It's Not Too Late! These Luxe Aesop Sets Make the Perfect Last-Minute Presents for Beauty Enthusiasts
For the skincare purist, the "everything shower" savant, and the home-fragrance lover.
In case you're not like me and don't drift into an Aesop store every chance you get (or find scrolling its social media accounts an endless source of lifestyle and beauty inspiration), Aesop just unveiled its largest collection of seasonal, limited-release gift kits to date with 13 stunning offerings for all manner of rooms and recipients. According to the brand, this year's theme is "from our home to yours," drawing from to Aesop's reverence for "well-considered design and expertise in hosting." These kits paint a world where busy hands prepare a miniature for the festivities to come in an abode where each one's richly, sensorial products become guests.
As a longtime fan of the brand, I was first in line to find out more about the offerings and snag a few for friends and family to enjoy during this holiday season. Below, I'm exploring eight of the the gift kits I've already picked up, plus an exclusive, insider's scoop on the inspiration behind the launch straight from Aesop. Sure, the clock is ticking and the holidays are right around the corner, but we've got you covered. Keep reading to learn more about the products hidden in each box and discover some new favorites along the way to add to your wish list (because why not also treat yourself as long as you're doing some online and in-person shopping?).
The Inspiration Behind Aesop's Gift Kits
Aesop's gifting collection this year is coming at you with 13 limited-release gift kits including an Advent calendar with essentials tucked behind each door. Aesop tells us its offerings include "modest gestures with which to fill those proverbial stocking, to grander, more palatial present." Each one is designed to relate not just to a particular room but to a moment. Party in the Greenhouse ($132) is occupied by geranium leaf formulations, while Shower Room Serenades ($65) features the Eleos Nourishing Body Cleanser ($37) and Eleos Aromatique Hand Balm ($35). Each offering is housed in boxes befitting the theme and occasion. Each sleeve design puts a small illustration of a different domestic object on display.
Aesop says that colors used for the kits are a smart nod to architect and artist Le Corbusier's Architectural Polychromy, "a palette of hues chosen because of how they combine to harmonious effect for a building's occupants." Trained eyes will notice some of the same shades used in its stores to blend minimalistic, natural touches with grounding, sculptural elements. The boxes are crafted from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Mix Materials and designed to be sorted in the paper recycling or repurposed to hold keepsakes.
The brand also tells us that each gift kit was designed with the intent of enlivening a particular room, moment, or occasions with its unique contents. In Shower Room Serenades, for example, Eleos Aromatique Hand Balm ($35) with it's skin-softening butters and oils the cream-based wash Eleos Nourishing Body Cleanser ($37) are both front and center with a woody, herbaceous, warm aroma that lingers on newly revitalized skin. "More broadly, the entire collection brings Aesop's approach to formulation to life: complex, distinctive aromas; proven efficacy; and ingredients—whether plant-based or laboratory-made—that are all ethically sourced and selected for safety," Aesop says.
The Seasonal Gift Kit Breakdown
Products: Reverence Aromatique Hand Wash, Reverence Aromatique Hand Balm, Polish Bar Soap
Described by Aesop as "a sink-side staple," this kit provides sensorial handcare for everyone but works especially well for anyone who frequents the kitchen. The Reverence Aromatique Hand Wash uses a formula that mixes finely milled pumice with botanical extracts to cleanse skin, which can be followed by the hand balm to keep the hydration going. Top it off by using the bar soap for soft, supple skin, and you've got a winner.
Products: Eleos Aromatique Hand Balm, Eleos Nourishing Body Cleanser
Weather-wearied skin have nothing against this bodycare duo. The Show Room Serenades comes with two Eleos formulations sharing woody, herbaceous aroma that evokes a winter escape to a cozy mountain cabin. While the combined cost of these two would be $72, this kit allows you to snag it for $65. The hand balm uses botanical butters to soften and restore skin, while the body cleanser purifies and hydrates skin with a botanical blend.
Products: Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste, Blue Chamomile Facial Hydrating Masque
Aesop's Serenity at the Basin kit boasts a skincare duo that, when used in tandem, purifies and hydrates like a dream. The Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste serves as a skin-softening facial exfoliant that works to slough away dead skin cells, revealing brighter, rejuvenated skin beneath. To give your skin an extra burst of hydration, use the Blue Chamomile Facial Hydrating Masque. It replenishes and softens skin using a formula with niacinamide , sodium carrageenan, and bisabolol for a dewy finish.
Products: Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser, Geranium Leaf Body Scrub, Geranium Leaf Body Balm
Every energizing product included in this seasonal gift kit is fresh, vibrant, and green. Party in the Greenhouse contains a trio of formulations from the Geranium Leaf range to nourish, revive, and subtly scent the skin in a recycled cardboard gift box designed to be repurposed. The vivifying body cleanser sweeps away dry skin with a lightly, exfoliating formula while the body cleanser flushes skin with skin-loving ingredients. The body balm locks in moisture with nourishing nut oils and the bright scent of geranium leaf, red mandarin, and bergamot rind.
Products: Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash, Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm, Nurture Bar Soap, Olous Aromatique Room Spray
Every space deserves a luxe aromatic hand-and-body ensemble that feels luxe, and this kit also happens to also feature a refreshing room spray and gentle bar soap for $155 (purchased individually would land you at a total of $175). Designed for the basin, the Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash and Hand Balm imparts a citrus, herbaceous, and woody fragrance, while the Nurture Bar Soap offers an effective-yet-gentle cleanse. The Olous Aromatique Room Spray combines notes of cedar, citrus, and cardamom to evoke the Mediterranean.
Products: Geranium Lead Body Cleanser, Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm
This hand-and-bodycare set includes two Aesop favorites: its Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser and Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm. Purchased individually, the combined cost of these two items totals $56, but the kit gets you both for $52 (more savings for you!). Aesop's Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser lathers beautifully while cleansing the skin, and the Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm treats dry hands to a woody, herbaceous sent and softening ingredients.
Products: Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm, Reverence Aromatique Hand Balm, and Elos Aromatique Hand Balm
Unsure of which Aesop gift kit to snag? Consider giving Helping Hands a go. This one includes three rich hand balms to protect skin from cold, dry winter weather so hands can remain supple, hydrated, and lightly scented. Resurrection leaves behind a scent that's citrus, woody, and herbaceous, while Reverance explores notes that are woody, earthy, and smoky. Eros embraces all things herbaceous, woody, and spicy.
Currently available for in-store purchase only.
Products: Marrakech Intense Parfum, Refresh Bar Soap, Damascan Rose Facial Treatment, Olous Aromatique Room Spray, and more
Of all the beauty- and wellness-centered advent calendars currently on the market, The Aesop Abode is at the top of my list for gifting friends and family. Behind 13 doors (counting canonically to 25, but in odd numbers only) are some of Aesop's favorite home, body, skin, and decorative object essentials. It's he biggest thing any self-care lover should receive this year. Act fast! It has a limit-release in-store.
Discover More Aesop Favorites
Scent Type: Aromatic spices
Notes: Cardamom, bergamot, elemi, frankincense, labdanum, cypriol heart, vanilla bean, cinnamon
Aesop's Above Us, Steorra is the constellations and the cosmos bottled for a scent that shines. A luminous blend of aromatic spices, it boasts notes of glowing amber and sizzling cardamom set against a base of frankincense, labdanum, and smooth vanilla bean. I take a trip to the stars with every spritz and can see myself wearing it when the clock strikes 12 on New Year's Eve.
Scent Type: Woody florals
Notes: Roman chamomile, cardamom, pink pepper, magnolia leaf, geranium leaf, cardamom, sandalwood, cedar heart, cypriol heart
I've written a few love letters to powdery, white florals featuring magnolia notes, so why wouldn't I dedicate another to the Aurner Eau de Parfum? Described by Aesop to be a "a defiant floral fragrance with unexpected contrasts," the perfume fuses rousing green, herbaceous spices. with fresh magnolia leaf to round out its woody notes. The nose behind the scent is Aesop's long-term collaborator Céline Barel.
Scent Type: Resinous woods
Notes: Hinoki, cinnamon, clove
This grounding, aromatic blend is comprised of fresh, woody Hinoki resins and a blend of warm spices (cinnamon and clove) gently smolders, releasing ribbons of aroma. It includes 33 sticks offering approximately 30 minutes of burn time, and a Kuma pumice incense holder.
There's no better way to elevate your bathing routine that by adding this hydrating body cleanser to the lineup. Its creamy texture is enhanced with a unique blend of botanicals renowned for their purifying abilities to revitalize dry, dehydrated skin. Infused with a combination of cedar atlas, patchouli, and clove bud, this one will leave you soft, supple, and lightly scented.
Before reaching for any body cleanser, however, use this non-perturbing bar soap to cleanse my skin without stripping it of moisture. It nurtures the skin, scenting it with a woody, herbaceous mix of cedar atlas, lavender stem, and rosemary leaf. Designed to be used in the bath or at the basin, follow with your favorite hand or body hydrator.
Selecting my favorite hand soaps and creams isn't an easy task in Aesop (there are too many to pick from), but if I had to land on an aromatic duo that I keep coming back to, it would be the Resurrection Duet. Featuring two noteworthy formulations in a hand wash and balm, its boasts a cozy, citrus, woody, herbaceous aroma that can transform any bathroom into a spa retreat.
