The Ultimate Cool Girl Gift Guide
Budget-Inclusive Gifts for the Illustrious and Aspirational Cool Girl in Your Life
rounding out each year, we are inundated with lists of shit to buy for shitloads of money for arguably shitty people who don’t deserve shit. to make it all a little easier (and more fun), i’ve compiled the definitive guide of the coolest shit to buy or make for the coolest girl you know. from homemade to designer, i’ve tried to include gifts suitable for every budget and skill level, breaking things up into hopefully digestible sections. i urge you to flip through, enjoy, and get some last-minute deals on anything that piques your interest. (in case anyone is wondering, i am making zero dollars and zero cents off of literally any of this stuff, i just wanted to share recs and break up some of my heavier content!)
it is with this introduction that i proclaim, keeping in mind the untenability of the contemporary capitalist hellscape, HAPPY GIFTING!!
cool jewelry/accessories
gabriette-inspired skinny glasses: when i think of a cool girl, i think of gabriette. i’ve been digging her repopularization of skinny glasses/bayonetta glasses. i love these ones from lensmart for only $14.95
this sick screw necklace from heaven marc jacobs is definitely out of my price range, but is fucking cool and a great cop for a cool girl on a bigger budget
magnetic jewelry clasps: i wear a metric-fuckton of necklaces, and ever since my boyfriend converted them all to magnetic clasps, life has been sweet. these are really cheap and an easy stocking stuffer or just a useful little surprise for a jewelry-lover you know. they’re also great for people with motor skill limitations or other accessibility needs!
bone jewelry/ animal bones: i’ve been on a major bone jewelry kick recently, and i feel conflicted about sharing my favorite spots to get it, but i’ve decided to make this a true no-gatekeeping gift guide, so here they are. closet of skeletons is an amazing shop that sells ethically-sourced bone jewelry from animal and human bones. my favorite are their tooth necklaces, and they often have really amazing sales that make the price all the more reasonable. they also have very affordable options considering all the jewelry is handmade and sourced by the designer. XII or twelve is another great jewelry shop with pieces almost all under $100, which is decent for a small jewelry business. i by no means buy my jewelry at these kinds of prices, but would want them as a gift! my last recommendation is the hardest to hand over, but it’s a funky etsy shop called weird and macabre that has some of the coolest bone and body-horror jewelry/accessories i’ve found. i especially love the tooth necklace (under $50!) and the brain lighter sleeve.
lighter case: on the topic of lighter sleeves, i recently bought a lighter case on eBay, and it’s one of my favorite purchases from this year. the one i found was about $10 shipped and has made the experience of using/carrying my lighter so much more fun and cool. it’s my dream to own only beautiful things, even the ones i use constantly, so this is a perfect detail to add to a cool girl’s routine. i’d recommend finding one on etsy or eBay, and you’ll be able to find either handmade or vintage designs, whichever you prefer/can afford!
novelty lighters: keeping on lighters, i’ve also been loving vintage novelty lighters lately! there are some great sets like this vintage lot on eBay and loads of others. if you get this for someone as a gift, though, include a bottle of butane!! it’s really cheap and means you can fill the lighters for them in advance! the completeness and attention to detail here are likely to be appreciated.
old pinback buttons: if your cool girl loves vintage accessories, finding/making pinback buttons would be a perfect gift. if you can’t find vintage ones that seem right for them, you can buy random buttons and upcycle them with paint pens or make custom buttons here!
bag accessories: since they’re probably going to put the buttons on their bag, you should get them other cool bag accessories! i’ve personally been loving vintage brooches, funky keychains, and other bits and bobs to decorate my bag. you can also buy them a bag (i’ve been loving vintage cargo bags like this one) and decorate it yourself! if they’re into coquette/hyperfem things, adding bows and pearls and charms will go a long way!
cool belts: the girlies have been loving belts lately, and you can definitely find so many cool vintage belts to go with your cool girl’s aesthetic. if they’re more grungy, these star grommet belts from tunnel vision are sick. if they’re more boho, disc/medallion belts are all the rage and can be found on eBay and poshmark for really cheap. this is a really great gift for all budgets, since there are cool old belts at pretty much every thrift store (and you can always snag them more than one!)
pendants: i’ve been really loving finding vintage pendants lately, especially since i have a lot of random necklaces/chains i can string them on. i love the customizability of pendants and the way they can be mixed with different base necklaces to create a ~vibe~ that wouldn’t be otherwise achievable. these can be found for pretty cheap on secondhand sites or in thrift stores, and if you have the budget, it’s always nice to personalize/engrave a secondhand piece! in the same vein, if they’re a locket girl, buy and fill a locket for them!
lipstick case: i recently purchased a vintage lipstick case to make the experience of carrying around chapstick just a little extra special. any of you who know me knows that i’m completely obsessed with the burt’s bees tinted chapstick (daisy is the best shade for anyone wondering) and this little lipstick case was the perfect size for a tube! though i no longer have mine (i gave it to ethel cain !! which was so cool), i recommend that you acquire one for the cool lipstick/lip balm-wearing girl in your life. i found mine on eBay, and there are loads still available (like this one and this one) for less than $15!
intellectual bullshit
gift a subscription: since this is substack, i must suggest gifting your cool girl a subscription to a favorite substack writer! i personally love rayne fisher-quann (aka internetprincess on substack) and have been a paid subscriber of hers for a while. if you know a girl who’s into creative/analytical writing about womanhood, the state of the world, and all things esoterically intellectual, gifting an internetprincess subscription would be perfect. of course, this applies to any substack page with any niche!
annotated book: this is a classic, but if you have the time/energy, one of the nicest gifts ever is a book your cool girl will love, complete with your comments, annotations, and notes! you can annotate a used book, keeping it nice and well-worn, and use different colored pens, tabs, and other craft supplies to make it a detailed and interactive experience. you can also add little quizzes or places for them to fill things out to enhance the experience further!
an academic archive: this is a bit of an odd one, but since i’m graduating in may, i’ve been thinking about how to preserve the materials i’ve collected throughout my degree. i plan to go through every canvas page and download all of my readings, papers, etc. and organize them into folders on google drive (or just my laptop if i have the storage). if harvard or any copyright people are reading this, i’m totally joking and would never store/distribute copyrighted materials :). but yeah, you could build an academic archive for your cool girl with a bunch of readings/papers that are curated to their intellectual interests. for example, if they’re really into gender studies, text me and i can provide an entire harvard degree’s worth of materials! this is a fun one because it’s (ideally) free (through your institution’s databases or using less-than-legal means) and can be gifted in creative ways (a hard drive, decorated disc, printed copies in bound books/binders, etc) and will give you so much to talk about and think through. this can also apply to building a creative archive, in which you collect artistic/creative materials and inspiration for your cool girl to peruse and to hopefully contribute their own art!
polyester zine: this is another gifted subscription type of thing, but this time for a very specific publication. polyester zine is a great publication that focuses on cultural/media analysis through an intersectional political lens. that sounds boring, but they write about people like trisha paytas and ethel cain and more, analyzing their contributions to the zeitgeist and culture as a whole. they also have video/audio/photography content in addition to their written publication and sell physical copies of their zine. their membership is pretty inexpensive and gives you access to a weekly newsletter, all their published online materials (podcast included), and zines sent to you for free! they also have tiered membership ranging from 2.50 to 15 pounds a month (yes they’re British but i promise still cool). their gifted subscription option is at the bottom of their membership page here if you wanna check it out!
a personalized library: ok this sounds way harder than it is, but trust me. if you or your cool girl use apple products, this will definitely be easier, but you can basically download books illegally off lib-gen and other such places, compiling them into a little virtual library in ibooks. it’s pretty easy to figure out and you can even make a little ibooks file of your own if you want to include a virtual card, note, or introduction to the library/collection you built for them!
a very beautiful notebook/journal with one filled-out page: every esoteric cool girl loves a little journal, but if they’re anything like me they hate to make the decision to officially begin filling it. what i recommend is buying/making a lovely little journal or notebook fit to your cool girl’s aesthetic/needs and filling at least one page. ideally, you can add mixed-media elements to the first page or two that you fill out, that way the “perfection” of the notebook isn’t an obstacle to its use. your page can be a note to the recipient, a collage, photos of you together, fabrics/textures they might like, or so much more!
makeup/beauty
the best cool-toned contour i can find: as you probably know, i’m incredibly pale. like the kind of pale that gets commented on a lot, often by strangers in public. thus, i have not been able to find a contour product that doesn’t look strangely orange/bronze on me. i’m not a bronzer girl, but i love the sculpting effect of contour and have finally found one that works for me. it’s a hit to the wallet for a makeup product, but it’s honestly very much worth it and might change the life of the palest person you know. the inner glow creme pigment in intuition by rituel de fille is the perfect cool-toned contour and retails at a steep $32, but complete with a card and cute little box it could make a lovely holiday gift.
cool ass makeup from isamaya beauty: ok so this is definitely a budget-killer, but isamaya beauty is making the coolest grungy girl makeup that i’ve seen recently. i haven’t personally had the opportunity to try any of their products, but i’ve been eyeing the industrial pigments palette since the first one came out, and they’re now on volume 2. from what i’ve seen, this makeup is incredibly high quality and has really creative colors, packaging, and overall aesthetic. their lip products and accessories seem to hit around the $30 mark, but palettes and eye makeup are priced between $60-$120, so this is a very budget-contingent gift choice. i personally love their industrial collection, especially the pigments and mascara.
revitalash: the girlies have been loving lash serum for a number of years now, but a favorite seems to be emerging. revitalash is apparently one of the most effective lash serums on the market and tends to have fewer side effects/issues than other lash serums since it isn’t applied to your lash line (avoiding skin contact). though i haven’t tried it yet (it’s pretty pricey), i imagine that most lash girls would love to receive a fancy serum for the holidays. so, if your cool girl is always wearing mascara, extensions, falsies, or getting lash lifts, revitalash may be the way to go! the smallest size on their website is priced at $60, with larger sizes up to $150.
this lip stain: this is an entirely self-informed gift suggestion, but i’ve been completely obsessed with this colourpop lip stain for months. i’ve tried a number of random lip stains, and i even splurged on the fenty one once, but this lip stain is insanely pigmented, gorgeous, and lasts ages through eating/drinking/kissing, and whatever you’re up to ;). it’s called the fresh kiss glossy lip stain, and i use the color ‘berry ripe’. to apply, i usually put on a thick coat right at the beginning of my makeup and dab with a tissue at the end, finishing with liner, lipstick, chapstick, or whatever i’m feeling.
the It Girl lipstick: you know what i’m about to say. i know, i know, no one has shut up about clinique’s barely there lipstick in black honey for YEARS. but, they’re right. i tried dupes of this lipstick before eventually caving and buying it (on sale, since ulta stays putting it on sale), and it’s as good if not better than the hype. to be fair, i layer it on top of lip stain, but it does absolute wonders to create a 90s berry lip and can lean more maroon or more brown depending on how you apply it/layer it. i recommend waiting for an ulta sale (they had them buy one get one over the summer) and copping this amazing lipstick. my only conceivable problem with this product is, strangely, the length of the tube. this lipstick must be rolled all the way back into the tube before closing, since it closes right on top of the metal. this is. small pet peeve, but i wish i had known before i first closed it and lost the tip of the bullet! so now you know.
a bomb eyelash curler: i’m a big lashes girl, but i don’t use falsies/extensions because i’m broke and uncoordinated. thus, eyelash curlers are hugely important to me. this one from kaasage has been my favorite for about a year and a half now, and it hasn’t worn out pretty much at all. i’ve replaced the pad once, but since it came with five it didn’t bother me a bit. i heat it up with a lighter before using and it works like a dream, especially with waterproof mascara. it’s available on amazon, but i don’t fuck with them, so here’s a link to it from their website for only a dollar more!
music
music photo album: if your cool girl goes to a bunch of concerts (especially if you’ve gone together), it would be sick to give them a music-themed photo album including both pictures of them at concerts and high-quality photos from the shows themselves. it would also be cool to give them a photo album/collage notebook of a bunch of their favorite lyrics, album covers, band posters, merch designs, and other musical aesthetics. this can include pasted-in lyric booklets, CDs or pieces of them, and so much more cool shit! this is another free or nearly-free gift idea, unless you want to add in vintage cds/vinyl or something signed!
annotated song lyrics+ playlist: making someone a playlist is so old news UNTIL you design a little companion guide to make it personal! my vision is: make a playlist for/about your cool girl, print all the lyrics to all the songs, bind them or put them into a notebook/folder, and annotate/decorate the lyrics with cute notes/references to why the songs remind you of them! this is a lovely, cost-free, creative way to show your cool girl your love, especially since playlist-making has become less of an artistic expression and more of a talking-stage prereq.
unreleased song cd/MP3 player: if your cool girl is into music, they probably have at least one or two favorite artists with extensive libraries of unreleased songs. though they may already be on that wave using SoundCloud or niche online forums, it could be a lovely and thoughtful gift to buy an old mp3 player or blank cd/walkman and preload it with unreleased songs from their favorite artists. if you use a cd/walkman, including a custom tracklist and/or lyric booklet could be a great personal touch. with an mp3 player, find one that fits their aesthetic (or the mp3 they had as a kid) and include a charm and some wired earbuds for an immersive experience. this can be a fun, portable way for your cool girl to listen to their favorite music without having to pay any premium subscriptions or bring their phone with them! my childhood mp3 was the creative zen mozaic, with some going for about $40 on eBay now.
useful stuff/elevated ways to give gift cards/cash
multicolored socks: if your cool girl is a fashion girlie, they probably know the importance or socks and use them frequently as an outfit-elevating feature. i personally love including colored socks in my outfits, and solid color socks (especially nice ones) are hard to find in larger packs. you can often find socks secondhand (it’s not gross, most of the time they’re nwt) and in regular stores, so consider getting your cool girl a few fun pairs of socks in colors you see them wear the most often!
a funded thrift trip: if you and the cool girl are really close, this gift is a great way to plan an activity to do together AND a way to get them something material. take them on a fully funded thrifting trip for a full day in which you provide transportation, food and funding for anything they wanna get from various thrift stores! of course, this might have to operate under a predetermined budget, but as long as you’re going to real thrifts and not boutique/consignment places, the prices shouldn’t be too severe. plus, this is a nice way to spend a day together, eat, shop, and even have a fitting room fashion show! this could also be done with a grocery trip because we’re all trying to eat out here.
sad lamp: it is December. which means the sun sets at like four o fucking clock and everyone is depressed. especially cool girls. a sad lamp is a great way to gift the saddest cool girl you know some bonus sunshine during the dark months. they’re not too expensive ($10-$40) and are available a bunch of places, so this is a convenient and useful gift that won’t take too much research/creativity. according to nymag, these are the best ones!
water bottle tablets: we’ve all seen the PSAs for the girlies to wash their emotional support water bottles, but it’s really hard to do and even harder to remember. a little pack of water bottle tablets is useful, makes the process easier, and might save miss thing some tummy issues. this is the perfect useful gift for the messiest bitch you know and her inevitably pastel metal bottle.
CVS carepass: this might just be for my college/city girlies, but CVS carepass has genuinely saved me hundreds of dollars and literally pays for itself since every month you get a $10 off coupon (while paying a $5 membership). is CVS making money off of this? yes. are they price gouging in order to sustain their “discounts”? absolutely. is it still nice to pay $20 instead of $45 every once in a while? extremely. so buy it. or don’t. fuck CVS
a custom style bundle: ok i know this sounds silly but if you like thrifting and have a sense of style, making your cool girl a custom style bundle would go unbelievably hard. this might require some pinterest stalking, attention to detail, and guessing/snooping someone’s sizing, but if you pull it off, they might cry tears of joy. if you don’t want to get them size-specific clothes (like anything you can’t guesstimate ie pants, shoes, dresses, etc.) this could be done with accessories, bags, outerwear, oversized clothes, and other cool shit that could only be curated by searching for this person’s tastes. it’s a super flattering, thoughtful, and pretty inexpensive gift that goes arguably hard as fuck.
*if you’ve read to the end of this, thank you so much i am so grateful for your support!! if you still haven’t subscribed, uhhh… do that? why haven’t you done that? seems obvious. anyway… have a great holiday season and eat bitches up*