The Nose Knows

This holiday season has completely snuck up on Ms. New Beauty. This is her most favorite time of year, so she normally relishes every bit of the season. From the almost coma-inducing meal at Thanksgiving to decorating the house and staying up all night to watch the 24-hour Christmas Story marathon on TNT. But this year, the marathon may be the only part of the holiday season where MNB can just sit back and drink the merriment in. With a busy work schedule and a fresh, new apartment to decorate, she just hasn't had the time. And, forget about Christmas shopping. Ms. New Beauty just realized that she has presents to buy, make, and mail. At least she can try to help the other New Beauties of the world get their shopping done before the big day with a multi-part gift guide. This will be the first installation and totally devoted to the one beauty sector that gets the most love from stores and customers - Fragrance! And since MNB knows that sometimes her taste is too expensive for her readers, she's offering gifts for every wallet and budget.

Bond No. 9 I Love New York Double Decker Sampler Box

When I opened my email last week to find information about this new set from Bond No. 9, I almost died!!!! Bond No. 9 has pulled some of their sweetest smelling and best loved scents together for this gift set. Can you imagine - 12 bottles of Bond No. 9's absolutely luscious and luxurious scents, all in one box???? It definitely includes some of my favorites - Chinatown, The Scent of Peaces, Bleecker Street, Bryant Park, and Fire Island. Just the prospect of pulling this out from underneath the Christmas tree makes me squeal already (hint, hint - family, friends, and loves who secretly read my blog and think I don't know). Now, I know that the price of this is (understatement of the century alert!) a little much for some of you, but there are plenty that would willingly part with their money for this. Knock the socks off your young, trendy and glamorous sister or BFF with this amazing gift set.

$1600 (yes, that's two zeros), available at bondno9.com

Estee Lauder Fluttering Feather Perfume Compact

Every holiday season, Estee Lauder releases these pretty and precious little baubles filled with their best scents and powders. And every holiday season, I smile at them for weeks and weeks and hope someone who loves me will take notice.

How beautiful is this one??? This encrusted little feather houses a solid perfume compact of Estee's classic, signature scent White Linen. The solid form makes this scents so easy to reapply. This is the perfect pretty little thing to drop in your bag on your way out for a night on the town. And, it will surely dazzle whichever lucky young lady you love enough to give it to. This would make the perfect present for your elegant mother or grandmother.

$250, available at Neiman Marcus

Jo Malone Cologne Coffret Set

Jo Malone is the elegant British fragrance brand that brought the classic sensibilities of the single note scent combined with the thrill of infinite possibilities to fabulous women on this side of the Atlantic. This gift set combines six of the brand's fragrance sprays in deluxe combinations for ultimate mix-and-matchability. Unfortunalely, JM didn't put my absolute favorite (and probably her most popular) scent, French Lime, in this gift set. But there are still plenty of other scents to make your creative and classically beautiful big sister smell delightful. Buy this one in stores so that you can mix up your own fragrance recipes especially for the recipient to make her feel extra special this holiday.

$90, available at Neiman Marcus

Sephora Scent Sampler Certificate for Her

I recommended this ingenious gift idea and I'm doing it again this year because I think this is just such a perfect gift. What you get in this box is sample-sized bottles of Sephora's best selling perfumes. And, since popularity comes and goes, the scents included this year are completely different from the ones included last year. This time around, your fickle friend will get to test try scents like Vera Wang Princess, Guerlain My Insolence, and With Love . . . Hillary Duff to figure out which one is her favorite. When she finally has her heart set on the one she loves, all she has to do is take the included certificate into any Sephora store to redeem for a full-sized bottle of the perfume. It takes out the trouble of sniffing and smelling scents with someone else in mind for you and gives your friend the chance to get a gift she'll really love.

$50, available at Sephora


Phew!, well take a deep whiff something beautiful, and then give it to someone you love, just don't forget that Ms. New Beauty told you!

And stay tuned for the best in cosmetics, skincare, and gifts for him this holiday!