
At the market looking for the smartest and cutest low-budget Christmas gifts for women this season, PaulaTrendsets.com spotted some fabulous finds on the high street in Paris, France, also available to order online.
A tiny token of love and appreciation, gifts are a gesture that shows you care and think of that special person in your life and which will be there to remind them of your feelings even at moments when you are not present.
If you are gift shopping for your mum, sister, bestie, or girlfriend, you will probably find something of their liking in this list, or use our Christmas gifting tips to make your selection from your local stores.
Feel free to offer a nice gift to yourself too this festive season; another year has gone by, during which time you have overcome challenges and put your best efforts at reaching your ideals.
Our selection below is based on originality and value for money in terms of user benefit and maximum style impact.
BEAUTY GIFTS
Beauty staples are the safest choice when it comes to choosing gifts for women, and thankfully you can find tons of budget-friendly items in this category.
Hand creams are admittedly the safest choice when it comes to beauty gifts and they come in a multitude of scents and brands, however I personally find them too predictable for festive gifts.
My best friends often offer me a lipstick, gloss, or nail polish from the brands and shades they know I usually buy, but if you are unsure about the type of makeup that the recipient wears, you should probably go for something more neutral or at least a gift set which includes a few different items or shades.
Among the Top 3 mini-budget beauty gifts which I believe stand out this Christmas, are Inuwet’s festive scented lip balm sets, in two different scent combinations to choose from – cherry or mango.
I use these excellent Inuwet lip balms all year round and I would love to offer them as a gift so other women could discover this great quality, vegan product. This year’s festive figures packaging is not only fun but also precious as limited edition tubes.
Also fun and useful are the hands and nails beauty sets by Le Mini Macaron, another French beauty brand. Choose between the limited edition nail laquer trio in blush pink, pomegranate red and metallic silver, or the cherry-scented moisturizing hand and nail cream and cleansing hand spray set.
A timeless classic, and in a festive packaging, is the Get Glowing Nail Gloss and Care by Manucurist Paris. This nail polish, which revives radiance and nourishes the nails while covering them in a sweet glossy “active glow raspberry” shade, is a low-risk gift as it will be appreciated and easy-to-use by women of all fashions and backgrounds.
All the above beauty gifts were spotted at Monoprix department stores in Paris, France.
DESIGNER COLLABORATIONS
If you are looking for wearable gifts, however, which are going to last the recipient much longer than a beauty gift, designer collaborations with high street brands released for the festive season are a great option for gifting on a budget while they still feel more exclusive than the usual high street range.
The Anya Hindmarch x Uniqlo collection offers several affordable women’s knits and fashion accessories featuring the designer’s signature playful eyes pattern, while the classic t-shirts from the Stefano Pilati x Zara collection could also make a fashionable gift without stretching your budget. I bought the black t-shirt for myself on the very first day that the collection hit the stores and have been wearing it everywhere since, from business meetings -with a blazer- to cocktail bars -with a statement necklace.
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Back to Monoprix department stores, I fell in love with the limited edition collection by top stylist and interior designer Vincent Darré, which offers not only t-shirts and knits in vibrant colors and prints, but also classy suit pieces, beautiful scarves and a vast range of home decorations inspired by the surrealism art movement. The star sign pattern cups in particular can make for a more personalised Christmas gift.
The French fashion genius signing the collection was the assistant of the late Karl Lagerfeld between 1995-2001 and also held the positions of head designer at Moschino and artistic director at Ungaro before switching to interior design, so any creation of Vincent Darré would make a treasured gift for women with a fine taste.
Both collections are available to order from the respective brands’ e-commerce websites.
JEWELRY & ACCESSORIES
Like the scarves mentioned before, fashion accessories in general can be a style-savvy and budget-friendly option as Christmas gifts for women. They don’t always need to be designer, but they must be versatile and of good quality.
There are, of course, dozens of high street brands for fashion accessories on the market. I visited several of them and I really liked the fashionable headbands selection at Lovisa, although this type of accessory would be a risky choice as not all women wear headbands.
Gloves, on the contrary, are a type of fashion accessory that everybody needs and an extra pair can always come handy – pun intended.
I loved these embellished woolen mittens from Zara, available in two different colors and at a really reasonable price. I think they look their most striking in white rather than gray, which makes the elaborate rhinestone embellishments stand out the most. They are also flashy enough to look like special occasion gloves, which definitively makes them suitable to offer as a festive gift. Matching scarves and beanies with the same embellishment design are also available.
Moving on to jewelry, those are a bit trickier and more personal to the wearer, so I would suggest that you know the style of the recipient really well if you are to choose this type of fashion accessory as a gift.
The above beautiful double-row necklace by Zara is an exquisite pick. It looks total class and much more expensive than it actually costs. Its dazzling medium-sized rhinestones and flamboyant scarlett satin roses make it a beautiful festive gift for a girlfriend.
Exclusive good quality jewelry for Christmas gifts can be found on Ebay or Amazon if you have the patience to browse and search properly. These zircons-adorned fairy-shaped earrings, for instance, will be much cherished for their sparkle, cuteness, and festive glam, bought at the best price range possible for this quality.
I hope this article helped you with ideas what to buy for the most valued women in your life this Christmas season.
I wish you happy gift shopping and, most importantly, happy holidays with your loved ones – which is the only true gift that matters anyway!