(Review, Giveaway) Beauty Products That Smell Like Comfort Foods Gift Guide 2011

From comforting smells (hello mulled wine and cinnamon rolls) to the fir tree, the holidays are always about smells and the visuals. So, we bring you a variety of holiday products that are sure to evoke the comfort foodie in you. And, as with everything else that’s good for you, they’re calorie-free indulgences…how can you top that?

Laura Mercier Souffle Body Cream Sampler Set ($50)

Laura Mercier Holiday 2011 Souffle Sampler Set

This quartet of body creams is attractively priced when you know that an individual souffle body creme jar can retail well north of $50; four scents in one box is a great deal for the holidays. The scents come in new Fresh Fig, Almond Coconut Milk, Crème Brûleé and Crème de Pistache. Be careful you don’t put any on your fresh baked scones! Plus, the polyfoil tubes look tinsel-y.

The Body Shop Cranberry Joy Body Scrub and Soap ($18)

Nothing beats a jar of Body Shop Body Butter…at least that’s the saying in my household. This season, I love the way they’ve packaged the essence of cranberry into a delicious scrub and a complimentary soap. The scent is not too strong (no clothespin needed), and the packaging is all about the festive…the label looks like good wrapping paper, no?

L’Occitane Holiday Hand Cream Bouquet ($50)

LOccitane Hand Cream Holiday 2011 set

If you’ve wanted a hand cream set that looks like pure luxury, smells like a hothouse, and is packaged like Kate’s Paperie, then you’ve hit the jackpot when it comes to L’Occitane’s new Holiday Hand Cream Bouquet featuring six mini Shea Butter Hand Creams. Seriously, it’s one of the finest items you can spend your money on this season, and the payoff is richly hydrated hands. Who needs wrapping paper and creme brulee when you can just gift this beauty?

The scents include Cocoa Flower, Desert Rose, Hibiscus Flower, Pivoine Flora, Shea Butter and Vanilla (all one ounce each).

L’Occitane Limited Edition Shea Butter Collection

LOccitane Hand Cream Cocoa Flower Hugs and Kisses

The Cocoa Flower Hugs and Kisses Hand Cream and Lip Balm Set retails for $19 and makes a perfect stocking stuffer

With packaging designed by L’Occitane founder Olivier Baussan, the Limited Edition collection features the essences of indigenous African flowers. Think Desert Rose (which reminds me of Indian sweets), Hibiscus (which reminds me of Argo Tea’s Hibiscus Coolers) and Cocoa Flower from the Ivory Coast, which does smell faintly chocolate-y.

The products range from the Ultra Rich Body Cream ($21), Hand Cream ($10) and Lip Balm ($12).

Shiseido Honey Cake Soap

Shiseido Honey Cake

Did someone mention honey and cake in the same sentence? And wait, it’s green? This is the cult classic that launched in 1956 and it’s back for the holidays! These luxurious French-milled soaps are translucent and pretty delicious to smell too. Best of all, for only $7.50 you get a product that you can use for both your body and hair. It’s available exclusively online at Shiseido.com now through the holidays, in two colors: ruby red and green.

We are giving away one product from the above to a lucky winner. Leave a comment below to tell us what YOUR favorite holiday comfort food is.

Charu Suri

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