Beauty Bible Gift Guide 2025: A little shelf-ful of beauty books
Next year, we hope you’ll all be giving copies of OUR new book with Pavilion, a division of Harper Collins – something that we’ve been working on all this year, and an upsum of everything we’ve learned over 30 years of Beauty Bible. For now? A small and considered edit of titles that you can buy straight away. (Note: we’ve listed r.r.p. prices but mostly where we’ve linked the books are available less expensively as Christmas deals.)
Still Here by Bobbi Brown
Not a beauty manual, but a fascinating memoir from a make-up artist whose revolutionary ‘like you but prettier’ approach to beauty has been so influential on us, and millions everywhere. This is her personal story, from childhood through to brand founding, motherhood and grandmotherhood, selling out to Estée Lauder and then starting all over the minute her 25-year non-compete deal was complete, launching her new brand Jones Road. It’s a tale of dynamism and determination, joy and hard work – all the things it takes to take a business from an idea to reality, and insights into how you juggle that with what has always been to Bobbi the very important family aspect of her life. We found it unputdownable.
£22 – buy here
Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent by Mandy Aftel
Mandy Aftel is the world’s leading natural perfumer, and for anyone who’s fascinated by ingredients and maybe even deems of dabbling in making their own fragrances or bodycare, this is the absolute go-to manual. California-based Mandy has recently updated it with revised recipes, but what we love is the deep-dive into five of the most fascinating materials in perfumery: cinnamon, mint, frankincense, jasmine and ambergris, all bewitchingly chronicled and described.
£13.51 – buy here
The Art of Being Beautiful by Victoire de Taillac
This is the most charmante little volume, absolutely exquisitely produced, which is part historic document assembled from various beauty books from 120+ years ago, part tongue-in-cheek tale for our times. It was created by Victoire de Taillac, who with her husband Ramdane Touhami co-founded the unique French brand Officine Universelle Buly 1803 (or rather, rescued it from obscurity, turning it into a global luxury brand). Jo recently hosted an event where Victoire introduced this book in a salon setting, and everyone fell a little bit in love with its insights into the role of the mirror, the rituals of beauty and the fascinating habits of the Parisienne woman of that time. We recommend reading it on a chaise longue, ideally with a box of Charbonnel & Walker Rose & Violet Creams to hand.
€40 – buy here
Teen Skincare by Caroline Hirons
We’re observing that ever-younger girls want to jump on the beauty bandwagon. Two girls in Jo’s granddaughter’s class – aged 10 – have lash extensions. There are now sheet masks for three-year-olds – against which Caroline Hirons, author of this really good manual for teenagers, has railed. This is a down-to-earth, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is myth-busting guide from one of our most knowledgeable colleagues, and if you’re tucking any sort of beauty gift inside a teen’s stocking, slip one of these alongside.
£16.99 – buy here
