Beauty addicts, makeup junkies, perfume whisperers – call them what you want. If you aren’t one, then you probably know one. (Blame it on the selfie.)
This also means you might be buying beauty gifts this holiday season. But with trends like “strobing” and “non-touring,” and hashtags like #slay and #onfleek, the world of beauty can be tricky enough to translate, let alone navigate.
That’s where Walgreens beauty experts come in. We’ve got more than 3,500 of them at the ready to help customers choose the best beauty brands, cosmetic gift sets, skin care stocking stuffers and more during the 2019 holiday season.
Here’s a head start. Eight of our beauty experts from across the country share their favorite Walgreens gifts, plus helpful makeup tips and details on the best times to shop.
Soap & Glory Brow Sweet: This amazing four-piece set is great for brow beginners and arch experts alike. It includes pencils, gel and a highlighter that work together to help you achieve perfect, full brows, plus a fun pin-up girl tweezers that’s too cute not to have in your vanity.
Soap & Glory Glow All Out Set: This five-piece set makes an excellent gift for the skin care lover in your life. The Vitamin C facial wash and brush will help clean and brighten your skin, while the masks and eye gel patches will have you ready and refreshed for the new year.
TIP: Use your eye gel patches while you’re getting ready for the holiday party to create a smooth base for your concealer and give you a picture perfect look.
Soap & Glory Speed Plump Miracle Moisture Sheet Mask: I buy this mask three at a time. It’s jam-packed with hyaluronic acid, pink flower complex, rosa rugusa, safflower and peony extracts to give my skin the hydration boost it needs in any kind of weather.
Vichy Mineral 89 Eyes Hyaluronic Acid Eye Cream Gel: I use this lightweight hydrating gel day and night. It uses Vichy mineralizing thermal water, which contains 15 minerals, to help strengthen and fortify the skin's moisture barrier. It also has pure caffeine, an antioxidant that helps reduce the puffiness around my eyes after a long day of work. It helps control dryness and prep my eye area for easy makeup application.
TIP: I like to use products that have a pump, like this one, to help prevent germs or other contaminates from getting into the bottle. This is especially important during flu season!
Lilibeth Claudio, Puerto Rico 
Soap & Glory Scent-Sational Indulgence Box: As a Puerto Rican, I feel transported to the essence of the island by Soap & Glory’s fragrant hints of orange, rose, peach, vanilla and more. This seven-piece set contains a body wash, body scrub, body butter (with a big fan following!), bath fizzer and three masks – one for puffy, tired eyes and two for the face.
TIP: Skip the gift wrap. The box design is decorative and it has tissue paper inside.
SPECIAL OFFER: This is a Gift of the Week item from Dec. 9 to 14, on sale for $20, normally $40 (a $47 value).
No7 Best Face Forward Collection: Living in the Caribbean, I’m often exposed to the sun, the sea and the breeze, so I use No7 products to keep my skin well-hydrated and protected. This nine-piece set is an ideal gift for someone looking to start a skin care regimen or achieve glowing skin during the holidays.
SPECIAL OFFER: This is a Gift of the Week item from Dec. 15 to 27, on sale for $34, normally $68 (a $135 value).
Birchbox Limited Edition ‘Countdown to Beauty’ Advent Calendar: This set is exclusive to Walgreens, and makes such a fun holiday beauty gift. You get 12 days of luxurious products that are essential for the winter season, including No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advance Day Cream and Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips.
TIP: Open up some of the doors and add in a few items from the Birchbox “pop-up” display at 500 Walgreens stores across the country. These displays feature grab-and-go holiday gifts and a selection of Birchbox’s best-selling beauty items.
Cremo Body Wash Sampler: Looking for a great gift for the special guy in your life? This sampler is a great way to get a high-quality body wash that’s made for men. Leave other washes for the boys – these are made with the finest fragrances to keep you smelling great.
No7 The Best of Protect & Perfect Collection: My friends and family are always asking me for skin care recommendations, and this five-piece set gets them started. The products come in airplane-friendly sizes, so it’s a wonderful gift for someone who travels a lot. I also suggest this for people who aren’t ready to commit to an entire skin care routine. After one week of using the products and seeing the results, they’ll likely be back to buy the full sizes. The sheet mask alone has a week’s worth of age-defying serum, so it’s perfect to use right before an event where you want to put your best face forward.
TIP: Can’t decide which No7 set is best for your skin or the person on your shopping list? Here’s a quick guide:
DIY Spa Package: This is a fun way to customize a gift for anyone on your holiday list who needs some extra pampering. A Little Something has a range of products, including bath bombs, eye masks, hand and foot lotions, and other spa items you can choose from. Find an oversized cosmetics or accessories bag to hold the products, such as Gartner’s “Potions & Lotions” Accessories Pouch. For the ultimate DIY spa experience, pair it with the A Little Something Bathtub Caddy. This bamboo caddy has compartments not only for your soap and razor, but also for a book, tablet, smartphone and wine glass.
No7 Laboratories Firming Booster Serum: This product just hit our shelves in November, and I’m already obsessed. It’s No7’s most concentrated firming serum, and is designed to be applied directly to areas of the skin that are most prone to loss of firmness, such as the neck and jawline, using the metal-tip applicator. It’s like a non-invasive facelift in a bottle!
Honest Beauty Lip Crayon-Demi-Matte in Mulberry: I've fallen in love with Jessica Alba's Honest Company. This is the perfect holiday lip color for the season. It's super lightweight, packs a punch with pigment, has an easy application and conditions my lips with jojoba oil, murumuru butter and shea butter.
TIP: Blot lips with a tissue, and then lightly dust them with translucent powder for a matte finish and longer-wearing color.
Find even more beauty gift sets in the Holiday Beauty Gift Guide on Walgreens.com.
This also means you might be buying beauty gifts this holiday season. But with trends like “strobing” and “non-touring,” and hashtags like #slay and #onfleek, the world of beauty can be tricky enough to translate, let alone navigate.
That’s where Walgreens beauty experts come in. We’ve got more than 3,500 of them at the ready to help customers choose the best beauty brands, cosmetic gift sets, skin care stocking stuffers and more during the 2019 holiday season.
Here’s a head start. Eight of our beauty experts from across the country share their favorite Walgreens gifts, plus helpful makeup tips and details on the best times to shop.
Lisa Avalos, Chicago
Soap & Glory Brow Sweet: This amazing four-piece set is great for brow beginners and arch experts alike. It includes pencils, gel and a highlighter that work together to help you achieve perfect, full brows, plus a fun pin-up girl tweezers that’s too cute not to have in your vanity.
Soap & Glory Glow All Out Set: This five-piece set makes an excellent gift for the skin care lover in your life. The Vitamin C facial wash and brush will help clean and brighten your skin, while the masks and eye gel patches will have you ready and refreshed for the new year.
TIP: Use your eye gel patches while you’re getting ready for the holiday party to create a smooth base for your concealer and give you a picture perfect look.
Antonio Bermudez, Las Vegas
No7 HydraLuminous Water Surge Gel: This moisturizing gel is lightweight, refreshing and perfect for oily skin. It also has special Pollution Shield Technology that helps protect your skin against pollution particles that can discolor and dull the skin.
Soap & Glory Glow to the Party: This two-piece set is my go-to before any glam event, during travel or after a long night. The Vitamin C mask helps your skin look radiant, and the eye gel patches help revitalize the delicate eye area.
TIP: Put the eye gel patches in the refrigerator for a few minutes – anything chilled helps firm and deflate.
Soap & Glory Glow to the Party: This two-piece set is my go-to before any glam event, during travel or after a long night. The Vitamin C mask helps your skin look radiant, and the eye gel patches help revitalize the delicate eye area.
TIP: Put the eye gel patches in the refrigerator for a few minutes – anything chilled helps firm and deflate.
Martha Chisholm, New York City
Soap & Glory Speed Plump Miracle Moisture Sheet Mask: I buy this mask three at a time. It’s jam-packed with hyaluronic acid, pink flower complex, rosa rugusa, safflower and peony extracts to give my skin the hydration boost it needs in any kind of weather.
Vichy Mineral 89 Eyes Hyaluronic Acid Eye Cream Gel: I use this lightweight hydrating gel day and night. It uses Vichy mineralizing thermal water, which contains 15 minerals, to help strengthen and fortify the skin's moisture barrier. It also has pure caffeine, an antioxidant that helps reduce the puffiness around my eyes after a long day of work. It helps control dryness and prep my eye area for easy makeup application.
TIP: I like to use products that have a pump, like this one, to help prevent germs or other contaminates from getting into the bottle. This is especially important during flu season!
Lilibeth Claudio, Puerto Rico
Soap & Glory Scent-Sational Indulgence Box: As a Puerto Rican, I feel transported to the essence of the island by Soap & Glory’s fragrant hints of orange, rose, peach, vanilla and more. This seven-piece set contains a body wash, body scrub, body butter (with a big fan following!), bath fizzer and three masks – one for puffy, tired eyes and two for the face.
TIP: Skip the gift wrap. The box design is decorative and it has tissue paper inside.
SPECIAL OFFER: This is a Gift of the Week item from Dec. 9 to 14, on sale for $20, normally $40 (a $47 value).
No7 Best Face Forward Collection: Living in the Caribbean, I’m often exposed to the sun, the sea and the breeze, so I use No7 products to keep my skin well-hydrated and protected. This nine-piece set is an ideal gift for someone looking to start a skin care regimen or achieve glowing skin during the holidays.
SPECIAL OFFER: This is a Gift of the Week item from Dec. 15 to 27, on sale for $34, normally $68 (a $135 value).
Robert Cole, Chicago
Birchbox Limited Edition ‘Countdown to Beauty’ Advent Calendar: This set is exclusive to Walgreens, and makes such a fun holiday beauty gift. You get 12 days of luxurious products that are essential for the winter season, including No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advance Day Cream and Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips.
TIP: Open up some of the doors and add in a few items from the Birchbox “pop-up” display at 500 Walgreens stores across the country. These displays feature grab-and-go holiday gifts and a selection of Birchbox’s best-selling beauty items.
Cremo Body Wash Sampler: Looking for a great gift for the special guy in your life? This sampler is a great way to get a high-quality body wash that’s made for men. Leave other washes for the boys – these are made with the finest fragrances to keep you smelling great.
Jenny Janecke, Colorado
Honest Beauty Creme Cheek Blush: I’m a die-hard for a really good cream blush because I have dry skin, and this one is my absolute favorite. I transitioned to a slightly darker color for the winter season, Rose Pink, but I think all four colors of this blush look amazing on any skin tone. It goes on smooth and blends beautifully with or without foundation. You can also use it as a lip tint for an extra bonus.
Physicians Formula Rosé All Day Serum: This brightens and tightens my face and gives me an all-day glow under my foundation.
TIP: After the entire makeup look is finished, apply a small amount on top of the cheekbones and bridge of the nose for a perfect subtle highlight.
Physicians Formula Rosé All Day Serum: This brightens and tightens my face and gives me an all-day glow under my foundation.
TIP: After the entire makeup look is finished, apply a small amount on top of the cheekbones and bridge of the nose for a perfect subtle highlight.
Greta Kukay, St. Louis
No7 The Best of Protect & Perfect Collection: My friends and family are always asking me for skin care recommendations, and this five-piece set gets them started. The products come in airplane-friendly sizes, so it’s a wonderful gift for someone who travels a lot. I also suggest this for people who aren’t ready to commit to an entire skin care routine. After one week of using the products and seeing the results, they’ll likely be back to buy the full sizes. The sheet mask alone has a week’s worth of age-defying serum, so it’s perfect to use right before an event where you want to put your best face forward.
TIP: Can’t decide which No7 set is best for your skin or the person on your shopping list? Here’s a quick guide:
- Protect & Perfect can help reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
- Lift & Luminate offers the same benefits as Protect & Perfect, plus it can help even skin tone, reduce the appearance of dark spots and firm the skin.
- Restore & Renew will give the same benefits as the previous two collections, plus it can help restore elasticity on the face and neck while reduces the appearance of deep wrinkles.
DIY Spa Package: This is a fun way to customize a gift for anyone on your holiday list who needs some extra pampering. A Little Something has a range of products, including bath bombs, eye masks, hand and foot lotions, and other spa items you can choose from. Find an oversized cosmetics or accessories bag to hold the products, such as Gartner’s “Potions & Lotions” Accessories Pouch. For the ultimate DIY spa experience, pair it with the A Little Something Bathtub Caddy. This bamboo caddy has compartments not only for your soap and razor, but also for a book, tablet, smartphone and wine glass.
Sam Parent, Michigan
No7 Laboratories Firming Booster Serum: This product just hit our shelves in November, and I’m already obsessed. It’s No7’s most concentrated firming serum, and is designed to be applied directly to areas of the skin that are most prone to loss of firmness, such as the neck and jawline, using the metal-tip applicator. It’s like a non-invasive facelift in a bottle!
Honest Beauty Lip Crayon-Demi-Matte in Mulberry: I've fallen in love with Jessica Alba's Honest Company. This is the perfect holiday lip color for the season. It's super lightweight, packs a punch with pigment, has an easy application and conditions my lips with jojoba oil, murumuru butter and shea butter.
TIP: Blot lips with a tissue, and then lightly dust them with translucent powder for a matte finish and longer-wearing color.
Find even more beauty gift sets in the Holiday Beauty Gift Guide on Walgreens.com.