Jamie Dorman is New York beauty editor of Lucire.

Lucire’s holiday 2014 beauty gift guide

As the season commences for 2014, our New York beauty editor Jamie Dorman provides her top, on-trend beauty picks for the holidays

Every year around this time begins a panic in the back of our minds regarding what to get our girlfriends for the holidays. Clothes and accessories can be tricky to gift, with style and sizing varying so much; beauty can be far more forgiving. With so many holiday offerings from the brands we love, I sought to find the most exciting holiday beauty sets for the season!

If there’s anytime we want our skin to glow, it’s the holidays, and nothing creates a great glow like healthy, well cared for skin. Arcona’s Essential Holiday Glow kit focuses on great skin prep and includes best sellers Magic Dry Ice and Triad pads to keep skin in tip-top shape.

Arcona Essential Holiday Glow kit, at Arcona.com, Nordstrom.com, select Nordstrom stores, US$58

Of course, you can always fake a glow and Hourglass’s Ambient Lighting blush palette is a perfect stocking-stuffer. With three shades, two best sellers and one exclusive to the palette, everyone who receives this palette will find the perfect colour.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting blush palette at Barney’s New York, Sephora, Space NK, HourglassCosmetics.com, US$58

For the girl who has everything, the Tarte Bon Voyage Collectors’ Set and Travel Bag (shown at the top of the page) are sure to impress. With 20 eyeshadows, lip tint, lip gloss, cheek stain, mascara, maracuja oil, and finishing powder in a special-edition travel bag, even those who want for nothing will be blown away.

Nothing updates a look like an on-trend nail colour, and the Essie Holiday Mini Kit will keep the hottest colours of the season at the tips of your fingers. The set features festive colours like Bahama Mama and Smokin’ Hot alongside classics such as Mademoiselle to keep your look on-point all throughout the holiday parties.

Essie Holiday Mini-Kit, at Essie.com, US$16·50

Every fashionista will love Shupette, the collaboration between Karl Lagerfeld and Shu Uemura. All of the items in the collection will be sure to impress and delight Karl and Shu fans, and the With-Love-From-Paris Brush set is the perfect accessory to any size make-up collection.

Shupette, at ShuUemura.com, US$69

All of the shopping for gifts and planning parties is sure to cause some stress, and what better way to decompress then with Aveda’s A Retreat from Stress holiday set? Soak in the tub with the included bath salts and light the scented candle. Finish your escape with the stress-fix body lotion and you are sure to feel relaxed. And with all of Aveda’s holiday sets being beautifully pre-packaged in hand-made Iokta paper from Nepal, your purchase also supports people in that community; now that’s getting into the holiday spirit! •

Aveda’s A Retreat from Stress holiday set, from Aveda stores and Aveda.com, US$99