Giving skincare as a gift has its hazards, but I’ve tried to remove a little of the danger by sifting through the internet for the best sets on offer. Of course you can never guarantee that all skincare will suit all faces, but if you stick to quality formulations you can’t go too far wrong!

So here are my top skincare set recommendations – I’ve thought pretty carefully about these, and you’ll notice that some of the ‘obvious’ brands are missing. That’s because the skincare from the huge brands isn’t always the best – if you want to give the gift of effective beauty, then the picks below are a good starting point. For more ‘pampering’ skincare, keep a look out for the last of the Christmas Gift Guide videos!

1) The Supersonically Good Set. Alpha-H’s Liquid Gold Skin Perfecting System may not look very exciting or festive, but you must believe me when I say that the results are really something to celebrate. If you want to know about Liquid Gold then read my Liquid Gold ‘Leap of Faith’ review here. The System goes a few steps further than Liquid Gold (is this possible?!) offering incredible rejuvenation and antioxidant support. As well as the cult product Liquid Gold, there are two new formulas; Prep & Prime and Liquid Gold Radiance. I’ll be doing an in-depth review after Christmas but I can tell you right now that this System is the business! £53 with free worldwide delivery from BeautyExpert.com.

2) Institut Estherderm’s ‘Water, Light, Skin’ collection. Esthederm just keep on pushing the boundaries with their skincare and this trio of products showcases some of their best discoveries. A cell-revitalising water, a tissue renewal serum and, most excitingly, a UV water spray that can be used under or over makeup and it absolutely weightless. Amazing. £115 from Liberty of London.

3) Caudalie Premier Cru, £49 from SpaceNK.co.uk. I love this eye treatment, it’s instantly brightening and wakening. In the gift set you get a 20ml tube of the Premier Cru face cream too, so it’s a good way of having a try without committing to the full-sized version!

4) NUDE’s Balancing Collection, £44 with free worldwide delivery from BeautyExpert.com. Gorgeous skincare for a healthy complexion, NUDE products are simple but effective. This set includes a cleansing wash, a hydrating water and a moisturiser – a nice introduction to the brand, I think!

5) StriVectin Ageless Skin Deluxe Kit, £80 from SpaceNK.co.uk. I like StriVectin’s ultra-hydrating cleansing wash and I absolutely swear by their SD eye cream. If you didn’t want to buy into a whole kit (and unfortunately I can’t vouch for the other products included as I haven’t yet given them a thorough test) then go for the eye cream. It’s superb. Don’t let the price give you a heart attack – the tube is massive, at least twice the size of a normal eye cream.

6) Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Cucumber Facial Kit, £19.99 with free worldwide delivery from FeelUnique.com. This doesn’t look at all posh, but I have been testing out the ‘Yes To…’ ranges recently and I think that they are pretty lovely. For sensitive skin soothers that won’t break the bank, I think that the Cucumber set is a really good call!

7) Living Nature Christmas Skin Essentials to Clarify Oily Skin, £20.55 from FeelUnique.com. A good option for oily teen skin, this is another range that I’ve been testing recently. The value of this set is over £48 so you get to try out the whole regime from cleansing to ‘night gel’ for a fraction of the retail price. All of the products come tucked into a handy toiletries roll.