Bath and Body Works Holiday Gift Guide

Bath and Body Works is a great place to get your holiday shopping done all at once! It's been a long time since I shopped in-store, and it was a fun experience to get to know the new holiday assortment and discover new scents. As I picked up gifts for myself, I also grabbed a bunch for family. 

The 3-wick candles are at the top of my gift list, as well as the cleansing gel and foaming hand soaps, along with festive holders to pair them with. There are great gift under $20 including the Winter Candy Apple body wash, body cream and fine fragrance mist set, but it's also easy to create your own gift set. Don't forget to pick up stocking stuffers such as the PocketBac anti-bacterial hand gels + holders, hand cream and lip products (scrub, mask or lip gloss), all great for travel or to throw in your bag. With many promotions changing from week to week, it's great to mix and match products and fragrances. 

Some of the new fragrances this season include Woodlands (men's collection), Luminous and Northern Brights Eucalyptus & Pine. If you want to shop for holiday scents I recommend Winter Candy Apple, Bright Christmas Morning, Winterberry Ice, and Snowflakes and Cashmere. 

A must-have for me during the holidays are candles and hand soaps in a traditional pine fragrance and Bath and Body Works has a few options, including Tree Farm and Fresh Balsam which I both love. For year-round scents, check out Champagne Toast, Aromatherapy Lavender + Vanilla and Chasing Fireflies.

- Kim Weling

Lavanila Laboratories Holiday Stocking Stuffers and Gift Sets

Lavanila I Love Lavanila Vanilla Grapefruit, $49.50

Just two more shopping days left!If you happen to find yourself looking for last-minute gifts at Sephora, check out Lavanila Laboratories healthy fragrances. Lavanila fragrances ($58) are all based around a vanilla scent. The collection includes Pure Vanilla, Vanilla Passion Fruit, Vanilla Lavender, Vanilla Coconut, my favorite Vanilla Grapefruit, and the newly launched holiday fragrance - Blackberry Vanilla. Lavanila's scents contain natural ingredients like essential oils, 100% natural botanical extracts, spring water and organic cane alcohol, and are free of drying alcohol, petrochemicals and phthalates. The scents are healthy and sweet-smelling, yet not overpowering. Some of the natural ingredients include Goji Berries, Kakadu Plum, Olive Leaf Extract and Canadian Willowherb. 

Lavanila's rollerball ($19) and mini deodorant ($10) make great stocking stuffers. I love to keep both the rollerball and mini deodorant at the office, but they are are also great for travel or to throw in your gym bag or purse. My skin is sensitive to deodorants, and I'm glad I finally found one I like that has odor protection and doesn't irritate my skin, or have harsh chemicals. The Healthy Deodorant is free of Aluminum, Parabens, Propylene Glycol, Talc, Phthalates and Triclosan. It is formulated with health-promoting beta-glucan technology packed with anti-oxidants, active botanicals and essential oils. 

If you are thinking of gifting several of Lavila products, check out the gift sets. Lavanila Laboratories is available at Sephora, sephora.com and lavanila.com. 

Lavanila Pamper and Protect Pure Vanilla Gift Set, $30

- Kim Weling

Yankee Candle and Bridgewater Candle Company Holiday Fragrances

 Time to pick up those last-minute gifts! I lost track of how many candles I own but it's still a gift I love getting and giving, especially when you come across an amazing fragrance. My favorite this season is Yankee Candle Red Velvet. Red velvet happens to be my favorite dessert flavor and this smells like the real thing - a delicious, sweet mix of brown sugar, red velvet cake and creamy frosting. Red Velvet comes in different candle sizes from the large jar ($27.99) to the tumbler ($15.99) and small ($10.99).

Bridgewater Candle Company holiday scents include Mistletoe Wishes, Snow Day and my favorite of the three - Dear Santa, which smells like freshly baked gingerbread cookies. These festive scents make a great gift as a large candle ($20), petite reed diffuser ($18) or candle tin as a stocking stuffer ($10). Purchasing a Bridgewater Jar Candle also helps a great cause, as Bridgewater Candle Company will make a donation to Rice Bowls to feed one orphaned child for a day. 

- Kim Weling

L'OCCITANE Holiday Gifts and New Boutique Openings in NYC

L'OCCITANE has the perfect gifts for the holiday season, including skincare, body care and fragrance products. I recently viewed their holiday collection at their heritage boutique at 180 East 86th Street, which had opened at the end of October. The heritage boutique honors the brand's history and tells the story of L'OCCITANE through dramatic design elements and visuals.

The new boutique is spacious and inviting, with reclaimed vintage furniture and authentic Provencal decor. If you have never tried any of L'OCCITANE's products, you should try one of their signature services, including skincare and hair care consultation areas and a hand massage station.

L'OCCITANE also just opened up a flagship in flatiron on December 1st, at 170 5th Avenue at 22nd Street. If you can't make it to a L'OCCITANE boutique, you can shop online at loccitane.com.

The holiday collection is inspired by a a small village in the south of France, where a classic fragrance distillery - Confiserie Florian, transforms fruits and flowers into decadent delights. In its workshops, fragrant flower petals are draped in sugar and sun-drenched citruses are transformed into delectable candied fruits. If this sounds enticing to you, then you'll love Délice des Fruits - Lemon & Clementine and Délice des Fleurs - Rose & Violet collections.

If you are looking for gift sets, check these out! You can choose from Shea Embrace - $72, A Lavender Spa - $58, Verbena Sparkling Delight - $58, Immortelle Precious Collection, Bouquet of Peonies - $72, Almond Enchantment - $68 or A Man's Ritual for the special guy in your life.

'Petite Confections' make great stocking stuffers or are perfect for traveling during the holiday season. Featured here are eau de toilette roll-ons and solid perfume, shea butter lip balm, pure shea butter, lip gloss, hand and foot creams and soaps.

Everyone needs hand cream, especially during the cold, winter months! They are sold individually or as a set in a variety of different scents. Check out the Passport to Province - $98 (shown below), Hand Indulgences - $26 and Hand Cream Bouquet - $50.

Men's skincare & fragrances

Here is founder Olivier Baussan at the 86th Street boutique, standing next to a Citroen 2CV car, just like the one Olivier first used when he got his start selling soaps and essential oils in the markets of Provence.

- Kim Weling