The 2020 Holiday Gift Guide, or what to get everyone when everyone’s had the worst year ever.
Welcome to the #cblackclients 2020 Holiday Gift Guide!
Worst year, best clients. That’s pretty much how our 2020 has gone. In a year when nothing seemed to go right, the brands we serve continue to keep us happy, healthy and swaggy, even if there are no events to go to. On behalf of them, these are our picks for holiday gifts that will make everyone on your list feel like maybe it isn’t time to give up on life just yet.
Complex Culture
What happens when the beauty brand that knows what you think of all the other brands gives you its own brand? Beauty subscription box giant IPSY answered in 2019 with Complex Culture, the beauty collection that continues to kill it by getting you out the door looking great, and fast. (Even when “out the door” means “Zoom camera unmuted.”)
Face Time Brush Collection, $131 Give the gift of a flawless face. And by flawless we mean: not so obviously completely crestfallen. This 4-piece set includes a travel pouch, for whenever jumping on planes is a thing again.
Overtime Contour & Blush Duo, $35 To go with those brushes, a little color so your giftee can look somewhat alive despite the fact that she is dead inside.
Armani Beauty
When it comes to gifting, it’s hard to argue with luxury. And when it comes to luxury, it’s hard to argue with Armani Beauty. Our relationship with this iconic brand is simple—we fine-tune their tone of voice, they make our complexion look filtered. For those on your list who are feeling a bit dull on life, may we suggest elemental fragrances, luminous skin and plump, crimson lips? Works for us.
Lip Maestro Favorites Gift Set, $150 This collection of best-selling Armani liquid lipsticks, with its insanely chic zip case, is the Red Ryder BB Gun of the beauty girl. She’ll die, we promise.
Armani Code Classic 2-Piece Men’s Fragrance Gift Set, $155 What to get when you want the only man you don’t have to socially distance from to smell like an Italian dreamboat.
The Flower Pot
Even in the best of times, Los Angeles-based digital cannabis-oriented emporium The Flower Pot is our first line of defense against gift paralysis. There is literally no one who doesn’t want to be soothed and healed and sent into a state of sensual bliss. Neatly organized into remedy categories, the store has everything from smoking accoutrements to powerful plant tinctures and CBD bath bombs. It’s herbal relief in eComm form.
Daughter of the Land Cypress Cannabidiol Bath Soak, $33 Really not sure how we would’ve made it through the year without two handfuls of this shizz in our bath every Friday night. Get a can for yourself too. Thank us later.
Shine King Size Gold Rolling Paper, $10 If you have friends who are blazing up to deal with this apocalyptic hellscape, don’t judge, just elevate their aesthetic. Stays lit, burns smooth and leaves a stunning trail of gold ashes.
Solento Tequila
So you must have some people on your list who need some fancy booze to cry into, no? The thing about Solento (“slow sun”) is it’s about savoring time, not escaping it. The organic brand is a celebration of slow, which is pretty apropos for 2020 if you think about it.
Solento Organic Blanco, $60 Born of a clean, organic process, this sipping tequila will show up at your giftee’s house and ease them through the holidays thinking fond thoughts of you, if not the year that’s finally ending.
Skylar
Been a bummer having to stay six feet away from everyone, when our fragrance game is so on point, always. But like fine lingerie, perfume is more for the wearer than anyone else. Which is why we love Skylar’s scent offerings so much—they’re subtle and close to the skin. Clean, too. So your giftee can elevate her olfactory aura without adding toxicity to her airspace.
Dewy Breeze Duo, $120 It might be the darkest winter of our lives, but your giftee can be a summer girl year round with Salt Air and Sun Shower, two of Skylar’s most “SoCal” scents.
Isle Rollie, $29 Skylar rollies are the perfect stocking stuffers and co-worker gifts. Almost makes you miss the office holiday party concept.
nununu
Nobody understands better than nununu the unfathomable combination of “saintlike saviors” and “little shits” the children in your life have been this year. This brand is born of that exact point of tension. They make amazing loungewear for adults too. Always ahead of the curve, these guys.
Total nununu Ninja Mask Shirt, $57 nununu was doing face covering before it was the cool thing. And by cool we mean potentially life-saving. This latest version of their hit “ninja shirt” features their sprayed smiley-smirk, which captures the whole mood of the year.
Men’s Deconstructed Hoodie / Women’s Deconstructed Hoodie, $190 This item exemplifies the philosophy of nununu—take the coolest, most perfect, most comfortable thing and elevate it to perfection. We never knew a black hoodie could give such life.
Kérastase
Something we’ve been helping this unapologetically French brand say for years in a relatable, yet elevated way, is that a self-soothing haircare ritual might be the only thing standing between you and homicidal tendencies. This year, it could be a good idea to get those close to you an indulgent in-shower regimen, even if it’s just for your own safety.
Aura Botanica Travel Kit, $60 Kérastase’s natural-ingredients line is to die for, and this little set is the stairway to heaven.
Nutritive Luxury Gift Set, $80 Three stalwarts of the iconic nourishing line with the orange lid, wrapped in a gift box that looks like a cozy sweater.
Kicksnation
Be honest, how upset are you about mall closures? Not very, we’re guessing. Then how about never having to face the Footlocker wall again? Kicksnation curates a box of three pairs of dope sneakers for you to try on, and all you have to do is take a quiz and wait for them to show up at your door.
Kicksnation Gift Card, $50-400 Send your giftee credit toward a Kicksnation sneakerbox™, and save them a super-spreader trip to the mall.
Vegamour
This summer, we teamed up with Los Angeles creative shop Project M+ to work on Vegamour. The brand is notable for figuring out how to make lashes, brows and hair grow using a totally organic, vegan formula with no harmful chemicals. This is a game changer and so is their new hair care line. Vegamour is the non-toxic relationship your hair needs.
GRO Foundation Kit, $112 This shampoo, conditioner and scalp serum trio contains Karmatin™, a revolutionary vegan silk protein the beauty nerds on your list will freak out over.
Parasilk
2020 will be remembered as the year our nail salon time approached zero. The struggle got so real, we started having to take matters into our own hands. Enter Parasilk, the at-home paraffin hand and foot mask that may have saved our lives, or at least our feet. It’s hard to imagine going back to needing an appointment to acquire this level of luxury.
Hot Paraffin Hand & Foot Mask, $39.96 The stocking stuffer everyone will appreciate, and a strong hint to your husband with the cracked heels and shredded cuticles.
Beekman 1802
We love goats and our Instagram discovery page knows it. We’re not embarrassed—kid vids are like on-demand serotonin shots. Turns out goat milk is good for you too. Your skin, specifically. Our client Beekman 1802 kept us real smooth all year and educated us about every skin ingredient that exists in nature.
Skincare Stars 7 Day Gift Set, $65 Set your giftee’s microbiome straight with travel sizes of all of Beekman’s favorite probiotic face treats.
Rose Apothecary Goat Milk Soap, $15 For the Schitt’s Creek fans on your list, goat milk soap is ridiculously chic.