£90 of gorgeous goodies for £25 — our pick of the best Mother’s Day beauty boxes
- Once, getting a gift set for Mother’s Day meant getting a bar of nondescript soap
- But beauty brands are falling over themselves to create specially curated boxes
- They now contain everything from hyaluronic face creams to charcoal masks
Once, receiving a gift set for Mother’s Day meant getting a tub of humdrum talc and a bar of nondescript soap. Not any more.
This year, beauty brands are falling over themselves to create specially curated boxes containing everything from hyaluronic face creams to charcoal masks and candles to celebrate the occasion.
And, like beauty advent calendars and the ever-popular beauty subscription boxes, these sets promise amazing value for money — with some as much as 77 per cent cheaper than the cost of buying each item individually.
But do their claims stand up to scrutiny? We test a selection of the biggest names to see which set offers the best bargains and Mum-worthy beauty treats.
Just for Mum: Antonia Hoyle with the luxury gift sets
LUXURY IN LEOPARD PRINT
The Mother’s Day Beauty Box, £24, marksandspencer.com
The Mother’s Day Beauty Box, £24, marksandspencer.com
THE PRODUCTS: Eight: two Nails Inc nail varnishes, Percy & Reed Blow Dry Cream, Apothecary Sleep Pulse-point Oil, Pur Fully-Charged Mascara (all full-size), and travel-size versions of L’Occitane Cherry Blossom Shower Gel, Lumene Nordic Ageless Radiant Youth Pressed Serum and Eve Lom cleanser.
THE SAVING: £69.82, or 74 per cent — to buy the products individually would cost £93.82. (Note: throughout this piece, for smaller sized products that aren’t sold separately, I’ve worked out their approximate cost according to the price per ml of their full-sized equivalents).
PIZZAZZ FACTOR: High. The box comes in a stylish pink leopard-print sleeve with space to write a personalised message. The two Nails Inc varnishes alone would cost £30, the shower gel smells divine and the mini Eve Lom cleanser tempts me to try a product I’d never normally splash out on — which I suppose, given every item is available separately in store, is precisely the point.
MOTHER’S DAY MARKS: 5/5
FOR DIEHARD CLARINS FANS
Clarins Double Serum Mother’s Day Skincare Gift Set, £68, johnlewis.com
Clarins Double Serum Mother’s Day Skincare Gift Set, £68, johnlewis.com
THE PRODUCTS: Three: a full-size Clarins Double Serum, and mini versions of Clarins’ renewal cleansing mousse and natural lip perfector.
THE SAVING: £11.93, or 15 per cent according to my workings. John Lewis claims the set is worth £104 ‘calculated on the lowest price per ml of the full-size equivalent product within this set sold between 29/12/2021-27/01/2022.’ But when I work out the prices of the cleansing mousse and lip perfector according to the full-size prices currently on its website, my estimate for the total value comes to £79.93.
PIZZAZZ FACTOR: Minimal — it comes in a white cardboard box. For Clarins fans this is a good deal, given Clarins’ serum, a worldwide bestseller, costs £66.30 alone. But not the best-looking present for variety-loving mums.
MOTHER’S DAY MARKS: 3/5
GREAT FOR GRANDMOTHERS
Feel-Good Favourites Beauty Box, £77, nealsyardremedies.com
Feel-Good Favourites Beauty Box, £77, nealsyardremedies.com
THE PRODUCTS: Eight: Aromatic Massage Oil, Organic Lavender Essential Oil and Rejuvenating Frankincense Toner are full-size. The rest — Wild Rose Beauty Balm, Goodnight Pillow Mist, Wild Rose Hand Cream, Aromatic Shower Gel and Bee Lovely Body Lotion — are generously sized travel versions.
THE SAVINGS: Not much — bought at full price I calculate they would cost £75.63 — although if you spend £50 on other Neal’s Yard products, you can buy this set for £25.
PIZZAZZ FACTOR: Neal’s Yard regulars will love the familiar dark blue glass packaging, good range of treats and eco-friendly cardboard box decorated with a heart. Not a bargain bought alone, but a surefire hit for Granny.
MOTHER’S DAY MARKS: 3/5
BEST FOR THE BIGGEST BARGAIN
The Mother’s Day Box: Spoil Her With Beauty, £25, next.co.uk
The Mother’s Day Box: Spoil Her With Beauty, £25, next.co.uk
THE PRODUCTS: Eight, although only two are full-size — Iconic’s Lustre Lip Oil and Brushworks’ Jade Roller facial massager. There are travel-size versions of Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Moisture Essence, L’Occitane Almond Hand Cream, Benefit Roller Lash Mascara, ESPA Positivity Bath and Shower Gel, By Terry Baume De Rose and This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray.
THE SAVINGS: £79.15 or 76 per cent. While Next says its set is worth ‘over £90’, I calculate that, actually, it has a value of £104.15. Most of the products are mini versions, but from expensive brands.
PIZZAZZ FACTOR: For variety, this is the best box, with the mascara and lip oil — worth £22 — my favourites. I wouldn’t ordinarily buy a facial massager, but for this price, experimenting is low risk.
MOTHER’S DAY MARKS: 5/5
SAFE BUY FOR BOOTS DEVOTEES
No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Collection Gift Set, £34.95, boots.com
No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Collection Gift Set, £34.95, boots.com
THE PRODUCTS: Five skincare products from Boots’ premium anti-ageing line. Two are full-size — Advanced Eye Cream and Advanced Serum — and there are three miniatures: Advanced Night Cream, Advanced Day Cream and Advanced Retinol 1.5% Complex Night Concentrate.
THE SAVINGS: £44.55 or 56 per cent — these products have a total value of £79.50.
PIZZAZZ FACTOR: The set, while small, arrives in a beautiful floral box to complement the products. No7’s anti-ageing line has been around for so long, this isn’t an exciting set — but for mums who love the range, it will hit the spot.
MOTHER’S DAY MARKS: 3/5
SPA HAVEN FOR STRESSED MUMS
Mother’s Day Beauty Box, £35, uk.sanctuary.com
Mother’s Day Beauty Box, £35, uk.sanctuary.com
THE PRODUCTS: Seven Sanctuary Spa products, five full-size. There’s Wellness Sleep Mist, Lasting Moisture Shower Oil, Ultra Rich Wet Skin Moisture Miracle, Super Secret Facial Oil and a Charcoal Bubble Sheet Mask, as well as mini versions of the brand’s Moisture Burst Face Wash and Foaming Bath Soak.
THE SAVINGS: £21.40, or 38 per cent. Sanctuary says its set is worth £60. I calculate its value at £56.40, but only because the Sleep Mist is on sale, reduced from £12 to £8.40.
PIZZAZZ FACTOR: Delivered in a pink-and-gold floral box, this is heaven for Sanctuary fans like me, for whom one sniff of the brand’s distinctive scent transports them to a time before school runs reduced relaxing bathtimes to biannual events.
MOTHER’S DAY MARKS: 4/5
DESIGNER DECADENCE
Elemis x Rixo Mother’s Day Collection, £59, uk.elemis.com
Elemis x Rixo Mother’s Day Collection, £59, uk.elemis.com
THE PRODUCTS: Four rose-inspired products from upmarket British anti-ageing brand Elemis, including Pro-Collagen Rose Cleansing Balm, Papaya Enzyme Peel, Pro-Collagen Marine Cream and Pro-Collagen Rose Facial Oil. All are among the smallest versions of the products on sale.
THE SAVINGS: £23.99, or 29 per cent. Elemis say their set is worth £80. I calculate its value at £82.99.
PIZZAZZ FACTOR: High — although there are fewer goodies in the gift set than other brands, they’re delivered in a beautiful blue-and-yellow floral washbag by hip British label Rixo.
MOTHER’S DAY MARKS: 3.5/5
Sweet Mother of Mine Beauty Kit, £52, liberty london.com
. . . AND FOR THE FASHIONISTA MUM
Sweet Mother of Mine Beauty Kit, £52, liberty london.com
THE PRODUCTS: Nine, four of which — Aromatherapy Associates De-Stress Essential Oil Rollerball, Sarah Chapman Intense Hydrating Booster Serum, Byredo Rose Rinse Free Hand Wash and Soapsmith Bloomsbury Bath Soak — are full-size. There are also mini versions of Omorovicza Pink Flowers Queen of Hungary Mist perfume, Bamford Geranium Hand & Body Wash and Body Lotion, Dr. Barbara Sturm Cleanser and a Spacemasks Eye Mask.
THE SAVINGS: £182.10, or 77 per cent. Liberty claim its products have a total value of £209 — I calculate the cost at £234.10.
PIZZAZZ FACTOR: The most bling of the boxes is patterned with Liberty’s pretty Raggedy Robin print and a sleeve bearing the logo ‘Sweet Mother of Mine’. All the products are from achingly hip brands — Sarah Chapman is the Duchess of Sussex’s London facialist and her serum alone retails for £68.
MOTHER’S DAY MARKS: 4/5
Source: Read Full Article