2020 Christmas Gift Guide: Fragrance & Candles

 

Anything marked with a * was kindly gifted to me, without obligation.

I hope that you're enjoying my gift guides and finding them useful! I love putting them together as this is my favourite time of year. Today's one is all about fragrance and candles, room sprays and a diffuser. As you know, this year's giveaway is different - I have decided that I will pick random commenters, both here and on Instagram, to receive a prize, but a lot of the items in these gift guides, will be going to homeless shelters and frontline workers, unless they are ones that I have specifically bought for family myself. I hope that you will agree that this is a fair way of doing things this year - I want people who actually engage with my content to win a prize. Now, on to the gift guide!As with all of my gift guides, if I can find a discount code I'll include it.

I absolutely love to receive receiving a candle or fragrance as a gift. I know that fragrance is such a personal thing, but if people know the kind of one you usually like, it's not too difficult to buy similar. It's tricky this year as stores won't be open until December and, because I haven't been in one for so long, I'm unsure if you can actually spray testers, due to Covid restrictions, but I'm going to share some of my favourites with you today and I hope they serve as some inspiration. An alternative would be to buy the body lotion or shower gel of a fragrance that you know the person you're buying for, loves. I have fragrances, candles, a diffuser and room sprays.

Jo Loves is a brand that I first had a fragrance from two years ago, and am now obsessed! I don't think that you can go wrong with any of her fragrances but the ones that I have are Pomelo, White Rose & Lemon Leaves,  Mango Thai Lime and Jo by Jo Loves. If you are unsure where to start, there's always her Discovery Collection, which contains seven mini fragrances. There are also some Christmas baubles, which contain a fragrance, shower gel and body lotion. I've written more about the scents here.

Jo Malone always does Christmas so well, with some limited edition fragrances and this year, there are two, although White Moss & Snowdrop is a re-release from previous years. I bought Midnight Musk and Amber, which is housed in a stunning bottle -  ribbed, with a diamond shaped lid. This is only available in a 100ml bottle. It's a warm fragrance, as you'd imagine from the name, but it isn't overpowering.  Juniper is actually the top note, so that combined with amber and midnight musk, means that whilst it's warm and powdery, it's also fresh. I like that while I will associate it with the festive season, it can be worn all year round because the notes will work in all seasons.

Another fragrance, which is feminine,  but not too sweet, is Tiffany & Love for her (also nice if you like his & her matching fragrances). It's a sparkling, fresh scent with a hint of woodiness. The notes include Blue Basil, Neroli and Blue Sequoia, but also Cedarwood, so it opens as a fresh scent and dries down to a musky scent. It's perfect for both day and night wear, all year round.

I honestly don't know if I could receive a better gift than a candle or diffuser. I just love having my environment smelling good - it lifts my spirits. The best gift I received this year is the Neom Wellbeing Pod Diffuser, it isn't cheap at £90, however I have used it every single day since receiving and will continue to do so. The oils are £20 each, or a set of four for £60 and you can make a further saving with the code LYMIN if you buy them on Look Fantastic. I've ordered the Perfect Peace Essential Oil Blend, as I bought that candle last year and loved it - t's festive, without being too warm as it doesn't contain notes of cloves or cinnamon, but if that's the kind of scent you like, you'll find one of those too.

The L'Occitane Relaxing Home Duo Set* contains a candle and pillow spray - a perfect gift for anyone who has trouble sleeping, as the candle combines notes of lavender, mandarin, bergamot, sweet orange and geranium - a really relaxing blend. I love to light the candle for an hour or two before I plan on going to bed and then a few spritzes of the Pillow Mist and I drift off happily! This duo set is priced at £36.

Molton Brown* release a new fragrance every Christmas, and this year it's Juniper Jazz*. There are a range of products available, from a shower gel bauble to a fragrance, but the two products that I recommend, which aren't too expensive, but will make the fragrance linger are the Bath & Shower Gel and Body Lotion. The scent is a beautiful combination of juniper berries, mint, woody notes, sandalwood and musk. I also love that the shower gel has a finely milled glitter throughout - how festive! Either one of these would make a gorgeous gift, but as a duo, layering the scent makes it last longer.

Anything marked with a * was kindly gifted to me, without obligation

Now, on to candles. For a traditional festive scent, I bought Jo Loves Christmas Trees Candle because I love the scent of pine needles and fir balsam - it gives the room a cosy feel and I can smell it even when unlit.

Two other Christmas candles that I would highly recommend as gifts, but I just don't have them this year (yet, I'm still tempted to buy them), are Jo Malone Pine & Eucalyptus and Orange Bitters, both of which I have had in previous years. The Pine & Eucalyptus fragrance also comes in diffuser form and a room spray, whilst Orange Bitters is available in Cologne and candle form.  

If you'd prefer to buy a candle that isn't festive, I highly recommend checking out Overose candles, all of which are based around roses, with a different blend for each candle. The pink holders are so pretty, but it's the scent itself, which is the star of the show. Gaiasilk is a creamy vanilla, amber, sandalwood and rose mix. Nympholia is a more feminine scent, with notes of cotton, orange blossom water, lily of the valley and, of course, rose.      

Rituals candles are real treats (I did have one dud, but in general, I love them), full of fragrance and housed beautifully in boxes, which make them appear a lot more expensive. My two top picks are Oriental Vetiver, which is a fresh, but also sweet fragrance, tat fills the room with scent, and Imperial Rose, which combines notes of rose, musk and green tea, to create a beautiful, exotic rose fragrance.

Clean Reserve Warm Cotton candle* is a beautiful, comforting, fresh laundry fragrance, which is also warm. It would make beautiful gift, for someone who doesn't particularly like scents are too floral or sweet.

Some people don't like candles, or can't use them, due to having small children around, so a room spray is a gorgeous gift idea. The two that I recommend are Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia, which is a nice, fresh scent - quite Spring-like, and Diptyque Sapin De Nuit Room Spray, which basically smells like what I imagine a Christmas tree forest/farm would smell like. It's fresh, with notes of pine and Eucalyptus and would be perfect if you have an artificial tree and miss the scent of a real Christmas tree. It isn't overpowering, but does linger in the room for quite a few hours.

Do you like to receive fragrance or candles for Christmas? Which one would you most like to find under the tree? I'd love to hear!

Thanks for reading!

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All products are bought by me, unless otherwise stated. Anything marked with a * has been kindly gifted, without obligation. I don't do sponsored posts. Opinion is always my own. Affiliate links may be used.