Here at Lovability, we’re incredibly thankful for all the love we get when we’re included with other empowering brands in feminist gift guides. Now that we have a writing platform of our own, we’re spreading the love this holiday season to share some of our favorite feminist brands and products to make you and your friends feel like babes with the power. From self-care to health, beauty to safety, we’ve got you and your squad covered for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, New Year’s, and beyond. Staying true to our roots, all the gifts suggested below are from women-owned or women-founded brands!
Have other feminist brands and products you love and want to recommend? Leave us a comment and they might be featured in future gift guides!
Makeup Eraser
It’s eco-friendly, gentle on skin, and oh-so-simple to use. The Makeup Eraser is a soft minky towel that removes all your makeup with water. Yes, you heard that right — just water. From foundation to waterproof mascara to longwear matte lipstick, the Makeup Eraser removes it all. While the original full-sized Makeup Eraser is great for using at home, the mini version is perfect for when you’re on-the-go. Whether you need a midday touch-up after your mascara’s gone astray or you need to remove your makeup before falling asleep at a partner’s house, the Makeup Eraser makes sure your face feels fresh no matter how your day goes. We highly recommend keeping your Makeup Eraser in a small wet bag or toiletry bag to ensure that the other contents of your purse don’t get damp. Once you get home, just throw the Makeup Eraser in with your regular laundry cycle, and remember to put it back in your bag before the next time you go out.
Girls Doing WTF They Want Keychain
It’s likely that you have at least one key floating around in your bag. Why not decorate it with a little inspiration to remind you that you’re a power babe? The Wing, a women’s empowerment community and feminist co-working space, with locations across the US and England, offers this keychain with your newest daily mantra. For a more personal mantra, The Wing also offers City Girls Doing WTF They Want keychains for the gal who wants to rep her homebase. For our nonbinary pals or friends who want a more inclusive message, the Folx Doing WTF They Want keychain, is an equally lovely option.
Menstrual Cup Starter Kit
Menstrual cups are one of the most popular items in feminist and menstrual care. And how could they not be? They’re eco-friendly, chemical-free, and often more convenient than pads or tampons. Entering the menstrual cup world can be a bit intimidating for newbies. A major barrier to starting out seems to be the wide variety of styles and sizes available. That issue, coupled with the higher up-front costs of menstrual cups, turns many women away from exploring the many benefits of menstrual cups. If your friend has been dying to try out menstrual cups, but can’t seem to make the jump, buy her a handy multipack to allow her to try out multiple sizes. Saalt — which is also sold at our friend and vendor Urban Outfitters — offers a pack with two sizes to help you find the right size or even swap depending on your day’s flow. Saalt also offers an amazing community to allow new menstrual cup users to seek advice from more experienced menstrual cup users. For more information on menstrual cups or for more menstrual cup options, check out Put A Cup In It to address any specific concerns you or your friend may have.
Thinx
Don’t think menstrual cups are for you or your friend? No worries! Thinx are another eco-friendly alternative to traditional pads and tampons. More discreet and less invasive than other menstrual products, Thinx is ideal for people who prefer pads to tampons, friends with unpredictable cycles, and even trans and nonbinary menstruators. Now I know what you’re thinking. How is underwear purse perfect? In the comment section of a Jezebel article, many women admitted to carrying extra panties in their purse. Whether it was to clean up after a particularly heavy flow day, to feel fresh after in the middle of a hot day, or to feel like an absolute babe with the power when a date is going much better than she thought, many women suggested that it’s best to be prepared for anything. Even Thinx, themselves, agree that there’s no shame in carrying an extra pair around just in case. We highly recommend gifting a pair or two of Thinx with a wet bag to make your pal will have an easier time keeping up with her eco-friendly menstrual care on the go. For our Broad City fans out there, Ilana Glazer created a collab collection with Thinx. Why not show your gal pal that she’s the Abbie to your Ilana with a pair from the collection?!
One Night Planned
We, of course, couldn’t make a holiday gift guide without a product from our own collection. Have a friend who isn’t familiar with Lovability or hasn’t made the jump to carrying her own body-safe condoms? One Night Planned is super giftable and is a great sampler of Lovability favorites. Available exclusively at Urban Outfitters, this on-the-go pack includes Lovability’s signature vegan condoms, a condom tin, Hallelubeyah, Bae Spray, and Quickies Towelettes (set of 12 wipes). Once your pal tries these, she’s sure to be a Lovababe for life.
Lipslut Lipstick and Lip Gloss
Does your pal hate a certain tweeting “politician” in the White House? Does she worship the Notorious RBG? Is she keeping up with every minute of the impeachment proceedings? Lipslut lip products are the perfect gift for her! Lipslut carries a variety of shades in both matte liquid lipstick and lip gloss formulas. While the brand currently has the feel of a capsule collection, the shades which range from peach to berry to deep red are certain to pair well with most skin tones. Depending on the shade you choose, 50% of all earnings will be sent to complementary charities.
Sip Chip
Why let someone ruin your night out? Color-changing drink testers are some of the hottest products on the safety and self-defense market. Sip Chip offers a discreet way to test your drink for common date rape drugs, including Flunitrazepam, Alprazolam, Diazepam, Midazolam, Ozazepam, and Temazepam. The Sip Chip is super easy to use: just apply a drop of your drink on the test pad, and wait for the lines to appear. Two lines mean you’re all good. One line and you should hand your drink back to the bartender. Each tester is individually wrapped and each pack comes with two carriers (one for your keychain, another for the back of your phone).
My Cup Condom
If the Sip Chip isn’t your style or you can’t bear to dump precious libations down the drain, the My Cup Condom serves as a lovely alternative. My Cup Condom has been making its way around the Twitter-verse in recent months, and, being in the condom industry ourselves, we’re loving it! Perfect for fun-loving friends, My Cup Condom serves as the perfect novelty gift that your girls will actually use. Once unwrapped, My Cup Condom rolls over the lip of whatever container you’re drinking from. My Cup Condom features a cheeky emoji on the top and X marks the spot where you insert your straw of choice. (We love a good metal straw moment.) Before you worry about disposal, My Cup Condom is eco-friendly and biodegradable, too!
Stationery Set
Trust me, these are NOT your grandma’s stationery sets. What other writing supply brands can boast a cult following while successfully bringing nostalgic Lisa Frank-esque energy into your current life as a serious business woman? If your pal loves to stay organized or always has ideas to jot down, the holiday season is a perfect time to help her update her stationery lineup with Ban.do’s desk accessories and stationery.
An impeccable marriage of fashion and function, Ban.do’s planners are considered must-haves by the planner community. They come in a variety of sizes, include adorable sticker sheets, and feature bold graphics created by female artists. Each weekly page has plenty of space for scheduling assignments, meetings, dates, and brunches, while also including fun challenges and outing ideas to bring your friend out of her weekly routine. To round out the gift, we recommend putting together a collection of Ban.do’s other desk goodies, like their pens, stickers, washi tape, and notebooks.
Your squad’s reaction when they see any of the gifts on our list:
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, babes! We can’t wait to share more empowering sex-positive and feminist content with you in 2020!
About The Author
Bailey Shea (@baileykshea on Instagram) is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut, having received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communication with a minor in Women’s Studies. She is a strong feminist who hopes to use her future career in publishing and marketing to magnify unheard voices. Outside the writing world, Bailey is an aspiring powerlifter, the human embodiment of a sunflower, and a Taco Bell connoisseur. You can find more of her work at baileykshea.com.
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