About the only downside to having this beauty gig kicks in at Christmas, when perfect-for-gifting products are all but off the list of potential presents for family members and office Kris Kringles. The thing is, while Beauty Claus-style clearing of my desk goes down well most days of the year, once you tie a bow around it, that scented body butter starts to smell more like something being palmed off by a cheapskate.
Not that giving a gift of beauty is completely unproblematic, mind. Just because you can give the gift of beauty, does it mean you should?
A nice, essential-oil laced bubble bath is always a perennial gran-pleaser. A luxurious little something or glamorous gloss is a pretty safe bet and someone special always appreciates a painstakingly-chosen perfume. It’s like sending a message from the heart in a bottle.
But I think there’s a scary uncertainty surrounding the skincare pressie. Does it say ‘because I think you’d like it’ or ‘because I think you need it’? Pampering, non-commital cleansers are one thing; it’s the results-oriented serums, creams and line-lifting anythings where gifting gets murky.
So I say, unless you’re crossing it off the giftee’s Christmas wish list, it’s a risk. A Christmas coffret from their favoured brand? Okay. But beyond that, it all seems a little Extreme Makeover nomination to me, like offering help for a face not even nearest and dearest could love. Merry Christmas, Mum! Now, let’s see if we can’t do something about those crow’s feet… And season’s greetings, Sis! Here’s some circulation-booster for those thighs we got from Mum. Indeed, it’s the thought behind the beauty present that counts.
Or is that just my own paranoia about skincare presents? Do you have a gifting grey area too?
