by Jess Wu

Created on: February 13, 2008

I love using different beauty products and I definitely love buying them for my friends as gifts, but, I do realize that different people have different tastes and buying them beauty products as gifts mean that I have to put their needs and desires before my own.

I have tremendous experience in buying beauty gifts for my friends and most of the time I find it very rewarding to see their happy faces when they open their presents. Here are the things I pay attention when I shop for beauty products for my friends:

Skin care products:

- Identify the skin types of your friends. Different skin types need different skin care products. If you don't want to ask them directly or if you can't tell by glancing their faces, visit their washrooms next time when you are in their houses, the products on the shelves tell you a lot about their skin types.

- Research the brands or products on the internet before the actual shopping. Since you might be expert on your own skin type, your knowledge doesn't necessarily apply to other skin types. Go to the beauty product review sites online and read through the comments, if a majority of people give a good rating on a certain product, it can't be too bad.

- Choose the travel size gift sets including all the basic items (cleanser, toner and moisturizer). It gives the opportunity for the receivers to try the items in one-go or they could choose to use them next time when they travel. Of course, it takes the pressure off you if the products are not perfectly a good match too.

Cosmetics:

- Avoid buying foundation for your friends because it would be a waste when the color or the texture doesn't match with their skin tones or skin types.

- Pay attention to the color tones your friends love. Don't try to force your friends to change to a different color tone unless you are absolutely sure that it's for the better. If your friends love earth tones, there must be a reason. Respect their choices of colors and try to locate the cosmetics in the same color tone.

- Pick a palette if you could. Usually the colors in the palette are in the same tone and your friends could mix and match the colors inside, it would be more fun for them, not to mention the fabulous packages would make the gifts more presentable.

Bath & body products:

- Pick the right scent. Scent is almost everything when it comes to bath and body products. Understanding if your friends love floral scent or yummy scent would narrow down your choice and increase the possibility of them liking the products.

Hair care products:

- Understand your friends' hair textures. Different hair types needs specific products. At the very least, you have to understand if your friends are having dry or oily hair to choose the right products.

- Find out your friends' hair care routine. If your friends care a lot about their hair, you could consider giving them some hair treatments or hair masks as gifts. They sure would find them very useful.

Perfumes & colognes:

- Don't buy any perfumes or colognes for your friends unless you know how they love to smell like. Perfumes or colognes are really hard to pick for a friend because people react so differently to the same scent. If you really have to buy one for your friends, pick something classic which could never go wrong.

Indeed, buying beauty products for friends requires some degree of observation simply because they are regarded as personal items. If you pay attention to your friends' habits beforehand, it wouldn't be that hard for your to pick the right products and show your love and care through them.

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