These men’s skincare gift sets are a one-stop shop to smooth, hydrated skin

The Ordinary is our go-to brand for everything from affordable retinol serums to make-up removing cleansing balms and, now, the brand’s clear set is on our radar as a top gift for men. Formulated with ingredients like exfoliating salicylic acid, hydrating glycerin and soothing urea, this trio of products left our skin feeling fresh and thoroughly cleansed without the tightness that some blemish-targeted skin sets often do. Our tester’s partner (male) enjoyed the lather produced by the foaming cleanser and, post-salicylic acid, commented that his skin looked “brighter and felt more awake, even at 6am”. This is one for the early birds, ladies and gentlemen.

Much like The Ordinary, The Inkey List is another affordable men’s cosmetics go-to for us here at IndyBest and, while this trio might be labelled as a make-up prep kit, its products are about as universally suitable as they come. While the oat cleansing balm offers a nourishing and moisturising start to the day, the caffeine eye cream is a cult product that, at one point in time, had shoppers on waitlists for its next stock drop. It’s instantly brightening, hydrates dry eyes with squalane and keeps them that way with humectant glycerin to draw moisture from the air. Testing on male skin, our reviewer found that the polyglutamic acid serum was “cooling to apply and actually calmed the irritation around cheek eczema”.

Weleda skin food is a hero range for men with dry, irritated and flaky skin, and is loved by celebrities, too. This set of products from the collection – namely the skin food cleansing balm, day cream and night cream – presents an ample three-step routine that’s just as acheivable for early risers as it is your party-goer partner. Our tester commented that both the day and night creams “smelt really great,” with the latter feeling “indulgent and comforting, especially after a long day”. And we have the luxe hydration of the included shea, squalane and soothing chamomile extract to thank for that result.

Clinique is one of the first brands that come to mind when we think of men’s skincare, namely because it was one the first cosmetics giants to approach the male audience back in 1976. This, the brand’s energising set, addresses the concerns of congested skin with a scrub and cleanser (with irritated skin-friendly aloe vera), plus an SPF for men and shaving cream with smoothing soybean extract. This is one of the only sets to feature SPF which is, in our opinion, an essential to prevent the signs of early ageing on the skin without the rigmarole of retinols, peptides and other treatments for time-pressed individuals. Our male tester enjoyed the brightening effects of the SPF-moisturiser, telling us that he was pleasantly surprised to find that interesting ingredients like brussel sprouts and broccoli “left [his] skin looking healthier and more springy than usual”. And, FYI, the benefits of said ingredients on the skin include being antioxidant and vitamin C-rich.

Fresh’s soy face cleanser is somewhat of a cult product and leaves every skin type, from dry to oily, feeling clean, hydrated and soothed. Meanwhile, the tea elixir uses niacinamide and hyaluronic acid to ensure that the skin appears plump and elasticised even when you’re drinking eight-plus black coffees a day, and the rose hydration cream calms red, winter-beaten complexions. We enjoyed the festive green packaging of this trio and noticed our partner reaching for the brand’s iconic cleanser morning after morning, telling us how “it felt particularly nice to apply post-shave, even if you’ve accidentally nicked a bit of skin”.

Rituals is renowned for its scented bodycare and, while the brand does offer facial skincare, we thought it best to include the products that have shoppers coming back for more, time and time again. This, the aromatic bath and body set, is exactly what it says on the tin: aromatic. We enjoyed getting wafts of the cardamom and sandalwood-scented l’essential fragrance as our partner passed us by – it’s the perfect cosy season scent – and we’d be lying if we said we didn’t have a go with the cedarwood shower foam.

Read more: 19 best anti-aging creams for men that will help you achieve noticeable results

As for their thoughts, they told us: “I kept the moisturiser by my bed to use on my forearms where I get dry from repetitive hand-washing at work. It made a big difference and, after one week of use, the dry tightness around my wrists had lessened.”

Dr Dennis Gross’s alpha beta range is a must for congested or dull skin. It comes approved by skincare guru Caroline Hirons, and it comes in even more handy when the colder months roll around and our skin’s not getting a natural sun-prompted glow. While the scent of the vitamin C serum is a tad chemical, it works well, leaving the complexion appearing more even both tonally and texturally. We found the universal daily peel to be an excellent start to each day without causing irritation and, when shared with a family friend (male), they reported back to say that the extra strength peels “worked great on [their] hyperpigmentation”. So it gets big thumbs up for mature skin.

Almost a full skincare routine, this quad from Biossance is a top pick for the man in your life who’s a real skincare fanatic. Realistically, you’re not going to get every type of man to stick to four products post-cleanse, so this is one for the anti-ageing heroes who’ve been keeping on top of their skin since their twenties. With nourishing ingredients like squalane, rose extract and ceramides, Biossance’s rapid radiance gift will help to rejuvinate thinner and dryer mature skin, using peptides as an irritation-free retinol alternative to keep fine lines at bay (and minimise the existing ones). While our tester (a family friend in his 50s) didn’t notice any immediate anti-ageing results, they enjoyed the rose scent while using the oil and found the eye cream to be “especially soothing on dry eyes”. With over £30 of savings to be had, this one’s going straight into our basket.