Handmade Beauty Gifts From The Heart

With so many pretty items for sale, it's easy to overspend on holiday gifts. To curb the cost and kick-start your creativity, why not make your own presents? With a multitude of craft ideas and a little patience, you can treat family and friends to thoughtful, hand-crafted items—with a beauty twist, of course. Here are some of our favorite easy homemade gifting solutions.

1. Re-gifted Hair Accessories

Never know what to do with all those extra wrapping ribbons, random trinkets, and loose buttons? Use these odds and ends and repurpose the materials into a headpiece fit for a queen! These inspiring hair accessories also incorporate silk flowers, garlands, and feathers.

2. Budget Beauty Bundles

Get savvy with your spending at your local dollar store. With a $10 budget per gift, you can assemble personalized holiday beauty baskets that include essentials such as nail files, body sprays, loofahs, and scrubs. Since you're the beauty expert, include a “spa voucher” in each basket, redeemable for a DIY spa treatment at your home!

3. Etched Eye Shadow

Love loose powder but hate the mess? Press loose pigments into a personalized eye shadow—it’s one of the nicest makeup items you could bestow on a fellow Beauty! First, set aside an empty compact and metal eye shadow pan from your collection. Then unleash your inner chemist and mix a custom color—be sure to incorporate unique finishes such as duo-chrome, frost, and iridescence for extra flash. Using the alcohol eye shadow pressing technique, set the loose powder evenly into the pans. Before the surface of the shadow dries, imprint a distinct etched pattern with a rubber stamp of your choice.

4. Customized Candles

Candles are one of our favorite gifts year-round. Luckily, they're easy to make and infuse with your favorite aromas. Gather unscented candles or purchase a candle-making kit. Melt the fragrance-free wax and drop in essential oils of your favorite winter scents. Print a custom monogram on clear round stickers (available at an office-supply store) and stick it onto a glass jar for an extra thoughtful touch. Your home-brewed scents are sure to be the hit of the season!