holiday gift ideas

Birchbox - The Luxe Beauty Gift that Keeps on Giving

Birchbox is a service which, for the low price of $10 per month (or $110 if you'd like to give a year's subscription as a gift), provides you with brand new luxury beauty products to try right in your mailbox. It's like moonlighting as a beauty editor for a women's magazine, only you get all the perks and none of the pesky deadlines.

Basically, you know how you see all those fabulous beauty products on the shelves and wonder what using them would be like, and whether they're worth it? Stores have become so stingy with samples and rubbing a little lotion from a tester on the back of your hand doesn't really give you any indication of long-term results. Birchbox eliminates this problem by sending you samples -- big, fat samples, not the weensy ones -- of new high-end beauty products every month. You can even personalize your selection by indicating your coloring, skin type and personal style.

And, if you like something Birchbox sends you, you can go to Birchbox.com and buy the full size directly from the site. This, as well as referring friends and completing surveys about products (both totally optional), earns you reward points, 100 of which results in a $10 gift card good for anything on Birchbox.com. Brands include Naturopathica, Luxist favorite Laura Mercier, Tatcha, Kiehl's, NARS, Stila, Too Faced and more.

I wasn't sure that Birchbox was necessarily the right fit for Luxist, but then I saw the glee on my friend Beth's face when her Birchbox, made of 100 percent recycled materials, arrived. As she rifled through the sizeable samples, excited to try out the products chosen especially for her, I realized that Birchbox has all the makings of a luxury gift: high-end products, generous servings, personalization and delightful packaging. It's like getting a special present every month. Birchbox is truly the luxe beauty gift that keeps on giving.

Tags: beauty, Birchbox, gifts for mom, gifts for women, holiday gift ideas, holiday gifts, samples

Chocolatier Michel Cluizel's Holiday Chocolate Collection

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

The Michel Cluizel chocolate shop in Rockefeller Center Shop in New York City is celebrating a year as a retail location in New York City with the creation of three signature, seasonal collections.

The Harvest Collection captures autumn with a selection that includes Hérisson Noir, a croquant shell filled with rich hazelnut and almond praline, shaped like a thistle you might see in the fall forest; Châtaigne, which is the shape of half a chestnut and has chestnut paste ganache with rum; the Noix Lait or Noix Noire are a milk or dark chocolate walnut shaped confection, made with pure hazelnut praline, white chocolate and walnut pieces; the Cannelleo, a milk chocolate shell made with 45% cocoa filled with cinnamon gianduja; the Champignon Caramel, a mushroom shaped chocolate filled caramel at the bottom and crunchy croquant at the top; Pomme de Pin Or, gianduja with vanilla pod in the shape of a seasonal pine cone; the Tango, a crunchy praline and caramel ganache in dark chocolate; Macarolats, or Macaroons, that come in assorted flavors such as cinnamon, chataigne whiskey, pumpkin, and Earl Grey tea and a Milk Chocolate Bar studded with salted butter caramel pieces. This collection is available in three sizes: $45, $75, and $125.

The Holiday Collection features Sapin, a dark chocolate tree decorated with dried fruits, marbles and chips; a Bonhomme de Neige, the cheery white chocolate snowman shown at right; a snowflake with Papillottes, which are traditional French treats in colorful, shiny wrapping in six assorted colors and flavors, including gianduja, almond and hazelnut crunchy praline, almond and hazelnut praline, almond paste, ganache with dark chocolate, caramel ganache; two Succettes des Montagnes, old-fashioned almond and hazelnut praline lollipops that are painted with winter sports scenes, such as skiing, snowboarding and snowball fights and Macedoine de Noel, an assortment of seven miniature Christmas chocolates including a snowman, a Santa, a tree, a gift, a Yule log, a boot, and a stocking. This collection retails for $45.

Gallery: Chocolat Michel Cluizel Holiday Selections

Tags: chocolates, holiday chocolates, holiday gift ideas, holiday shopping, michel cluizel

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Dita Von Teese Launches Cointreau Coffret For The Holidays

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

International glamour girl Dita Von Teese has been the face of Cointreau for a while. Now the burlesque queen famous for her retro style and her provocative performances is teaming up with Cointreau for a special holiday gift set, the Cointreau coffret. The Dita Von Teese's Cocktail Coffret and boudoir set is a girly pink box that holds a bottle of Cointreau, two cocktail glasses and a custom designed shaker. The powder pink and pearl box has a mirror and a trapdoor for concealing other treasures. It sells for $299.

Tags: cocktail coffret, cointreau, Dita Von Teese, gifts for women, holiday gift idea, holiday gift ideas

Holiday Gift Idea: 125th Anniversary Cretors Popcorn Machine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

A great holiday gift for a family with a home theater is the Cretors Anniversary Machine. The C. Cretors and Company has created a limited edition re-creation of an antique popcorn popper that celebrates the company's recent 125th anniversary. The collector's edition available to the public for a limited time only and one of the poppers was already sent to the White House for the First Family's White House Theater.

Push the button and the stainless steel kettle heats, pops a batch of corn and then shuts itself off. The vintage-styled red-and-black machine has elegantly turned legs and steam flows out of the scrolled top for that delicious popcorn smell. The retro design features Cretors' Tosty Rosty Clown, making his first appearance in more than 75 years. The little clown was originally designed to attract customers at the turn of the 20th century, this little handmade clown continually bows as he diligently cranks the stirrer blade of the kettle. The Booster Boy poster on the machine is a design from a poster used in the 1920 and 1930s to illustrate the "profit boosters" of selling popcorn. It sells for $1,885.

Tags: holiday gift idea, holiday gift ideas, home theater, popcorn machine

Holiday Gift Idea: La Loop

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

I've reached that age when reading glasses are a must. One problem is that I have a tendency to leave them places. One solution comes from designer Elizabeth Faraut, of La Loop. She has created pieces that are necklaces with a handy circle for keeping your glasses in place when not in use. The jewelry collection includes oval shells from New Zealand, round matte black Onyx from Mexico, cylindrical Pyrite from Spain and a Marcasite loop in steel leather.

Prices range from the $22 Sport Loop to the $200 St. Tropez that pairs Swarovski crystals with an iridescent gold Italian leather to the $430 square sterling link chain, handmade in Germany, shown above. The brand can now be found in more than 500 stores across 16 countries that includes museum stores and specialty boutiques such as Le Bon Marche in
Paris, Isetan in Tokyo and Harrods in London. They are also available online.

Tags: glasses, holiday gift ideas, holiday gifts, la loop, sunglasses

Holiday Gift Idea: Acme Studios Sue Wong Collection

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Fashion designer Sue Wong recently announced a collaboration with ACME Studio to create the "Talmadge" collection, a line of small accessories inspired by the designer's love of old Hollywood. ACME Studio has featured accessories that capture the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, Karim Rashid, Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey and many others but this is the company's first venture with a fashion brand. The collection features a pen, business card holder, an eyeglass case and a mirror compact in an art deco inspired pattern. The pen is $68, the business card holder is $34 and the eyeglass case is $30.

Tags: acme studio, business card case, holiday, holiday gift idea, holiday gift ideas, pen, sue wong, sunglasses case

Mad about Mosaics

by Bobbie Leigh (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

When artist Sybil Sage made one of her mosaic vases for food writer Ruth Reichl, she did her homework. Many of the picture frames, planters, candlestick holders, lamps and vases Sage designs are customized to reflect the person who will display it. For Reichl's vase, she nipped shards from plates with pictures of vintage food-can labels. For a well-known flutist, she found antique French opera plates, The mosaic style Sage uses is called "pique assiette" which loosely translates as "broken plate." But Sage's work is far from traditional.

Tags: broken plate mosaic, holiday gift ideas, holiday gifts, mosaic, mosaics, sybil sage, vases

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Gucci 3-D Glasses - Because Nerds are Rich

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Men's Style

Gucci has finally realized what we've all known for a long time: nerds have all the cash and it's time to start catering to them. Coming this December, Gucci will be releasing the above, totally fantastic, unisex Gucci 3-D glasses. And the geek shall inherit the Earth.

Joking aside, someone at Gucci clearly has their finger on the pulse. With the rising popularity of 3-D in film, and for a house whose reputation in eyewear is already legendary, this is an ingenious move.

These obvious 2011 must-haves exhibit the same retro-80s flair that creative director Frida Giannini brought to her Gucci Eyeweb collection this past summer. The shiny plastic aviators are both stylish and sentimental -- and best of all, owners will no longer have to share the same classless glasses as common moviegoers at the local cinema.

The Gucci 3-D glasses feature "optically correct 6-base curved lenses with circular polarized technology," optimal for Real D, the system in use by over half the movie theaters in the country. The Gucci 3-D glasses also "contain a high tech multi-layered mirrored coating which allows the wearer to view themselves in a mirror without distortion. The mirrored coating not only provides a premium look as well as offers superior viewing and contrast enhancement, but also allows over 98 percent of visible light through, therefore not affecting viewing in a cinema environment. An anti-reflective coating has been applied to the back of the lens for additional overall image quality by reducing scattered light, glare and blue light." So, they don't just look better than the throwaways that come in a plastic bag; they can also enhance your 3-D viewing experience.

Other companies are sure to follow suit with stylish personal 3-D eyewear -- but for now, the market is cornered. Well played, Gucci. Well played indeed. The Gucci 3-D glasses will be available exclusively at US Gucci boutiques for $225 this holiday season.

Tags: 3-d, 3-d glasses, cinema, geek chic, glassees, gucci, gucci eyewear, gucci eyeweb, holiday gift ideas

LuxList: Unique Gift Card and Gift Certificate Options for the Holidays

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Holiday Guides

Gift cards and certificates are one of the most popular holiday gifts. And why not, they are easy to get, easy to use, and save you from buying something the other person doesn't really want or need. The only problem with gift cards is that the average gift card to one of the big stores can sometimes seem a little impersonal and well, boring, for both the giver and the receiver. One solution is to head off the beaten path a bit and pick an unusual gift card or certificate. It's a little riskier but it's also exciting to buy something for someone that they would never choose for themselves but would really enjoy.

One fun option for men and women is getting them a gift certificate to race car driving school or to rent an exotic sports car. There are a variety of these types of options around the country. In New York for example, Gotham Dream Cars offers gift certificates that let you rent a Ferrari, Lamborghini or other cars or even take their Dream Car Tour that lets you try out six cars from a Bentley to a Lamborghini Murcielago in one fast and fun afternoon. The Dream Car Tour costs $895.

The need for speed can be best satisfied safely on a race course. L.A. Racing at the Irwindale Speedway outside of Los Angeles offers a variety of programs that get you out driving a NASCAR stock car at Irwindale Speedway on the 1/2 mile 12 degree banked oval. Many race tracks across the country have similar programs.

Check out the gallery below for ten more options for the person who has everything.

Gallery: Unusual Gift Cards