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12 best Singles Day gifts to celebrate being self-partnered just like Emma Watson
If it's good enough for her, then it's good enough for us
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Celebrating singledom has never been more popular, with the likes of Emma Watson recently saying she’s extremely happy being single, or “self-partnered” as she calls it. But did you know there is a yearly event to commemorate it too?
What started as an anti-Valentines celebration by a group of students at a university in China in the early Nineties, has now turned into the world’s biggest online shopping sale: Singles Day.
It’s estimated to be about four times as large as Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, with last year’s event making $24bn (£18.6bn) in just 24 hours.
The Singles Day shopping event began in 2009, when China's second richest man, Jack Ma, who founded Alibaba – the country’s version of Amazon – commodified the day.
The event is celebrated on 11 November every year because the number one symbolises a single person, and the 11th day of the 11th month written out numerically shows four single “sticks”.
It’s still in its early days in the UK, and Alibaba is where most of the sales take place, along with other Chinese giant websites. But brands here are starting to join in too.
We're all for treating ourselves every day of the week, not just once a year, but Singles Day gives you an extra excuse to celebrate yourself, which is something many of us neglect to do.
For our roundup, we looked for high end, quality items that made us feel good. Some of them are expensive, but are worth the splurge, from brands we know and love.
You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Foreo luna 3 facial cleansing brush: £169, Look Fantastic
You’ve probably seen these alien-looking devices around and wondered what on earth it does. Essentially, this is your new self-care best friend. Sure, we never thought we needed a facial cleansing brush-turned-massager in our lives, but now we can’t live without it.
This little tool syncs up via Bluetooth with an app on your phone that offers customisable facials, with four massage treatments and 16 different pulsation intensities depending on what kind of cleanse you’re after. The silicone bristles deep cleanse your skin while massaging.
According to the Swedish wellbeing brand, the facial massage helps to reduce excess fluid, reduce puffiness, contour your jaw and helps your skincare products absorb easier. These are big claims, but our jawline genuinely felt more contoured after a few days use, our face was less puffy and our skin felt smooth and squeaky clean.
There are three different versions to choose from based on your skin type, our sensitive skinned tester noticed that the brush helped with acne scarring. An expensive treat but a genuine investment for your skincare regime.
Victoria Beckham smoky eye brick satin matte eyeshadow in tweed: £48, Victoria Beckham
With its beautiful tortoiseshell-look packaging that comes in a branded cotton, reusable bag, there’s no denying this is absolute luxe. But what else would we expect from Victoria Beckham’s new beauty range? Yes, this may be small when it comes to eye palettes – but it is perfectly formed – and pretty expensive considering its size, but we know you’ll proudly display it on your dresser.
We especially like that all the products are cruelty free, as well as safe for sensitive skin. Aside from how it looks, the palette is without doubt the most silky smooth eyeshadow we’ve ever tested, which glides on. It comes in four different combinations, and we tested the tweed palette. It's made up of a deep beige, a chocolate brown, a deep plum and a clay red colour and there’s useful tutorials on the VB Beauty website too so you can make the most of the colours. Thanks hun.
Neom Organics real luxury intensive skin treatment candle: £36, Look Fantastic
Baths just got a whole lot more boujee with this skincare candle from Neom, which fills your bathroom with the fragrance of 24 essentials oils before doubling up as a gorgeous body oil. Burn the candle for half an hour while you bathe to enjoy scents of lavender, rosewood and jasmine, then blow the flame out and wait for two minutes to allow the oil inside to cool.
After your bath, drizzle the warm oil all over your body for an intense moisturiser. It contains cocoa butter, soybean oil and almond oil for hydrating benefits, our tester suffers with eczema and found it really helps soothe and moisturise skin, without any irritation. We love a multi tasking product and this feels like a real treat come bath time.
Los Objectos Decorativos mauve seaside shell vase: £76, Los Objectos Decorativos
Made using a combination of 3D modelling and hand crafted clay in Barcelona, this gorgeous matt-finish shell-shaped vase looks fab on a desk or mantle piece with a small bunch of dried flowers and grasses, making it an easy and low maintenance display. At the back is a small holder for the flowers, which is only about 10cm wide and perfect for a handful of artfully arranged stems. The shell design also comes in a cute trinket box too. Available in four colours including ecru, yellow, mauve and amber. H18cm x W20cm x D7.5cm
Byredo bal d'Afrique eau de parfum, 50ml: £110, Space NK
Alongside the cult-favourite scent gypsy water, bal d’Afrique is one of Byredo’s best-sellers and it’s easy to see, or smell, why. Every Byredo scent has a story to tell, and bal d’Afrique is inspired by Paris in the 1920s and its “infatuation with African culture, art, music and dance”. The unisex fragrance is warm and romantic, with top notes of African marigold, neroli and bergamot, and musky undertones of black amber and Moroccan cedar wood. This is a firm favourite for a reason, we can’t get enough of it and reckon if you’re looking to leave single life any time soon, it will definitely help attract a new romance.
Riley Studio grey cashmere scarf: £145, Riley Studio
Cashmere is the ultimate gift, so treat yourself to this huge scarf from Riley Studio, which is known for its green credentials which it plans to create a more circular economy within fashion and its gender neutral collections. The scarf is made from recycled cashmere, known as Re.Verso, so it has a much smaller footprint than a scarf made from virgin materials. It’s large and super cosy, although it’s not the softest cashmere we’ve ever tested, but we think the fact it’s made with recycled materials instead of using new outweighs this.
Temple Spa quietude mist, 100ml: £25, Temple Spa
Whenever anything claims to be a spa in a bottle, we’re immediately sceptical. But this calming mist by Temple Spa really does make you feel immediately relaxed after spritzing. Designed to help you sleep with notes of cedar wood, lavender, clove, patchouli, frankincense and chamomile, we found this just as useful during a stressful moment in the office as we did just before bed time. Spray a few spritzes at work each day and all your colleagues will thank you for it. The most relaxing scent we can’t get enough of.
Whistles limited edition corduroy jumpsuit: £131.15, Whistles
Seventies style is very much in, and teamed with this season’s green – a rich and gorgeous jade – chunky cord and gold zip detail and we think you’ve got the jumpsuit of dreams. This statement piece is part of the brand’s limited edition collection, so you won’t have the Zara white dress problem, that's for sure. It’s super comfy and we love the flared bottoms and the fitted band across the waist which gives the legs a real elongated look. We found its fit to be true to size, too. Pair it with white trainers in the day, or pointy heeled boots for a more dressed up look
Ole Henriksen transform plus PHAT glow facial, 50ml: £42, Boots
Founders of the skincare products currently dominating our instagram feed, Danish brand Ole Henriksen re-launched in the UK this year after an 18 month disappearance, with a mammoth 10,000-person waiting list for the launch of its new range. Thankfully, this face mask lives up to the hype.
Alpha hydroxy acids, known commonly as AHAs, are a buzz ingredient in skincare right now, as they work to remove dead skin cells which promotes new, evenly pigmented cells to generate in their place, giving you smoother, illuminated skin.
But AHAs aren’t ideal for sensitive skin types, which is where this face mask really comes into play. It uses PHAs, or polyhydroxy acids, a gentler alternative to AHAs which do the same job without irritating the skin. Our tester has sensitive skin and found this a far better option than other chemically-led skincare products, the thick pink mask is easy to apply and left her skin feeling deeply cleansed, bright and smooth. It helped with hyperpigmentation without any inflammation. A must-have for sensitive skin types.
Missoma Lucy Williams 18ct gold plated t bar chain necklace: £215, Missoma
When it comes to necklaces and earrings, this brand really shook up the market when it collaborated with influencer Lucy Williams and its gold Roman coin-look necklace was seen on necks everywhere on instagram and IRL. Now we’ve moved on to t bar necklaces, and we love this chunky 18ct gold plated one which sits nicely just below the collarbone and is 50cm long. It was inspired by one of Lucy’s mother’s antique necklaces. Our favourite thing is the large and unusual square shaped t bar clasp. There’s also a matching bracelet in the range too.
Slip silk eye mask: £50, Cult Beauty
We all know that not getting enough sleep can speed up the ageing process, but tossing and turning at night can also cause fine lines and wrinkles, with the friction of your pillow stretching and tugging on the delicate skin around your eyes. This eye mask, made from 100 per cent mulberry silk, helps protect the delicate skin around your peepers from any extra ageing damage, as it promotes uninterrupted sleep. Silk fibres are less absorbent than many other fibres, meaning this face mask won’t soak up all of your expensive skin and hair products that you applied before bed. The mask feels plush, soft and comfortable to wear and didn’t fall off in the night – an annoyance we’ve experienced with other masks.
Diptyque baies scented candle, 190g: £47, Space NK
A best-seller from the French perfume house, baies is one of Diptque’s sweeter scents but still packs a punch, in the best way. Both fruity and floral with notes of Bulgarian rose and blackcurrant leaves, this is less heady than other Diptyque scents but still fills the room for hours even after you blow the flame out. These candles scream luxury and last for so long, and considering this scent is designed to “help elevate your mood” it’s a no brainer.
The verdict: Singles Day gifts
The Foreo facial cleansing brush is our winner, it's self care at its finest and made real improvements to our skin. We also love the Whisltes courduroy jumpsuit for its Seventies vibes and really flattering fit.