Scentzilla!

A number of sites have already covered holiday gift ideas, and covered them well, but usually the hardest things to shop for are stocking stuffers. Well, I mean it’s easy to find tons of little stuff, but not necessarily the little stuff that folks might actually appreciate. Here’s my fragrant list of ideas, with online shopping links when available. I’ve roughly organized them from lowest to highest in price, though I’ve tried to focus mostly on items $15 or less:

Pre de Provence Guest Soaps, starting at $0.89 each in my neck of the woods. I especially recommend the Linden. Available at so many places now, including Wild Oats groceries. I see they’re also online at Bon Savon or in cute little gift sets sold at Joan of Arte, including 5 packs of these little bars for $6.00, which are just the right long shape for fitting well in stockings.

Bee & Flower Sandalwood soap, usually around $1-$2. Sold all sorts of places, including many health/natural food stores.

Bath Fizzies, from Ulta, only $2, and adorablely shaped like cupcakes. I’m generally well-pleased with Ulta’s house brand of bath and body products, which are nicely made but not hard on the wallet.

Paddywax travel tin candles, $4. The Paddywax brand is available in the Portland area at Cielo Home, and online through Paddywax.com.

Perfumeria Gal Lip Balm in Violet, around $5 on average. Available at some Urban Outfitters stores, and online at American Discount Beauty Supply. Also online at Adore Beauty in Austrailia for AU $11.95.

Handmade soaps from Maryam’s Soap Nook, $5. These are all so gorgeous looking, and I’d especially like to point out the Pomegranate and Wildberries soap to everyone because of its rich fragrance.

For the kids: Pluto Cologne, $5.99 at Imagination Perfumery. It smells a little like CK One, admittedly, but c’mon! It’s friggin’ Pluto!

Oregon Cabernet Wine Truffles, starting from $6.50 at Euphoria Chocolate. Seriously, they’re scary delicious. The Double Chocolate ones are awfully good, too, but I don’t see a smaller stocking size box at the online site… which is as good an excuse as anything to make a trip to Eugene, I guess. Hint, hint, Mr. Katie, *ahem*.

Fragrance decants from eBay seller dragonfly00, prices vary. I’ve yet to have anything other than a pleasant shopping experience with her. I wouldn’t necessarily give these decants as regular gifts, but for stocking stuffers they are perfect, and the labels she makes for her decants always look simply lovely.

Coffee Cup Air Freshener, $6.95, and T-bone Air Fresheners, $3.95 for a set of 3, at Archie McPhee.

Perfume mini bottles are fantastic last minute items to pick up when all else fails. I’ve found them at Fred Meyer and Target, both of which have the best selection and best prices, though K-mart, Wal-Mart (if you’re so inclined), and Walgreen’s, sometimes stock them as well. Prices can vary wildly, but generally expect to see most priced between $7-$15.

Sephora Fragrance Atomizers, $9-$15. Perfect for throwing into a purse or bag, and if you buy it in the brick and mortar store and you’re lucky, they’ll even fill it with a favorite fragrance for you! Also sold empty online at Sephora.com, in the 3″ Atomizer and Bullet Atomizer for the recipient to fill from their own collection.

Travel size Eau de Toilettes from L’Occitane, starting at $9. Consider their Verbena or Eau de Iparie for either men or women. If you have a L’Occitane boutique near you, be sure to check out their trial size product section, which is just brimming with ideas for stocking stuffers, including the small tubes of their fantastic hand cream.

Stella McCartney, Stella Eau de Parfum Roll-On, $10. Admittedly not a favorite fragrance of mine, but it sure is ideal for friends and family who love it. Sold at Sephora.

Fresh To Go trial size items, prices vary. The Pomegranate Hair Rinse and the Sugar Blossom Body Treatment are items that might be the most welcome discoveries for recipients who’ve never tried the line before.

The biggest (and smallest in size) hit from last Christmas was Philosophy’s Cinnamon Buns Lip Shine, $10. I make my own ribbon bows, and I used these little tubes in the center of the bows, but they’re ideal for stocking goodies.

Benefit “Touch me and then try to leave” Cream, $12 for a 1.3 oz travel size, or $28 for a full size 4.75 oz tub. Sold at Benefit counters, and at benefitcosmetics.com, which I can’t link to because their site is not working properly at the moment.

Fruits & Passion Hot Dog Puppy Shampoo for Puppies and Sensitive Skin, $16, at Drugstore.com. What? Don’t look at me like that. Yes, I put up a stocking every year for my dog, but it’s not like I’m the only one who suffers from this particular form of mental illness. This is becoming my new favorite winter shampoo for Fred - his skin gets so dry during the cold months, and thus far it has yet to irritate his skin or make it flakey, it lathers up easily, and is only scented very lightly with citrus and fig. Fred smells divine these days.

Also for the dog, The Laundress Fabric Fresh spray in Cedar, $12, is awesome for spritzing the dog bed from time to time. Okay, so the dog might strenuously object to you removing his stank, but you know, one does have to draw the line somewhere when catering to the little kings and queens of the household.

Demeter Home Fragrance Sprays in general, and their Laundromat and Bamboo in specific, prices vary depending on seller and locale. The best place to buy Demeter anything is in a brick and mortar store, since buying blind from this line can be a crapshoot. However, if you’re shopping online, I feel the best place to purchase Demeter is through eBay seller, awhumer. Great turn around time on shipping, and the shipping charges are quite reasonable.

Body Butter Trio, $24, or a full-size tub of the Buttercream Frosting Body Butter, $22, by Jaqua. The Buttercream feels rich, and smells scrummy with no off notes. Love this stuff. Jaqua helpfully provides an extensive list of brick and mortar shops, as well as a local store finder, to locate where their products are sold right on their site.

Agraria Cologne sprays, $36, at Fragrances & More, in your choice of four different scents. It’s Balsam that has caught my attention.

Esteban Paris’ Note Marine 2 potpourri from Aedes, $38. I keep meaning to write a review, but then other stuff comes up. It’s a very subtle fragrance, with just a touch of saltiness and cucumber, along with those melony notes we usually associate with marine fragrances, and light florals. It’s a wonderful way to make the house smell of spring at the beach during the doldrums of winter. There’s also something very tactilely addictive about it, and I dare you not to occasionally pick up the odd piece now and again to smooth your fingers over.

Slatkin & Co. Blaine Trump Candles, $50 - $65. Proceeds of sales through the following hyperlink will benefit God’s Love We Deliver, a charity which serves those living with HIV/AIDS and other illnesses by preparing and delivering “nutritious, high-quality meals to people who, because of their illness, are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves.” (Hat tip to Jack & Hill for making me aware of this charity and the site.)

I hope this list is helpful, and please feel free to comment with your own good ideas for fragragrant stocking stuffers!!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2006 at 7:12 pm and is filed under Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.