Is Lovery a Good Brand: Faye Lynn's Spa and Perfume Gift Sets

Lovery was founded in 2016, and the story I like is how small it was. Founder Faye Lynn was already in the habit of making custom gifts, and the brand grew out of that habit. Lovery sells spa baskets and body care under its own name, sourced and put together by the founder. That is a very different feeling from a big brand assembling a box in a meeting room. I also put together Cosmetic Gift Sets: Mabel Williams and Chicago's 1915 Lash Story.

Lovery states its products are paraben-free and cruelty-free, made with vitamin E, essential oils and shea butter. I read that as a description of the basic idea: soft textures and familiar, comforting scents, nothing edgy.

The first grid is all sets, and they are quite different from one another. The 19-Pieces Pink Rose Relaxing Spa Gift Set is the big romantic one, a full bath night in a box. The 10-Pc. Vanilla Bath and Body Care Spa Gift Set is warmer and sweeter, and I would give it to someone who lives in soft socks. The Enchanted Rose kit comes with a cosmetic bag and a jade roller, so it makes a good first-apartment or thank-you gift. The 6 Piece Wooden Body Care Massage Tool Kit is the odd one, tools for the body rather than products, and I like that it feels a little more grown-up. If you want to keep going, Body Lotion Gift Sets: Galen’s Cream Has a Long Afterlife is the one I would read next.

For someone who prefers to smell like a room with a candle in it, the 10-Pc. Sandalwood Self-Care Grooming Gift Set and the 5-Piece Black Amber Eau de Parfum Gift Set are the darker, woodier pair. Open the box before you wrap it and check the pieces are all there.

Scent is where a gift becomes personal, so I take it more seriously than the bath salts. The single bottles sit apart from the boxed sets, and there are only four, which makes choosing easy.

Midnight Haze Eau de Parfum Spray and Signature Inked Eau de Parfum are the two I would smell first. Dark names usually mean deeper, warmer, slightly sweeter scents, and I like that they are proper eau de parfums and not a novelty. Test them on your wrist and wait an hour before you decide, since the opening of a perfume and its dry down are rarely the same thing.

Affinity For Her Pheromone Perfume and Affinity At Midnight Pheromone Perfume are the ones the brand calls pheromone perfumes. That is the brand's name for them, and I can only report that. I would not buy either one for anything beyond the scent. Buy them if you like how they smell on you, and test both on skin side by side, since a name like Midnight is only a hint.

A tip for layering: pick a body product in a related scent, apply it after the shower, and spray the perfume on top at your pulse points. Vanilla or sandalwood from the sets in the first grid work nicely under a dark eau de parfum, and the scent lasts longer that way.

Sometimes a full box is too much, and a small kit is the better present. It is also a smart way to try a routine before you commit to full sizes. These are all from other brands, and each one makes a different kind of gift.

Sol de Janeiro's Brazilian Bum Bum Jet Set is the sweet, warm, party-in-a-box one, made for anyone who wants a vacation feeling in the shower. OUAI's Mini St. Bart's Body Set is fresher and quieter, good for a suitcase. Luna Daily's Hydrating Everywhere Body Minis Kit is a three step microbiome and pH-balancing routine, which suits someone who already reads labels. Soft Services' Bestsellers Discovery Set is the one for the friend who likes a proper routine, with a handful of body products in small sizes.

Hanni's Bodycare Routine Discovery Body Gift Set is a neat, well-organized starter for people who never buy body care for themselves. 54 Thrones' African Beauty Butter Mini Gift Set is for the friend who likes a rich butter, and a mini is a good way to find out if she does.

What I would skip: any set of products that all smell the same, however pretty the box, and anything scented for someone with sensitive skin or a strong dislike of perfume. If you are unsure, pick unscented minis and add a handwritten card. Nobody has ever been disappointed by a note.

To choose, think about the person first and the box second. A homebody wants the bath and the soft scent. A traveler wants minis. Someone who loves perfume wants a single bottle they would not buy themselves.

I keep a small stash of sets to give away, and I always open the outer wrapping, add tissue and a note, and tie it with a ribbon. It takes five minutes and is what people remember. Keep any set you are giving somewhere dry and away from sunlight, and smell each item before it goes into the box, since scents are personal and one person's comfort is another's headache. If a friend has skin that reacts easily, ask before you buy anything with heavy fragrance. That small question is the mark of a good gift. I went deeper on a related idea in Beauty Advent Calendars and Gift Sets to Open Early.