The 2025 festive season is shaping up to be one of beauty retail’s biggest yet, with brands investing in elevated gifting, premium packaging, and experiential storytelling to capture early shoppers.

From statement makeup collections and glow-inducing skincare sets, to fragrance icons and sell-out advent calendars, this year’s edit showcases the innovation, creativity, and commercial potential driving Q4 sales.

Explore the hero launches, limited-edition ranges, and retail trends defining this year’s holiday period — and discover how brands are turning gifting into a growth strategy.

Skincare

Skincare remains the strongest gifting category, with value sets and results-driven minis leading the charge. Hydration, barrier repair, and glow-boosting actives continue to dominate, as consumers look for trusted brands delivering both luxury and efficacy.

  • La Prairie Pure Gold Festive Set, RRP $3,565 — This exclusive festive set showcases La Prairie’s Advanced Pure Gold Diffusion System across four complementary formulas, reinforcing the brand’s position at the pinnacle of luxury skincare. Designed to nourish, densify, and restore radiance, the regimen offers a comprehensive approach to visible ageing, including changes influenced by hormonal shifts, delivering revitalised, luminous skin. A hero seasonal SKU, the set showcases La Prairie’s continued leadership in science-led prestige skincare and premium gifting.
  • Augustinus Bader The Rich Renewal Trio, RRP $578 — This premium renewal ritual brings together Augustinus Bader’s most coveted formulas — The Hydrogel Face Mask, The Rich Cream, and The Rich Eye Cream — delivering deep hydration and visible rejuvenation. Designed to strengthen the skin barrier and promote cellular renewal, the set exemplifies the brand’s science-driven approach to luxury skincare.
  • Biossance Bright Bestsellers Set, RRP $130 — A curated collection of bestselling and award-winning formulas designed to deliver radiance, firmness, and long-lasting hydration — reinforcing strong consumer demand in the clean skincare segment.

  • O Cosmedics Cleanse and Peel Christmas Bon Bon, RRP $19.99 — O Cosmedics adds a playful twist to festive skincare with the Cleanse and Peel Christmas Bon Bon — a decorative ornament that doubles as a skincare discovery set. Featuring travel sizes of the 3-in-1 Fruit Peel Mask (15ml) and Nourishing Cleansing Balm (15ml), the set offers a rejuvenating mini ritual for fresh, radiant skin throughout the holidays. Combining strong gifting appeal with brand trial opportunity, this limited-edition release reinforces O Cosmedics’ reputation for high-performance formulations packaged with seasonal creativity.
  • Trinny London The Total Transformation Skin Set, RRP $204 — Designed for complete skin renewal, this six-piece set heroed by stackable minis brings together Trinny London’s most advanced formulas. It includes Be Your Best balm cleanser, TipToe In PHA exfoliant, Naked Ambition azelaic exosome + vitamin C serum, Overnight Sensation retinal serum, and Bounce Back intense peptide moisturiser, all housed in The Silver Jubilee bag. Targeting radiance, texture, and firmness, this results-driven collection delivers a full routine in a compact, travel-friendly format — ideal for holiday retail or gifting activations.

  • Weleda Skin Food Face Care Edit Pack, RRP $49.95 — Weleda continues to leverage the cult appeal of its iconic Skin Food line with the launch of the Face Care Edit Pack, designed to drive gifting and trial across the brand’s hero skincare SKUs. The limited-edition trio highlights the power of natural ingredients and Weleda’s signature botanical complex, packaged as an easy three-step routine for cleansing, nourishing and protecting skin.

Charity & Community

  • Look Good Feel Better Limited-Edition Christmas Box, RRP $25 — Look Good Feel Better continues to lead with purpose-led retail initiatives through its 2025 Limited-Edition Christmas Boxes, aiming to raise $250,000 to support Australians undergoing cancer treatment. Priced at $25, with 100% of proceeds funding the national program, each box features a bespoke Maggi McDonald artwork and includes a curated mix of full- and sample-sized products from brands such as Avène, Clarins, Go-To, Jurlique, L’Occitane, Revlon and more — reinforcing the growing consumer demand for gifting with impact.

Makeup

This season, makeup is all about impact — from limited-edition colour collections to high-performance holiday sets. Retailers are banking on shimmer, shine, and artistry-led collaborations to drive basket size and capture festive demand.

  • Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Come True Set, RRP $600 — Charlotte Tilbury continues to dominate the premium gifting category with the 2025 Pillow Talk Dreams Come True Set — a collector’s edition showcasing the brand’s most iconic shades. Housed in a velvet vanity case inspired by vintage Hollywood glamour, the set includes 15 full-size Pillow Talk favourites, highlighting the enduring consumer demand for this universally flattering franchise.
  • Fenty Beauty The Gloss Bomb Vault, RRP $250 — Experience the best of Gloss Bomb with this curated collection of ten covetable shades of Rihanna’s favourite lip gloss, housed in a neon pink keepsake travel case.

  • Lanolips Holiday Lip Duo Gingerbread House, RRP $25 — Lanolips taps into festive nostalgia with its Holiday Lip Duo Gingerbread House, featuring two 100% natural, cruelty-free, multi-purpose balms in gourmand seasonal flavours — Gingerbread and Candy Cane. Infused with hydrating lanolin, vitamin E, and natural aromas, the duo delivers deep hydration and multi-use versatility across lips, cuticles, and dry skin patches.
  • RareBeauty Soft Pinch Cheek & Lip Trio, RRP: $65 — Three Soft Pinch icons, one universally flattering shade. This limited-edition trio includes the Soft Pinch Matte Bouncy Blush (full-size), Soft Pinch Liquid Blush Mini, and a set-exclusive Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil Mini — all in the bestselling rose hue Worthy. Each formula delivers buildable, blendable colour and a fresh, dewy finish perfect for holiday glow-ups. “This set gives you everything you need for the perfect rosy flush. The shade Worthy looks good on everyone.” — Selena Gomez.
  • Summer Fridays The Lip Butter Balm Minis Set, RRP $83 — Summer Fridays strengthens its lip care portfolio with the Lip Butter Balm Minis Set, a limited-edition holiday release available exclusively through Mecca. The set brings together four mini sizes of the brand’s award-winning Lip Butter Balm in Vanilla Beige, Pink Guava, Cherry, and Sweet Mint. Combining high-shine colour payoff with the brand’s signature nourishing formula, the launch builds on the product’s cult following and continued sales momentum across Mecca’s clean-beauty offering.

Fragrance

Fragrance continues to anchor the premium gifting market, with storytelling, craftsmanship, and design taking centre stage. From reimagined classics to artisanal niche creations, scent remains one of the most emotionally charged and commercially powerful categories of the season.

  • Creed’s Holiday Men’s Gift Sets, 3x10ml RRP $299 / 5x10ml RRP $399 — Creed celebrates the season with a refined men’s gifting collection featuring signature scents Aventus, Green Irish Tweed, and Silver Mountain Water. Each set is presented in Art Deco-inspired packaging, combining sharp geometric patterns with an emerald-green palette to evoke festive sophistication with a modern edge. A standout in the luxury fragrance segment, the collection reinforces Creed’s strong performance in premium gifting and male fragrance retail.
  • Natio Celestial Gift Set, RRP $49.95 — Inspired by the starry southern sky, this luminous duo pairs Stellar Eau de Parfum (30mL) with Stellar Body Lotion (75mL), offering a radiant fruity-floral fragrance experience. Presented in a signature Natio keepsake box, Celestial celebrates homegrown elegance and affordable luxury — a strong seasonal performer ideal for festive gifting and retail display.

Hair

Haircare continues to surge as a gifting and self-care category, driven by the rise of salon-quality results at home. From repair-focused treatments and shine-boosting masks to premium styling tools, brands are leveraging innovation, luxury packaging, and influencer partnerships to elevate the hair category and capture new gifting audiences.

  • ghd Duet Blowdry Hair Dryer Brush Festive Gift Set in Cherry Chic, RRP $615 — ghd expands its premium gifting portfolio with the limited-edition Duet Blowdry Hair Dryer Brush Set in Cherry Chic, a 2-in-1 styling innovation designed to take hair from wet to blow-dried with no heat damage. The set includes a luxury vanity case, heat-resistant mat, ghd Volume Forever, ghd Oval Dressing Brush, and cleaning brush, reinforcing ghd’s leadership in high-performance tools and value-driven festive gifting.

Advent Calendars

Once a novelty, beauty advent calendars are now a Q4 retail powerhouse. Multi-brand and mono-brand editions alike are selling out faster each year, offering brands a high-margin way to boost engagement, discovery, and early holiday conversion.

  • Pure Fiji Advent Calendar, RRP $145.95 — 12 days of self-care. Delivers a curated self-care experience, showcasing the brand’s expertise in natural island botanicals. Featuring a selection of award-winning hydrating formulas, the calendar offers a daily moment of indulgence while reinforcing Pure Fiji’s position in wellness-led, premium bodycare gifting.

  • Jo Malone London Advent Calendar, RRP $895 — Jo Malone London reaffirms its position in the ultra-premium gifting segment with its 2025 Luxury Advent Calendar, a 25-day celebration of fragrance and craftsmanship. Presented in an elegant gold-accented design, the calendar features a curated selection of seasonal favourites, timeless colognes, miniature candles, bath and body luxuries, and a full-size 30ml fragrance alongside a Travel Candle. A hero statement piece for the festive season, this release exemplifies Jo Malone London’s commitment to elevated sensory experiences and the growing consumer appetite for collectible luxury advent calendars within the prestige fragrance category.

  • Diptyque Holiday 2025 Advent Calendar, RRP $820 — Diptyque elevates the art of gifting with its Holiday 2025 Advent Calendar, a collectible statement piece that blends storytelling, artistry, and olfactory luxury. Inspired by a Parisian bookshop, the design reveals 25 scented surprises — spanning new releases, large formats, and seasonal exclusives — each hidden behind illustrated shelves in a whimsical festive tale featuring Archibald the cat. Weighing in at 5kg, this immersive calendar underscores Diptyque’s mastery in experiential luxury and continues to perform as a high-value hero within the prestige fragrance gifting segment.

Read issue 85 of Retail Beauty below:

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