Shopping for beauty-obsessed friends can be a bit tricky. Sure, you know that they love all things beauty, so it gives you a category to work off of. But then you realize that it’s a huge category. So you try to narrow it down: Is your friend more into skincare, or do they care more about the latest makeup drop? But when you filter it to makeup or skincare, then you start to realize just how personal their beauty preferences could be.
When it comes to skincare, you’re probably wondering what their skin type is because you don’t want to get them something that will totally wreck their skin. And when it comes to makeup, you want to think of their skin tone, if they have to have something that’s hypoallergenic, what shades they prefer, etc. I mean, the list goes on and on.
Sure, you can always try to look for clues and pay attention to their skincare and makeup routines. Like, maybe they’ve mentioned a moisturizer that they’re obsessed with (you can always buy a complimentary product from the same brand). Or, maybe they’re always sporting red lipstick, so you get them a new tube from a brand they’ve never used before.
But in case you haven’t been paying attention a whole lot, I have a secret gifting trick for your beauty-lover friends: Get them a nice set of makeup brushes. Why? Well, everyone needs a set of quality makeup brushes, even for the person who’s more skincare-oriented. Whether they use the set every day or occasionally, it will come in handy for smooth and flawless makeup application. The best part about a makeup brush gift set is that you don’t really have to worry about the above preferences and it still feeds into their beauty obsession. It’s foolproof, I tell ya.
Feel free to steal my trick and if you’re looking for sets to buy, take a look at some highly rated ones below.
I guarantee your makeup-obsessed friend is going to love you forever for this set. Sigma Beauty is beloved for its amazing brushes. This set comes with 12 brushes for the face and eyes, so you’ve got everything you need for any kind of makeup look.
Sephora makes some of the best holiday makeup brush gift sets. Seriously, the variety they have is so good. This one comes foundation, powder, concealer, shadow, crease, and precision-crease brushes. And I just love the pretty green shade on the handles.
With over 85,000 ratings and 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon, this 14-piece brush set comes highly recommended. And at just $13, it’s a total steal. It comes with five big kabuki brushes and nine eye makeup brushes.
If your friend likes to keep things minimal, they’ll appreciate this five-piece set that includes multitasking tools. You get foundation, concealer, blush, highlighter, and shadow brushes here. They’re also color-coded so you know which one is which.
This might be the most glam set on the list strictly due to its sleek red clutch-style bag. Inside there’s a face powder brush, eye blender brush, eye smudger brush, and precision brush.
The awesome thing about this set is that the brushes are made with eco-friendly materials and they’re 100% vegan and cruelty-free. It comes with an angled foundation brush, blurring brush, define crease brush, angled liner brush, full blush brush, and tray to store them all.
If your friend is into both skincare and makeup, they might fall in love with this set. The brushes feature synthetic bristles that are infused with collagen so the skin appears glowing and flawless.
This one’s for your friend who is always glam—I mean, just look at the gold-tone on the brushes! Inside the handy carrying case is a foundation brush, large angled brush, round top blending brush, flat contour brush, large shader brush, medium angled shading brush, and a tapered blending brush.
You can use all different types of makeup (liquid, powder, etc.) with these brushes. There are 10 different brushes included in this set, ones for foundation, powder, blush, highlighter, concealer, shadow, crease, precision crease, smudging, and brows.
Along with 10 different brushes, this kit also comes with a makeup brush cleaner egg because let’s not forget that it’s important to clean them from time to time to avoid any irritation and skin issues.
It’s incredible that you get six high-quality brushes in this set for just $15. It features a concealer brush, eye shadow “C” brush, small angled brush, small stipple brush, eyebrow duo brush, and an ultimate blending brush.
Consider this set perfect for the friend who is an aspiring makeup artist (or at that level)—you know the person who’s always doing the whole group’s makeup when you’re going out? Each brush in the kit is artist-curated. And an added bonus: They’re all travel-sized and made for on-the-go looks.
Every kind of makeup look can be achieved with this 12-piece kit. And the cool ombré design makes it a little bit more unique than the other brushes out there.
Here’s another stellar holiday offering from Sephora. The kit comes with eight vegan and cruelty-free makeup brushes: foundation, powder, blush, contour, concealer, shadow, crease, and brows. The handles are a fun and festive sparkly ombré, too.
This limited-edition set includes all the essentials—a foundation brush, a blush brush, a dual eye shadow brush, a powder brush, and a precision complexion brush. There’s also a hot pink carrying case to keep things organized.
You get the essentials and then some with this 13-piece set. It’s great for contouring, sculpting, defining, and buffing.
It’s all groovy with these brushes—just look at the fun graphic design on the handles and travel bag. The set features a flat foundation buffing brush, a dual-ended brow brush, a multipurpose powder brush, and eye bullet brush.
Tarte’s brush kit is a great starter set because it has everything you need for a full-face look. There’s a large powder brush, a tapered complexion brush, an angled blush brush, a blending eye shadow brush, and a flat shader brush. Plus the gold and rose-gold metal handles just look so luxe.
For the friend who’s always on the go but always has a full face of makeup, gift them this set which comes with five travel brushes. it has a fan powder brush, cheek color brush, smoke eyeliner brush, all-over eye color brush, and an eye crease brush—and they can stash them all in a chic gold clutch. Next: 21 Gift Sets to Buy Yourself Before You Have to Start Shopping for Everyone Else
