It's Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day — take your pick. Whether you're shopping or not, it never hurts to look, right? We're kicking off this year's string of holiday gift posts with a bunch o' scented bath & body products. Lots more to come!
To start things off, we've got the eminently covetable (and reportedly as good as it looks) Vol de Nuit Powder Spray from Guerlain: "Inspired by the legendary Vol de Nuit fragrance, this silky, ethereal loose powder creates a light-reflecting veil with a subtle iridescent finish. The powder is perfumed with the mythical Vol de Nuit fragrance. Apply on the face, body and hair for an allover glow!" $87 for 17.5 g at Nordstrom.
More shimmer powder: at left, the limited edition Lolita Lempicka Sparkling Body Spray Powder: "A subtle release of Lolita Lempicka' s classic licorice flower in a shimmering, loose spray powder. The ultimate sensory experience." $45 for 17.2 g, also at Nordstrom. At right, a budget version from The Body Shop, "The Sparkler", available in Boudoir Pink (shown) or Enhanting Gold and scented with their Japanese Cherry Blossom fragrance. $24 for 10 g.
More holiday (budget) joy from The Body Shop: the Candied Ginger collection, in a plethora of products including lip balm ($6), hand wash or shower gel ($8), hand cream ($10), bubble bath or body lotion ($12), body scrub or body butter ($18).
From L'Occitane, a hand cream trio from the Shea Africa Collection: "These limited edition hand creams capture the essence of three exotic flowers in a design that pays tribute to the traditional African fabrics. Energetic, poetic and colourful, these iconic hand creams will transport you to the distant lands of Burkina Faso where the L’OCCITANE Shea Butter story started 30 years ago." $32 at L'Occitane USA.
From Jurlique, Rose Love Balm: "A natural skin-loving salve that moisturizes, softens and protects dry or chapped skin. Infused with the natural scent of rose, this beauty booster can be applied to the lips, elbows, hands - or anywhere that needs a little extra loving care." $6.50 for 15 ml at Beautyhabit.
From Aftelier, Rose Face Elixir with Sandalwood and Frankincense: "Wonderful for both men and women as a restorative treatment for the face: easy to use, non-greasy, and great for travel... Featuring rose, sandalwood, and frankincense, our face elixir is in a base of rice bran, grapeseed, and rose hip oils, with squalene and seabuckthorn berry...Use on your clean face before bed and drift off to sleep in a light veil of fragrance that promotes relaxation." $40 for 7 ml at Aftelier online.
From Maoli Perfumes, flavored lip balms for the holidays, in Candy Cane Forest, Rice Pudding, Sugar Plum and Gum Drops. $5 each at Maoli.
From Caswell Massey, 1752 bar soap in Sandalwood: "Suitable for both men and women, this intriguing and exotic scent was once exclusive to the royalty of India. By utilizing the sumptuous gardens of rare sandalwood trees, Caswell-Massey distilled the exotic essence for the Sandalwood Collection." $9 at Caswell Massey.
From Bvlgari, a soap bar in their popular Eau Parfumée au Thé Blanc fragrance: "Reassuring, comforting and intimate, it is a luxuriously elegant expression of sensory pleasure. The Eau Parfumée au thé blanc notes in a soft and rich lathering soap for men and women, that cleanses the skin while hydrating it." $27 for 150 g at Belk.
Next holiday gift post coming up on Sunday.
The VdN bottle is so SO covetable *sigh* I had to stop and handle it as soon as I spotted it at the local counter. I’ve zero use for shimmering powder so I’m doing my hardest to resist.
LOL…ditto. I really wouldn’t ever use it. But boy is it cute.
What exactly IS the point of shimmer powder? It seems that it makes you look vaguely sweaty. Why do I want this? (Not minding the bottle, of course, just not sure why I need the product.)
I think only those with perfect smooth skin can pull the shimmer thing off.
But yes, I too am coveting that bottle!
I agree the VdN is very appealing, but I have absolutely no use for a shimmery powder, so it will live in my fantasy life.
I’m feeling it for the Aftelier Rose Face Elixir. It sounds like a wonderful wintertime face treatment when the air is so dry.
Yes, that sounds so lovely — it’s what I want most out of this list.
Me too! Can’t really justify the cost, but it does sound lovely, and a nice way to deal with the cold, dry North Texas winter!
You can also do a blended one using essential oils yourself. It won’t be cheap either, but you’ll end up with a lot more product. I use the rose e.o. in the 10% jojoba oil(the whole half oz), then add it plus a few drops of straight sandalwood and frankincense e.o. to an evening primrose oil from Now Foods(4 oz). Add a few drops of squalene and voila!
You can also add a bit of sweet almond, grape seed,or apricot kernel oil, it all depending on how dry/sensitive you are. It’s not too bad price wise compared to pre-mixed, and there’s plenty so you can also use it for your hands or other dry body parts.
That Vol de Nuit powder bottle really is something to swoon over.
I recently picked up one of the L’Occitane hand creams, in Desert Rose, for myself, and I can recommend it! Nice quality, very pretty true-rose fragrance.
Good to know, thanks J!
I got a tube of the Desert Rose hand cream free with Marie-Claire last month (I only buy magazines when there’s a freebie I want, LOL!). The texture is lovely, but I think I should have got the original Shea Butter one. It’s a nice rose scent, but there’s also smthg there that’s bothering me a little bit. Still, it worked out a lot cheaper: they’re really expensive normally.
I have some Hibiscus Flower (the one in the orange tube). It has a fresh, pretty scent. Thumbs up from me!
Oops! I read the MAOLI lip balms as LMAO lip balms. Seemed brave.
MAOLI!
Someone needs to create this line!
Seems like it would lend itself easily to flankers; ROTFL, JK, IDK, LOL, etc. . .:)
Yes!
MAOLI = LMAO in Yoda-speak?
You’re right!
*muppet humming sound* laughing am I!
So now that we’ve had Eau de Cologne Imperiale shimmer powder last year and VDN this year, could Mitsouko/L’Heure Bleue be next? The mind boggles at the possible ad campaigns for all the major fragrances. (Parure would be a great one for shimmer powder!) Too bad it’s not the juice in that Vol de Nuit bottle!
Robin, thank you so much, I’m honored to have my Face Elixir included in your wonderful guide!
– Mandy Aftel
Re: justifying the VDL shimmer powder…maybe it would look/smell nice on a wreath or Christmas tree? I’ll probably satisfy the urge to splurge by getting one for my sister. The bottle so belongs on her dresser.