Beauty Insider Holiday Gift Guide Part 2 – PR Wiz Shannon Comstock Picks

Hi friends!

Welcome back to my Beauty Insider Holiday Gift Guide series! This year I asked three friends and colleagues who work hands-deep in the beauty industry to curate their ultimate gift guides to share with you all. So if you’re someone who loves a behind-the-scenes peek, or wants to know what industry professionals are using, loving, and recommending, you’ve come to the right place!

If you missed it, last week’s guide featured Heather Fink, the Founder & CEO of indie cosmetics brand The Sexiest Beauty, who picked some amazing gift ideas for the beauty lover in your life from lip oils, to body butters, and nail lacquers. Today I’m really excited to have Shannon Comstock on the blog sharing her go-to gift ideas for the season! Shannon is the Co-Founder of Note PR, a new full-service public relations and communications agency which she established in the summer of 2019 with business partner Heloise van Eeghen. Note operates exclusively within the beauty and wellness industries, and has an impressive roster of indie clients including the likes of Supernal, Tower 28, Freck Beauty, and Playa.

Shannon has curated a concise, but incredibly useful and timely guide that really highlights those feel-good products – ranging from skincare to fragrance to meditation – that will get you or your loved one through the generally crap year that is 2020. Think pleasure, luxury, and self-care all rolled into one! So without further delay let’s dive into Shannon’s picks!

 

ALDER NEW YORK THE ESSENTIALS GIFT SET – $65.00

 

They are a client of ours, and they’re a fantastic company based in Brooklyn. They have clean skincare that’s really design-forward, chic, and gender-less. The formulas are good for every skin type, and the design is very neutral. They have this really amazing gift set called The Essentials Gift Set. It has their Everyday Face Cleanser, which is why I’m recommending this kit. Everyone needs to try this cleanser! It’s taken care of my acne, plus it’s moisturizing while still being clarifying. The set also comes with a serum, moisturizer and three single-use face masks. It’s a great start for husbands who don’t really care about skincare, or someone who’s just getting into skincare; it’s a built-in routine all in a box, plus a few indulgent face masks. I think it’s such a beautiful gift for anyone looking to up their personal care. Plus it already comes gift-wrapped!

Shop Alder New York The Essentials Gift Set

 

ALCHEMY BODY SHOP ANOINTMENT HEALING OIL – $20.00

 

This is a black-owned brand. In the summer when everything was picking up around the BLM movement, I was really trying to support black-owned brands particularly in beauty. I purchased this oil and I’m never going back, it’s so good! I’m not really a huge body oil person, but I just love this. In fact, I started noticing that my bottle was emptying faster than I was using it. So I asked my husband if he was using it and he was! He’s been using the same shampoo for 40 years, and the same nasty bar of soap forever; I can’t even get him to use moisturizer! But he loves this oil, so I thought that was a great endorsement. The smell is not overpowering but it’s lovely; the ylang-ylang and chamomile blend is so soft. I can’t say enough good things about this body oil. It seems so much more indulgent to use an oil, and not just a lotion so I think it’s a great gift. Very much a “treat yourself” moment!

Shop Alchemy Body Shop Anointment Healing Oil

 

BATHING CULTURE BIG DIPPER MINERAL BATH – $30.00

 

This is another client of ours, based out of San Francisco. Founders Tim and Spencer are really fun, and super active – biking, hiking, surfing. They were always disappointed that after spending this amazing time outside, coming back in and using body washes that either strip the skin or are just bad for the planet. They’re both really sustainably focused, so they initially created their Mind and Body Wash. It’s their hero product and has since become a cult favorite. It smells divine, and leaves your skin soft and smooth. It’s just a really fun brand. Earlier this year, they relaunched the Big Dipper Mineral Bath, which contains CBD. Between the cute packaging, the smell when you open it, and the experience of soaking in the CBD bath salts, you can just tell a lot of love went into making it. It’s the perfect wintery treat, that I’m going to gift it to a lot of people this holiday season for sure!

Shop the Bathing Culture Big Dipper Mineral Bath

 

LINNE´ BOTANICALS RISE & REST FRAGRANCE SET – $86.00

 

Founder Jenna Levine studied California plant medicine, and she’s consulted for True Botanicals and Marie Veronique. She has this incredible knowledge of aromatherapy, essential oils, plants, herbs, and put together this really beautiful line. For the holidays she’s launching her first-ever set of functional fragrances called Rise and Rest. They’re sold as a duo for $86.00, and they’re these on-the-go aromatherapy treatments you can put in your purse, your car, next to your bed, anywhere, to give yourself a moment of relaxation. The blend called Rise is great in the morning or whenever you need a boost of energy; it has ingredients like orange essence, coriander, black spruce, black pepper. It smells delicious! The other blend is Rest, and rolling it on your pulse points before bed at night, or after your bath…now we’re talking! It has blue chamomile, ylang-ylang, frankincense, and it’s all about promoting better sleep and deeper relaxation, plus reducing anxiety. It smells delightful! These pretty little vessels are perfect stocking stuffers and really thoughtful gifts.

Shop Linne Botanicals Rise & Rest Set

 

EVOLVE BY ERIKA VIRTUAL WELLNESS MEMBERSHIP

 

This is a breath-work membership run by Erika, who is a yoga and breath-work instructor I’ve been following on Instagram through the pandemic. She’s been doing a lot of great IG Lives in the morning to start the day right. You can gift a membership to someone by going on her website, and you’ll get access to all these virtual breath-work and meditation classes online. I’ve found her exercises really helpful with anxiety, and in both relaxing at night and waking up in the morning. I think this is something thoughtful to gift to someone who is either a yogi or to someone who just loves meditation.

Shop the Evolve by Erika Virtual Wellness Center

 

I hope you enjoyed the second installment in my Beauty Insider Holiday Gift Guide series! Come back next Monday for the final specially curated beauty gift guide  

xoxo, and be well, Erica

 

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