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10 Best Indie Beauty and Wellness Gifts for 2019
From art-worthy palettes of eye shadow to luxury massage oils, we’ve got everyone on your list covered
Photo by Ekaterina Shevchenko
Surprise and delight your friends and family, and maybe even pamper yourself this holiday season, with unique presents from our collection of self-care, wellness, and beauty items — all created by independent businesses led by women around the world.
Give The Gift of Beauty
LiLu Camille Sterling Silver Lip Balm Necklace, $129
This stylish and sophisticated necklace hides a mini lip balm or lip color “pearl” inside. It’s at once the perfect gift for the frequent flyer on your list and a classy accessory for any fancy-dress holiday event. LiLu Lip Care refills are delightfully affordable ($9.99 for four refills in clear, red, pink, or blush). And LiLu Lip Care founder Cincinnati-based Meg Meranus recently added a playground-friendly Kitty Lip Balm on Carabiner to the line, making it a great gift for classy kids too.
Mitty Mini Poinsettia Gift Set, $55
Give the gift of less mess, less waste, and a clean face with a soft, sensible set of sustainable Makeup Mitties created by Amanda McIntosh, who invented the product when she got sick of keeping up with her pile of makeup-encrusted washcloths. The skin-cleansing, makeup-removing mitts from Take My Face Off are a simple, reusable alternative to abrasive (easily stained) washcloths or disposable cotton wipes. They come in an array of tasteful colors and in fun poinsettia or clever menorah gift packs ($66) for the 2019 holiday season.
Essential Cleansing Oil, $48
This made-in-Canada natural skincare brand from Lisa Mattam neatly merges the centuries-old wisdom of Ayurveda with the modern-day natural beauty trend. Luxurious in more ways than one, Sahajan Essential Oil Cleanser is a bottle full of time-saving makeup remover and a luxurious moment of spa-like botanical bliss. Nothing removes makeup more cleanly, quickly, and gently. And the Sahajan aromatic cleansing oil even promises to wash away any nasty pollution particles that accumulate on our skin during the day.
Oceanic Eye Shadow Palette, $38.99
What made 10-year-old you happy? The answer to this question is often a great guidepost for reinvention and it’s a clue to what gifts might truly delight you and your friends as well. If you’re wondering what to get for the person in your life who loved vivid painterly palettes of inspirational colors, Ace Beauté is the answer. As a child, brand founder Niye Aniekan-Attang saw the delight that makeup brought her grandmother, and now she strives to share that simple happiness with others. Her brand’s show-stopper eye shadow collections include lots of playful heavy-load metallics for lining or experimenting.
Spirulite Multiactive Solid Mask, $75
Some beauty secrets were meant to be shared, and the Ayuna Spirulite Multiactive Solid Mask is one of them! This in-shower body care bar improves microcirculation, skin texture, and has all the benefits of exfoliation without the fuss of a gritty scrub. The company was started by beauty industry veterans Begona Sanjuan and Dr. Isabel Ramos, PhD, to bring simplicity and efficacy to skincare. Give a box of these moisturizing skin treatment bars, embedded with natural luffa fibers, and you’re gifting the secret to soft, smooth, comfortable skin for months to come.
Give The Gift of Wellness
Bija Essence Daily Body Oil, $79
Long-distance landline calls may be a thing of the past, but Bija Essence is here to help you reach out and touch someone IRL (in real life). The therapeutic essential oil brand, launched earlier this year by Evelyn Subramaniam, promises to bring the power of touch back into your relationships with friends, family, and yourself. All four of the brand’s luxurious-looking, fragrant massage oil blends are sophisticated, sumptuous, and subtle all at once.
Petal Facial Mist, $22
The Aba Love Apothecary Petal Facial Mist is a refreshing twist on the classic gift of fragrance. What brand founder and certified aromatherapist Aba Gyepi-Garbrah has created is a skincare mist that’s as much about aromatherapy as it is about moisturizing. This facial mist (which can be refrigerated to add a cooling benefit) makes a great gift for fragrance lovers, wellness advocates, and anyone in the midst of menopause.
Peter Hess Universal Sound Bowl Starter Kit, $240
This holiday season give the yoga devotee, the meditation fanatic, or the crystal-loving millennial in your life the gift of sound bathing. A Universal Sound Bowl Starter Kit from the German company now led by Jana Hess (daughter of founder Peter Hess) comes with one metal bowl made of copper and tin (available with a coating to prevent any contact allergies), a mallet, and a guide book — enough to get your tranquil, eclectic friend started with their own sound self-care practice.
Guiying Décolletage Treatment, $65
5Yina’s Guiying Décolletage Treatment is the epitome of self-care. Founders Dr. Ervina Wu (a cancer survivor and the brand’s formulator) and Angela Chau (an acupuncturist and herbalist who leads operations and product development) know firsthand the power and potential of Traditional Chinese Medicine. And it’s this wisdom that is built into the 5Yina beauty collection. The 5Yina must-have décolletage treatment turns regular self-breast-exams into the sort of herbal, peaceful, aromatic skincare moment we all look forward to.
Algae Omega-3, $55
Algae may not have been on your holiday gift list initially, but after you check out Simris supplements, it will be! This Swedish brand, founded by algae-farmer and researcher Fredrika Gullfot, PhD, offers three varieties of nutrient-rich plant-based capsules, all made from marine-derived algae. An alternative to fish oil, Simris Algae Omega-3 helps support brain function, cardiovascular health, and everything in between!
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