Are Christmas gift sets a con?

Not if you shop smart...

I hate those make-up palettes disguised as ‘Christmas gift sets’ that pop up at this time of year like an unwanted zit before the office party. Especially ones trussed up as a glitterball, unicorn, some sort of S&M trophy or the size of a tupperware box.

My wrath is particularly reserved for eyeshadow palettes boasting over 16 shades. I mean how many colours do you genuinely need to whack on before you start resembling a box of Quality Street? Because that’s the thing: no matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise, you will NEVER, ever use all those shades. There’s even bound to be two or four that you don’t like from the off and for that you’ve paid upwards of 30 quid.

However, if you shop smartly with your gift sets, you can actually bag yourself a real beauty bargain.

Best skincare gift sets

Dr Dennis Gross Skincare Your Skin Heroes skincare kit - £60 | Selfridges
For the bona fide beauty junkie, Dr Dennis Gross Your Skin Heroes Kit gives you bang for your anti-ageing buck. The Alpha Beta Cleansing Gel and Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel harness the power of AHAs and BHAs to slough away dull dead skin cells. The set also includes the Ferulic + Retinol Wrinkle Recovery Overnight Serum, packed with two wrinkle-fighting powerhouses, and the hydrating Hyaluronic Marine Oil-Free Moisture Cushion so you can give (or receive) the gift of glowing, youthful skin.

The best make-up gift sets

Yes it's boring, but it's still possible to shop smart when the rest of the world has gone Christmas-mad.

Enough said.

Fiona Embleton has been a beauty editor for over 10 years, writing and editing beauty copy and testing over 10,000 products. She has previously worked for magazines like Marie Claire, Stylist, Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health. Beauty journalism allowed her to marry up her first class degree in English Literature and Language (she’s a stickler for grammar and a self-confessed ingredients geek) with a passion for make-up and skincare, photography and catwalk trends.