Christmas skin kits actually worth buying

Every November the shops fill up with gift sets. Shiny boxes. Big bows. Half of them are three tiny tubes and a lot of cardboard. So I went through them for you.

These are the kits I'd genuinely buy. For me, for my sister, for the friend who always remembers my birthday. All from Cult Beauty — cultbeauty.co.uk.

The ones that earn their bow

• The night shift, £45. A full-size retinal treatment in an overnight set worth over £240. This is the one. Buy two. Hide one.
• The scent, £55. Byredo Bal d'Afrique, four ways to wear it, with a gold keyring atomiser. Feels far posher than the price.
• The stocking filler, £27. A Natasha Denona mini eye palette and crayon in a little zip pouch. Handbag-sized glamour.
• The cheeky one, £12.99. Sundae candy cane shower foam. Whipped, festive, ridiculous. Exactly what December needs.
• The splurge, £96. NIOD's copper peptide pairing, serum and lipid, for day and night. Proper grown-up skincare.

A good gift set is full-size or nothing. Cardboard is not a present.

How to choose

Check what's full-size. Add up what you'd pay separately. And ask yourself: would I use every bit of this? If not, it's clutter with a ribbon on.

Treat yourself, or someone special. Then tell me your favourite on TikTok.

Mabel x