Posted by Robin
on
9 December 2011
Our series of holiday gift posts continues today with some gift ideas for the men, although bear in mind that all of the holiday gift posts have at least one or two masculine and/or unisex items, and for that matter, there are plenty of items below that women might want.
If you missed them, here are links to part 1 (scented body products), part 2 (travel sizes & coffrets), part 3 (more travel sizes & coffrets) and part 4 (home fragrance). Coming up next: solid perfumes.
From Odin, candles in their four unisex fragrances (Sunda, Owari, Century or Petrana). $65 each at Barneys…
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Posted by Robin
on
6 December 2011
Our series of holiday gift posts continues; today we’re covering home fragrances of all sorts. If you missed them, here are links to part 1 (scented body products), part 2 (travel sizes & coffrets) and part 3 (more travel sizes & coffrets). Coming up next: men’s fragrances.
The 2011 holiday collection from Diptyque: Epinette in green (“Echoing the aromatic freshness of its needles and the resinuous notes of its pine cones, the Spruce Tree candle promises a wintry runaway in the depths of the wood.”; in 3 sizes $32-$275) or Perdigone in red (“Concentrate of warm and fruity notes around a spiced plum that deliciously perfumes the house. Absolutely comforting in the depths of winter.”; in 2 sizes $32-68)…
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Posted by Kevin
on
22 December 2010
The holidays are about simple pleasures. I recently expressed that sentiment with a straight face to a friend — after shouting with glee: “Cire Trudon makes room sprays now!” My friend read the Cire Trudon Les Parfums d’Intérieur PR announcement and said: “I get the ‘pleasure’ part, Kevin, but what’s so ‘simple’ about a $142 room spray?” Fair enough.
Cire Trudon’s new room sprays come in its most popular candle fragrances: Roi Soleil, Spiritus Sancti, Abd El Kader, Ernesto, and Nazareth. Since one of my favorite churches, Santo Spirito in Florence, is thousands of miles away, I opted for the Cire Trudon fragrance that might help me conjure its atmosphere this Christmas (provided I close my eyes, get my imagination in high gear, and queue Monteverdi, Cavalli and Albinoni on the CD player); I chose Spiritus Sancti.
Spiritus Sancti smells like “classic” church incense…
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Posted by Robin
on
10 December 2010
More gift ideas for the 2010 holidays. This round is home fragrance (you can also find some home fragrance items in the earlier editions: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 and part 5). More to come!
From Fornasetti Profumi, the L’Ape scented candle with lid (above left), 300 g for $150, and the Pistola Incense box (above right), with 40 incense sticks in a wooden box with decorated ceramic burning tray, $220. Both items are in the Otto fragrance (thyme, lavender, orris, cedar, Tolu balsam, incense, birch/styrax and labdanum) and can be found at Ron Robinson…
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Posted by Kevin
on
25 November 2009
For me, Christmas should smell like my childhood holidays; it should smell like dessert. My family’s stove was in near-constant use from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day and at least half of its output was sweets. My grandmother, with her arms of steel (she kneaded dough twice a day — all year round — so we could have fresh bread for lunch and dinner), would mix, chop, shave, dice, grate, squeeze and roll her way through pounds of flour, sugar, butter, lard, chocolate, nuts, fruits and spices; her creations would scent the house. Whenever I smell molasses, allspice, nutmeg, or ginger, I think “Christmas!” It’s a wonder I’m not the size of a house since I spent my childhood feasting on cakes, puddings, pies, candy, cookies and jams. But as much as I love to gorge on (and smell) sweets, I dislike perfumes, candles and room sprays with a pronounced “dessert” theme. I’d much rather smell gingerbread baking in the oven than the scent of “gingerbread” emanating from a candle.
To fragrance my home during the holidays, I turn to another favorite category of “Christmas” scents: evergreens…
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