I’ve decided to do something new this year that hopefully can become an annual thing for me. A friend of mine was asking about ideas for nail gifts to give people in her life and I was flattered that she would think to ask me. One thing led to another and I decided to put this guide together!
I called this guide my Canadian Nail Gift Guide not because the products are Canadian but because they are reasonably priced for and available to Canadians. Everything in this list likely works as an awesome gift for people elsewhere too, but I’m making an extra effort to outline availability and shipping to the Great White North. (And as such all prices are listed in $CAD.)
I’ve included my top 10 (generally mainstream) items and they go in order from lowest price to highest – there’s definitely something for everyone no matter your budget. And everything you see in this list I feel comfortable vouching for and own or have tried myself!
So let’s get right into it!
Nail Vinyls
Price: $5.65 – $16.95 (+ Canadian Shipping: 75c)
Availability: NailVinyls.com
Good for: Anyone with a bit of knowledge/experience with nail art or clever beginners
Nail vinyls are a popular thing these days and there are a ton of indie companies who make their own vinyls (though the ones from Nail Vinyls are my favourite). Basically they’re stencils that you place on your nail, paint over, and peel off. Once you peel them off you’re left with segments of your originally colour showing through in the shape of your vinyl. Again they can take a bit of practice, but ultimately they’re a simple way to get a complicated look.
NCLA Nail Wraps
Price: $16 (+ Canadian Shipping: FREE)
Availability: NailPolishCanada.com
Good for: Anyone who likes nail art but doesn’t have time/patience to do it themselves
I think nail wraps are always good for a quick accent nail if I don’t have the time to do involved nail art on my own. NCLA has a huge variety of designs and themes (pop art, flags, geometric, Hello Kitty, you name it!) so there will definitely be something that fits for everyone. (My favourite are the Funky Shark ones!) They take a bit of practice to apply properly, but as long as you take your time to learn you’ll be fine.
LUSH Lemony Flutter
Price: $16.95 (+ Canadian Shipping: $6 or FREE in store)
Availability: LUSH stores or online
Good for: Anyone who is interested in skin care and green, ethical products
Lemony Flutter is a staple in the nail blogger beauty bag and I think it can make a great gift or stocking stuffer for anyone who is interested in keeping their skin moisturized. It’s a bit thick and can feel greasy, and that’s why it’s important to only use a pea sized amount and take more if you need it. It’s a small container but it goes a long way! LUSH is also a great company that fights against animal testing and promotes green, ethical products.
OPI Rollin’ in Cashmere Set
Price: $24 (+ Canadian Shipping: $3 or FREE with $25+ order)
Availability: NailPolishCanada.com
Good for: Anyone who likes painting their nails, any skill level
If you want to get someone nail polish you can never go wrong with OPI. This is one of the sets that came out with OPI’s Holiday 2014 Gwen Stefani line and they’re the only polishes from this collection that I’ve picked up so far. And I LOVE them. I haven’t had time to do swatches yet but the set has 3 full sized polishes – Rollin’ in Cashmere which is a shimmery gold metallic, Snow Globetrotter which is a white and iridescent glitter topper, and Comet in the Sky which is a black and iridescent glitter topper.
2 pc Design Glassware Nail File Set
Price: $21.28 (+ Canadian Shipping: $4.26 or FREE with $53+ order)
Availability: Design Glassware by Mont Bleu
Good for: Anyone who likes to take care of their nails and likes glittery, pretty things
I seriously love the Czech tempered glass files that Mont Bleu hand decorates with Swarovski Elements crystals. If you think you know glass files you know nothing until you’ve tried these ones. I’m suggesting this two piece set since it makes a great stand-alone gift, but you can find a lot of other options (both more and less expensive) on their site. I personally own 4 of their files so far and I’ve reviewed them once before here. They’re a bit pricey but definitely worth the money!
OPI Sheer Tints Collection
Price: $33.25 (+ Canadian Shipping: FREE with $25+ order)
Availability: NailPolishCanada.com
Good for: Anyone who likes nail art
The OPI Sheer Tints are a line of jelly/glaze polishes that came out earlier this year. This set contains full sized bottles of all four colours – I’m Never Amberrassed, Be Magentale With Me, Don’t Violet Me Down and I Can Teal You Like Me. I’ve both swatched them and used them for simple art. These are more for nail art than for use as a standard full-nail polish. You can use them a bunch of creative ways like to do gradients, overlapping and leadlighting (using jelly polishes to fill in stamping designs). If you have a nail art lover in your life who doesn’t own these polishes already they would be a great gift!
Julep’s A Few Favourite Things
Price: $40 [On Sale] (+ Canadian Shipping: $3.36 or FREE if a Maven)
Availability: Julep
Good for: Anyone who likes to take care of their nails
Nail care is important for everyone, so if you want to get someone a small kit of nail care staples this set from Julep has everything you need. I want to be clear that I haven’t used their crystal files before but I do own and love both of the other items in this set – Julep’s Essential Cuticle Oil and Julep’s Oxygen Nail Treatment. You can care for your cuticles, protect and promote the health of your nails, and keep everything shaped perfectly. (*Note: Julep tends to have a lot of sales leading up to Christmas, so keep your eyes out for deals and discounts on this set.)
Konad Ruby Nail Art Stamping Kit
Price: $79.10 (+ Canadian Shipping: FREE with $25+ order)
Availability: NailPolishCanada.com
Good for: Anyone with a bit of nail art/stamping experience or who wants to start out with a full set
This was the very first set of stamping products I ever owned and I think it did a great job of introducing me to this technique. The set has 5 stamping polishes, a top coat, 5 stamping plates, and a stamper and scraper. If memory serves me correctly there is also a bag of gems included, and a DVD to show you how to stamp. Literally everything you need to get started! Konad is also a great stamping brand in general, and I love the quality of their stamping polishes. Here’s one of the looks I made with this kit.
6 Month Beauty Box Subscription – Julep
Price: $133.90 (+ Canadian Shipping: FREE)
Availability: Julep
Good for: Anyone who wants a monthly delivery of nail + beauty itemsYou can easily gift 6 months of Julep boxes to your favourite nail and beauty lover and they’ll get a customizable box with three full sized items in it delivered to their door every month. I’ve been with the Julep Maven program for over a year and while it has it’s controversies overall I’m happy with it. As a Maven your gift-ee also gets access to free shipping and sales all month long. Check out some of the previous boxes I’ve gotten or check out some of the looks I’ve put together with Julep colours.
6 Month Beauty Box Subscription – Square Hue
Price: $101.20 (+ Canadian Shipping: $60 over 6 mos)
Availability: Square Hue
Good for: Anyone who wants a monthly surprise of 3 bottles of nail polishSquare Hue doesn’t currently have a box gifting option so if you wanted to use this as a gift you would have to sign up on their behalf and continue to pay for the following 6 months and then cancel after then. Square Hue includes three curated colours based on a theme each month, and the colours you get are completely a surprise. You can check out one of my Square Hue boxes here.
I think beauty box subscriptions could be an awesome option for a gift if you’re looking for something longer-term and more expensive… I’ve included both of the boxes that I’m familiar with that contain mainly nail polish and ship to Canada, but if you’re looking for boxes that ship to other countries you should take a look around online because there are lots of options. The other bonus is that both of these companies donate some of their profits to great causes – check out each website to get a better idea of each brand personality and then make your pick!
Julep Birthstone Collection
Price: $110.27 [On Sale] (+ Canadian Shipping: $3.36 or FREE if a Maven)
Availability: Julep
Good for: Anyone who likes glittery nail polish
I’ll be honest, I’ve been waiting for the full Birthstone Collection from Julep to be released all year. Every month all year they released a new glitter packed polish based on that months’ birthstone, and finally they’re all available as a set. With this set you have a polish for every mood, and you can either gift them as a set or take them out of the box and gift them individually! (*Note: Julep tends to have a lot of sales leading up to Christmas, so keep your eyes out for deals and discounts on this set.)
If you’re ordering from Canada the items/shops I’ve included are all things I’m fairly confident would arrive by Christmas (next year I’ll make sure to get this post out earlier!) but to be certain you should always check with the sellers directly, or see if you can find it available somewhere local. If you need help finding anything specific for a nail fan in your life please don’t hesitate to send me an email and I’ll see if I can help. 🙂
Let me know what you have planned for the nail lovers in your own life! Do you think they’d like anything from this list? Is there anything you think I’m missing? Let me know!
Thanks for visiting! And Happy Holidays!
