Hint Fashion Magazine -- Beauty Duty

The holder of three royal warrants—essentially the English monarchy's version of a sneaker endorsement—British parfumeur Penhaligon's might not be able to eradicate the stench of Paul Burrell from the Palace, but it'll earn you points with Anglophiles and scent-hounds alike. The company's been around since 1870, so they've had plenty of time to figure out the fine art of the gift set—and their holiday 2002 blue bell boxes reek of royal privilege. As far as what to fill one with, even the perfume-challenged won't turn their nose up at a bath oil and soap combo. Blenheim Bouquet is low-key, citrusy and suits both manly men (it was created for Winston Churchill) and girly men (the fragrance has been a cult favorite amongst the gays for years). For a lovely lady, Ormolu is a fresh, femme-friendly green with a hint of jasmine. Though Penhaligon's isn't doing mail-order past December 18, any city with a Saks Fifth Avenue (Chicago, Houston, Vegas, DC, San Francisco, Beverly Hills and NYC) can hook you up proper. To research prices and a full range of products before you shop, go to www.penhaligons.co.uk or call 1-877-551-SAKS.

Even if you're tight on funds, you don't have to cheese out on your loved ones with a gift certificate to CDNow.com. Affordable luxury awaits with that old standby, Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or. The hype on this beach-smelling dry oil is completely deserved: it isn't greasy but it moisturizes like nobody's business, and the gold shimmer is subtler than it looks in the bottle (read: you won't be mistaken for an extra in a Christina Aguilera video). $34 at Barneys, 212-826-8900, shippable anywhere in the world.

Indulgent and intimate, but not creepily so, scented candles were practically created to be hostess gifts. But not all hostesses are created equal. Before what-to-give-whom panic strikes, check out Beauty Duty's custom-tailored cheat sheet. For the...

...COOLER - THAN - THOU ARCHITECT FRIEND
No need to risk an open flame next to all that model glue when you've got Helmut Lang's wickless (don't laugh) Ambient Fragrance, available in both the men's Eau de Cologne and woman's Eau de Parfum scents. Just screw the top off the little tin and leave it out, preferably on a radiator or under a warm light. It's like a Glade stick-up for fashionistas. $25, available only at Helmut Lang Perfumery or www.helmutlang.com

...GIRL-CRUSH YOU WANT TO IMPRESS
You want her to like you even more than you suspect she already does. You want to be her favorite friend. But you have to be breezy and cute about it, not desperate and Single White Female-ish. So give her a set of Air Lights votives from casual-yet-swanky British skincare capos Molton Brown. The White Mulberry fragrance is a little bit fresh, a little bit fruity. $39 for four small votives, www.moltonbrown.co.uk

...PILL-ADDLED SOCCER MOM
Sure, your average avant-guardist thinks she's too chic for Kate Spade, but Spade's honeysuckle Eau de Toilette has fast become a cult favorite. And that hausfrau you're visiting will be way impressed by this candle in the same signature scent, packaged in Manuel-Canovas-meets-country-club frosted glass and roses. The floral scent packs such a wallop it could joust even the worst G&T-damaged dowager out of her haze. We kid, but you'll be tempted to keep it for yourself. $40, available at Nordstrom nationwide or by calling 800-7BEAUTY.

...GUY YOU WANT TO SLEEP WITH
If you want to bed him, chances are he's not hip to Catherine Memmi, the insidery French interior designer whose les basiques line of candles is as butch as you can get with some perfume and a wick. Skip the white floral and go straight for the tea-scented The in masculine crimson. $28 at www.language.com

...GUY YOU WANT TO SLEEP WITH BUT SUSPECT HE MIGHT LIKE BOYS
Give him something too seductive and you'll be humiliated if he finally comes out. But give him something too gay and you might never get him into bed. Hedge your bets with a holiday candle from Acqua di Parma, that unisex fragrance house that bespeaks quiet—not slutty—Italian elegance. We love the cinnamon-scented red. Did you know the smell of cinnamon is supposed to stimulate male desire? Just letting you know. $38 at Bergdorf-Goodman, 800-218-4918.

Click here for a slideshow of hair-raising make-up looks from backstage at the spring '03 collections.

Study fashion at Parsons The New School for Design in NYC

Horacio Silva has the rub on Chelsea hotspot Nickel.

Although located on Gayth Avenue, the Nickel spa is no clichéd Chelsea pec-tacular: there are no Speedo-wearing go-go-boy aestheticians, no cruisy waiting rooms, no butt- or ball-waxing for the brave, not even a tanning room. Opened in October 2001, Nickel (pronounced nee-KEL) has instead focused on no-nonsense skin treatments and in the process become a hot spot for guys needing a different kind of lube job.

Though the mixed staff offers standard treatments to overhaul your body-massages, waxing, manicures and pedicures, and one of the best men's facials in town ($80 for a complete, hour-long session)-Nickel's sole gimmicky cure is the cellulite-fighting Love Handle Wrap ($85 for 60 minutes, or $380 for a series of five visits). If you don't like strangers to manhandle your love handles, then this is not for you. Expect your stomach and sides to be pinched and pounded to Deathlehem before having your waistline smothered in Nickel's bracing Love Handle Cream ($41, from the onsite store) and wrapped in plastic. And, unlike other lengthy treatments-such as the lymphatic drainage facial, during which your arms and neck are massaged while your facemask dries—you're left alone for 30 minutes or so of downtime, with not much to do but listen to the sometimes excruciating music (tunes during a recent visit included an Andean-flute muzak version of "Take My Breath Away"). Equally painful but far more efficacious is the highly recommended 30-minute Body Scrub ($45) that leaves skin feeling soft and invigorated. You'll look so smooth, you'll want to take your shirt off and dance on a podium.

Nickel Spa for Men, 77 Eighth Ave, NYC. For information, call 212-242-3203 or visit www.nickelformen.com