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I am told that buying for me is difficult, but I’m more easily pleased than people imagine. A vintage Welsh blanket from eBay to add to my collection, a gift voucher, olive oil, a vintage magazine or a perfect mug (they have to be large, pottery, not porcelain, for heat retention, and white inside so I can properly gauge the colour of the tea) will all keep me very happy.
I’ve nonetheless received some brilliantly imaginative presents over the years. My husband once bought me the complete catalogues of the late Elizabeth Taylor’s belongings, which I treasure (and subsequently bought for my best friend). My girlfriends once adopted me a rescue goat, because I adore them. And recently, all my friends clubbed together to commission the ceramicist Alice Mara to make a miniature replica of my house, and it is now my most beloved item.
Sali Hughes’s favourite gifts for 2025
Heaven scent
Miu Miu eau de parfum, 50ml
Miutine is ideal for a very special woman who takes her fashion seriously and her scents sweet.
Citrus fresh
Bronnley lemon soap
I’ve loved these my entire life. Deliciously real lemon oil scent in a creamy bar of loveliness. Keep them at the basin or use them to scent your clothes drawers.
I like to mousse it
Sundae Gingerbread shower foam, 265ml
A festively spiced limited edition of the highly coveted (by teenagers) shower mousse
Makeup memoir
Still Bobbi by Bobbi Brown
In Still Bobbi, the US makeup artist recounts how she took on the beauty industry not once but twice and smashed it.
Box clever
Rainbow wooden tissue box
I hate the mess of tissue boxes lying around. This cover by All the Things makes them beautiful, and the colour story matches my living room exactly.
Shadow play
Visepro Praline Étendu palette
I’m not generally one for multi-pan eye palettes, yet this is among my most worn makeup of 2025. Blends easily and seamlessly – ideal if you find eyeshadow tricky.
Lush brush
La Bonne Brosse small N04 hairbrush
I scoffed when I first saw the price of these, but since getting my first I’ve bought three more as gifts. Gentle, sturdy, stylish and a genuine pleasure to use.
Luxe nail kit
Navy Essential Home 2.0 nail kit
The ultimate luxury manicure tools, ethically and sustainably manufactured in Yorkshire by the best in the business.
Hold a candle
Trudy bird candle holder
Candle holders are the cost-effective way of gifting candles, since they last for ever and can house any old candle bought cheaply from a hardware shop.
Fine print
Bob & Roberta Smith print
Make Art Not War are evergreen words to live by.
Rolling Hitch
God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens
For any Scrooge who believes Christmas is only for the religious. As a Christmas-loving atheist, I find this a useful last-minute gift.
Stunning Leigh
Leigh Bowery exhibition book
For anyone who didn’t make it to Tate Modern in time: the book of my exhibition of the year.
Skinful
Byoma So Hydrated set
Buy for anyone of any gender and any age. Byoma skincare is fairly priced, kind, effective and straightforward, and will get anyone off to a great start in skincare.
Big hair, don’t care
Curated clip-in hair fillers
I bought these for a friend experiencing hair loss, and she found them life-changing. Easy to put in, these plump out natural hair and stay in place all day.
Boost your bath
Neal’s Yard Beauty Sleep foaming bath, 200ml
A recent discovery, now a hopeless addiction, this earthy, herbal, sudsing soak has that essential “ouchy” relief upon contact. Top me up monthly.
Upgrade your tomatoes
Casa Marrazzo organic chopped tomatoes, 2.5kg
This catering-size tin has enough delicious tomatoes for a huge vat of pasta sauce – and then makes a forever utensils holder. Just remember to open it the right way up.
Sample this
La Pyae Apothecary eau de parfum, 50ml
This gentle, woody, delicate but lasting scent is hard not to enjoy – and the free sample with every (returnable) purchase makes it a particularly low-risk gift.
Mirror, mirror
Victoria Beckham dual mirror compact
When you want a beauty gift for someone whose skin type and goals you daren’t ask about, choose a beautiful mirror. This is the one I carry everywhere.
Nail it
Bio Sculpture x LA-Space nail polish duo
Two endlessly useful shades – a perfect blush pink nude and a chic near-black with a hint of red – in an excellent nail-friendly formula from the only nail brand I use.
Balm before the storm
Sugar + Spice Balm Dotcom duo
Glossier’s gen Z accessory of choice in limited-edition festive peppermint bark and ginger snap flavours.
See the light
Mini ring light for smartphones
How I light beauty content on the move. Gives scattered, flattering light without obscuring your lens.
after newsletter promotion
Mug up
Burleigh handmade earthenware mug
I’m very exacting about tea mugs. This Blue Calico design is my favourite – if it’s not in my hand, it’s in the dishwasher. Perfection.
Green party
I Am Verdant eau de parfum, 30ml
I love many of Vyrao’s colourful fragrances, but this bright, happy, vegetal number is my favourite.
So fresh, so clean
Salt & Stone natural deodorant, 75g
Long-lasting, effective, skin-softening and with a fragrance I’d buy at four times the price, this gender-neutral deodorant elevates the everyday to a luxury gift.
Fully Roan
Chappell Roan Christmas bauble
I’ve bought this for a number of cool teenagers in my life.
For more, read the best Christmas baubles
Well gel
Hello Klean body washes
These shower gels, one anti-dryness and one anti-KP (keratosis pilaris, or “chicken skin” – clogged hair follicles), do as they promise while still looking fab under the tree.
Scentsational
Jones Road shower gel, 243ml
Finally, a shower gel to match JR’s signature salted orange blossom shower scent.
Brush with glory
MyKitCo makeup brushes
If I could only use one brand of makeup brush for the rest of my life, I’d choose MyKitCo. Easy to use and honestly priced.
Cross the Chanel
Chanel Rouge Allure lip colour in Pirate
There is never a bad time to receive a Chanel red lipstick. No beauty lover’s collection is complete without one. This formula occupies the flattering sweet spot between matt and gloss.
Soap and glory
Perfumer H Rain Wood soap, 85g
My top choice for an exquisitely scented soap, no expense spared. It fills the bathroom with one of my all-time favourite smells.
Travel plan
Leatherology small travel case
My go-to for top-quality leather makeup bags and toiletries pouches, with personalisation options.
Glaze through
Rhode glazing milk, 140ml
This gives sad, dehydrated skin an instant boost and works brilliantly mixed with foundation to make it sheer. The gen Zs in your life will be thrilled to receive it.
What a sock
Cos ribbed silk socks
My all-time favourite socks. The colours are all beautiful, they don’t fall down and feel heavenly against skin.
Turn up the volume
Kitsch volumising roller clips
Give the gift of bigger hair with fast, foolproof clips to bump up flat roots.
Coffee x art
Bodum x MoMA coffee maker
This programmable machine looks like something contestants might have won on the Generation Game or Bullseye – pleasingly nostalgic.
Pucker up
Andrea Garland refillable lip balms
The designer sources stylish vintage pill, snuff and sewing boxes, and repurposes them as one-off refillable lip balm containers.
Terry’s in a candle
Jo Malone orange & chocolate candle, 300g
A melting Terry’s Chocolate Orange in a beautiful vessel. What’s not to love?
Perfect stick of colour
Nars the Multiple
A beauty icon reformulated and somehow improved – how often can we say that? The perfect stick of colour in flattering, nuanced shades.
Patch things up
Hangover detox patches
Supplement skin patches are all the rage. These feel like they’re actually doing something to ease the post-party malaise.
For more, read the best self-care gifts for Christmas
Lashes for days
Vieve Icon mascara
Mascara is an essential, but the art deco skyscraper-style gold fluting of Vieve’s elevates it to something gift-worthy. It’s a lovely glossy black mascara too.
Welsh warmth
Welsh blanket
I collect colourful vintage Welsh blankets, and the only new-made ones that blend in seamlessly with my nan’s originals are FelinFach’s.
