The is nothing more appreciated than a helping hand during the holiday season. Let the staff of Icon Vs. Icon help you plan your shopping list with our annual gift guide. We’ve chosen some iconic brands, some up and coming brands, and a few items that will allow you to think outside the box to create or choose your own special gift. Items range from a few dollars to several thousand, but most are geared towards people like us: regular working stiffs who just want to give a great present that won’t break the bank! Start making that list, we’ve got the best roundup of gifts that everyone will enjoy! The second part of our series is “For Her!” — Get a look at some unique items for the holiday season that may prove to be the perfect gift for that special lady in your life!
Kindred Stones
Buying a present for that special woman in your life can be a daunting task, so let’s try to make it simple. What does every woman love? Jewelry! However, how do you make sure the piece you purchase is both special and unique? Don’t worry. Breath! We’ll get through this together!
This holiday season, stay away from the big box stores with run-of-the-mill items and go for a custom-designed jewelry line featuring unique and powerful zodiac gemstones known for energetic properties — Kindred Stones (www.kindredstones.com).
These precious and semi-precious stones are collected from around the world and can harness energy to do an array of things, from attracting love to promoting fertility to deflecting fear, worry and negativity. They have a stone for everything!
You pick the amount of stones, the chain, the energetic property and voilà, your unique and personal piece of jewelry is complete. Show that special person in your life how truly special they are!
My gorgeous necklace features black onyx to wear when I need personal strength, vigor, stamina and confidence, and aventurine for power and prosperity to stimulate my inner creativity, promote decisiveness and enhance leadership.
Anjolee Diamond and Gemstone Anniversary Rings
Although it used to be that you would give an anniversary ring because, as the name implies, it’s your anniversary, but in 2011 that rule doesn’t apply any more. Trust me, I’m a girl and I know these things! You may also think that jewelry is sort of a no-brainer gift, but when you buy from Anjolee you aren’t just clicking on a “BUY” button and putting in your credit card info. Anjolee has been in business since 1974, and while their gorgeous jewelry can be found in many stores their website offers a unique experience that lets you decide exactly what you want for the lady in your life. Does she prefer yellow gold to white? Then you can choose yellow gold. Would she rather have garnets or sapphires because they represent your children’s birthstones but the ring is being shown with peridots? No problem, with just a click you can choose the stones YOU want.
Take for example their Five Across Alternating Gemstone Anniversary Ring
You first choose the metal for the band, then the carat weight of the stones, next you chose the gemstones you would like to incorporate into the ring, then the ring size, and finally the quality of the diamonds. Price will depend on the choices you make, and you can always go back and alter your choices. All jewelry ordered comes with a certificate of authenticity and you can even add a third party i.g.i appraisal certificate to your order if you choose. This particular ring is absolutely beautiful and in my opinion is a simple and clean look that would go great with a wedding set or by itself.
Also take a look at the Beaded Edge Detail Gemstone Ring!
I love the beaded edge detail which gives this ring a more contemporary feel, and it has a channel set look although there are small prongs holding each stone into place. This ring can be chosen to be made in two different weights, and remember to check out the sidebar where you can listen to a commentary about the ring and see it in a 360 degree view.
My favorite, and the ring I personally chose is the Splendid Romance Double Row Gemstone Ring.
This is a .42 carat weight ring with 42 stones set in a double row. GORGEOUS! Diamonds and your choice of gemstone (I chose garnets) alternate along the top of the ring and make this item of jewelry a statement piece of good taste.
The fact that it has 42 stones makes it very eye-catching in appearance and something that’s different from the typical look of an anniversary ring. It would be perfect to stack a few of these, which would create an even bolder reflection of the type of jewelry the wearer likes and you again can choose the gemstones based on her favorite stones or color, her birthday, yours, or children.
Each ring comes in a luxurious wood box with a leatherette interior, a sterling silver heart pendant (Bonus! Another gift!), and a certificate of authenticity. But Anjolee doesn’t just have rings, please take a look around their site as they offer any type of jewelry you are looking to purchase. Visit Anjolee’s official website at www.anjolee.com .
Vera Wang Lovestruck Perfume
Another item that may strike the “she’ll think I put no thought into this” myth, but again you must trust that my intuition on what a woman really wants is spot on. Okay, I’ll give you this: if she’d rather be on a field trying to tackle Tim Tebow then maybe she wouldn’t like this as a gift. And please not I didn’t say watching him be tackle, I said doing it herself. I believe I am a 9.5 out of ten on recommending a great present so you need to listen to me!
With notes of pink guava, mandarin, tuberose, lotus blossom, precious woods, and sheer musk, Lovestruck by Vera Wang is Vera’s interpretation of being madly in love. It’s been called a spontaneous and romantic fragrance and I think those categories are correct, however it’s unlike any fragrance typically classified in the floral or romantic genre. One thing I like about it is that it’s light yet still noticeable because of the woodsy and musk notes, and it really stays with you throughout the day but isn’t overbearing. And hey, nothing is worse than having to sit beside the person who is wearing some harsh stallion fragrance for eight hours a day! You won’t have that problem with Lovestruck!
Something else that I really like about it is the packaging. Instead of a plain bottle with the name labeled on the front this design is something that’s very pretty and can be kept out on a dresser or vanity. The 3.4 oz. has six plum colored flowers and a matching tulle bow, there is also a 1.7 oz., a 1 oz., and a .35 oz. roll-on tube. The fragrance was created by Stephen Nilsen from Givaudan in collaboration with Doreen Bollhoer, under the supervision of the Coty cosmetic company. It can be purchased at Sephora or Ulta is still offering a special buy gift set that comes with the 3.4 oz. eau de parfum Spray and a 5.0 body lotion. You also get a free robe right now for buying a fragrance that is over $30.
June Jacobs
What do women love besides jewelry? To be pampered, of course! Obviously not everyone can afford regular spa days so the next best thing is to bring the spa to your home!
June Jacobs Spa Collection — junejacobs.com — features everything needed to pamper yourself at home, from cleansers, scrubs and toners to serums, moisturizers and age defying products, they have items to brighten, soothe and heal from your lips and hair to your skin to under your eye to your feet, they’ve got your body covered!
This year pamper your loved one! Not sure what to purchase? Try one of June Jacobs’ kits! I love my Peppermint Hand and Foot Travel Kit with the polish, cuticle recovery cream, therapy lotion, foot mist and the refreshingly rich smell, I can pamper myself at home or on the road!
June Jacobs is the creator of three global skin care lines so leave your pampering up to the expert! They also have a fabulous men’s care line!
Sephora
For that makeup lover in your life, give the gift of variety this holiday season with Tarte: The Jewelry Box from Sephora. This limited-edition palette features 32 new eyeshadows, eight lip glosses, a mineral bronzer, shimmering powder, five long-wearing eyeliners, and a detachable necklace. Last Christmas I received a gift box similar to this – they have different ones to choose from — and loved it! It’s the ultimate kit for women and teens who love makeup, always wanting to try out new shades, colors and looks. It’s like playing dress up for adults! This kit not for your giftee? Sephora’s not just about makeup, but skin care, cosmetics, fragrance and perfume, hair, beauty products and even makeup tips. Stepping in to a Sephora store can be overwhelming with so many products, so ask for help! Tarte: The Jewelry Box is available at www.sephora.com to order online or find a store near you.
LUSH Handmade Soaps and Cosmetics
“Guilt free luxury” are the words that come to mind when talking about LUSH products. Why? Guilt free because LUSH is committed to the practice of no animal testing, using little packaging for their products (they call them “naked”), recycling, using little or no preservatives, making products from fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, the finest essential oils and little synthetics, and they ethically source their materials from all over the world. The luxury comes in when you use the products: Candy Cane Bubble Bars that smell so good you want to eat them and make the greatest long lasting bubbles, Snow Fairy lip tint that tastes like bubblegum and makes your lips shiny and pink, Honey I Washed The Kids soap which smells like toffee and is loaded with honey and aloe and is infused with bergamot and sweet orange, the Lil LUSH Pud Figgy Christmas Fizzer a bath bomb that leaves you dreaming of figgy pudding and makes your bath smell like cloves and a slight lemon scent and leaves your skin feeling soft as a baby.
There are hundreds of items to chose, from fragrances to hair care, skin products and bath items. This season I would choose from the Holiday line, easily seen at www.lush.com or by going into one of your nearest shops to touch, smell and see the products. The items are for anyone, but for women the Stardust Gift Box would be a great choice. It comes with a Candy Cane Bubble Bar, Angel’s Delight Gift Star, Snow Fairy Shower Gel, Twilight bath bomb, Bon Bon lip scrub, Sugar Plum Fairy shower scrub, and Iced Wine shower jelly, packed and ready to give wrapped in pink star paper with a silver bow and gift tag. Or you can mix it up and choose the wrapping that you want. This particular box set is $49.95 and can be found at www.lushusa.com/shop/products/gifts/wrapped/stardust-gift.
Jason Price founded the mighty Icon Vs. Icon more than a decade ago. Along the way, he’s assembled an amazing group of like-minded individuals to spread the word on some of the most unique people and projects on the pop culture landscape.
