The internet loves a list—and with it, year-end bests and gift guides and all the merry rest. You understand. Lately I found myself rooting around for another means of categorization, one that dials down the fervor but still retains the punch. Color came to the fore, by way of the saturated wools in designer Grace Atkinson’s textiles, the limited-run gua sha stones by Lanshin, the stained-glass effect of a Buly comb or a Tom Fruin x Joya candle. Following a spectrum felt like a pleasing mode of organization during a time of low-grade seasonal chaos; hopefully skimming this list has a similar effect, like watching early footage of Loie Fuller’s light-bathed Serpentine Dance. A sit-back-and-relax suggestion, rather than a full-tilt shopping mandate.
That said, this run-down is full of treasures, so here’s hoping something catches your eye. Maybe your mother is kindly needling you for one last gift idea. Maybe you’re ready to treat yourself for the new year. Maybe you’re looking to pass time in the airport reading about a design-savvy couple’s new jewelry project, or an artist monograph celebrating a former Chelsea Hotel resident, or a gardenia-scented body oil named after the Grecian afterlife. In the spirit of the column Pretty, Please—a cross-section of beauty products and otherwise beautiful things—the mix here is eclectic but with something of an invisible through line. Much like a rainbow itself.
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