Vicky Sanderson Today’s high/low holiday feature takes aim at skin care gifts because, personally, I’d be delighted to find my stocking stuffed with personal care products from Attitude. The Quebec-based company makes household and self care products using natural ingredients, and keeps its focus on performance and accessible pricing, even as they expand into dental, deodorants, pregnancy/baby care, and pet products. Their EWG VERIFIED™ hand-soap, for example, contains plant-based surfactants free of by-products and chemicals. Body products are enriched with soothing, fragrant ingredients like lemon leaf, white tea, olive, and pomegranate.
I use the Super Leaves foamy face wash every night, because it cleanses really well without drying my skin. In the morning, I do a much lighter wash. I find their shampoo superior to any mass brand I’ve used, and I like that you can order a cardboard refill to make your purchase more sustainable. Their mineral deodorant is the among the best natural options I’ve tried (tied with Weleda spray).
Easy does it
So for less than $30, you could bundle three self care products together prettily as a gift. (See tip below for kicking skin care gifts up another notch.) Extremely excellent value, I think.
Having said all that, I can’t deny the unmistakable luxury of La Maison Clayton Shagal, a Montreal-based skin care company that makes salon-grade cleansers, creams, gels, masks and exfoliants. Past posts have sung the brand’s praises.
TIP: Night-time skin-care is especially important. It removes dirt and oils that have accumulated on your face and neck during the day, and preps them for personalized overnight treatments.
When I feel safe to go into a salon, I’ll get a professional opinion on what products from the line would suit me best. In the meantime, I use a moisturizing cream for morning called Idratense. It has just the right amount of lifting (hello, 63-year-old neck) and plumping effect to make you look like you’ve just come in from a walk in the country and clocked a solid nine hours of sleep. At night, I use the super-rich Illumine cream, which in the past I’ve happily used both at morning and night.
Those creams, along with regular cucumber/avocado masks, keep my skin nourished as I move indoors to a drier, stuffier environment. To be honest, it’s beyond nourished. In fact, I look fairly fabulous.
Skin care gifts that almost wrap themselves
Clayton Shagal items are prettily designed, and nicely packaged. In their shiny gold and silver, they already look like little jewel boxes. Put a bow on it, and it’s a bonbon. They are also sold in gift boxes ($95 to $155) through independent salons—so they count, in my opinion, as a local business booster.
Do note that Santa says gifting yourself a self care gift as a treat is absolutely okay! Goodness knows you deserve it, hunny.
TIP: For an ultra-luxe gift, pair extravagant face cream with a silk pillowcase, which helps skin retain moisture and keeps hair healthier by reducing friction. To add a spa-like element to an affordable hand cream, add a pair of pretty cotton gloves that help hands absorb lotion.
