Editor’s picks: our luxury holiday gift guide 2021

December 16, 2021

And here we are once again: the holiday season is in full swing and FAJO‘s popular luxury gift guide is back!

You may have seen our previous gift guides, including the ones in 2019 and 2018. We’ve been compiling our top recommendations for many years, and 2021 is no exception.

As always, the holiday season is a time when our team of Senior Editors does extensive research to recommend some of the best, most coveted gift items that anyone on your shopping list would be delighted to receive. This year, we spent almost 3 months (!) sourcing products, before personally reviewing them for at least 2 weeks prior to this story going live.

Check out our Top 10 below in no particular order! 

1. Philips’ Sonicare 9900 Prestige toothbrush

If there was such a thing as a king of toothbrushes, it would be this one. Very few things can even remotely compare to the quality of brushing you would have with this model from Philips.

The new 9900 Prestige is Sonicare’s most advanced electric toothbrush with SenseIQ technology, designed to sense, adapt and care for a personalized approach to oral health. Did we mention that it’s powered by AI?

The toothbrush’s app works in perfect unison with the product itself, and provides real-time guidance and personalized recommendations to improve brushing habits, even without your phone at hand. 9900 Prestige also features a new clinically proven A3 Premium All-in-One brush head. It removes up to 20 times more plaque, provides up to 15 times healthier gums and up to 100% less stains in less than 2 days. It was also recently named an honouree at the CES 2021 Innovation Awards. Bonus: its elegant and compact travel case.

Retailing for $499.99.

– Reviewed by Hannah Yakobi.

2. Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Look gift set

Are you planning to spoil a glamourous beauty queen this year? Look and feel like a star this holiday season with the new Charlotte’s Hollywood Look gift set! This gorgeous box features 7 celebrity-loved red carpet iconic Charlotte Tilbury products and is the secret to bigger, brighter eyes and a dreamy, Hollywood-inspired soft-focus glow.

Complete with a quad eyeshadow palette, two liners, mascara, Charlotte’s famous magic cream, primer, highlighter and lip gloss, this set makes for the perfect treat for gifters looking to treat someone special to a one-stop-shop, luxury item. We love this set for creating simple yet impactful, soft or sultry, romantic to sexy looks on light to medium-dark skin tones.

Retailing for $250.

– Reviewed by Amy Pigeon.

3. ECCO’s Modtray boot

Nothing says “I care about you” more than a pair of great winter boots, and we have a wonderful gift option for you: ECCO’s Modtray boots. This stylish yet functional pair is crafted from smooth, full-grain leather. The boots are waterproof, which is a must for Canadian slushy winters. They are treated with signature, water-resistant ECCO HYDROMAX® technology to help keep feet dry. They also keep your feet very warm thanks to shearling lining and removable inlay sole.

Lightweight lugged sole provides cushioning and flexibility. And telling from personal experience, we can confirm that these are very comfortable! In addition, the rubber outsole of the boots uses a special ECCO technology, called TRAYTECH™, that offers stability and grip on slippery slopes. But the best part for any style-conscious person is the overall look of the boot, which is very stylish. Since they run a bit small, they don’t look chunky and are quite elegant!

Retailing for $300.

– Reviewed by Darina Granik.

4. FitBit’s Charge 5

With every model, FitBit takes the workout experience to the next level. FitBit Charge 5 is its most advanced fitness and health tracker to date. Whether you’ve upped your fitness routine during the pandemic, or are looking to get back on track, you can pair this product with a six-month Premium membership to connect the dots between your activity, sleep and stress. Think of it as a connect between body, mind and health.

On-wrist features like built-in GPS for real-time pace and distance or Active Zone Minutes will help you reach optimal intensity levels that are right for you. It’s also helpful that you can track your pace and heart rate zones throughout outdoor runs, hikes and rides. Some insights are also exceptional: like the EDA Scan for stress management, an ECG app, and high or low heart rate notifications.

I’d call this the most tech-advanced way to stay in shape and feel great — 2022, here we come!

Retailing for $229.95.

– Reviewed by Hannah Yakobi.

5. Bio-Soy’s Pillow

Start the new year with perfect sleep! One of the biggest highlights of the Bio-Soy pillow is that it’s made from all-natural ingredients. Its form-fitting memory foam is exceptional and made with bio-essential oils and Soyamboo®, which is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-allergic.

This pillow will keep you cool and dry, due to its excellent transpiration capabilities. It’s perfect regardless of how you sleep: on your sides, your back or your stomach.

The pillow cover can be removed and washed in cold water with regular laundry detergent. The pillow core can also be air dried. Effortless and easy to use all around.

Retailing for $209-$229.

– Reviewed by Hannah Yakobi.

6. Rizzoli Electa’s Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams book

“Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” is an accompanying edition for the exhibition that is currently on display at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City and runs until February 20, 2022. Whether you’ve had a chance to visit this breathtaking show, originally curated in Paris, this book is a great gift for any fashion lover. It is an exploration of Dior’s brand legacy of more than 70 years! From Monsieur Christian Dior in 1947 to Maria Grazia Chiuri in 2021 – the house of Dior has had an everlasting impact on fashion as well as Hollywood glamour, celebrity culture and art.

The book consists of not only pictures, but also essays on history of Christian Dior, his connections with America and Hollywood, fashion photographers and his major sources of inspiration.

Images feature creations by Christian Dior himself, as well as all of his six successors and artistic directors of the House of Dior: Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and current Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri. The edition features images of the gowns and artifacts from the exhibition, as well as beautiful high-fashion photographs of Hollywood stars and magazine editorials by many renowned American photographers, from Irving Penn and Richard Avedon to Steven Meisel and Annie Leibovitz.

This book will make a great gift for anyone building their fashion library, as well as fashion lovers and, of course, fans of Dior.

Retailing for $75.

– Reviewed by Darina Granik.

Image credits (from left to right): Image 1 - book cover; Image 2 - Evening dress in blackand-white printed faille. Haute Couture Fall–Winter 1986. Christian Dior by Marc Bohan. Dior Héritage collection, Paris.; Image 3 - Palmyre, evening dress in ice-blue satin embroidered with oriental-style floral motifs and palmettes in silver metallic thread, pastegemstones, beads, and sequins. Haute Couture Fall–Winter 1952, Profilée line. Christian Dior. Dior Héritage collection, Paris.

7. Estée Lauder’s Holiday Blockbuster set

What can only be described as one of Estée Lauder’s most exquisite holiday gift packages, this Holiday Blockbuster set is valued at $600 but is available for only $99 (!) with every purchase of $150. Stock is limited as this is a limited edition item, so make sure to buy it early.

Featuring a variety of skincare and makeup products, the set includes 9 full-sized items and a deluxe train case made from 100% recycled fabric. It also comprises some of Estée Lauder’s most popular products, such as its renowned serums. Inside the coveted box, you will discover the Advanced Night Repair Face Serum, the Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex Gel Creme, 2 Pure Color Envy Palettes in 18 essential shades for eyes and cheeks, mascara, lip sticks and eye makeup remover.

Regardless of the age or beauty preferences of your gift recipient, this set will cover all their needs for many months to come. It’s also beautifully packaged in a branded box, and will make it easy to gift wrap!

Valued at $600, retailing for $99 with every purchase of $150.

– Reviewed by Hannah Yakobi.

8. Grey Goose’s Holiday Gift Box

It’s one of the best spirits on the market, and this season it’s also available in a beautiful gift box! Everyone’s favourite vodka – Grey Goose – features refined ingredients and silky-smooth character. The bottle in this Grey Goose Holiday Gift Box is quite large but not too bulky at 750 ml, so you can even gift wrap it further if you wish, or just add a pretty ribbon to complete the look.

Best served over ice or in cocktails where its gentle sweetness can shine, this is a great gift for anyone on your list who has a sophisticated and refined taste.

Retailing for $51.95.

– Reviewed by Hannah Yakobi.

9. Dr. Martens x Heaven by Marc Jacobs boots

If you’re looking to gift an incredibly unique meets playful meets badass collectible item to a youthful-at-heart, funky fashion maven, we have the perfect gift for you!

The Dr. Martens x Heaven by Marc Jacobs boots are made from a 90s kid’s fashion dream. The Heaven by Marc Jacobs collaboration is a vision of the alternative subcultures that reigned over the ’90s and shaped the millennial generation (who, might we add, is one of the largest purchasing-power demographics to date). Driven by creative force and Brooklyn-based designer Ava Nirui – Heaven’s brainchild – this collab delivers an exciting energetic kaleidoscope of nostalgia paired with the newly minted, iconic Dr. Martens Audrick silhouette.

Not only will these boots have the wearers living their Cher Horowitz fantasies, but the boot (and equally badass shoe in the collection) are made with the new lightweight Quad soles for added comfort, a departure from the traditional “clunky” feeling associated with the brand.

Set on a towering, two-part 1.9″ Quad Neoteric sole for those ’90s platform vibes, the Audrick Daisy boots are studded with daisy-shaped eyelets and come with adorable Heaven by Marc Jacobs’ double-headed teddy lace charms.

These boots are perfect for the throwback fashionista looking to make a statement with a bold and youthful splash of colour and design.

Retailing for $280.

– Reviewed by Amy Pigeon.

10. Philips’ S7000 Shaver

An excellent gift for a man in your life, this shaver will help the skin, not irritate it. Philips S7000 is an elegant, affordable and luxurious product that allows for plenty of customization with the GroomTribe app. It features new and improved technology that automatically adapts to beard density for an effortless and gentle shave.

This shaver will glide smoothly over skin, while cutting each hair close – even on 3-day beards. Powerful yet gentle, the 45 self-sharpening SteelPrecision blades complete up to 90,000 cutting actions per minute, for a clean, comfortable finish.

Big bonus: its electric shaver motion-sensing technology will track how you shave and guide you to a more efficient technique.

Retailing for $199.99.

– Reviewed by Hannah Yakobi.

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