Christmas Gift Guide 2019: Nine Extravagant Presents for Beauty Fanatics

Perhaps it’s my inner hunter-gatherer, but I derive great pleasure from replenishing my store cupboard, be that food or beauty, and multiples and minis of my favourite products bring me a little too much joy. But by the same token, the opposite must therefore be applied when it comes to Christmas giving: in order to tick the treat box, a present needs to be a little larger than life, a tad extravagant – something you just wouldn’t typically buy yourself. The beauty world has cottoned on: cue a host of oversized and OTT indulgences that will lavish your loved ones. Here’s our guide to the very best.

(Top) This three-kilo Diptyque candle is the ultimate gift for the festival of light: the quadruple wick brings the flickering light of a roaring fire, while the decadent ‘Ambre’ scent will fill an entire flat with festive cheer. (Below left) I could also get through litres of Susanne Kaufmann’s Oil Bath for the Senses every month, if only the wallet allowed: tiny travel-sized versions accompany me on weekends away (only for use in a special-enough hotel bath), and the herby frond-filled 500 millilitre bottle sits besides my tub – reserved for weary evening emergencies. Which is why the special-edition litre bottle just hums with happiness. (Below right) Harrods’ exclusive jewel-encased Clé de Peau Beauté La Crème, meanwhile, is a truly extra iteration of the brand’s exquisite, high-performance cream. This is one for the Monroes that walk this earth. 

(Below left) Luxury candles are a go-to gift – one can never tire of them in my opinion. Cire Trudon’s Marie Antoinette bust candle takes such notions to the next level. At 29 centimetres tall, her sculptural form brings a remarkable presence to the mantelpiece and is frankly too divine to burn. (Below right) A bumper-sized unisex scent that will elevate any dressing table, Tom Ford’s Tuscan Leather gets bonus points for seasonality with its sultry leather and suede notes.

(Below left) Christian Dior’s Gris Dior is another hefty flacon, weighing in at 450 millilitres, which just sings luxury. Named after the hushed dove grey walls of the Avenue Montaigne store, this cashmere-soft chypre couldn’t smell more like a stroll along a Parisian boulevard. (Below right) Two litres of L’objet’s Bath Salts will similarly go down a treat. The Côté Maquis scent combines notes of incense with labdanum and cashmere wood for a super sensual soak.

(Below left) Another litre of a beauty addict’s favourite: Kiehl’s classic Creme de Corps – this time with ultra-festive packaging. Though this one’s not just for Christmas – recipients will luxuriate in it for months. (Below right) We may be more than half way through advent but there’s no other calendar I’d gleefully tear through than Barbara Sturm’s. This is the ultimate in hunter-gatherer beauty, with 24 miniatures of each of the beauty maestro’s most beloved tinctures. You will never be happier packing your carry-on liquids than with these.