Despite Christmas carols blaring on every sound system, fully decorated homes and malls and sales people in Santa hats, adults find it harder and harder to get into the Christmas spirit.
A few years ago, I discovered something that transports me back to my happy childhood holiday memories of doting grandparents, a favorite teacher and recipes of our old cook. Certain scents identified with the holidays jolted me into the Christmas spirit like nothing could.
The Body Shop Holiday Collection has made an entire line of three holiday scents with very concentrated scents and lasting power with a wide range of products. The three variants are Cranberry Joy (tart, refreshing berry scent, the bestseller worldwide); Candied Ginger (spicy zing with a hint of sweet like a great ginger brew after dawn Mass); and Spiced Vanilla (a decadent creamy scent reminiscent of crème brûlée or panna cotta).
For rooms in the home or office, one may use Reed diffusers and fragrance oils for burners. I put Vanilla in my bedroom, Ginger in the kitchen, and Cranberry in the living and dining areas. I also put matching handwash and hand cream by the sink for guests and family to enjoy.
Layer Body Shop’s Bath and Body so the scent lasts all day on you. Start with the body scrub: Applied on dry skin with dry hands, and massage it on; rinse off with water and shower gel; then top with your choice of either body butter (great for very dry areas like feet and legs) or body lotion (great for body massages). Trust me, cologne is not needed for the scent to last. Portables so you can take your fave scent with you: Room and Linen Spray, lip balm and hand cream.
If you can’t get enough of those gourmand/bakery scents, here are the favorites:
1. Kiehl’s Body Butter Soy Milk and Honey smells like cream puff and custard/leche flan and gets absorbed by the driest of skin without sitting there feeling like grease.
2. Thierry Mugler’s Angel Candle, Perfume and Body Cream—a best-selling classic
3. L’Occitane Amande Line Shower Oil—Think of white chocolate-covered sugary almonds. It leaves your skin silky soft and the scent lingers in the bathroom and on your body.
4. Laura Mercier’s Gourmand Body Line in Crème Brûlée has candles and bath and body products which are definitely the most potent-smelling.
5. Budget favorite: Johnson’s Baby Milk Bath is great for hands, body and even face, as the lactic acid gives light exfoliation as well as thorough but gentle cleansing. It smells like fresh cream as well. Match up with the lotion if you wish but limit that to hands and body.
Fruits
If you prefer berries and fruit, Watson’s H Bella line is high in antioxidant and comes in Strawberry and Cinnamon (the bestseller) as well as Blackberry and Black Tea.
It comes in quaint rustic packaging reminiscent of L’Occitane. Its body butter and lotions glide on skin and hydrates adequately without feeling greasy. The scents are nothing to scoff at either, as they are potent enough to linger for hours.
The body scrubs are a bit too gentle for my taste as I like them pretty gritty, but those with sensitive skin will appreciate the gentle exfoliation and silky after-feel.
The shower creams can double as handwashes and they look pretty on your skin with the matching hand cream.
Laura Mercier and Thierry Mugler’s Angel are exclusively available at Rustan’s.
