Dec
2020
Festive scents: Perfumes and colognes to gift and get for the holidays
Aside from bath and body, another great gift idea is fragrance.
You can really never have enough perfumes since it’s such a personal preference and if you’re like me, I have different scents for different seasons and moments in my life. I have everyday scents, vacation scents, fragrances that remind me of certain moments in my life… I can go on and on.
Just like other beauty products, the holidays is a great time to pick up a new scent since there are usually great gift sets available, and most beauty stores offer special holiday discounts this time of the year as well (fragrance doesn’t typically go on sale that often).
So, if you are on the hunt for a new scent, or want to gift someone fragrance this season, here are some new picks to look into.
YSL LIBRE Eau de Parfum Intense
I love the original YSL Libre Eau de Perfume, so I was ecstatic to find out that they released a new version recently.
YSL Libre eau de parfum Intense (C$138/50 ml) is a warm floral fragrance, similar to Libre, but leans more towards vanilla notes as opposed to something musky like the original. Libre Intense contains lavender essence (which the original has), as well as orchid accord, and vanilla. It’s a floral scent but has musky and creamy notes as well and will be something that is sure to stand out in your collection.
Other notes include burnt orange blossom, smooth vanilla, glowing amber accord, and grisalva, an ambergris note. This one is a perfect year-round scent and one that you’ll want to wear everyday.
Lancome La Vie Est Belle Intensement
I love the original La Vie Est Belle by Lancome and it will forever have a special place in my heart since I received it during a Lancome event in Toronto. It was one of the first big events I have ever been to as a blogger and it will forever be a memory that I cherish forever.
Anyways, one of the items in the gift bag was the original La Vie Est Belle perfume, which whenever I smell it, I always think of Toronto.
Lancome’s La Vie Est Belle Intensement (C$121) is a beautiful new take on the classic scent. This perfume comes in the same bottle as the original, but with darker pink liquid and a red bow on the neck of the bottle. This perfume opens with bergamot oil, pink pepper oil, and raspberry accord; in the middle there is sambac jasmine absolute, orange flower absolute, and heliotrope accord. Finally, it has base notes of patchouli heart, iris concrete, benzoin retinoid, and vanilla bean.
I would say this is a pretty distinctive scent compared to the original, so if you were looking for something similar to La Vie Est Belle, I wouldn’t say this is it. It is a nice perfume though and is a beautiful scent. If you have someone looking for something new and love the original, then I would recommend this.
Giorgio Armani Si Passione Eau de Parfum
Giorgio Armani Si is another perfume that I have and really enjoy. It’s one of those scents that is such a great everyday fragrance and something that wears well throughout the day as well.
Recently the brand came out with a new fragrance in the Si family, Si Passione Eau de Perfum (C$90/30 ml), which is a fruitier version of the original.
Si Passione is categorized as a fruity floral scent and is a great everyday scent like the original. It opens with sparkling pearl followed by rose and a woody-vanilla base.
This version comes in the same bottle as Si, however, features a sexier red colour.
Avon LYRD Artisan Cherry Vetiver Eau de Parfum and IYRD Santal Muse Vetiver Eau de Parfum
When I got Avon’s LYRD Artisan Cherry Vetiver Eau de Parfum (C$75, on sale for C$60), is a unisex scent and is crafted by master perfumers with the finest ingredients.
The Artisan Cherry Vetiver perfume is a fruity scent that opens with wild cherry, fresh raspberry, and crisp pear. From there, you’ll smell heliotrope, violet, and marshmallow. Finally, it ends with vetiver, cedar wood, ambrox, and fluffy musk.
Avon also has another scent in this line, the LYRD Artisan Santal Musk Eau de Parfum (C$75, on sale for C$60). This one is also unisex and is also fruity.
It opens with Asian pear, peony, peach nectar and bamboo. From there, it follows with matcha tea, dewy violet, raspberry blossom, and rose sandal absolute. Finally, it features base notes of Australian sandalwood, guaiac wood, and white musk. Azzaro Wanted Tonic and Wanted Girl Tonic
For men, Azzaro has followed up to their bestselling fragrance, Wanted, with Wanted Tonic (C$102/100 ml), a woody and spicy take on the original.
This fragrance has notes of patchouli (which comes from responsible sources, guaranteeing a fair income for producers and communities), as well as indigo lavender, grey amber, ginger, and lime.
This fragrance comes in a unique bottle that is shaped like a grenade and is a fresh scent that will transition from winter to summer flawlessly.
Match your man with Azzaro Wanted Girl Tonic (C$97), which is also new and a different take on their Wanted Girl fragrance.
This scent comes in a similar grenade bottle with a pink liquid (the brand says it’s a floral-shaped bottle, but it totally looks like a grenade to me). It is a woody, fruity, floral scent that contains notes of ginger, açai berries, and bamboo wood.
I actually really like this fragrance and found it to be sweet and pleasant. Totally something I would wear more in the spring and summer months.
Mary Kay Illuminea Extrait de Parfum
New from Mary Kay is Illuminea Extrait de Perfume (C$80), which is a floral and warm scent that contains 20 per cent concentration of fragrance oils, meaning it will wear longer than other fragrances.
This perfume opens with mandarin, quince, pink pepper, and morning dew. From there, it has red apricot, orange blossom, scarlet peony, water lotus, and honeysuckle. Finally, it has Florentine iris absolute, violet leaves, cashmere woods, vanilla and white moss.
I really like this perfume since it’s such a nice fragrance, I also love that it is made with oils, meaning that it will last longer than a typical scent.
Nest New York Festive Votive Trio
Okay, so this next one isn’t a perfume, but I wanted to throw it in here since it’s home fragrance.
Another great staple gift if candles, and Nest New York make some of my favourite candles ever. In fact, I love when this time of the year rolls around since they are one of the brands that I get most excited for.
For the holidays 2020, they have released a bunch of different sets, including the Festive Votive Trio. This set comes with three votives in the Birchwood Pine, Holiday, and Blue Cypress & Snow scents (the latter of which is brand new for the season).
I love these sets since a) they come in the most giftable box, and b) it allows you to experience three scents for basically the price of one of their candles. Although they are votives, they will last you awhile and guarantee a 20-28 hour burn time (which is longer than your typical candle).
This set seems to be sold out online, but if you can find it in store (they sell Nest New York at Sephora), I would grab it. Nest also offers a ton of other sets featuring their candles and diffusers. They even have some cute ornaments featuring their votives as well (I got the Birchwood Pine one, which is such an iconic holiday scent!).
I know that there are a bunch of different gift sets with these fragrances if any of them peak your interest. I would recommend picking up a set since these always have great value and allow you to layer the fragrance with a body lotion, a body wash, or even both.
Any of these scents are perfect as gifts, especially since a lot of them are sister fragrances to bestselling ones. Like I said, you really can’t go wrong with a perfume, plus if you are gifting it to someone special, it will also make them think of you when you wear it.
Will you be gifting any fragrances for the holidays?
Please note, products sent by PR. All opinions are my own.
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