ITG’s Holiday Gift Guide

Sometimes the best gifts are the ones you can put directly on your body. These are the sparkly, swipeable little indulgences that make getting dressed feel more luxurious, like capping off a look with one of Isamaya Ffrench’s core palettes. Go with Core 2.0 for shiny lids or Core 1.0 for the maximalists—they’ll have plenty of metallics, mattes, and multidimensional shades to play with. They could even go full Euphoria with Violette_FR’s Eye Bijoux, stick-on jewels that take any look from 0 to 100. But say they’re not eye-makeup people. That’s when you dazzle them with a Louis Vuitton lipstick—47 shades, matte or satin, and all Pat McGrath–approved.

You can skip makeup entirely and lean into jewelry like Wwake’s Tempo birthstone pendants—sleek little gold markers they can wear solo or cluster on a chain to celebrate a moment or special ones in their life. And because not everyone is a yellow-gold person, there’s Laoli’s Droplet necklace: hand-made in Paris with one-of-a-kind, pear-shaped citrine beads that are knotted on black thread, so the stones catch the light just so. It’s the kind of piece that makes even a plain tee feel intentional.

This person knows. They knew about exosomes before Tiktok caught on, they were stocking up on Olaplex before they were selling out of Sephora, and they’ve been a peptide evangelist since before they could drive. They live for innovation. For the early adopter in your life, start with Jillian Dempsey’s Flyk Trick Mascara—a precision felt-tip wand that paints on eyeliner and lashes. And while we’re focusing on makeup, there’s also Danessa Myricks’ Yummy Skin Blurring Balm, which is a transformative balm to powder product that preps, evens out, and covers skin all at once. Technically makeup, but melts in to look like skin. Use it with one of Rae Morris’ brushes, which are Isamaya Ffrench-approved. They are magnetized, so they always stand upright in storage—why didn’t anyone think of this before?

A few other options: Lazy Jamie’s 5 to 9 TV Tray throws away the idea that a TV tray is kind of embarrassing. Au contraire, it catapults the notion that TV trays are so back and kind of sexy? It serves the dual purpose of a small workstation and a tabletop for dinner for one. If your friend would rather engage in skincare over supper in front of the TV, consider the new it-facial device of the year, Shark’s FacialPro Glow. It delivers Hydrafacial-level work at a sheet mask price, when you factor in cost-per-use. Turn it on and they’ll hear the soft hum of the future flying into view.

It’s been a year, and your people need comfort: cozy, soft, soothing things that warm up their home at a time when the outside world is… scary. Start by helping them wrap themselves in Baina’s towels straight out of the bath. They’re 100-percent organic cotton, fast-drying, and look damn good in any bathroom—even the most unappealing ones with the “landlord special.” Pair that with one of Cyklar’s hydrating, glowy body oils infused with vitamin C. Do they like spicy and sweet? Go for Vanilla Verve. Warm and bright? Naked Neroli. Woodsy and creamy? Sacred Santal.

For their faces, there’s Gezeiten’s (excuse me, did you sneeze?) rich and velvety night cream. Bakuchiol, retinal, niacinamide, and vitamin E? They’ll have you to thank for their bouncy skin, especially if you couple it with Aunu’s mānuka honey-infused salve. And of course, you can’t forget their hands. That’s where you turn to Prada’s hand cream, a triangle-shaped curiosity they can proudly pull out of their bag alongside their Memor case, afterall, a phone is the ultimate comfort device.

Everyone’s got a somebody in their life who thinks that “outside” is overrated. You’ve got to put in work to delight them, so consider Sophie Bille Brahe’s jewelry box first— technically for storage, but in practice a velvet-lined trophy case for their taste.

Since you can’t count on your home-obsessed friend to venture out for a facial with aesthetician-of-the-moment, Elizabeth Grace Hand, you can bring a part of her studio home with one of the Scandi-sourced hand mirrors she sells. It’s outfitted in glass and extremely cute. Meanwhile Michaela Angela Davis’ Tenderheaded is the book they’ll keep on the coffee table to read cover to cover—sharp, soulful, and quietly radical, like the best kind of dinner-party guest.

Moving along to the homebody’s church, the kitchen, Charlotte Chesnais x Christofle's cutlery set is the big ticket item on this list. Silver plated and complete with a cutlery carousel, this 24-piece set is obscenely luxurious. Make it a group gift to soften the sticker shock. And with all that shiny new flatware, they’re going to need some new recipe ideas. Fork over Zaynab Issa’s Third Culture Cooking, which is equal parts recipe book and personal essay. She’s got a Spicy Lamb and Cumin Noodles recipe in there that is bound to become a repeat meal. And anyone making that dish is going to need a good olive oil to round it out. The ones from Manni are Michelin restaurant-approved. But does your friend approve? That’s the ultimate test.

Suitcase-friendly. Welcome to the small but mighty category! Handcrafted in France, Studio Environmental’s horse-shaped comb is a clear winner in the elevated basics race. Pair it with David Mallet’s hair pin—part of the fun is making people wonder if they just grabbed a large safety pin from their office.

Then there are the tiny joys that live in makeup bags and jacket pockets: Celisse’s complete nail set with quick-dry polishes, and Wish Cards—each one comes with a match, strike pad, and candlewick for a miniature moment of joy. And to hold it all? Glossier’s puffy beauty bag, the perfect soft little vault for all their small-but-mighty wonders.

The way to a fragrance person’s heart is to give them something new to market—you’ve got to catch them by surprise or they get bored. Start with Amoln’s Unicorn candle, which smells comforting and fresh with notes of grass and cedar wood and white musk.

For personal scents, you’ve got three good options to choose from: Kindred Black’s Metamorphases, which is an herbaceous scent housed in a delicate shell-like vessel; Memo’s travel perfume, which is really any of their fragrances enclosed in a punchy, leather-wrapped case; or you could grab a Lore fragrance, whose scents are complex and emotional—truly unique aromas that make up a fragrance-lover’s dream.

But a fragrance gift doesn’t have to be stuffy. To lighten things up, consider something for a friend with a four-legged friend in their life. Biche Après Oil is what happens when skincare and scent elope—silky, subtle, and sexy in that “you just smell like you” way. That is, if the you in question is quite literally an animal.