On the Money

If you’re at all like me, you’ll probably make at least a few trips to Target this holiday season. But before you stock up on toys, ornaments, or wrapping paper, check out Target’s GiftCoins. Sold in sets of five, each coin comes pre-loaded with $5. And through December 24, Target will donate $2 from every GiftCoins purchase to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, for a maximum donation of $750,000. So hand them out to your kid’s teachers, stuff them in some stockings, or use them to make your own holiday purchases. If you’re going to spend the money there anyway (and come on, you know you are), you might as well have some of it go to a good cause.

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Serenity Now

The scent of lavender has long been known for its calming effect, something we all could probably benefit from these days, thanks to the onslaught of bad news that keeps coming our way. So add some tranquility to the lives of your friends and family with these stylish lavender sachets ($15 for a set of three) from Henry Road, a Los Angeles–based studio and store that features colorful textiles by designer Paula Smail along with an eclectic assortment of home decor and gifts. Proceeds from their sale go to SOS Children’s Villages, an international organization that helps provide loving and stable homes for children who have lost their parents or who can no longer live with them.

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Lend a Hand

Dry, chapped hands are something that many of us must contend with during the winter months. The Body Shop’s Soft Hands, Kind Heart Hand Cream ($10) can not only provide some relief on that front but can also help solve a much bigger problem—child exploitation. Around $6 from every purchase goes to ECPAT-USA, which works to end child prostitution and trafficking, something that affects about 1.8 million children and young people around the world each year. It’s a simple way to help address a very complicated issue.

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Face Value

Inner beauty is supposed to be what really matters, right? Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot better on the inside when I look good on the outside too. Some days, that seems like an insurmountable challenge, but maybe the Wish Holiday Collection from Smashbox Cosmetics can help. Featuring full- and travel-size versions of products like Photo Finish Primer (to “create a perfect canvas for foundation application”) and Lip Enhancing Gloss (winner of Allure’s Editor’s Choice Award for Best Lip Gloss), it offers a vanity’s worth of makeup choices to solve seemingly any beauty quandary. And for every purchase from the collection, Smashbox will donate $1 to the Children’s Miracle Network, which raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals. Seems like a good reason to test the effects of some new eyeshadow or mascara.

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