This year the holidays came around faster than I had expected it to, and just like many others, I definitely was not prepared. Although I do love the holidays and everything that is associated with it, there is one thing that I always dread and that is gift giving. Searching for the right gift to give someone is always so stressful, and the anticipation to see whether or not they will actually like it is worse. I know how stressful gift giving can be, especially if you have a big family. As a makeup lover myself, I thought it would be helpful to compile a list of gifts that any makeup lover would love to receive this year. If there is a makeup lover in your family, I am positive that any makeup product would make them happy, but there is something about these specific items that will make your gift the best one yet this year.

Eyeshadow Palettes

In my opinion, gifting a makeup lover an eyeshadow palette is the safest way to play it. An eyeshadow palette is something that every makeup lover should have in their makeup kit. It is a go-to palette essential, and one that every makeup guru has been raving about is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette. This palette comes with 14 different colors, mostly matte, but there are some shadows with a shimmer and metallic finish. This palette retails for $42 at any Sephora, Ulta, or Anastasia Beverly Hills website.

Highlighters

It seems to me that highlighters have been one of the most popular makeup trends in 2016. There is no doubt that the makeup lover in your family will be delighted when they open their gift to realize that they will be adding a new highlighter to their makeup kit. For those of you who might not know, a highlighter is a compacted, shimmery pressed powder that is used to highlight the high points in ones face. Highlighters can range from $8 to $65. Yeah, the prices are a little insane, but there is no doubt that a devoted makeup lover would purchase it no matter what. My favorite online shop to buy quality highlighters at a low price is Colourpop. Their products are great because they are almost exact dupes of what a high-end makeup brand would make. During the holidays, they have special sets, and for highlighters, they are selling a trio for only $20, score!

Liquid Lipsticks

Another popular trend that took off this year is a matte lip. When the trend for a matte lip arose, everyone seemed to ditch the basic lipstick and switched to a liquid lipstick in order to achieve the look. Just like any other makeup product, there is high-end and drugstore brand, and in my opinion there are plenty of drugstore brands that sell liquid lipsticks that work just as well as high-end ones. When it comes to liquid lipsticks, NYX is my go to. Their soft matte liquid lip creams are definitely a 10/10 in my scorebook. Even better, NYX has put together sets that include three different liquid lip creams for only $12, great for gift giving!

Beauty Blender

The Beauty Blender has entirely changed the game when it comes to applying foundation, or really any other product! And while there are so many other dupes out there, there is no better one than the original Beauty Blender. This tool is definitley a must have, and although it is a small gift, a makeup lover will truly appreciate having received a Beauty Blender as a gift.

Brush Sets

A makeup lover can never have too many brushes! Just like the eyeshadow palette, you can never go wrong with gifting a brush set! There is no doubt that makeup brushes are sometimes on the pricier side of cosmetic tools, but there are definitley cosmetic brands out there that sell brush sets that work just as well for half the price. One of those brands is Morphe. They carry brush sets starting at $9.99! It doesn't get much better than that!