Aesop gift kits signal it's time for harmony and hand balm

Aesop gift kits signal it’s a time for harmony and hand balm. The holiday spirit arrives as refresher and replenisher, a call for peace on earth and goodwill to all skin types. An Aesop Christmas is a multisensory event, with bespoke soundscapes accompanying the brand’s fragrant gift kits, just as figgy pudding follows roasted goose and breakfast calls for champagne.

A limited release custom Aesop gift kit — A limited-release Aesop gift kit from the Resonant Gestures collection allows for a curated selection of products

Drawing on a reverence for song and the power of melody and aural experience to influence the listener and their surroundings, Aesop has named each of five gift kits in reference to music’s power and magnetism. (The sixth and limited-edition kit is curatable, allowing for a bespoke edit of products).

It has also commissioned Paris-based Japanese-Congolese composer and pianist Kiala Ogawa – whose artistic research focuses on creating different kinds of textures through acoustic and electronic sounds – to create a series of tracks, one to accompany the contents of each package.

From mediative harmonies for the home to captivating rhythms to refresh the senses, each kit comes with a different soundscape.

Five Aesop gift kits

Fabulous Forms

This is Aesop’s care package for on-the-go replenishment. Attuned to the needs of busy schedules and elementally affected skin, Fabulous Forms includes portable formulations – richly scented Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm, uplifting Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser, and hydrating Cedar & Citrus Lip Salve – packaged in 100 per cent recycled paper pulp, featuring an intricate soundwave pattern. The gift kit is accompanied by a contemporary arrangement of music by Ogawa – who wanted to include ‘a guitar for this piece in order to create a more rounded shape’ – that morphs and flourishes, soundtracking intradermal equanimity and glow.

Fabulous Forms gift kit, £50

Heartful Harmonies

Aesop gift kit — Aesop 'Heartful Harmonies' gift kit

This gift kit is surround sound in unguent form. Reverence Aromatique Hand Wash is ideal for refreshing the hands after conducting culinary experiments in the kitchen, with a comforting woody aroma and finely milled pumice to gently exfoliate. Post-Poo Drops serves as a sprightly scented toilet-bowl tincture to be paired with Istros Aromatique Room Spray, blended with notes of rich tobacco and enlivening florals. Both may assist in quieting discordant aromas and setting a convivial mood. Ogawa’s accompanying musical work is an ode to coming together – at the table, in kitchen congregation or in close harmony at the fireplace.

Heartful Harmonies gift kit, £77

Majestic Melodies

A duet of Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash and Hand Balm work to provide refreshment and replenishment throughout the cadences of the day. Meanwhile, Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser and Rejuvenate Intensive Body Balm serenade the skin with uplifting aromas, while Ogawa’s soundscape soothes with a dream-like piano sequence that ‘started with birdsong’, she says. ‘I realised this would be a perfect starting point for the rest of the melodies in the track.’

Majestic Melodies gift kit, £93

Rousing Rhythms

Enlivening floral, herbal and citrus notes all play out across their respective formulations to cleanse, exfoliate and hydrate the skin and encourage even the most reluctant feet to take to the dancefloor. Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser, Body Scrub and Body Balm will help to leave the body refreshed, smooth and hydrated. The accompanying rhythmic soundscape is inspired by the power of percussion and is ‘an ode to my childhood summers in Japan,’ says Ogawa. ‘I included a Japanese bell sound called the “Furin”, which is a wind chime and often used during hot summers.’

Rousing Rhythms gift kit, £67

Tuneful Textures

This symphonic trio comprises exemplary handcare, executed with Bernstein levels of passion. Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash, Hand Balm and Rinse-Free Hand Wash leave digits freshly cleansed and hydrated, scented with notes of mandarin rind, rosemary leaf and cedar atlas. The soundtrack by Ogawa is an elegantly conducted piece, an ode to the rich textures that emerge when musicians, friends and families come together in peace and joy. ‘I composed this piece around a certain musical key and then created new sound textures using my Japanese tea glasses and other sounds of glass, wood and bronze,’ says Ogawa.

Tuneful Textures gift kit, £60

aesop.com

Listen to the soundscapes at aesop.com/uk/r/radiomatique-soundscapes-23/

TOPICS

Simon Mills is a journalist, writer, editor, author and brand consultant who has worked with magazines, newspapers and contract publishing for more than 25 years. He is the Bespoke editor at Wallpaper* magazine.