So you know who you want to be by your side on your big day, but now you have to ask them. Proposing to your bridesmaids is a great way to express that you genuinely want them to be a part of your wedding! Since you only get to do this once, you simply must get it right.

Googling "bridesmaid gifts" can be quite overwhelming. There are pages and pages of options, from gifts you can simply have shipped to your home to DIY gift ideas. It can be difficult to choose what to give your bridesmaids, especially if you know some 'maids better than others. Finding the gift that is thoughtful, useful, unique, and cute is stressful enough on it’s own, let alone when you’re deciding on something for an entire bridal party. Luckily, you've landed on the right page. When I was a bridesmaid, I would have died if I had gotten this gift: a skin care basket! 

The Best Bridesmaid Gift: the DIY Skin Care Basket

If you’re looking for a gift that really stands out, consider creating a skin care gift basket. Seriously, think about it. What’s a thoughtful product that can be used on the daily and is totally out-of-the-box (and still completely makes sense)? Trust me, I know your girls will love them! They are as practical as they are thoughtful, and it won't be hard to make them totally Instagrammable! 

Creating DIY skincare baskets as your bridesmaid gifts is the perfect way to tell your girls just how much you love them and can be as much or as little of a commitment as you pick. Not only that, but if all goes well, you’ll have beaming bridesmaids with beautiful skin (say that five times fast) on the day of your wedding. Convinced? That’s what I thought. 

The Materials

In order to make the perfect bridesmaid gift basket, you’ll need a few things, luckily most of which you can find at your local crafts store. 

Start with: 

• A small wicker basket
• Tissue paper (preferably in the colors of your wedding)
• Ribbon (same color rule applies)
• Glitter (if you’re feeling extra festive)
• A personalized card
• Embroidered wash cloth (optional)
• Skin care products of your choosing

When choosing which skincare products you want to include in the basket, you'll have a few decisions to make first. Decide if you’d like to personalize the kits by skin type or get everyone the same thing. This may depend on how big your party is and how well you know everyone. For instance, if you know your bestie has sensitive skin, but aren’t sure about your future sister-in-law, it might be safe to stick with sensitive-friendly products for the whole gang. Not sure where to start with skin care products? Let me give you a few tips on how to choose the best skin care products:

• Buy natural products. Natural products are less likely to cause hyper pigmentation and general irritation. 
• Read the ingredients. Look up the ingredients and make sure they won't cause harm! Here's a list of some natural ingredients that you definitely want to see in some of the products you buy for your 'maids:
• Coconut oil helps bring some major moisture to your face and also provides a protective layer to your skin--check out this cleanser!
• Rose-extract calms redness and soothes skin--check out this cleanser!
• Salicylic acid naturally zaps blemishes and exfoliates the skin, drawing out dirt and impurities from clogged pores--check out this toner!
• Hyaluronic acid gives your skin major moisture and locks it in, making your skin smooth and supple--check out this serum!
• Read reviews. Women love to help other women. Reading reviews often times will quickly tell you everything you need to know about a product. 
• Read some blog posts. I follow multitudes of various bloggers that write tons of posts about their new favorite skin care products, and I often end up becoming just as obsessed with those products. Bloggers make a living on giving suggestions and making recommendations; trust their intuition.

Building out different kits can be a lot of fun. Creating something flexible and fitting for your wedding schedule is just a plus. I would suggest buying your girls the skin care essentials, a cleanser and a moisturizer, as well as a bonus item. You can choose toners that help blemish-prone skin, eye creams that rejuvenate even the most tired eyes, zone in on serums that soothe stressed-out skin, or more! If you include masks, you could even turn your gift into a stay-at-home spa day with your girls! Because as we all know nothing bonds women together more quickly than mud masks and skin toners. Grab a bottle of wine and your favorite chick flicks, and enjoy a night with your best friends. 

No matter how you decide to decorate your basket, make sure you’re choosing skin care products that are free of harmful chemicals and will help your girls’ skin sing in the long run. 

Putting It Together

Whenever I tackle any DIY project, I turn to Pinterest for aesthetic inspiration. The key is to hone in on what you like in order to create a cohesive and cute gift.  

Also consider the theme of your wedding. If you’re leaning towards rustic-chic, swap some of the tissue paper out for fake daisies and skip out on the glitter. If you’re having a beach wedding, try to find a wooden box to fill with pebbles instead of a wicker basket.

Create these bridesmaid gifts with your girls' futures in mind: make them with things that your girls will be able to use again and again. Choose great skin care products that they won't be able to get enough of, and don't forget to put them in cute baskets or boxes that your girls will be able to use as decorations in their homes! 

To make your girls feel extra special, be willing to put in the little details that show you put work into their gift baskets. A great way to propose to your bridesmaids is to place cards in each basket to pop the big question: "Will you be my bridesmaid?" Not everyone can do fancy calligraphy, but you don't have to. You can find some cute paper, use a fancy font, and type the question out on a word document! The only thing left to do is press print and throw the card in with the basket. This bridesmaid gift makes proposing a breeze! 

It’s true that weddings can be stressful, but the right bridesmaids will be by your side the entire journey. Show them how much you love them with an extra special (and totally unique) gift in the form of a DIY skincare gift basket. The right basket will not only leave your girls smiling but will also help their skin be photo-ready for the wedding and beyond.