Luxist Gift Guide 09: Holiday Fragrance Sets

by Ariston Anderson (RSS feed)
Dec 7th 2009 at 6:01AM

Luxury fragrances make some of the best holiday gifts. Finding a unique scent that becomes your lady's signature scent can become a gift you both enjoy throughout the year. We sniffed, viewed, and sampled some of the hottest new scents out this season, some traditonal, some non, and some simply divine, to bring you the absolute best gifts for the holiday to satisfy any variety of perfume wearing personalities.

Juliette Has a Gun

Romano Ricci knows a thing or two about perfume. The grandson of Robert Ricci (creator of the cult classic L'Air du Temps) established his own name after creating four killer scents under his Juliette Has a Gun line, the sexiest thing to come out of Paris in a long time. Created for a woman who wants a more masculine perfume (yes, please!), the newest bottle in the collection, Calamity J., is inspired by Calamity Jane, the first cowgirl to act, drink, and shoot like a man. This decadent scent, however, is made without the hesperide or dihydromircenol, which are present in 90% of men's fragrances. Actress Lou Doillon (below), daughter of singer Jane Birken and director Jacques Doillon, serves as the perfect muse for Calamity J, the perfect scent for a strong, fierce woman. Fans of the line will love Juliette's other decadent fragrances: Lady Vengeance is a sultry sweet musk made of Bulgarian Rose, Patchouli and Vanilla. For a lighter scent, Miss Charming has notes of Morrocan Rose, Musks and wild fruits, and Citizen Queen, which focuses on the delicate rose, harps on the elegant classicism of perfume of the 1950s. Juliette Has a Gun scents are truly deadly and not for the faint of heart. One spritz will make you swoon. Be careful because a little goes a long way.

Available from Henri Bendel, Studio Beauty Mix stores, and beautyhabit.com.

Van Cleef & Arpels Feerie Pure Perfume

When it comes to presentation, we're a sucker for beautiful bottles we can put on our mantel. Our favorite this season is the gorgeous Feerie Pure Perfume. The Art Nouveau-inspired golden fairy sits atop a sapphire blue cabochon bottle. The Feerie Pure is distinguished by a long-lasting double concentration of Florentine iris absolute, making for a beautiful feminine spray coupled with notes of Madagascar vanilla, South American tonka bean and Mediterranean heliotrope. With ingredients from around the world, this perfume is sure to make you feel as exotic as it is decadent.

Available at Bergdorf Goodman for $250.

Luxury Parfums des Beaux Arts Scent Collections from Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

These new miniatures from painter turned perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz are so addictive I find I take them everywhere I go and repeatedly apply to pressure points. Two new sets, inspired by turn of the century perfume designs make for the perfect gift for any vintage lover on your list. The Les Rouges Collection features Oeillets Rouges, the scent of scarlet carnations in full bloom, Fleurs d'Oranger, a sensual warm orange blossom, Poivre, a fiery pepper and spicy rose blend, and Piment et Chocolate, a sexy chili and cocoa perfume. The second collection, Perfection, features Cafe Noir, the scent of Paris at midnight, Parfum de Luxe inspired by Art Deco Europe, Parfum de Grasse, the "City of Perfumes," and Rose Vert, the recreation of a field of roses. Whether your tastes are more fiery or more ethereal, either collection is sure to hit a high note among all your senses.

Each Available for $50 from DSHPerfumes

Clean Limited Edition Coffret

And then there are times, when you don't want to smell like perfume at all. You'd rather carry that fresh out of the shower scent with you all day. For those days, there's Clean, and the limited edition Coffret this season features all of their best-selling scents in travel sizes so you can try the best of the collection. It's the perfect set for anyone this holiday, perfume aficionado or not. The set includes the Classic Clean, for that freshly scrubbed scent, Fresh Laundry, so you can smell like your favorite, freshly laundered T-shirt whenever you want, Warm Cotton, like a fluffy white towel dried in the sun, and Shower Fresh, to get that sexy just-bathed aroma all day long. This gift set is the perfect collection for anyone on your holiday list, perfume aficionados or not. It's impossible not to fall in love with these subtle light, scents. You'll feel fresh and clean all day long, and no one will guess it's your perfume.

$152 value on sale for $65 at Clean

Disclosure: I received some products gratis to sample for the purposes of this review, but the opinions expressed above are 100% my own.

Tags: dawn spencer hurwitz, DawnSpencerHurwitz, holiday guides, HolidayGuides, juliette has a gun, JulietteHasAGun, perfume, scent guides, ScentGuides, van cleef arpels, VanCleefArpels