Christmas Beauty Roundup

These beauty, bath, and body treats make great gifts.

By Sharon Shervington

We are so engaged with the constant virtual demands of the modern world that we can become disconnected from the real-life necessary constants of self-care. While stressful, the holidays are also a time when we can deliberately distress and shower ourselves with added self-care. These beauty, bath, and body treats make great gifts for those on your list—and don’t forget to put yourself on that list too!

One way to easily jumpstart one’s self-care is with vitamins. So why
not take that a step further and indulge in Jo Malone’s Vitamin E Line?
The company has bath and shower gels moussants in all sorts of flavors.
The newest, and my current favorite, is Wild Bluebell, and since it
smells so much like blue summer evenings it is a perfect choice to beat
the winter blahs with the blues.

The long-lasting bubbles from the Wild Bluebell Gel can be followed by
Vitamin E Body Balm, or the Wild Bluebell Body Crème, or a mix. The line
also boasts a hand cream and wonderfully-textured lip conditioner. Jo
Malone also offers candles in many of its popular signature scents such
as Wild Bluebell, Red Rose, and French Lime Leaf.

A star product of this collection is the Vitamin E Gel, which can be
used all over the face and on any spots that need extra healing and
moisture. La Mer, one of Jo Malone’s sister companies in the Estee
Lauder family, has a Radiant Serum, like a dose of silky agelessness for
the face, which combined with the gel makes skin look divine.

Like Vitamins, tea is something that we also often use every day but
that has been incorporated in several product lines that are anything
but ordinary. Among the best are Ole Henrickson’s one-of-a-kind African
Red Tea Exotic Body Scrub and matching Body Mask. Together they leave
skin with a satiny finish and a very light, delicate scent. Another is
Andrew Weil for Origins Matcha Tea Body Soak and Body Scrub. The bath
soak delivers a real zen-like stress-draining effect. Perfect! And
Origins A Perfect World Line for face and body uses the famed and
precious white tea, symbolic in Chinese legend and lore of eternal
youth.

If a recent visit to Ulta was any indication, gifts of perfume and
other fragranced items are likely to be among the most popular this
season, because though sometimes pricey, there can be a fit for every
nose.

One man who knows that is Michael Kors, who has several classic and
current fragrances on counters now. His first, Michael Kors, is perhaps
even more popular now than at its original launch over a decade ago.

Among his other offerings are Michael Kors Gold and a series, Island,
with the current one Being Bali. The latter gives a sense of tropical
sunsets and cool breezes. One of the coolest things about the Michael
Kors fragrance lines is that the other perfumed products are so unique.
The Leg Shimmer is a good example, as is the Sexy Shower Gel and Glimmer
crème that go with his signature fragrance. And all his packaging is
superb with clean lines and heavy glass bottles that feel good in the
hand and display well on the dressing table. The Island Bali perfume
itself is a pale violet.

And there are many offerings for men this season, though Ralph Lauren’s
Big Pony Collection, which encompasses four fragrances, leads the pack.
Each of the four is keyed to a different color and mood. Among the
line’s other offerings are its classic Black and Double Black scents
that evoke a sophisticated and manly allure embodied in spokesman Nacho
Figueroa. As a couple, the polo player and his wife are the faces of the
brand’s Romance Collection that are available in classic bottles and
elegant scented creams and gels.

Meanwhile, Diesel’s Only the Brave Captain America Limited Edition
hints at the heroic. It has harmonic notes of leather and wood, with
Oriental elements and comes in a unique smoky glass bottle shaped like a
fist.

One fantastic thing about the Internet is how it gives us access to
things global that we might not otherwise know about. One such line is
Liz Earle, based on the Isle of Wight in the U.K., but with a solid
following stateside. Her fragrance, Botanical Essence Eau de Parfum #1
has the appeal and complexity of the best French perfume. It is vibrant
with ingredients like French lavender, Turkish Damask Rose and others
from around the world. Though complex, it is never overpowering.

Liz Earle is all about active natural botanicals and she has a whole
range of face and body crèmes, moisturizers and scrubs that firm tone
and deeply nourish skin. She is well known for a special cleanser that
is removed with its own linen towel.

Also from the U.K., and soon to be available in many U.S. drugstores,
is the I Love Cosmetics line, with body butters, bath gels, and scrubs
in such vivid colors, flavors, and scents as Strawberries and Cream,
Raspberry and Blackberry, and Lemons and Limes.

From Japan, the Eau D’Issey lines from designer Issey Miyake continue
to enchant shoppers all over the world, and his L’eau D’Issey Florale
and Or Absolue (Absolute Gold) can all be found at three locations at
the Asheville Mall.

The L’Eau D’Issey Body cream has a melting texture that penetrates skin
deeply leaving a light aura of fragrance. Also available through Beauté
Prestige International is Narcisco Rodriguez’s Essence Eau de Musc in a
pillar-like silvery flask and with his signature musk elements taking
center stage. The Elie Saab fragrance La Parfum has the potency of
pheromones, I hear from users, and comes in a beautifully-faceted bottle
that makes you want to pick it up.

For online shoppers who want to give the best of the best, or the
“crème de la crème” as it were, there is always La Prairie, which
besides divine products has a great website. The Skin Luxe Caviar body
treatments come in a crème and an emulsion that is like a thick lotion. I
think it is what mermaids would smell like, and it feels totally great
on the body. So, as I said, a little something for everyone. And now
you’ll know what to say when you make that “Santa, Baby” call.

Enjoy, and Happy Holidays.