Fragrance Finder Selection

The Best Fragrances to Give at Christmas

Christmas is the great season of fragrance — the moment of the year when we give and receive fragrances as precious gifts, carefully wrapped objects of desire carrying strong affective intention. To be a good Christmas fragrance gift, a fragrance must meet several key criteria: beautiful presentation in a gift set, sufficient sillage to impress from the first spray, and a warm enough character to accompany long winter evenings. Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille is an almost infallible choice here — vanilla, tobacco and spices in a fireplace-and-English-club accord that smells of the cold season itself. Maison Margiela's By the Fireplace, with its marshmallow and smoky guaiac wood notes, is literally a Christmas fragrance. Guerlain's Shalimar, in its iconic Art Deco bottle, is the gift that says "I truly know you". These fragrances turn the moment of unwrapping into an unforgettable memory.