December 18, 2025 |
Festive greetings, beauty pickers. The 25th is almost upon and in case you still haven’t finished your Father Christmas impersonation this year and find yourself still on the hunt for some under-the-tree delights then we’re here to help. The December’s Beauty Top Ten isn’t just about new obsessions to know about but also a useful gift guide. Happy wrapping – and unwrapping – and keep ding-donging merrily on high. See you in 2026!
In at Number One how can anyone resist this little number from Hermès beauty: the Plein Air Poudre Rocabar Silk Powder limited edition powder compact. It contains five sun-infused shades combined with mother-of-pearl particles all designed to create an instant luminous warmth on the face with a simple swipe of a brush. The fine light powders have been pressed into an equestrian motif so it’s all very Hermès heritage friendly – and, of course, it comes packaged in the distinctive orange packaging. Gifting goals. Shop here.
Number Two sees the New Zealand brand Raaie make its first entry into the charts with its Golden Nectar Manuka Honey Enzyme Cleanser – the brand also recently made its debut at Liberty department store. It’s a delectable little number that turns into a silky veil texture once you add water and the gentle enzymes mean it’s not just a cleanser but a gentle exfoliator too. You can also use it as a mask and leave it on for 5 minutes. Plus, the packaging is some of the most desirable we’ve ever seen. Buy yours here.
What would a festive list be without a good candle? Of course, there’s always trusty Diptyque (this year they’ve focussed on Lapin i.e. fir trees) but in at our Number Three it’s time to get lit for Ffern and their Winter 26 Candle; it’s the first time the brand has made their candle available to everyone and not just subscribers. Made from plant-based wax it comes housed in a recycled – and reusable – stainless streel vessel and has a warming and comforting blend of notes of rich coffee, olibanum, Peru balsam, and frankincense. Flaming fantastic. Available here.
On our Christmas list for skincare is Allies of Skin who swoop in to take the Number Four spot with their Founder’s Essence (full name: Founder’s Essence 56 Ellagic & P.A.D. Light Reflecting Fluid – yes, it’s a mouthful and a half). This stuff is so good that since its launch they can barely keep it in stock but you can find it at Space NK so grab it while you can. It’s a potent, active-packed formula that was three years in the making and drenches skin in so much good stuff that it leaves it looking dewier, clearer, more refined, and delivers a natural glow up. Sterling stuff for a merry skin-mass, everyone. Discover it here.
We’re halfway through out festive list merriment and we turn our attention for the first time in this top ten to tech and specifically the Medicube AGE-R Booster Pro facial tool which you can find at the perfectly curated beauty emporium The Beauty Edit as well as in our Number Five chart position. The Medicube is Korea’s top-selling beauty gadget (and also a favourite of Hailey Bieber apparently) so it’s great stuff and currently on special festive offer at the Beauty Edit. It’s a multitasker offering microcurrent, needle-free microneedling, and multiple LED offerings so it can brighten, clear, lift a little and help to make products penetrate deeper. Turn on, tune in. Available here.
Number Six is more of an experience – but one that leads to a dream lipstick so buy a voucher for a loved one or arrange a date now so you can go together in the new year to visit the recently opened Code 8 store in London where you can partake of their bespoke lipstick service. There at the lipstick bar you can choose the finish that you want and the colour – create your ideal nude, your dream red, or any other preferred hue you’ve fixed your heart on – while their experts create it from their palette of colours right in front of you. Watch as they mix and match to create what you’re after and you can try it on until it’s just right. Once you’re happy and give your approval witness them pour it into the bullet mould and presto hey: lip-smacking perfection. Book your session here.
It’s all about sweet yuletide dreams at Number Seven as we cling to Drowsy’s Silk Sleep Mask in a La Vie en Rouge shade (or at we like to think of it Rudolph nose red). If you haven’t tried them before these eyes masks are great as they wrap right around your head and fasten with some Velcro so they feel like your own little eye pillow and really do stay put all night long and help to aid sleep (and ward off all those creases and crinkles you can get overnight and that take a little longer to drop out as the years go by). Plus if you give this season’s shade option it makes a wonderful change from gifting Christmassy red pyjamas – or socks. Cop yours here.
We’re back to gadgets for Number Eight and that trusty modern gifting stalwart (if your wallet allows): Dyson. For this yuletide they’ve introduced a new colourway to their hair dryers and stylers, a very elegant combo they call Amber Silk – think warm copper with accenting of pink champagne. Plus, if you’re in London – and can manage to wangle and appointment – until the 21st Dyson has a pop-up Crafted and Gifted By You boutique in the piazza at Covent Garden where you can get your gadget box embossed with initials, fully gift-wrapped and, if you can find a slot, a dry styling appointment whilst you there. Book yours here.
We’re almost there for this Top 10 – and for the year, beauty pickers. And so at Number Nine we’re going ever so slightly rogue (well, if you can’t do it at Christmas when can you eh?) and we’re getting all hot and heavy for the Pebworth Merino wool hot water bottle cover from Bamford (and, in fact, if you want to go further down that sweet route then there’s even a matching blanket).The wool is shorn from Saxon Merino sheep kept on the Daylesford farm in the Cotswolds and blended with wool from a Bluefaced Leicester stock in Devon (and the very British affair continues as it’s all washed and spun in Cornwall and knitted in Nottingham). But we consider this to be a beauty essential – after all, it aids sleep on chilly winter nights if you’re all alone and we all need our beauty sleep. Plus, we all know the selfcare joy of a good hottie on the sofa when the need arises (and that’s not a euphemism….or is it…?!). Shop yours here.
And at Number Ten taking our very last chart spot of the year is a new British fragrance brand Fine Scents which has launched with just three very desirable offerings that have been created by some of the world’s finest perfumers. There’s Fashionably Late, a sophisticated and super glamourous creation by Dominique Ropion with notes of tuberose, mimosa, amber, and sandalwood. Or Joie de Sannes by Jean-Claude Ellena which is an ode to a summery golden hour glow with notes of cassis, grapefruit, magnolia, and sandalwood. And lastly, at least for now, is Eminence by Jean-Claude and Céline Ellena that’s intended as an ode to a passionately-lived life and grabbing the moment with notes of marine breeze, cedarwood, and patchouli. Treat a loved one – or yourself – to a new signature scent for the new year. Shop here.
Top image courtesy of Code 8.
