ÇaFleureBon Holiday Gift Guide 2020 illustration created for us by the brilliant Massimo Alfaioli
Black Friday seems to be hanging on, we hope you #shopsmall and tomorrow, November 29th, is Cyber Monday (which for many of us is really 365 days a year). If you are a regular reader of CaFleureBon you know I don’t believe in blind buying perfumes as a Holiday gift unless it is a much-wanted bottle and I have reservations even then. 2020 is different. With worldwide lockdowns, brick and mortar stores doors shuttered because of COVID-19, my way of thinking had to adapt to the times; samples are a great way to test fragrances you have read about and yes buy-blind. Times are tough for many consumers, for retailers and for small independent brands, so this year I encourage you to buy from and support small businesses. Each holiday gift I curated are from small independent fragrance companies.
Best Perfume Holiday Gifts That Aren’t Perfume
DSH Perfumes Aoud Blanc organic shea cream, is great to wear on those rare days you don’t feel like spritzing on perfume. This luxurious body cream hydrates as well as makes skin feel silky smooth, with a scent trail that lasts for 8 hours. It’s also beautiful to layer with many fragrances you already own. The taif rose and sandalwood along with the soft ‘white oud’ in Aoud Blanc is especially wonderful to bring a sense of luxury, as well as an open heart to the Holiday. 4.5 oz $45.00
Many fragrance companies have beautiful candles, but why not give or get a scented candle that soothes the soul for a Holiday Gift? MIZU Brand Palo Santo oil candle are hand poured by Mason Hainey, and sell out quickly. Palo Santo wood is said to ward off evil and induce a sense of tranquility. It may be a long winter staying home, so scent your atmosphere with a candle that doesn’t smell like a cupcake. Buy a few. 100% Natural / Sustainable-Harvested, 8 oz / up to 50 hour, American-Grown Soy Wax /$32 (15% site wide check it out until November 30, 2020).
It’s the everyday things that can sometimes surprise me with their fragrant twist. Providence Perfume Co A•POTH•A•CARE•TEA: Organic, Fair Trade Certified, Perfumed Loose Tea is one of those unexpected pleasures. Perfumer Charna Ethier offers a sampler set that includes all six perfumed teas specially packaged in tea test-“er” tubes. Orange Blossom Oolong Tea (a beautiful oolong with notes of neroli and orange) is particularly soothing and relaxing; each sip eases the day’s stress. 6 tea vials for $30
Let’s face it behind that mask and under those sweat pants … you aren’t getting any younger. Aftelier Organic skincare and body care from Mandy Aftel, THE QUEEN of GREEN will help you love the skin you’re in. Mandy created the elixirs and balms because she could no longer use commercial products. Each are a luxurious combination of fragrance and richly nourishing ingredients; leavimg a veil of fragrance on your skin or in your hair that mixes beautifully with your body chemistry while enhancing wellbeing. This is a custom set for this holiday gift guide and contains minis of Berry Cleansing Balm, Vetiver and Frankincense Face Elixir, Rose Face Elixir, Geranium Cleansing Oil, Ancient Resins Body Oil, Jasmine Face Elixir, Lavender Face Elixir.
I think I hear someone whispering but Michelyn, ÇaFleureBon is a perfume site, and you HAVE to put in perfume. You said you would, and I will…. so simmer down.
Fragrance A-J: Give your special someone, (and that might mean you) a holiday gift of a perfume from Ineke Ruhland of INeKe. One of the most talented indie perfumers on the planet, every perfumista I know loves at least two or three of her award-winning fragrances. The Deluxe Sample Collection includes seven of Ineke’s gorgeous perfumes from the powdery lilac of After My Own Heart to the newest Jaipur Chai, her first gourmand (reviewed by Lauryn here). Until midnight November 30, 2020, order a full size Ineke order any full-size fragrance and the sampler is added as a bonus. Need some help choosing, Read Sr. Editor Ida Meister’s The Three You Should be Wearing.
La Jardin Retrouve, the first “niche house” created by Yuri Gutsatz and now restored by Michel Gutsatz and his wife Clara Feder, transports you to one of seven magical scented gardens with their Nomad Collection of 7 perfumes – 3ml Mini Sprays housed in a unique textile pouch, from Arlette Gutsatz’s textile vast collection imported in the 1990s from India. Each set are turned into a pretty pouch and are made at the Medical and Social Institution for Protected Work that allows the integration of disabled people. $31.50.
One of the highlights of any fragrant year is a gift from DSH Perfumes. Loving Dawn Spencer Hurwitz believes in second chances, so she brought back the “Oud in Chiaroscuro” set from 2018 for Holiday 2020. They’re yin and yang, layer so beautifully (read Lauyrn’s review here.) The Oud in Chiaroscuro gift set evokes the two faces of oud: light and dark. 2 x10 ml EDPs $95 DSH Perfumes is running their annual CYBER MONDAY SALE 20 $ off sitewide + gift with purchase code: bright20 check out their Instagram page @dhsperfumes for more deals.
Bling in the Holiday Season with a gift that will melt her/his heart. The Strangelove Potion pendant with Meltmyheart is my pick for ME (hint hint). The dusty cocoa¸ buttery orris and ylang feels plush. My personal favorite of their collection, there’s a hint of oud and is my go-to “comfort scent” of late. Suspended on a gilded chain, the pendant allows you to keep the oil warm against your skin to maximize the power of each ingredient. $180 (From now through the end of November, strangelove is offering a fantastic 30% off promotion on orders over $200 on their website, http://strangelovenyc.com. Code: transported)
–Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief
This year every one of the 8 perfumed Holiday gifts in the two-part guide will be for draw and each brand is independently owned. More often than not, these are the folks that sponsor our numerous draws. NOT LARGE Corporations. Please support them this holiday season.
Worldwide: Le Jardin Retrouve Nomad Collection x7 ml in textile pouch
USA and Canada ONLY: Many Thanks to Ineke for her Deluxe Discovery Collection x7 and which bottle they would choose should they win. https://www.ineke.com/shop-perfumes
USA, UK and EU Only: Strangelove MeltmyHeart gold potion pendant
USA ONLY: She’s the QUEEN of green and super generous -Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes skincare and body set
USA ONLY: From the ever-generous Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Oud in Chiaroscuro holiday gift set
Worldwide: Aoud Blanc Shea butter cream (all natural)
CON USA ONLY: MIZU Brand Palo Santo oil candle (all natural)
CON USA ONLY: Providence Perfume Co. Organic Perfumed Teas – Providence Perfume Co.
To be eligible for our 2020 Holiday Gifts for perfume lovers Part 1 please leave a comment with someone in your life who really deserves a great holiday gift and why, where you live and as many of these eight you would hope to win and are eligible for. You must be a registered reader. You can do so here, Draw closes December 4, 2020.
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