Saturday 29 December 2012

Scented Santa 2012 - The Inventory

So, Christmas is over and it is time to put away the presents, though not the decorations. They have another week or so to run thank goodness, as I am a two-tree household and it will be a bit of a performance to dismantle everything come January 6th. I don't know about you, but I always find it difficult to put away my Christmas presents immediately after opening them. If I do that it makes me feel I haven't actually received anything, which is silly I know. Yes, I leave the presents for a few days where I can view them - I'd say like a deceased family member in a chapel of rest if it weren't such a ghoulish image. They start off on the living room floor where the unwrapping session took place, then they typically migrate to on top of a bed, and then finally get dispersed to a suitable long term home.

Presents come in a variety of categories: first off there are the ones with an immediate wow factor (an axe!, a beautiful scarf!, a set of funky cheese knives!, a packet of fudge (briefly) pre-owned by Tom Cruise!).


FUNKY CHEESE KNIVES - DIDN'T I DO WELL FOR CUTTING IMPLEMENTS THIS CHRISTMAS!

Next up you have gifts that you really need and of which you will make extensive use, but which don't make the heart sing in quite the same way (a large mixing bowl!, a set of Russian doll measuring cups!). That said, the mixing bowl is just about as beautiful as a functional item of kitchenware can be, and I have already christened it with the stuffing.

Then there are the ones that you haven't worked out if they are really you or not, but you aspire to like them (a jar of antipasti aubergines!, facsimiles of vintage seed packets!).

And then there is inevitably the odd gift that is a complete non-starter for reasons too numerous to mention; these may actually bypass the bed display stage and go straight to the recycling box. I will draw a veil over the specifics of this year's (happily very few) "straight to box" candidates, but I can perhaps mention my mother's worse ever Christmas present, which was a pair of punctured rubber gloves.


A PAIR JUST LIKE THESE, BUT WITH A HOLE IN THEM

And perhaps I should create a separate category for my fragrant presents, which pretty much all fall in the wow factor category. It is a measure of how entrenched this perfume hobby has become that friends automatically think to buy me something in the "smellies" department in the broadest sense of the term, and that is absolutely fine by me.

(PICTURED AT THE TOP OF THE POST) A PERSONALISED SQUIRT AND SNIFF MUG FROM MY FRIEND GILLIE, WHO MADE THE COMMEMORATIVE CHARLIE BONKERS TILE.

If that lady is meant to represent me, I feel duty bound to point out that Gillie has been more than generous in the bosom department. ; - )


A DECANT OF LE LABO POIVRE 23 FROM THE VERY PSYCHIC LOVETHESCENTS!


A LIZ EARLE SKINCARE STARTER KIT

The Instant Boost Skin Tonic which comes with it has a delicate scent that is so nuanced and fresh that it would make a charming perfume in its own right. In fact I may do a post about the Liz Earle range at some point, as I have also recently tried her perfumes - I didn't even know she had any - but a friend had bottles of both!

Notes: organic aloe vera, calendula, rose-scented geranium, cucumber



FANCY SOAP - LIKE TOWELS, TEASPOONS AND WOOL, YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH

Note that one of the bars has an intriguing metal embellishment.



A FRAGRANT SWEDISH OWL

No prizes for guessing what he smells of - unless your Swedish is even worse than mine - and mine is seriously rudimentary.

I would be interested to hear about your perfume-themed presents this Christmas - and if you dare tell me, your worst gifts generally, and why they were so awful if it is not immediately apparent.


Photo of rubber gloves from thriftyfun.com

12 comments:

lovethescents said...

Oh I am so lucky and spoilt! I received a beautiful evening purse with a sample of my favorite winter green fragrance, Puredistance 1 <3 I got a STUNNING box of Oromovicza body oils that are TO-DIE-FOR. I also got a delightful tea towel.

I'm so glad you got spoilt too!

Happy New Year, lovely friend

Vanessa said...

Hey lovethescents,

Thanks for reporting in with your own fragrant gifts, one of which I do believe I recognise... : - )

Happy New Year to you too!

I am off now for a session of extreme turkey soup making, hard on the heels of yesterday's bout of extreme turkey goulashing. I think I have these leftovers under control now, just about.

Carol said...

That cup is soo cool - makes me itch to do my pottery again!

You smell mahvelous!

Vanessa said...

Hi Carol,

Isn't it fun? Hey, if you do pottery, you should get cracking. We need more perfume-themed mugs in the world!

Ari Weinberg said...

I am mighty jealous of that Poivre Piquant! I got to try it very briefly at Le Labo LA and was taken aback. At some point, Drew is going to get dispatched to Le Labo to get me a sample. I hope you had a wonderful christmas, Vanessa!

Undina said...

Since we exchange gifts for the New Year, not for Christmas, I can't report much: I got so far some sweets and books. But, if I know my friends and family, a wonderful gift - Opus I decant from a perfumista friend will be the only fragrant gift I'll have this year for all winter holidays I celebrate :)

You just have to take a picture of your measuring cups!

Vanessa said...

Hi Ari,

I think there's a good chance Drew's charm will crack the staff at Le Labo, but it is a house noted for its non-dispensing of samples - at the outlets I have visited over here at any rate. I managed to score my original sample of Poivre 23 on the second attempt at a different store!

Vanessa said...

Hi Undina,

I'm rooting for you and your Opus 1 gift! Books are also lovely presents - I got one for Christmas that had the most amazingly tactile cover. I just know that feeling it will be nearly as good as reading it, which absolutely isn't damning with faint praise!

Leave it with me - the cups I mean. If not on the blog, on FB!

Tara said...

What lovely,original presents you got!

Perfume-wise I got OJ's Champaca which I've wanted for ages.

The worst present I ever got was a wicker chicken from an aunt who is notorious for such "gifts" :)

Happy New Year V!

Vanessa said...

Hi Tara,

Happy for you and your Champaca.

Your aunt is the clear leader so far with her wicker chicken. The most that has got going for it is assonance! : - )

Anonymous said...

My mum's worst gift was an ugly, snuff-brown pair of trousers she bought in September for school and I told her to take back to the store. She then wrapped 'em up as my main Christmas present. I still didn't wear them...

Vanessa said...

Hi Anonymous,

That's a cracker - and if I may say so rather cheeky of your mum to persist in giving you an ugly garment you had already rejected. I am glad you stuck to your guns and didn't wear the trousers, but sorry that she made them your main Christmas present - that was so mean! : - (