Christmas gifts for him

A Christmas gift for a man has one job: to still be in use in February. Most fail it. Fragrance sits on a shelf because it was not his scent; grooming sets get used once and forgotten because they were chosen from a shelf of a hundred. The Black Oud Collection was built against both. It is one composition, deep, woody and reserved, carried across an eau de parfum and the three grooming products he will use every morning, so the gift becomes a routine rather than an object. Made in England in a batch of one thousand hand-assembled gift boxes, nine months from start to finish. When this batch is gone, the next is months away.

Oud is the resin that forms inside the Aquilaria tree over years, among the most costly raw materials in perfumery, and the centre of every ZOUSZ composition. Black Oud opens with cardamom and black pepper, settles into oud, sandalwood and patchouli, and finishes in dark vanilla and amber. It stays close: noticed at close range, present across a room, never loud, which is exactly the fragrance for a man who does not wear fragrance loudly. The eau de parfum is held at twenty-five percent in a 75ml bottle blown by hand. Three to four sprays are enough for the day.

Gold Oud is the answer. Warm, sweet and open, with raspberry and lemon zest over oud, cedarwood and soft musk, it is the easier of the two ouds to like on first meeting and the one worn as often by women as by men, so if it turns out not to be his, it will be hers. The Gold Oud Eau de Parfum on its own, or with the Gold Oud beard oil and balm, is the safer Christmas gift; the Black Oud Collection is the surer one for a man who already wears woody or spicy scent.

A single beard oil is the easiest gift in the house: used every morning, no sizing, and it says something about the person who chose it. Black Oud Beard Oil or Gold Oud Beard Oil, 30ml, roughly twelve weeks of daily use. The beard balm is the piece a bearded man rarely buys for himself and always uses once he has it. Both are available on their own and both leave in the couture gift box with any order over £160, or with the box added for £7.

Orders before 1pm, Monday to Friday, usually leave the same day from England. Complimentary tracked delivery over £50; complimentary next-day delivery over £100, tracked to the door. Order by Monday 21 December in the United Kingdom, and by Monday 14 December for Europe and the United States, where charges at checkout include duties and taxes. If the dates have passed, a digital gift card for any amount can be sent on Christmas morning with a message, and the choice between the ouds becomes his.

Every ZOUSZ product is made in England in small batches. The bottle is blown by hand. The packaging is assembled by hand in England. Half of ZOUSZ orders are bought for someone else, and the house is built for the moment the box changes hands.