cute gift

This time of year we’re besieged by Black Friday this, Cyber-Monday that, and enough deals, specials and bonus offers to blow our minds. But through all the holiday stuff that’s come barreling at us lately, a couple of items piqued my cute gift-o-meter, and were affordable, too — always a plus. One of those was the Thymes solid perfumes, and the other was the Molton Brown baubles.

The Thymes solid perfumes ($30 each) come in Kimono Rose, Rosewood Citron, Jade Matcha, Tiare Monoi, Lotus Santal and Aqua Coralline, and are housed in engraved ceramic-like sliding containers. I tried the Lotus Santal (Angel lite?) and it was surprisingly nice: soft to be sure, but still reminiscent of Angel but without the part that can annoy some people. In warm weather I think I could go for the Tiare Monoi, with its sunny, tropical island vibe. The other scents are pretty quiet, but any of these would make a sweet gift for a young person just getting into scent, someone who adores one of these fragrances or is really into solid perfumes.

BTW, Thymes also offers another possible cute gift: a little organza bag filled with 12 or so sample body lotion packets of their various scents for $7. I’m not sure of the exact scents included every time, but mine had Kimono Rose, Agave Nectar, Gold Leaf, Tupelo Lemongrass, and Jade Matcha, among others. A sweet gift on its own, or you could break it up and put a packet or two in a birthday or holiday card. These would be a nice touch in a guest bedroom or bath when you have visitors or tuck a few in your suitcase when you travel. Available at thymes.com or find a retailer near you using the site’s store locator.

Another cute gift idea is from Molton Brown: adorable little round plastic bottle ornaments holding 2.5 ounces of body wash in: Eucalyptus, Templetree, Gingerlily, Orange & Bergamot, Pink Pepperpod, Black Peppercorn, Frankincense & Allspice, and Ylang-Ylang. $15 each; available at moltonbrown.com, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

I like the Black Peppercorn for my hubby so I snagged one for his stocking; I sniffed the ylang-ylang (purple) and frankincense (red) ones which were nice (didn’t get to try the others though). And they’re packaged in little gift boxes just like ornaments would be. My only tiny quibble with these: I can’t help wishing they came with mini pumps so you could pop one in the shower or by the tub and get a perfect squirt without having to pick it up and pour out of the little bottle every time. But I realize this would have been a lot of extra work for Molton Brown (and then they probably wouldn’t hang right anyway).

What about you? Have you come across a fragrant item that you thought would make a cute gift?