-sized Advanced Génifique Serum, Rénergie Lift Multi-Action Night Cream, and the La Vie Est Belle Shower Gel. Okay, we’ll stop spoiling the surprise!
16. COSME DECORTÉ MAKEUP COFFRET II, $100 [GIVEAWAY]
Available at DECORTÉ counters at Metro and other major department stores.
It’s high time we get some red tones in our limited edition picks, but far from the cheesy reds and greens of the season, this is one classy set. DECORTÉ’s popular EYE GLOW GEM is now a beautiful marbled design that complements its elegant rosy tone, while the nude pink blush adorns your cheeks with a swirl of subtle silver. Complete the look with a deep red eyeliner and chic The Rouge RD459 for a classic spin.
17. TARTE COSMETICS 9 WAY TO SHINE WARDROBE, $57 [GIVEAWAY]
Available at Sephora.
Tarte fans will scream at the sight of this. Yeah sure, it’s just three items, you remark, but nope — each palette opens up to reveal three cheek shades in one stack, which brings the total count to 9 gorgeous hues! Bronzer, blush, highlight, take your pick for a holiday look that’s sculpted for the gods.
18. TOO FACED LET IT SNOW, GIRL! FACE PALETTE SET, $78
Available at Sephora.
Too Faced always goes big with their holiday sets, both in terms of their cute packaging and very value-for-money shades and items thrown in. Here, you’ll see a girly snow-woman that’s really a trio of breakaway palettes — one contains 19 eyeshadows, of natural shimmers and mattes; another sees 4 face products for your cheeks; and the last, a bronzer and highlighter duo. They’ve also managed to throw in a Deluxe Better Than Sex Mascara in a limited-edition candy cane package. Come on, how exciting does this make you feel already!
For items with the ‘GIVEAWAY’ labels, we’re giving them away in our massive holiday gift guide contests — head over to our Facebook and Instagram pages daily to take part.
More of NYLON’s Holiday Beauty Gift Guides coming soon — stay tuned! Click here to see our full list of gift guides.
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