TRENDWATCH: TO WRAP OR NOT TO WRAP?
For the gift-giving season, take a cue from Jo Malone and Lush Cosmetics
In this season of gift-giving, the wrapping—or lack of it—is almost as crucial as what’s being wrapped. Jo Malone, the famous London perfumer, has tapped fashion designer Jonathan Saunders to design its bold, bright, multipatterned and crazy colorful Christmas gift boxes, such that the boxes feel like presents in themselves. The Saunders collectible boxes come in square, round, rectangular, triangular and pentagon shapes, in varied prints and colors—floral, candy stripes, chevron. Even the grosgrain gift ribbons come in varied patterns this season. A new scent, Green Almond & Redcurrant, comes in an opaque pink bottle with green and white label with a white cap. Some classic scents, like English Pear & Freesia and Pomegranate Noir, come in limited black-and-white striped bottles with a golden cap.
A very British tradition, the Jo Malone Advent Calendar is in a similarly colorful “house” with 24 windows, each bearing a much-loved Jo Malone product, including colognes and candles.
‘Naked’
Meanwhile, at another British brand, Lush Cosmetics is taking the exact opposite approach for holiday gifting. In its effort to be eco-conscious, the brand highlights its “Naked” products for holiday gifting— meaning, it has done away with the packaging of at least 80 percent of its season offerings.
Lush solid products like soaps, bath bombs and massage bars are formulated with very little to no water, such that they don’t need preservatives.
Lush has replaced the water content in these products with ingredients that stay solid in room temperature, so there’s no fear of bacteria growing in the products.
Lush also encourages the use of recyclable packaging for gifting. At the Lush boutiques, there are organic cotton Knot Wraps in colorful prints for wrapping furushiki-style, and these large scarves are reusable.
There are also reusable boxes and tins with festive prints to fill with Naked products.
Jo Malone London’s Crazy, Colorful Christmas Collection is now available at Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, SM Aura, SM Megamall, S Maison, Podium, Rustan’s Shangri-La, Rustan’s Cebu and Okada.