How to Buy Beauty For Someone Else

If you are someone (like me) who loves makeup and beauty products, it can be really exciting to share the love and joy of beauty products with those we love. Maybe you want to surprise them? Maybe they ask you for beauty advice but don't know where to continue themselves? Whatever the circumstance, the gift of a new product is one that will almost always be appreciated. But how do you know where to start? I have a few suggestions of things to consider.

Learn Their Coloring's Undertone: This tip is especially key when picking out makeup for someone who never has worn or who rarely wears makeup. Determining a person's undertones-- warm, cool, or neutral-- can be an excellent shortcut to finding which shades will be the most flattering and natural-looking on their coloring. Undertone coloring has nothing to do with the lightness or depth of skintone but rather the temperature and to an extent the relative brightness of colors and how those things pinpoint what a person will perhaps look best in. Even if the makeup colors seem bold in the pans or tubes, a person with undertones that harmonize with the shade will look lively and radiant and like the color "belongs" on them and they will wear their shades in a way that no one else can seem to! It is such an invaluable tool and has helped me pick out great beauty finds for my friends and family for many years. To learn more about analyzing undertones, read my article here.

Investigate the Skincare They Already Use: Skincare is always a lovely gift but can be a tricky thing to buy for others without knowing or else having to ask maybe more personal questions about their skin concerns than they may feel comfortable answering. Better yet to engage in a casual dialogue about skincare and see if they share any of the products that they currently use and see if you can deduce what else they might like based on preferences or products made for similar skin types and so on. And if you're still not sure, stick to buying replacements of their favorite items. It is always nice to get a gift you know you can always use and will continue to need.

Bath and Body is Always a Luxury: There is nothing more luxurious than getting into a nice hot bath or shower and soaking yourself with bubbles. To pass that on in gift form. is inviting the person to take time for themselves, relax, and be indulgent, who doesn't need that? When in doubt for beauty gifts, I always say go with a bath and shower product or a luxurious body cream( especially given the fact it's winter now) to keep their skin soft and pampered before the hustle of the day or settling in for bed. And of course, pretty or yummy scents never hurt.

If You Are Going to Gift Perfume, Gift the Smallest Size Possible: Talking more of fragrances, when it comes to buying perfume for someone, I say stick with getting samples or travel sizes only. Luckily most perfume brands do lovely-looking travel sprays of their scents nowadays that still offer the recipient plenty of sprays to enjoy without having to risk getting a big bottle of something they may not fully enjoy. Even if you know, or think you know, what type of scent the person would typically go for, even seemingly similar fragrances can vary in their blend of smells or concentration. You never know how experimental they want to be with fragrances or if they have allergies and so on. So if you know the fragrance you are getting is probably new to them, keep the bottles small. If they love it, they will probably gush on gratefully on how you found their new favorite perfume, so you will know you can spring for a bigger size perhaps in the future. While fragrance is a lovely thing, it is always best to start off slowly and play it safe, especially when it comes to gift-giving.

These are just some of my more general guide lines when it comes to beauty shopping for others. Of course, like with any other type of present, the best part of shopping is finding the item that makes your heart sing with the knowledge that this will be the perfect thing for that person, so always trust your gut when it comes to these things, knowing above all that it is the love within your gift that will count most of all. Happy Holiday shopping everyone!