Fantastical fragrances, twinkling makeup palettes and powders and glow-giving skincare elixirs are always welcome under the tree. It’s a time when the most special, vanity-worthy beauty treats shine brightest, and cause the most squeals upon unwrapping. Here, luxe treats worth gifting these holidays.
Heaven scent
Perfume is a sophisticated, evocative, personal present. Here are some of the loveliest.
A chypre perfume is, by definition, a mysterious study in contrasts. It’s fresh yet woody, strong and soft, demure but assertive. And while all other fragrance categories describe a type of scent, like floral or gourmand, chypre is an accord, or group of notes, comprising citrus top notes, a floral heart and a mossy base. So for Hermès’s first ever chypre fragrance, in-house perfumer Christine Nagel leaned into its incongruities, blending tradition with innovation.
Nagel took nearly 10 years to bring the scent to life. Cozy oakwood and sultry patchouli are complemented with rich butterfly lily, instead of the rose that punctuates traditional chypre scents. Nagel added a fantastical embellishment: a note called miracle berry, which sounds plucked straight from a fairy tale; it contains a protein called miraculin that makes everything sour taste sweet.
Despite its whimsical backstory, this elegant scent isn’t for kids. “A chypre is an instinctively attractive scent, ready to be drawn like a magnet to the skin,” says Nagel. It’s true: The poetry of this type of fragrance is revealed when it touches a wearer’s peau and evolves over time, much like the patina of the house’s Barenia leather the parfum is named after.
The discreetly studded flacon is a little tough, no? It’s Hermès’s first translation of its classic Collier de Chien bracelet into a perfume bottle, and the result is both au courant and iconic. It’s sure to never blend into the woodwork.
Hansel or Gretel can wear this intense, earthy unisex cologne inspired by Japanese forest bathing, with cedar and hinoki woods rounded out with cinnamon, clove and tonka bean. They’ll soak up the compliments.
Black coffee, tonka bean and cedarwood merge in this textured fragrance that was inspired by tree bark and smells like you’ve just bitten into a slab of opera cake.
The beloved minimalist makeup brand now makes perfume and this modernist flacon is quiet luxury in a bottle. The sophisticated scent starts clean, opens with a floral centre and finishes with a vanilla musk dry-down.
This woody perfume from niche fragrance brand L’Artisan Parfumeur blends warm notes of vetiver, sweet buckwheat and rich cedar into a spicy brew that’ll impress the scent snob on your list. If you nose, you nose.
This enchanting gourmand scent, whipped up with vanilla bourbon, cinnamon butter and white sandalwood, will satisfy a sweet tooth better than a plate of snickerdoodles.
First frost
Enchant your nearest or dearest with a gleam-inducing makeup and skincare.
It’s become a cliché to say that a highlighter gives a “lit from within” glow, but Clé de Peau Beauté’s Luminizing Face Enhancer really does just that. It imparts the incandescent shimmer of a fresh snowfall, offering an instant glow-up. No magical powers here, just opal powder to reflect light and argan oil for a kiss of moisture.
Sliding an exquisite compact like this objet d’art out of one’s minaudiere and opening it to discreetly check your lipstick, left on the rim of a Champagne flute or a canapé napkin, is a moment rather than a task. And since nowhere savours such intentional moments of pleasure in life quite like Paris, Clé de Peau Beauté’s limited-edition City of Dreamlight Collection uses the City of Light as its backdrop and inspiration.
Artist Jean Dalin’s detailed illustrations adorn everything from a serum bottle to a bullet of lipstick, and tell a grand tale. We follow a plucky heroine rediscovering life’s joys, guided around Paris by the mythical Pegasus. For the Luminizing Face Enhancer leg of her journey, our gal freezes the surface of a river using only her imagination, throws on some skates and glides across the ice, leaving a beautiful design in her wake. Now that’s a Snow Queen.
Like tinsel for your pout, this hyper-pigmented longwear liquid lipstick magically takes on a glittery finish when lips are pressed together. Frost yourself!
Spice up a stocking with a beauty bauble from Victoria Beckham Beauty, now exclusively sold in Canada at the Montreal beauty mecca, Rennai. This hero highlighter stick imparts a dewy slick without a hint of glitter.
Glossier’s It girl scent You is now a lush body cream whipped out of shea butter and jojoba oils that moisturize deeply. Housed in a chic red glass tub, it’ll bring a bit of subtle holiday cheer to the vanity.
Come for the jazzy limited-edition gold compact, stay for the assortment of luminous powders made for highlighting, sculpting and blushing the entire face. This is poised to be a holiday party circuit hero.
This splurge-y eye cream’s science-backed formula addresses drooping eyelids, puffiness and dark circles (i.e. the unholy trinity of holiday fatigue). It comes with a massage tool that smooths and stimulates tired skin around the eyes.
Photography: Katherine Holland. Off-figure stylist: Erica Morga/Cadre Artists.
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