Gifts for the Aesthete, the Hair Enthusiast, and the Budding Chef

Wrote recently at our weekly newsletter that Holiday Gift Guides haven’t been a regular fixture at TIG (appearing more sporadically over the years), as shopping posts aren’t typically my favourite to curate. However, these past few weeks, I found myself thoughtfully assembling a collection that began as my own wish list and evolved into something I couldn’t wait to share with you, just in time for the holidays. That creative momentum led to three more gift guides: for the aesthete, the friend with perpetually perfect hair, and the friend who’s really into cooking right now…

For the aesthete

You know who we’re talking about—that friend whose apartment looks like it should be featured in a magazine spread. She has strong opinions about typography and has definitely used the word “curation” unironically. This is the person who makes vintage shopping look effortless, somehow always finding the perfect mid-century whatever while the rest of us wander aimlessly through estate sales. Her Instagram stories are basically tiny museum exhibitions, and she probably has a saved folder just for Byzantine architecture “inspiration”. Everything in her space tells a story, from that asymmetrical ceramic vase she picked up in a “tiny studio in Copenhagen” to her carefully arranged collection of art books she’s actually read. Yes, that friend who can spot original Pierre Jeanneret at twenty paces and has strong feelings about people who hang their art too high. Wait, this person is me.

TIG Holiday Gift Guide 2024 The Aesthete

Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille All Over Body Spray / BIENAIMÉ | La Vie En Fleurs Hand Cream / Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask / Carina Scattered Diamond Ring / KISMET OLFACTIVE Nostalgia Eau de Parfum / Aquarii Three Stone Earrings / Vesta Rose Cut Diamond Ring (centre) / CELINE Triomphe Oval Sunglasses – Havana Gray Solid / Carina Scattered Diamond Ring / Vintage Rolex Stainless Steel Oyster Perpetual 24mm Vintage 1998 Watch / Emi Jay Big Effing Clip / Yves Durif Brush D’Or / RMS BEAUTY Uncoverup Concealer / Cassiopeia Pearl and Diamond Bar Earrings / FENTY BEAUTY Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer / Pillow Hobo Suede Dark Brown

For the friend with perfect hair

You know the one—that friend whose hair seems to exist in its own perfect microclimate, immune to humidity and the general laws of physics. While the rest of us experiment with dry shampoo, she’s curated a precise selection of French pharmacy finds and Japanese brushes that would rival any editorial stylist’s kit. She can discourse at length about the merits of different Mason Pearson bristle compositions and has turned clean beauty into an art form. This is the person who sources rare botanical oils from a small collective in Morocco, whose bathroom shelf hosts an elegant array of refillable glass bottles, and who has her sustainable haircare routine down to a science. Her stylist doesn’t just cut her hair—they collaborate on seasonal “hair stories”, discussing undertones and movement with the gravity usually reserved for museum curation. Yes, that friend whose “just air-dried” waves look like they belong in a Botticelli painting, and who receives weekly compliments from strangers about her “natural” colour.

Sándor The Grounding Conditioner / Crown Affair The Refillable Dry Shampoo / CELINE Scrunchy mini Triomphe in silk and brass with gold finish / Emi Jay Big Effing Clip / Afar Travel Dryer / Yves Durif Brush D’Or / CHANEL | N°5 The Hair Mist / BREAD Hairoil Everyday Gloss / Deborah Pagani x Westman Atelier Heart Pin / SHU UEMURA ART OF HAIR Urban Moisture Hydro-Nourishing Treatment / Emi Jay Big Effing Clip

For the budding chef

You know the one—that friend who casually drops fleur de sel from Île de Ré into conversation like we’re all supposed to know the terroir of our finishing salts. She maintains an arsenal of perfectly balanced Japanese knives and has three different olive oils in her kitchen, each with its own specific purpose. This is the person whose Instagram stories chronicle her latest ceramic vessel acquisition from a “small workshop in Kyoto” as readily as her sourdough experiments. She’s got strong opinions about copper cookware, subscribes to obscure food quarterlies, and has definitely cornered you at a dinner party to explain the importance of koji. Her pantry resembles a small spice library, with single-origin cinnamon from Sri Lanka displayed alongside rare chile varieties she carried back from Mexico. Yes, that friend who owns both a suisin and a microplane, knows exactly what that means, and is quietly assessing your knife skills while pretending not to notice.