Help! Teen wants skincare gifts and I’m a frump!

[SadUselessMum]

So…DD13 has recently got into skincare! As the title says, I’m a frump and have no skincare routine and wear no makeup. DD is quite spotty and greasy so I’m trying to get her products that are currently trendy but are good for her skin. She has mentioned things like Sephora and Drunk Elephant??? Also Lip sleeping masks whatever they are!

Can anyone recommend any gifts I could get her for Xmas please? I have about £100 budgeted!

Thanks so much!

I bought my teen a nice set from Indu. She seemed very pleased with it and her skin did seem to improve.

Have a look at Byoma, Bubble, Elf skincare, La Neige and Summer Fridays.

Indu looks fab!! Thank you! Especially the colourless makeup for school! She’s always trying to get away with wearing it without being caught!

She'll mean the Laneige lip masks. I don't think there's anything in them that's bad for young skin so probably a good one to go with. They've got a set of minis that I am eyeing up myself as it's a lovely product: https://www.cultbeauty.co.uk/p/laneige-midnight-minis-set/15428497/
Be careful about buying stuff that's designed for more mature skin. Retinol for eg works wonders for 40 something skin but is damaging for 13 year old skin. Drunk Elephant do sets too but I think they're pricey for what they are. They have super cute packaging though which is why I think it's been a hit on social media for teens and tweens.
A range called Bubble might be worth a look. It's got that cute, appealing look but with more age appropriate products. This Morning did a segment a few weeks on stuff for teens who are buying into skincare hype but that won't fuck with their skin and that was one they mentioned.

The Inkey List and The Ordinary are good for teen skin, as is La Roche Posay. The first two are also pretty reasonable so you could get a skincare routine sorted for her - both give recommendations online of what to buy for different skin types.
Glossier is good for make up.
And check out beauty boxes - I think Next have a couple of good ones for teen skin.

Oh, and Sol De Janeiro is worth a look too. They've got some gift/ travel sets that I think would go down well.

A light, oil free moisturiser
A serum with niacinamide - 2-5% to start with
A clay mask
a gentle cleanser
https://www.koreanskincare.co.uk/products/elizavecca-elastic-pore-cleansing-foam
or
https://www.koreanskincare.co.uk/products/elizavecca-milky-piggy-carbonated-bubble-clay-mask
Serum
https://www.koreanskincare.co.uk/products/beauty-of-joseon-glow-serum
moisturiser
https://www.koreanskincare.co.uk/products/cosrx-oil-free-ultra-moisturizing-lotion
cleanser
https://www.koreanskincare.co.uk/products/round-lab-1025-dokdo-cleanser
Korean skincare is super trendy

Forgot the laneige lip balm
https://www.koreanskincare.co.uk/products/laneige-lip-treatment-balm

Plouise does sleeping lip masks and again, the packaging makes this brand really popular

This was me last year.
As she's 13, much of it will be about the brand however much you know that it's over priced nonsense and you could get better ingredients for less elsewhere. This will especially be the case if she is picking up all of her skincare routines and ideas off social media.
So, ask her what she wants. As PP have said, steer her away from some things as they're not good for teen skin but things like Sol de Janieiro would be fine for her and probably very gratefully received ... although that is what my teen had for Xmas last year so there may be some other "must have" now. Anyway, the body spray was straight into her PE bag and she has one of the tiny pots of bum bum cream in her giant pencil case.
DD's sticking last year was made up of all sorts of accessories. A hair band for keeping her hair off her face when doing make up, various cloths and all sorts of other things mainly bought from Primark.
But just ask her. It is so important at that age that it is the right thing and I am sure we've all had disappointing experiences over the years when well meaning relatives have bought you something which is like what you wanted but not quite it and then, whenever you use it, you have that little reminder. £100 is a really good budget so you would have plenty to get her some special bits and then get the rest from Primark/Suoerdrug. And if you do get something from somewhere like Space NK, keep the bag! The look of delight on DD's face last year when the Space NK when she spied the Soace NK bag under the tree last year was one of those Christmas moments like when she had a bike when she was 6 type thing. And, yes, it was the first time I had ever gone into Soace NK and it was terrifying although the assistants were lovely
My final piece of advice is also to have a chat around now about who pays for what going forward. My deal with DD is that I pay for supermarket/Superdrug moisturiser, make up remover, hair products but, if she wants anything "fancy" then that is hers to pay for from her allowance. So once the Sol de Janeiro stuff ran out, that was it. If she wants some extra cash, then we discuss if there are any chores she can do to earn it. I also buy her the off nail varnish or bit of make up too. She's also realised some older relatives slip her some money so is suddenly keen on visiting them again after a couple of years of "it's soooo boring" dramas.

100% ask her what brands she wants - it’s ALL about the popular brands at 13.

Google or check on here if suitable for teenage skin.

Sephora is a shop mainly American but you can order online, stocks various brands but I would price compare online.

Drunk elephant is very pricey and need to be careful with ingredients.
Jelly cleanser from drunk elephant would be ok:
https://www.drunkelephant.co.uk/gb/en/collections/cleansers/Beste™-No.-9-Jelly-Cleanser/999DE00000101.html

if there are any other brands she has heard of and wants we can recommend products! Byoma and Bubble are popular.

With my skincare brand obsessed teens I get “treat” skincare with labelled brands for the teen kudos for birthday/xmas and to show off at sleepovers etc then ensure they also have day to day suitable products to have a good skincare routine which aren’t £££ to replace. I like simple or body shop for teens. With her skin issues, make sure she has a daily face wash (nothing too harsh) and light moisturiser and is keeping her skin clean by washing twice a day, try to get her to avoid touching her face! If she wears make up she needs to remove it and then wash aka “double cleanse” as they call it. A set of cute headband/wristbands for face washing like this are popular and would be a cheap filler present
https://amzn.eu/d/8QiKQZ9

Also some face wash pads - make sure they are washed out to keep clean- I tell my kids to wash them daily with regular handsoap and hot water after use and put in washing machine once a week

https://amzn.eu/d/a1rqjtL

sorry if that was too basic and you know this already but you mentioned skin problems and that you don’t have a routine yourself so I thought it might be helpful :)

I bought the minis kit to try out. It is good because you have a range of scents. I gave a couple to DS who always gets chapped lips in winter. The product is lovely, the only complaint which we both commented on is the pot is tiny so trying to use it with your finger means it gets under your nails. The minis are really useful for popping in a pocket or make up pouch but would be better in a mini tube.

A good alternative that is tubes is the Summer Fridays Lip Butter set (also popular with tweens). Space NK have a set of 4 for £24.99

https://www.spacenk.com/uk/brands/s/summer-fridays/the-mini-neutrals-lip-butter-balm-set-MUK200051423.html

My brain combined the T in teen with rump in frump so I genuinely read 'Trump wants skincare gifts' and was like, what in the fresh hell of US politics is going on now 😂

Boots have some skincare gift sets in their Christmas gift section including Byoma so maybe have a look there.

A lot of the trendy brands eg Drunk Elephant aren't good for teen skin.
I keep DD skincare to a minimum as she has sensitive skin (Cerava range + dermalogica) but let her have Sol de Janeiro, ELF/Fenty/makeup etc.
Her bday present is a trip to Sephora store with some friends on a budget. Thankfully she knows most skincare products make her skin react and breakout so I'm pretty confident she will be sensible

DD loves byoma, bubble, elf, dizzy panda. My bank balance doesn't !

I got my eczema prone teen (14) Byoma last year and she loved it and her skin looks great and had no signs of eczema.

I would get her a basic routine of stuff from home bargains and a nice toiletry bag. Then with the rest of the budget I would get some nice stuff from Space NK.

Recommendations from Home Bargains are:

• Glow Face Serum
• Glow Eye Serum
• Glow day cream
• Glow night cream
• Glow body lotion
• Garnier Micellar cleansing water (get cotton wool too)
• Biovene Lash serum
• Dizzy Panda Toner
• Dizzy Panda GLow drops
• mixed face masks & Pimple patches
• Face wash scrub (only use once a week as cleansing should be enough)

From Space NK would go for

• Sol De Jeanerio sprays, cream or giftset
• lip balms / oils / gloss
• Mascara
• Eye shadow

Definitely about yhe brands with a 13 year old. My Dd likes bubble , sol de janero and Byoma.she got some Bubble and Sol products for her birthday and I've just bought some Byoma to put away for Xmas from Boots. Lots of their gift sets are on 3 for 2

Don't get her drunk elephant. It's aimed at teenagers but contains ingredients you don't need until you are in your twenties at least.

This looks good and is aimed at teenagers
https://www.spots-and-stripes.com/shop-all/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=17826921755&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwgfm3BhBeEiwAFfxrG1YP8iNryIrK-kRiW2-c-HzmlrRj43bQtu5LafLKeJJ5VWjUl2ElIRoC4SwQAvD_BwE

@GettingStuffed - the thing is Drunk Elephant wasn’t originally aimed at teens. But TikTok etc took over and suddenly all the teens wanted it. The packaging helps obviously. It’s pretty so appeals to them.

@SadUselessMum - as others have said it’s all abut the brands at that age. Byoma and Bubble are good. As is Cerave. Elf. Nothing with any actives is needed at this stage unless spot prone but even then very carefully. I’ve bought Byoma for my niece and she likes it. And I tried one of the cleansers and really liked it - suits my sensitive skin.

also when you have an idea of what to buy, google it find the best prize and even sign up for the first order discounts.

Keep an eye on offers coming up to Christmas

Definitely say the simpler the better with skincare!