Sponsored by Nordstrom & ShopStyle
I grew up in a family full of women, many of us influenced by my grandma who was a professional hairstylist with a personal knack for all things beauty. She was the kind of woman who made an orange lip a chic, everyday makeup staple.
It’s taken me years to develop my own sort of everyday look, and while not as bold as an orange lip, it’s a dewy highlight that I’ve naturally incorporated as my go-to. It’s also my favorite (and arguably one of the easiest) makeup steps to over-dramatize during the holidays for a simple, yet totally effective festive look. Thanks to Nordstrom, you can grab all the products you need in time for the end-of-year festivities!
Glowing Skin & A Natural Makeup Look The Easy Way
My everyday look is simple: I focus on brows and lashes and a bit of contouring for my cheekbones. When attending a holiday get-together or doing something I want to feel a bit more spiffed up for, I do everything the same, and then go all in on highlighter. It’s almost impossible to mess it up, especially since the glowing, dewy look is all the rage (so really, just send it)!
Highlighter | Iridescent Powder
This Mineral Skinfinish Highlighter from MAC is gorgeous and easy to use. I sweep it on top of my cheek and brow bones, inner corners of my eye, the bridge of my nose and the top of my lip.
For even more of a glow, I add MAC iridescent loose powder in “golden bronze” to my cheekbones (like I would a blush) and lightly dab it on the bridge of my nose. Since it’s in a loose powder form, this is a great choice for anyone who wants that glowing/dewy look but has a naturally oily complexion.
Highlighter | Iridescent Powder | Gloss
When you’re at a dim party with a strong highlighter across your cheeks (the perfect look to rock on New Year’s Eve), you will almost always get a compliment, because the little bit of light in that room is going to be bouncing off your skin in the best of ways!
Thoughtful Gifts For Beauty Product Lovers
If you’re in need of more than just a holiday glow for the party, I got you. I went ahead and rounded up a few of my favorite gifts to grab for the beauty lovers in your life. These types of products can sometimes be hard to give someone unless you know exactly what products they love or want to try, but I’ve got you covered. A few dependable and very thoughtful go-tos of mine are sheer lipsticks, scent discovery kits, and clean + fragrance-free luxe body products. High-quality yet simple gifts for best friends, siblings, or anyone special on your list!
For The Perfect Lip
1 | Charlotte Tilbury Lip Liner
My trick to an everyday lip is not actually a lipstick at all, but just the liner. I love both Pillow Talk Medium and Iconic Nude — both wildly popular and would be fun gifts to receive. After using the liner to outline my lips, I lightly fill in the rest of my lip with the same liner. Then I dab a gloss on top like the epic Anastasia Beverly Hills Diamond Gloss, and that’s it! It’s easy to wear, and won’t smear or run off your face.
2 | Gucci Rouge à Lèvres Voile Sheer Lipstick
This is one of my better gift ideas, because there are few things that feel more special or luxe than Gucci. Their sheer lipsticks have the most gorgeous floral packaging (making them feel extra special), and the colors are very light + moisturizing. Since these aren’t bold colors (they apply much lighter than the color in the tube), it’s a gift you don’t have to fret about when picking a shade for someone else.
For The Fragrance Lover
1 | Le Labo Discovery Scent Kit
If you don’t already know about Le Labo, this perfume brand is the cream of the crop. They compound their scents by hand, with the names representing the most prominent note followed by the number of notes in that bottle (Santal 33 means there’s a total of 33 notes in that bottle). As a huge perfume lover/collector, I’ve never met a better quality brand (I actually own multiple bottles, many were gifts, and they’ve been some of my favorite gifts to receive of all time).
Since scents can be a deeply personal thing, gifting a discovery kit is really fun (I’ve gifted these myself and it’s always been a hit)! If you want the full Le Labo experience, here’s a sample set of their entire main collection.
2 | Luxe Candles from Nest, Diptyque and Le Labo
Nest Holiday | Diptyque Winter | Le Labo Santal 26
Candles are my top favorite gift to give. If you’re worried about choosing a scent, stick with a high-quality brand (so there’s no headache-inducing scents,) which also makes it really special since our loved ones can’t pick them up on their everyday errand runs. These three brands are top-rated, and if you’re overwhelmed by choices, stick with the holiday editions that Nest and Diptyque offer so it’s a festive experience!
For Nourished Skin
1 | Tula Under Eye Balm
Arguably one of the best, most universally appreciated beauty products (because we all need a little under eye relief from time to time.) Perfect for new parents, college students, skincare enthusiasts, teachers, anyone who struggles with stress and sleep… need I go on? The balm is soothing and ultra-nourishing to dry, sleepy skin. If you want a little more for the gift, Tula created Tula created a limited edition gift set of all three of their balms ( I have purchased all of them many times over; they’re excellent)!
2 | Nécessaire Body Oil
There’s nothing more soothing than adding a dropper full of luxurious body oil into your lotion (especially in the dry winter months.) Nécessaire is a clean company with products made in the USA. The body oil is fragrance-free, so if you’re worried about the right scent, this is the gift for you. Bundle it with their lotion for an extra special gift!
Favorite Beauty Gifts from Nordstrom
One of the best things about Nordstrom is their services – free shipping and easy returns makes treating yourself and purchasing gifts completely stress-free. PLUS the Nordy Club earns you points and benefits when you shop (easily one of my better decisions from this past year)!
If you loved the glowing holiday look above, both products I used from MAC would also make for the best gift!
Xx,
Amy
Thank you so much to Nordstrom and ShopStyle for sponsoring this post! Sharing my love for glowing skin and fragrance is the most incredible honor and Nordstrom is where my love for perfume really took off (roaming your perfume counters is a personal hobby of mine). And thank you to our sweet readers – your support means the world!
Let’s be friends on Instagram! Sharing life from my sleepy little beach town, daily style, and my professional photo work – with a good dose of adorable toddler content too.
 makeup steps to over-dramatize during the holidays for a simple yet effective festive look.){kind=link}
Which shade do you have of the Mineral Skinfinish Highlighter from MAC?
Oh I’m sorry I failed to mention that!! It’s the shade “Soft & Gentle”
What color do you use for the highlighter? Looks gorgeous!
Gosh that would have been helpful to include, so sorry — “soft & gentle”