SHOPPING & FASHION
VALENTINE’S GIFTS Avoiding the naff and the schmaltzy around the festival of Saint Valentine can be a minefield, but Claire Sawers steers you through it, with a few gift ideas – for lovebirds and Vally Day naysayers alike
L OV E D U P U t t e r l y l o s t i n L o v e l a n d , b u t n o t s u r e w h a t t o g i v e w i t h o u t s e e m i n g l i k e a t o t a l c h e e s e b a l l ? O r d o n ’ t k n o w w h a t t o o f f e r b e c a u s e y o u ’ v e o n l y j u s t b e g u n d a t i n g ? O r o n l y g o t a f i v e r t o y o u r n a m e ? W e ’ v e g o t a f e w i d e a s :
Put a mixtape on a badge An update on the lovingly-edited cassette mixtape, this lets you drag and drop tracks onto a mp3 pin badge, so the object of your affection can enjoy 36 hours of music, straight from your heart, into their ears. $24.99, playbutton.com Send an old timey card You’re a big softie really, so show it with a cute card, complete with anonymous sweet nothings inside. Various designs, from £2.50, Present, St Mary’s Street, Edinburgh, presentboutique.co.uk
Give lingerie – with no red lace in sight Avoid the Ann Summers/strip-o-gram look, and offer this sporty meets art deco underwear set in nude shades with a black trim. Only hearts Loulou bralette, £78; hipster with garters, £62, Indie Chic, Broughton Street, Edinburgh, indiechicboutique.co.uk
Making baking They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Take a short-cut with this made in Scotland chopping board and cookie stamp set by Maw Broons. Top with heart-shaped biscuits for extra points. £23.80, presentboutique.co.uk Turn on the charm Show him/her who’s boss with this charming ruler and pencil stationery set, by Edinburgh’s Martin Baillie from design collective Nineteen Eighty Five. £3.50, The Red Door Gallery, Edinburgh, edinburghart. com/shop
Make home-brew ginger beer This starter kit contains everything you need to make forty bottles of ginger beer. (Which could mean forty doses of aphrodisiac side-effects from the ginger too. . .) £29.99, biysuperstore.co.uk Offer a loveheart necklace A love token, for that special someone in your life who loves geometric lines, and bright colours. Yellow and black necklaces, £18, multi-coloured necklace, £20, shop.liannasheppard.com
Book a massage for two Book your sweetheart in for a deeply relaxing or deeply pummelling massage, or better still, go as a twosome. The new Lush Spa has side-by-side beds in one of the treatment rooms. Lush Spa, Princes Street, Edinburgh, from £55 per person for one-hour, see lush.co.uk
26 THE LIST 24 Jan–21 Feb 2013