The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Mid-August Holiday Gift Guide

It may be the rainy season here…but in PR Land, it’s holiday gift idea time. So we stopped by the Eliot Hotel yesterday to check out new offerings from La Mer and Jo Malone.

Some thoughts: We’re used to over-the-top gift ideas. We really like Jo Malone. And we’re clearly not opposed to conspicuous consumption.

But…whoa. The visit raised a couple questions…

1) Would you rather have a business-class Boston-Paris ticket (~$1,500), or a “cologne trousseau” ($1,200)?

2) Does your face cream deserve a more luxurious home than your medicine cabinet? Like, say, a sycamore chest handcrafted by a British royal? Then you’d probably be interested in the La Mer Luxe Keepsake Box (also $1,200), which comes with a 2-oz. Creme de la Mer and, natch, a sterling silver “spatula” applicator. There are only ten in the nation!

…To be fair, there are several Jo Malone options that would make completely lovely—and reasonable—gifts. We’re intrigued by the line’s Fragrance Combining Collection ($100), which allows you to layer a few of Malone’s signature scents. (Think grapefruit shower gel, followed by pomegranate body cream, topped off with lime basil fragrance.) We’re not sure if the result would be an intoxicatingly unique scent or a shock-and-awe olfactory assault.

Either way, it’d be interesting.