I have two "kids"; both cats. If they could give Father’s Day presents to me, I know they'd be either food-focused (Teddy Caramelo Calzini: redhead, polydactyl with attitude) or toy-focused (Uncle Vanya Mandelstam: he catches birds through windows — a feat! And he insists on wearing his luxurious coat all year round…see above).
Following are some perfume-adjacent gift suggestions for your father (that I'd like to receive or already own and can recommend); no foods or toys made the list! (Unless you count booze.)
Bastide Aix en Provence Les Chevaliers Body Wash Collection: five 50 ml body washes ($50) in Rose Olivier, Ambre Maquis, Neroli Lumière, Figue d’Ete and Miel de Lavande; at Bastide Aix en Provence.
Saipua moisturizing soaps (above left) with saponified oils of olive, coconut, castor and shea butter: my two choices for scent would be Rosewood and Vetiver with French Green Clay, 6 oz/$18, at Saipua.
Books: I own these books and always have them handy for inspiration and instruction. If your father would rather read about (or grow!) “scent” than wear it, get him Celia Thaxter’s charming An Island Garden or James McHugh’s Sandalwood and Carrion: Smell in Indian Religion and Culture; both at Amazon.com.
The Holy Black Matte Clay Hair Pomade: My all-time favorite water-based hair pomade, with a great retro barbershop Gunpowder Spice aroma; $20 at The Holy Black.
Proraso Azur Lime Beard Tin: Sometimes I feel I'm part of the only beard-free household in the Puget Sound region. If your father has a beard, this handsome collection will come in handy; it contains 200 ml Beard Wash, 30 ml Beard Oil and 100 ml Beard Balm in the Azur Lime fragrance (lime, mint, woods and juniper berry). The gift tin (shown above right) is also available in other scents: Wood & Spice and Cypress & Vetiver. At Smallflower, $45.
Austin Press Cat’s Pillow Candle: How could cool cats resist this? The name brings to mind two states: comfy/cozy or Feline-Gothic. Let Dad pick his own theme; with notes of lavender, rosemary, tonka bean and ginger; 226g /$38 at Catbird.
Na Nin Cannabis & Opium Den Incense Cones: Proceed from homey Cat’s Pillow to dark/louche “Pussy Cat” with this incense blend; 26 one-inch incense cones for $22, also at Catbird.
Floral Shirt: Last year I featured a beautiful tie in the Father’s Day post and this year I decided to include a floral shirt. Though I love their scent, lilies (poisonous to cats) are not allowed in my home; Faherty’s lily print linen shirt is a safe substitution: $170 at Mr Porter.
Finally, there’s Chase Distillery Williams Seville Orange Gin: Cheers! Smelling as good as cologne, this gin is made with juniper, orange peel, licorice, elderflower, bitter almonds, and a final infusion of raw peels from Seville oranges; $41 at Master of Malt.
Happy Father’s Day!
I loved reading this, not everyone has a ‘traditional’ child. Mine is a four year old furry Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Dora, who I love more than life itself. If I was lucky enough to get the Gin, I would be more than happy. However, I do like the look of that shirt. ????
IDW: CKCSs are so cute and have great personalities. The gin and the shirt go together!
She is the sweetest and most lovable dog. She always has to be near you, WHATEVER, you are doing, I wasn’t that bothered about getting a dog but this one has stolen my heart. ❤️????❤️
Great gift list Kevin, I do love products by Bastide, especially the Ambre line. I’ve worn the eau de toilette for going on 20 years now. The Seville Gin sounds like a great idea, my dad was primarily a scotch or whisky drinker, but on occasion he’d enjoy a Gin Fizz.
Your kitty cat is GORGEOUS! SmokeyToes sends his regards.
= ^.^ =
ST: thank you! I love the Bastide line too…need to try some of the new scents in the line.
If you like fruity scents, try the fig ~ not particularly long-lasting but it’s a nice refreshing scent for summer.
I enjoyed reading about your selections, as always — but I really loved seeing the pics of your “sons.” So handsome!! (That coat! Those paws!)
FearsMice: yes, those are their notable “traits”…I”m sure my lungs are FULL of Uncle Vanya’s hair.
Love the kitties.
I kinda want that floral shirt for myself.
Aparatchick: floral shirts are big this year…but I think this is the first lily shirt I’ve seen anywhere.
I’ll have tell my husband to pull out his collection of aloha shirts…he’s got some florals in there. He used to wear them a lot in the summer but not so much the last few years….
Your kids are fabulous. We have a long-haired tuxedo Manx boy. I always joke his mane is a ruffled tuxedo shirt. Love polydactyls…they always look to me like they’re wearing catchers’ mitts.
LizzieB: I love Manx cats and big ole ruffs (though hell to brush). I used to wear more floral/wild shirts when I lived in southern California. In the Pacific Northwest? Harder to pull off. HA!
Thinking of getting my hubby the original Eight & Bob in the RFK edition. Somewhere I think I used to have a sample of it, but I think I swapped it away. Anything it compares to?
Sapphire: sorry…don’t think I’ve ever smelled that one.
You always do the best gift selections, Kevin!
I’ve just snapped up Sandalwood and Carrion for myself. ????
Noz: oh, I know you’ll enjoy it!
Me too!
https://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/book.aspx/1306/They%20came%20for%20sandalwood
Noz..if you’re interested in sandalwood books you might enjoy this one about the history and trade of sandalwood in the south pacific. It’s availabke as an ebook/ kindle
Your boys are very regal and handsome! I’m currently mom to two Papillon dogs but I am a lifelong cat-lover. When the dogs have gone on, I will get another cat.
Nice gift selections, my father doesn’t wear cologne, drink or use bath products, he is basically impossible to buy for, so I’m sending him some gourmet coffee out of desperation.
CAZAUBON: So your dad just rinses clean and is super dehydrated? (Sorry…I just had two cups of super-strong coffee.) I bet he’d go for some big ole (HUGE!) hunks of Marseille soap? Just get the plain/unscented type…quite nice and lasts forever (which may appeal to thriftiness and no-nonsense lifestyle). For future reference look here https://www.savon-de-marseille.com/en/ or here https://savondemarseille.com/
Papillons are so smart and cute…but their sweet little faces are prime targets for cat scratches…so you are wise!
LOL… he does love coffee, but not booze.
I love savon de Marseille, I’ll try that out on him, thanks.
Great list Kevin! Love your kitties (I am a cat lover myself having had three in my lifetime).
Given that I make all natural perfumes out of Skye Vodka blended with essential oils (shake and spray) I think I would like that gin to wear rather than to drink
The notes sound fantastic!!!
Happy Father’s Day to you!
chocomarizipan: I sort of do the same thing as you: “scent” vodka with fruit but drink instead of wear the end result (ratafia for instance). Happy day, yourself!
Now I might need to stop by Bastide’s showroom. I see they do Rosé Fridays in the summer during midday hours. Shop and drink some nice wine. How could I not?
LizzieB: indeed! Diptyque does the same sort of thing (but in San Francisco, alas….)
Your kitties are gorgeous, as I’m sure they know. Our enormous long haired tuxedo cat just got his annual summer lion cut and he’s still somewhere between outraged and horrified – of course, he doesn’t have to brush/comb/vacuum while he sheds! The Seville orange gin sounds delicious, a gift to give and share.
RINGTHING: Thanks! Uncle V always seems to arrange himself to be seen in profile; cracks me up. For me, Seville orange ANYthing is always enjoyable!