It’s that time of the year when our olfactory senses ready themselves for the onslaught of cinnamon, pine, nutmeg, and rich aromas of baking and cooking wafting from the kitchen and welcoming friends into our homes. Scents have the power to evoke memories and stir emotions — so it’s no wonder that fragrances are top sellers and top-of-mind gifting ideas for Christmas. More than just seasonal gifts, these perfumed potions are presented in creative, standout receptacles that are collectible works of art on their own. Many are even environmentally produced and packaged, so your feel-good factor lasts long after the lingering scents have faded. Here are our top picks to help you tick off your gift shopping list.
Bulgari Pour Homme EDT
Housed in the iconic flacon whose silhouette has remained unchanged since Thierry de Baschmakoff designed it in 1992 for Bulgari’s Eau Parfumeé au Thé Vert fragrance, Bulgari Pour Homme Eau de Toilette is a classy, harmonising scent developed by master perfumer Jacques Cavalier. Darjeeling tea and water lily top notes relax into soft amber and musk chords, with depths of guaiac wood and cardamom adding a lingering warmth.
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Carolina Herrera Good Girl Blush EDP
If sky-high heels scream party-ready, Carolina Herrera’s glamorous pink stiletto encasing its Good Girl Blush Eau de Parfum promises to send you teetering over the revelry edge. Sitting pretty atop your dresser is this empowering statement piece that releases the warm, womanly scents of double vanilla, peony, ylang ylang and rosewater, setting the stage (and your mood) for an evening of impossible fun.
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Cartier Pasha de Cartier Noir Absolu
Wearing Cartier never fails to make you feel luxurious. Now, with Pasha de Cartier — the maison’s first fragrance line to be reimagined with a reduced environment footprint — you can also feel as good as you smell. Cartier perfumer Mathilde Laurent introduced a daring cloud of charcoal and spicy burnt sugars to the Noir Absolu, creating a pure new fragrance with 100% plant-based alcohol and no colouring agents. The flacon’s glass weight has been reduced by 20% and is topped by a cap made of 80% recyclable aluminium. Most ingeniously, these beautiful bottles are entirely refillable.
Givenchy Gentleman Society EDP
A floral-woody composition created by perfumers Maïa Lernout and Karine Dubreuil, Givenchy Gentleman Society Eau de Parfum evokes edgy, sculptural masculinity. Its solid glass bottle with smooth, rounded edges is made with 15% recycled glass, housing an elixir made with the finest ingredients of traceable responsible origins. From Croatian juniper berries to organic Australian and Himalayan cedarwood and Madagascan vanilla, the scent’s fresh top notes give way to a warm, sensual base.
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Gucci Beauty Bloom EDP
A decidedly floral fragrance sending you into the midnight garden, Gucci Beauty Bloom Eau de Parfum distils the heady scents of familiar flowers such as orange blossom, jasmine and tuberose, anchoring their fleeting beauty with a base of patchouli essence and crystal moss. Blended by master perfumer Alberto Morillas, the fragrance is carried in a distinctively Gucci bottle.
Kenzo Flower by Kenzo L’Absolue EDP and Homme Marine EDT
Inspired by nature, these two iconic fragrances for him and her by Kenzo are proudly eco-friendly, from the essence of their scents to their packaging. Partnering flower grower Masami Charlotte Lavault who cares for her blooms from seed to bouquet, Kenzo created Flower by Kenzo L’Absolue Eau de Parfum. The fragrance explores the heart of the poppy flower, depicting a spicy and sophisticated facet with the Flower by Kenzo’s signature vanilla and white musk bouquet. For men, Kenzo Homme Marine harks at an oriental origin with its bamboo-shaped bottle and a solar woody marine scent. Comprising 95% ingredients of natural origin including calypsone, sandalwood, ylang-ylang and white musk, this expression of nature was concocted by perfumer Quentin Bisch. Both fragrances feature bottles made with at least 15% recycled glass, presented in boxes with cardboard from FSC-certified forests.
Lancome Idole EDP
Lancome’s newest scent for women begs to be touched — the ultra-slim, unadorned bottle with the proportions of a smartphone resembles a faceted jewel, its mesmerising pink liquid beckoning you to discover the elixir within. Designed by architect and industrial designer Chafik Gasmi, this flacon is one of the world’s slimmest perfume bottles and cocoons the refillable Idole fragrance created by three female perfumers from different continents: Shyamala Maisondieu from Asia, Nadege Le Garlantezec from Paris, and Adriana Medina from Columbia. As clean a fragrance as its bottle suggests, the Eau de Parfum evokes strength and femininity in its jasmine topnote, patchouli middle note and white chypre base.
Paco Rabanne 1 Million Royal
When it was launched 15 years ago, Paco Rabanne’s masculine 1 Million fragrance captured the imagination of fans with its bold woody spicy blend. This year, the maison launches the 1 Million Royal — a confident new fragrance that dares you to take new risks. Top notes of lavender settle into vibrant cedarwood and leave sensual notes of benzoin. Created responsibly by perfumers Quentin Bisch and Christopher Raynaud, 1 Million Royal is housed in a sleek metallic gold ingot, the perfect companion to Lady Million Royal, shaped like a faceted precious jewel. Crafted by expert noses Anne Flipo and Domitile Michalon-Bertier, the feminine fragrance features a white flower bouquet of jasmine sambac, tuberose and orange blossom, accented with addictive woods like patchouli and musk. Walk into its mist and you’ll emerge smelling like — you got it — a million bucks. Both fragrances have 79% of its ingredients from vegetal origin.
Paco Rabanne Fame EDP
Updated with a new design, Paco Rabanne’s classic Fame bottle is inspired by Rabanne’s legendary metallic details and 1969 bag — evoking seduction with its glossy black dress and champagne gold fragrance within. Crafted with sustainable ingredients ethically sourced
and harnessed with green extraction processes, the scent features a tailor-made jasmine triptyque: jasmine grandiflorum essence from Grasse, jasmine sambac absolute from India and jasmine grandiflorum absolute from Greece. All are extracted at low temperatures and distilled for only a short time to faithfully preserve the scent of the flower itself.
Mr Thompson is the guardian of Penhaligon’s Portraits Mansion; a reliable, steadfast character worthy of your trust. Opening with soft yet sparkling spices in lavendin, pink pepper and elemi, its scent leads to a heart of geranium, black pepper and orris, settling into a base of reassuring vanilla, velvety sesame seed and warm oakwood. Mr Thompson’s commanding presence draws your attention, but he reveals no secrets even as he stands as the elephant in the room.
