Here is this year's 'miscellaneous' gift selection (basically, things that don't fit anywhere else). We've got solid perfumes, tea and whatnot.
From French niche line Téo Cabanel comes this pomander strung on a ribbon, which you can use to wear your favorite scent: "Treading the line between an elegant piece of jewelry and a sensual potion which accompany you throughout the day, Teo Cabanel's pomender brings a new dimension to the art of wearing perfume. Let us make you discover a contemporary approach to the well-known Renaissance pomender of yesteryear that were inlaid with gold, pearls and precious stones." €39 at Téo Cabanel.
By Kilian's new scented paperweights: "a heavy piece of black lacquered wood and metal that contains a large piece of white scented ceramic." $155 each, available in Song of Songs (oud and amber), Noir Ottoman (rose, woods and musk), Loukoum (vanilla, sugar and orange blossom) or French Boudoir (tuberose). At Saks Fifth Avenue.
Aftelier's latest (delicious!) tea: Organic Black Tea Orange & Cardamom. "This delicious full-bodied tea is flavored with Aftelier Chef's Essences: the perfect marriage of mouth-watering blood orange and the spicy warmth of cardamom. Organic Red Pearls Black Tea, a rare tea from Fujian, is fully-oxidized Mao Feng tea leaves that have been rolled into small black pearls. They are then pan-fired where they develop a burnished sheen, toasty caramel-like aroma, and spicy, assertive -- yet wonderfully sweet -- flavor." $20 for a 30g tin at Aftelier.
From Hanes, cotton/poly pajama pants with a perfume bottle print. Currently $19 at Amazon.
A "State of Grace" trio of solids from Philosophy, with 6.5g twist-ups of Amazing Grace, Pure Grace and Living Grace. Currently $68 at QVC.
The 2015 version of Kusmi's limited edition holiday tea, Tsarevna. "Kusmi Tea celebrates that 19th century tradition by introducing Tsarevna, a Christmas tea inspired by that era; a Russian blend of black tea, spices and orange. This year, Tsarevna returns in a limited edition with new colors and a never seen packaging. With its imperial blue and silver glitter, Tsarevna takes you once again in its enchanting universe at the heart of the magic of Russian festivities." $29.90 at Kusmi USA.
What every perfumista needs: a perfume bottle coin bank. "Written in French, our Parfum Bottle Coin Bank makes for a chic way to collect your coins. Detailed in the fashion of an elegant, clean lined perfume bottle makes it all the more stylish of a bank to display. Crafted of ceramic, our coin bank is finished with a metallic gold hue, with the coin slot on the bottle stopper and opening at the bottom that closes with a rubber stopper." $19.95 at ZGallerie.
Solid perfumes in floral notes (lavender, verbena and jasmine) from Soap & Paper Company, $24.95 each at Vermont Country Store.
well, we all need to win the lottery. Would love one or more of those paperweights. I like the Tsarevna packaging–they may reel me in with that tin. Still annoyed they were out of Russian Morning on cyber Mon.
I would buy that Kusmi in a second, but I’m honestly only about halfway through last year’s tin of Tsarevna. I only reach for it in cold weather, and even then, not every day.
Mostly I am annoyed that they constantly advertise that they have refills for the tins, but the refills are ALWAYS out of stock in the US. I hate buying more tins and throwing them away, it’s so wasteful! But I do like the teas. And have never even tried Russian Morning!
Fortunately we always seem to have refill stock available in Montreal. I just bought the Tsarevna, it is fruitier than I expected. I cut it with straight Ceylon as otherwise it can be a bit strong.
That perfume bottle bank should have a slot for $20 bills…
HA, so true.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
My dad told me to buy myself a Christmas gift (around 60$) and he’ll pay me back. That’s the magic of Christmas in my family! I chose that stunning Kusmi tin + a bottle of Dr. Hauschka Warming Spurce bath essence. Cannot wait for the 25th!
Oh how lovely! I hope you will report back on Spruce bath essence, that sounds wonderful.
I love those pyjama pants!
Yes, I love the PJ’s too! Great idea and I’m sending the link to santa asap.
They are cute 🙂
The paperweights sound fun but God knows when I would ever need one! I see hundreds of them at antique stores and wonder who ends up buying them.
That Aftelier tea sounds heavenly. I only drink unflavored teas and it sounds incredible. Have you tried it Robin?
Yes, I have a little sample and I am rationing it 🙂 And have already sent a few tins as gifts.
I love flavored teas — by my standards, this is subtle enough not to overpower the tea, but still, enough flavor to enjoy the orange and cardamom. And it is expensive, but the vast majority of flavored teas use synthetic flavorings.
She is also still making the Rose Ginger that I reviewed here:
https://freebox.it.com/2011/07/15/two-teas-from-aftelier-with-a-quick-aside-about-rococo-floral-chocolates/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Those are oolongs and re-steep nicely. I have not tried re-steeping this one but I will.
I ordered that Frankincense Oolong Tea after your review and really liked it.
Oh good!
Oooh want – Atelier Tea, Kusmi Tea, Perfume bottle pyjama pants AND the Perfume coin bank (checking on the size to see if I can manage with only spending what can fit inside…probably not is what I’m thinking).
Yah…they have not yet really made a PERFUMISTA perfume bank.