Holiday Gift Guide 2022

This year's gift guide is special. As a lifestyle editor at a bridal magazine, I get the opportunity to try hundreds of products each year.

- VICTOR AMOS

Some established, some new. Some expensive, some cheap. While it's tempting to give one's attention to the big brands that have massive marketing budgets, I really wanted to focus on making space for the new kid, right along with the heritage brands.

In that vein of thought, I'm kicking-off my recommendations with a brand I came to know about from one of my favorite fragrance boutiques, Nose Paris. In my opinion, oud is the best fragrance note on Earth. I was scrolling the site when the name "Wild Carrot Oud," along with the bright orange liquid filling the bottle, jumped off the page and screamed-out to me. I had no choice but to surrender my credit card and blind-buy a sample, and my intuition did not fail me. The scent was unlike anything I've ever smelled. Nothing in my vast collection of ouds held the space this fragrance filled. I knew I had to know more about Bohoboco.

I cracked my laptop open and began to travel down a wormhole, researching the brand and its creative director to understand the ethos. The start-up brand has taken its shape from the poetic mind of Michael Gilbert Lach. His fashion roots are at the heart of the brand's luxurious aesthetics, most notably the velvet tops on the crystal perfume bottles, an editorial touch that caught me by surprise.

Thankfully, the uniqueness does not end with the bottle. With olfactory mashups you wouldn't expect, like Black Pepper Vanilla, and heart-stoppingly vibrant scent bombs, like Wild Cherry Liquor, Michael takes us on a beautiful journey of sentimentality and playfulness. This line is for everyone. Michael set out to make Bohoboco a brand for those who eschew the confines of gender, age, and orientation, instead leaning into the confidence that comes from feeling good and smelling great and he's succeeded.

Saint Olio N°2 Neroli Aromatic