HOLIDAY SHOP LIKE A PRO.

The holidays are approaching so quickly that it feels like we barely have time left to buy presents. Feeling overwhelmed? Well, you’re in luck. We tapped Jen Reed (she/her), shopping expert and founder of The Sister Studio and Life in Lilac, to help us with some last-minute shopping. 🛍️

Hi Jen! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I grew my following by sharing affordable, attainable fashion and home finds when, at the time, the industry was full of people sharing high-end unattainable luxuries. I just started sharing items that I found, loved, and could actually afford, and started growing the community that I have today. I put my audience first always—it’s so important to me to find products that I truly love and only share items that I truly feel are worth spending money on. I’m proud of the community I’ve built on Instagram over the years—they’re some of the kindest, most incredible women and chatting with people in my DMs is a highlight of my day.

You’re quite the shopping expert. How do you pick which products to share with your audience?
I like to say that if I wouldn’t share an item with my mom or my sisters, I wouldn’t want to share it with my community, so I’m meticulous about what I share. I probably spend way too much time browsing the internet each week to find items that look luxe for less, then order what I fall in love with. If I’m happy with the quality after it comes in, then it passes the test and I’ll also share it on IG. Most of the time I find myself looking for items that I’m missing in my own wardrobe, or searching for things that I talked about with my girlfriends.

With the holidays coming up, are you noticing any gifting trends?
Outside of gifting trending items, like the wildly popular UGG Ultra Minis, I’m definitely seeing people gravitating towards anything personalized. I’ve shared the same ring dish from Etsy for several years now, as well as custom kitchen towels. Items like these are always well received. Anytime you can put extra thought into a gift, it goes a long way!

And for all the procrastinators out there, what are a few last-minute gift ideas?
I love putting together a gift set of my own for people. You could pair an eye mask (who doesn’t need a little depuffing over the holidays?!) with a masking set and lip oil for the beauty lover. For the homebody, I think a set of pajamas, like a pair from J.Crew, is perfect for the holidays. For the woman who has everything, a perfume sampler set like the one from Life in Lilac is such a thoughtful gift, because she’ll get to test out different scents. Plus, they’re great for travel. I would also go with something sentimental, like a personalized photo album. I’ve never seen one that looks this chic—it’s pretty, unique, and matches different decor styles. You can even pair it with an instant camera to easily create and capture moments to add to the book.