The Cut Staff’s Very Personal Beauty Gift Guide
Photo: Zhe Zhu
Every good gift-giver knows that the best presents are personal. Which is why most gift guides are kind of a crap shoot: How can you expect to learn anything useful from an impersonal listicle? Because we recognize that all of us are buying gifts conforming to very specific parameters — like trying to find a moisturizer for your mom that doesn’t smell floral (harder than you might think) — the Cut has devised this highly specific gift guide based on members of our staff. We hope that reading through archetypes like “Your Friend Who Has a Sex Podcast” and “Your Friend Who Is an Unfussy Human” will help you to make your own very personal gifting decisions this season, whether they be presents for others or for yourself.
For Your Friend Who Has A Sex Podcast You can confess anything about sex to senior writer Allison P. Davis. She'll keep all your secrets and offe...
For Your Friend Who Has A Sex Podcast You can confess anything about sex to senior writer Allison P. Davis. She'll keep all your secrets and offers great advice, which is why she is one of the contributors to our "Sex Lives" podcast. In picking out what to give the Oprah of sexy times, we thought about what Oprah would give if her Favorite Things were sex-themed. Of course, first would be a suggestively shaped lipstick bullet from the NARS and Steven Klein collaboration and a set of sexy Givenchy Beauty face masks that will keep her face glowing while looking like an extra from Eyes Wide Shut. Since she also asked for weed-based beauty products, here's a perfume that smells just a touch like 420 someplace really fancy.
Photo: lower left by Amy Lombard
For Your Friend Who Could Be A Beauty Editor Jessica Roy’s natural love for baking sugary sweets and the passion with which she talks about Tom F...
For Your Friend Who Could Be A Beauty Editor Jessica Roy’s natural love for baking sugary sweets and the passion with which she talks about Tom Ford’s Illuminating Primer make her fit right in with the beauty department. To round out her quickly growing collection of beauty products, some fancy hair vitamins to make her hair as lustrous and full as it would be with extensions, along with a kit of curated tried-and-true Korean beauty skin-care products. Finally, a set of festive of nail polishes so that she can paint her nails while waiting for her snickerdoodles to cool.
Photo: upper left: Dre
For Your Friend Who Has Effortless Haim-Girl Hair Senior editor Molly Fischer has the kind of shiny Rapunzel hair that could make her a long-lost...
For Your Friend Who Has Effortless Haim-Girl Hair Senior editor Molly Fischer has the kind of shiny Rapunzel hair that could make her a long-lost Haim sister. But for even more volume, she'll appreciate this root-lifting powder, which won't make her hair greasy like a surf spray would. To go with her California-girl vibe: an effective skin-care routine from Aesop and, as a final touch, a touch of glow that isn't strobing via Burberry’s dewy yet barely-there luminizer.
Photo: lower middle: Bobby Doherty
For Your MOM Friend Editorial director Stella Bugbee is both a mom and the kind of person who makes you want to say "MOM" the way Lorde...
For Your MOM Friend Editorial director Stella Bugbee is both a mom and the kind of person who makes you want to say "MOM" the way Lorde intended it. She'll love this line of fancy French hair scrubs that will enable her to take care of her hair like Catherine Deneuve, plus the best amber perfume on the planet, a trusty anti-aging serum, and plenty of tiny, luxurious lipsticks that she can fit into any of her many enviable clutches.
For Your Friend The Gummy-bear Connoisseur Kathleen Hou has Champagne tastes that extend all the way down to gummy bears. These bubbly-flavored c...
For Your Friend The Gummy-bear Connoisseur Kathleen Hou has Champagne tastes that extend all the way down to gummy bears. These bubbly-flavored candies will keep her spirit perma-smiley, while a luxe set of her favorite Chanel lipsticks and nail polishes will keep her beauty-editor heart happy. A colorful set of SK-II holiday bottles with artwork designed by Taiwanese artist Po-Chih Huang will serve as a joyful reminder of her Taiwanese roots, and her favorite scent as a hair mist means she'll be engulfed in a happy cloud all day.
Photo: lower right: Dre
For the Semi-Goth Who Wants A Better Sneer Producer Leah Rodriguez has specific needs, and bigger brows top the list. She’ll appreciate Elizabeth...
For the Semi-Goth Who Wants A Better Sneer Producer Leah Rodriguez has specific needs, and bigger brows top the list. She’ll appreciate Elizabeth Arden’s intense brow serum, which will help etch her way to a fuzzy-but-groomed set. Dr. Lancer’s body moisturizer will stomp away winter dryness, while Balmain’s trio of neutral polishes will keep her nails in tip-top shape, looking rich and moody for many months to come.
Photo: upper left by Eric T. White
For the Health Guru Who Wants to Treat Herself When health editor Susan Rinkunas isn’t heroically defending America’s national treasure, bacon, s...
For the Health Guru Who Wants to Treat Herself When health editor Susan Rinkunas isn’t heroically defending America’s national treasure, bacon, she just wants to let her hair down, you know? That’s when Dolce & Gabbana’s fiery matte red, Passion, comes in handy, as well as Charlotte Tilbury’s shadow stick that’s tailored to enhance the richness in her green eyes. She can top it all off with Estée Lauder's rich yet-not-greasy day cream, which contains something she would know a lot about: anti-oxidants.
For the Non-Fussy Human Writer Dayna Evans likes simple things that work, which is why she advocates wearing a jacket as a shirt. For her, there’...
For the Non-Fussy Human Writer Dayna Evans likes simple things that work, which is why she advocates wearing a jacket as a shirt. For her, there’s Clinique’s Dramatically Different Lotion: an age-old moisturizer that’s timely and effective, no matter the season. To clean your hair with one fell swoop, R + Co’s foamy cleansing conditioner gets the job done, and we’re placing bets that Clarins’s simple and frothy cleanser will meet Dayna’s no-nonsense standards.
Photo: (l) Yana Paskova
For Your Friend Who Picks an Uber SUV Because She Likes to Ride ‘in Comfort ’ If associate market editor Lindsay Peoples were a superhero, s...
For Your Friend Who Picks an Uber SUV Because She Likes to Ride ‘in Comfort ’ If associate market editor Lindsay Peoples were a superhero, she’d be called the Incredibly Rich Chick. With her appetite for extravagance, she'll love La Mer’s new lightweight face oil. Since shaving is so pedestrian, Iluminage’s pricey hair-removal laser will do (it suits all skin tones), and when she lies down to sleep at night, she can count sheep on Slip’s ultraluxe, 100 percent mulberry silk pillowcase.
For the Friend With a Black Belt in Cat-Eye Senior market editor Diana Tsui is like a beauty MacGyver: In any condition, rain, shine, or moving v...
For the Friend With a Black Belt in Cat-Eye Senior market editor Diana Tsui is like a beauty MacGyver: In any condition, rain, shine, or moving vehicle, she can create a master cat-eye. Kevyn Aucoin’s iconic tubular mascara is just the thing to top off her feline flick, while Sisley’s rich facial oil will thwart any signs of dry skin. And Diptyque’s dreamy jasmine scent reminds Diana of the plants her mom grows.
Photo: upper right: Dre
For the Broadway Aficionado Who's Also Half-French Véronique Hyland, the Cut’s fashion news editor and resident musical-theater exper...
For the Broadway Aficionado Who's Also Half-French Véronique Hyland, the Cut’s fashion news editor and resident musical-theater expert, wants to add some theatrics to her eyes. Dior’s neutral shadow palette is full of luxurious basics that will allow her to customize her beauty look for any role. Chanel’s new and first-ever sensitive-skin serum will soothe her alabaster skin with silver-nettle tea, and ByTerry's lipstick compact will give her some dramatic lip color in a chic Art Deco compact.
For Your Friend Who Always Knows Where the ‘Good Light’ Is Ashley Weatherford's office nickname is “Mother of Light” because she has a gift for l...
For Your Friend Who Always Knows Where the ‘Good Light’ Is Ashley Weatherford's office nickname is “Mother of Light” because she has a gift for lighting every single photograph to show off her radiant skin. As a highlighter expert, she'll love Anastasia’s highlighter in Riviera. Nest’s toasty Hearth candle will add a glow to her Brooklyn home, Van Cleef & Arpels Rose Velours is a floral scent she can’t stop daydreaming about, and Antrodia’s Radiance and Repair mask might just be the most luxurious way for her to avoid flaky skin.
For the Friend Who is Zen Even Without Yoga Nothing fazes senior editor Izzy Grinspan. To make sure she stays that way, her home should be scente...
For the Friend Who is Zen Even Without Yoga Nothing fazes senior editor Izzy Grinspan. To make sure she stays that way, her home should be scented with the calming yet fancy laundry scent of Byredo’s Cotton Poplin candle. Because she’s also jonesing for an eye cream that won’t make her cry and a bright lip color that won't scare her husband, we threw in Lancôme’s creamy eye contour elixir and Armani’s pigmented but not eyeball-searing liquid lipstick in rosy-pink Budoir. Photo: lower left Ben Ritter
For Your Friend Who Ain't Got Time For That Rebecca Ramsey secretly knows the lyrics to practically every '80s gangster rap song and she doesn't ...
For Your Friend Who Ain't Got Time For That Rebecca Ramsey secretly knows the lyrics to practically every '80s gangster rap song and she doesn't have time for fussy beauty, especially in her new role as the Cut's style director. This fancy hairbrush will keep her hair even smoother (while doubling as a handy air microphone). A fragrance that recalls the feeling of being under a big open sky and a fragrant farm-to-bottle lavender body oil will also reminder her of the happy tears from her recent outdoor wedding when she's running around the mean streets of Manhattan.
Photo: top: Ben Ritter
For the Woman Who Is Never Afraid to Wield Control The curls on photo editor Emily Shornick’s head just want to be freeeee, though Emily prefers ...
For the Woman Who Is Never Afraid to Wield Control The curls on photo editor Emily Shornick’s head just want to be freeeee, though Emily prefers them on the tamer side. Oribe’s silky curl cream will help, while Marc Jacobs’s gel lipstick in Strange Magic will answer her plea for a lipstick that doesn’t make her lips feel like sandpaper. To relax after a day of making photo magic, these bath salts will help. They’re of the legal variety, of course.
For Your Friend Who Looks Better In Her Pixie Cut Than J.Law Ever Did Lori Keong knows what it means to have a pixie cut when you're not famous. ...
For Your Friend Who Looks Better In Her Pixie Cut Than J.Law Ever Did Lori Keong knows what it means to have a pixie cut when you're not famous. To go with her gamine sense of style, a bright-pinky-red lipstick for when she wants to dress up her cool haircut and some super-shiny pigmented nail polishes that don't chip. A beach house of a fragrance keeps Lori dreaming of Indian summers, even in winter.
Photo: left: Ben Ritter
For the Girl Who Is As Bouncy As Her Hair Even while constructing 50-item slideshows, Catie L'Heureux's good cheer never fails. To ensure that he...
For the Girl Who Is As Bouncy As Her Hair Even while constructing 50-item slideshows, Catie L'Heureux's good cheer never fails. To ensure that her hair is always as buoyant as her personality, here's a true dry shampoo that soaks up oil and dirt while making hair actually feel clean. A petal-pink blush trio and a fluffy soft cheek brush will make sure that her cheeks always stay as rosy as her personality.
For Your Friend Whose Smartphone Is Like An Extra Appendage As social-media editor, it's Marissa Cetin's job to stay plugged into her phone at al...
For Your Friend Whose Smartphone Is Like An Extra Appendage As social-media editor, it's Marissa Cetin's job to stay plugged into her phone at all times. This pressed perfume smells luxurious but won't distract her, while the pearly black nail polish gives her something pretty to look at while typing with her thumbs all day. Finally, let's add a protective blow-dry cream so that her hair stays always as lustrous and full as her one true love, Harry Styles's.
For Your Friend Who Knows All About Sunglasses and Lipsticks Stephanie Eckardt knows about the greatness of sunglasses and lipsticks firsthand. I...
For Your Friend Who Knows All About Sunglasses and Lipsticks Stephanie Eckardt knows about the greatness of sunglasses and lipsticks firsthand. In addition to a glamorous matte-red lipstick, she can round out her necessary beauty staples with a black eyeliner that never, ever smudges, and a faithful under-eye concealer that she can use for years to come.
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