Spanning skincare and fragrance, this Christmas grooming gift guide curates the season’s most noteworthy new releases and fancy festive offerings
At the recent Essentials Fall/Winter 2025 showcase, Knotty & Nice, niche perfumery brands such as Byredo and Ormaie, along with skincare purveyors like L:a Bruket, presented their latest launches alongside festive offerings. Here are some of our favourites—for gifting and for yourself.
Susanne Kaufmann Nutrient Serum
New to escentials, Susanne Kaufmann embodies a holistic approach to beauty, tapping into the power of nature and science. Powered by intelligent plant actives and advanced formulations, Susanne Kaufmann takes cues from the serenity of the Austrian Alps, ensuring each application is as efficacious as it is calming and gentle. A standout favourite, the Nutrient Serum—a cult classic that rarely stays on shelves for long—delivers the benefits of retinol without the associated irritation. Lightweight and fast-absorbing, it features NovoRetin, a proprietary plant-based retinol alternative, along with pine seedcake extract and Alpine edelweiss to strengthen skin health and help reverse visible signs of ageing. To boost hydration and comfort, hyaluronic acid plumps and smooths the skin, while bisabolol soothes irritation and reinforces the skin barrier.
Ormaie Toï Toï Toï
Also relatively new to escentials, Ormaie is a Parisian niche perfumery founded by a mother-and-son duo, who recently launched a new fragrance that feels like an olfactory dream. Encased in a bottle topped with an architectural cap inspired by a theatre stage, Toï Toï Toï Extrait presents a gourmand interpretation of its original woody blend. On the first spritz, top notes of bigarade orange, fresh ginger, and Somali incense emerge, giving way to a heart of raspberry wood, osmanthus, leather, and davana. The dry down exhales sandalwood, Haitian vetiver, Atlas cedar, and amber—completing a mystical yet comforting olfactory journey.
Penhaligon’s Luxury Luna Gift Set
The Penhaligon’s Luxury Luna Gift Set, part of the playful Ski Jumpers: Wrapped in Penhaligon’s campaign, pairs an eau de toilette with a candle in knitwear-inspired packaging that nods to the iconic Christmas jumper. Infused with the soft rose, resinous fir balsam, and comforting lift of the Luna fragrance, it’s a chic, offbeat gift that brings festive cheer—no wrapping required.
Read more about it here
L:a Bruket A Swedish Sea Ritual
Refreshes and revives like a plunge into the Nordic sea. Featuring the Refining Cleansing Foam, Plumping Ice Cube, and Gel Moisturiser, this vegan-certified ritual blends a wild berry complex with peptides to plump, brighten, and restore the skin’s natural glow—a sensorial ode to Swedish simplicity and innovation. The pièce de résistance, the Plumping Ice Cube, pays homage to DIY beauty hacks, where ice is used on the face to reduce the appearance of pores. Here, however, it goes further: combining cryo-effects with a blend of 99.9% natural ingredients, it leaves skin visibly plumped, tightened, and luminous.
Byredo Advent Calendar
The crown jewel of Byredo’s festive offering is the Advent Calendar—a sculptural, three-tiered bento box concealing 24 miniature treasures. More than a simple countdown, it encourages a measured, indulgent pace through the season. Inside, expect Eau de Parfum editions of Blanche, Gypsy Water, Mojave Ghost, and Bal d’Afrique, alongside the Chromophobia Lip Balm, a travel-ready hair perfume, hand creams, body wash, candles, a candle wick trimmer, and the Midnight pocket mirror.
Creed Gift Sets
Arriving beautifully decorated and wrapped, the Creed Gift Sets are foolproof choices for the season. Offered in 3 × 10ml and 5 × 10ml editions, they showcase two curated scent collections: For Men—featuring Aventus, Green Irish Tweed, and Silver Mountain Water—and For Women—including Aventus For Her, Carmina, and Queen of Silk. Each set is presented in festive, art deco-inspired packaging, with sharp geometric patterns and an emerald green palette that add a modern twist to seasonal elegance. One stop at Creed covers gifts for both men and women, perfectly embodying the adage: “kill two birds with one stone.”
