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Christmas Gift Sets Actually Worth the Money (and Which Aren't)
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items I did the math on this year's holiday gift sets so you don't have to. Every set has a quick price breakdown: what you pay, what the products would cost on their own, and how many full sizes are inside. Sorted into the ones actually worth buying, the ...
Sections
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Worth It
Worth It If You Already Love the Brand
Not Worth It
Worth It
$49 for nine lip products (claimed $145 value). Four are full size, including HUDA Faux Filler lip oil and Rare Beauty gloss. That's about $5.44 per product, and it splits easily into stocking stuffers.
SEPHORA FAVORITES - Lip Kit Value Set
$25 for a claimed $72 value. The full-size LANEIGE Glaze Craze lip serum is $22 by itself, so you're basically paying $3 for the Rare Beauty, YSL, Benefit and Peace Out minis. Best stocking stuffer on the list.
SEPHORA FAVORITES - Holiday Must-Haves Value Set
$49 for a claimed $82 value, about 40% off. You get a 58 ml Firmeza Oil, 75 ml Bum Bum Cream, 30 ml Cheirosa 62 mist and a massage tool. The best markdown of Sol's mid-priced sets.
SOL DE JANEIRO - Lifted Bum Bums & Spirits Body Ritual Gift Set
$37 for a claimed $70 value. You get a 13.5 oz shampoo, 13.5 oz conditioner and a 3.3 oz mask, so over 30 oz of product. Salon-size bottles, not travel sizes.
BIOLAGE - Color Last Holiday Trio Gift Set
$110 for 14 products (Sephora lists it at $202). The four full sizes alone, Prickly Pear serum, Watermelon Milk cushion cream, Dewy Flush and Fig Glass Balm, add up to about $119. That's more than the calendar costs.
GLOW RECIPE - 12 Days of Glow Advent Calendar Korean Skincare Gift Set
$65 for a claimed $104 value. Full-size mascara, eyeliner, brow pencil and brow gel plus a makeup bag, and you pick the shades. Kosas has been running extra discounts on holiday sets on its own site, so check before you buy.
KOSAS - Face Framers Set
$49 for a claimed $78 value, about 37% off. It includes a full-size 40 ml Niacinamide Dew Drops, plus a 40 ml PHA + BHA toner, 25 ml Watermelon Milk cream and toner pads.
GLOW RECIPE - Watermelon Glow Essentials Gift Set for Brightening & Hydration
$39 for a claimed $61 value, about 36% off. The cheapest way to try Crown Affair. The mini brush alone sells for $48 on Crown Affair's site, so this one is even better than it looks.
CROWN AFFAIR - The Slick Back Ritual Hair Set
$150 for nine full-size 90 ml perfume mists (claimed $234 value). That's about $16.67 per full-size mist, including the returning Cheirosa 39. Worth it if you'll actually use that many scents.
SOL DE JANEIRO - Sol Many Options
$39 for two full-size Monsieur Big mascaras. One tube is $30 on its own, so this is $19.50 a tube. The most honest deal on the list: same product, same size, less money.
LANCÔME - Full-Size Monsieur Big Volumizing Mascara Duo
$49 for a full-size Instant Angel (50 ml) plus a 25 ml travel size. That's 75 ml for $49, about $0.65/ml. The 50 ml tube alone is $45, so you're basically getting the travel size for $4.
DIEUX - Hydration-on-Loop – Instant Angel Firming Moisturizer Gift Set
$126 for two full-size 50 ml moisturizers, The Dewy Skin Cream and Indigo Overnight Repair. Tatcha lists it at a $168 value, so about 25% off two products that almost never go on sale. Not minis yay!
TATCHA - AM/PM Moisture Duo Gift Set
$42 for a full-size 400 ml Body Badalada lotion ($28) and a full-size 90 ml Cheirosa 48 mist ($26), so $54 worth of product. It's the lowest price per ml of any set on this list.
SOL DE JANEIRO - Splash of Sol Refreshing Body Lotion & Body Mist Duo
$92 for a $135 value, about 32% off. I checked every price and they're accurate. The full-size leave-in is $48 and the towel alone is $59, so this is a really good deal.
Crown Affair The Weightless Hydration Set
$79 for a $101 value, about 22% off. The big 228 ml honey hair mask alone is $45, and you also get a 20 ml hair oil plus travel-size shampoo and conditioner. A solid deal.
GISOU - Honey Gloss Hair Therapy Set
Worth It If You Already Love the Brand
$149 for a claimed $235 value, about 37% off. Better than most advent calendars because it includes full sizes like the Water Bank Cream, the Bouncy & Firm Sleeping Mask, and a Lip Glowy Balm. Still a big spend unless you already use Laneige.
LANEIGE 12 Days of Wonder Advent Calendar
$62 for a claimed $132 value. The real number is closer to $94: a full-size dry shampoo ($48), a mini leave-in ($24), a mini air dry mousse ($22), plus a case. Still about 34% off, just not the 53% the box suggests.
CROWN AFFAIR - The Bestsellers Trio Hair Gift Set for Volume, Hydration & Air-Dry Texture
$39 for a claimed $57 value, about 32% off, but it's mostly minis.
LANEIGE - Tint & Glow Mini Korean Skincare + JuicePop Box Lip Tint Gift Set
$88 for five full-size 14 g Le Chouchou lip balms (listed at a $120 value). That's $17.60 a balm instead of $24, about 27% off. Great if you're splitting them up as gifts, but a lot of lip balm for one person.
EADEM - Le Chouchou Bisous Set Peptides Nourishing + Softening Lip Balm Gift Set
$45 for a $62 value on OUAI's site, about 27% off. Solid if you already use OUAI.
OUAI - Hair Repair Kit
$28 for a claimed $38 value. All travel sizes: cleanser, SOS spray, Barrier Recovery Cream and LipSoftie. Small savings, but a really nice gift for someone with sensitive skin.
TOWER 28 BEAUTY - SOS Stressed Skin Mini Starter Gift Set
$39 for five 30 ml mists (claimed $50 value). That's about $0.26/ml. Fun for sampling scents, but Sol Many Options is cheaper per ml if you already know you love the brand.
SOL DE JANEIRO - Spritz & Sol Cheirosa Mini Perfume Mist Gift Set
66% off on paper, but only one product is full size (the Amika leave-in) and the rest is a random mix of minis that don't really go together. Worth it if you want to sample a bunch of hair brands.
SEPHORA FAVORITES - Holiday Hair Must-Haves Gift Set
$40 for two full-size Lip Butter Balms in the limited Sugar Plum and Mocha Bonbon flavors. Each is $24 on its own, so you save $8 total. Only worth it if you want these flavors.
SUMMER FRIDAYS - Holiday Treat Duo
$32 for two full-size Lip Glowy Balms in limited shimmer shades. One balm is $19, so you save about $3 each. You're paying for the limited shades, not a deal.
LANEIGE - Sparkling Shimmer Lip Glowy Balm Duo Gift Set
Not Worth It
$34 for a $46 value. It's a year-round travel set, not a holiday exclusive, and everything in it is travel size.
Summer Fridays Jet Lag Essentials Hydration Set
$272 for a claimed $347 value. It has five full sizes in a keepsake case, but at about 22% off it isn't really a deal for the price.
Crown Affair Best of Crown Affair Healthy Hair Vault
$39 for three 5 g mini balms (listed at a $48 value). That's 15 g for $39, about $2.60/g. A full-size 14 g balm is $24, about $1.71/g, so you get more product buying one full size.
EADEM - Mini Le Chouchou Lip Balm Trio
$38 for a full-size Pocket Blush and Peptide Lip Tint, listed at a $45 value. That's only about 15% off.
RHODE - Pocket Pair Limited Edition Lip + Cheek Set
$58 for a $68 value, only about 15% off. You get a travel-size Glazing Mist plus a full-size Peptide Lip Boost and eye patches. Nice products, barely discounted.
RHODE - Sugarmint Trio Limited Edition Skincare Set
$34 for a $40 value. It's a year-round travel set, not a holiday exclusive, and works out to about $0.20/ml. Splash of Sol gets you way more product for $42.
SOL DE JANEIRO - Brazilian Bum Bum Jet Set
$28 for a $32 value, about 12% off. Basically full price for two sanitizers and a case.
Touchland Bright Nights Hand Sanitizer 2-Pack + Case
$59 for four 5 ml minis, with a claimed $95 value. PHLUR's own 9.5 ml travel sprays are $32, which prices these minis at about $67 total, so it's only around 12% off. Fun to try the line, but not the steal it looks like.
PHLUR - Mini Perfume Sampler Gift Set
$65 for a claimed $105 value, but I priced it out on Glossier's site and the three products (8 ml Glossier You, Balm Dotcom, Boy Brow) come to $70. So you're really saving about $5, plus a free beauty bag. Cute, but not a deal.
GLOSSIER - The Icons
$23 for five 3 g mini lip masks, so 15 g total. The full-size Lip Sleeping Mask is 20 g for $24, which means this set costs more per gram than just buying the full size. Skip it.
LANEIGE - Midnight Minis