THE 2024 PI GIFT GUIDE

The holidays are fast approaching, and luckily here at Perfectly Imperfect we’ve had a vibrant assortment of guests this year that pretty much covered all the bases for you. From Francis Ford Coppola to Olivia Rodrigo, here’s a round-up of gift ideas (or things to spoil yourself with…) from this year’s posts.

No affiliate links. Just gift ideas from our 2024 guests!

Friendly reminder that if you activate your account, you can bookmark any of these recs for later and search the 160,000 PI.FYI recommendations to find even more ideas.

You can find all of the gift ideas mentioned in this PI.FYI list. Want more? You can check out last year's list here.

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For the literal TASTE makers (taste as in like, food)… we’ve had some great culinary recommendations from guests like musician Omar Apollo and baker Aimee France.

Writer Lauren Oyler recommended Pine Cone Jam– “Made from “immature pine cones”—great phrase—this is just what it sounds like. I encountered it for the first time in Tbilisi, and it seems like it’s sort of hard to find outside the region (as far as I’ve tried), but it’s worth it. I’d never thought about immature pine cones before, but they’re delightful in texture and size.:”

Omar Apollo plugged his very own hot sauce, Disha Hot, “It’s my mom’s recipe and I grew up eating it at all of our big family dinners, birthdays, holidays, etc… We’re a small business so every order matters and I promise you that it’s delicious and goes with everything. I love seeing people post what they use it on. It’s got a kick.” 

Baking legend (so you know it’s gonna be good) Aimee France, also known as yungkombucha420, recommended Maldon Purse salt, “You never know when a dish at a restaurant is going to be under seasoned (the salt has come in handy many times). Alternatively I firmly believe all desserts have way more depth of flavor if finished with flaky salt. In the summer it’s essential to sprinkle on gelato.” 

For those looking for a cheap gift that'll please any man, maybe get them a ball? Jeremy Levick recommended Throwing a ball, "I bounce it against a wall. The best version is sitting around with a friend and having a catch  while chatting. Any ball: Tennis ball, Pinky ball, stress ball, whatever. At the time of writing, I have a purple grocery store ball and two foam tennis balls in my arsenal. Foam tennis balls are good because when you inevitably hit the TV, it won’t fall over."

For those with a sweet tooth, try Francis Ford Coppola’s recommendation of Halva, “One of the things I love most in the world, that I’ve loved since I was a little boy, is that every Christmas I always get some halva. It's a Middle Eastern confection made from ground up sesame seeds and egg albumen into this heavenly candy. To this day, every Christmas, one of my kids gives me a chunk of halva, but I don't keep it in my house because I would just eat it all. I keep it in Sofia's house, and every once in a while I go and I take a little piece.” 

For the “my body is a temple” crowd, try Suki Waterhouse’s recommendation of Lypo-Spherics. “These vitamin sachets are the holy grail. I heard Robert Downey Jr takes them? They taste like cat shit so drink them with juice or coconut water but MY GOD it’s worth it. Saved me from getting sick or sped up recovery every single time... they truly have superpowers.” 

Last year, we had good recs for someone trying to quit vaping, but I predict vaping is going to be back in a huge way for 2025. Maybe not. We’ve got recs either which way.

If they want to ditch the vape, Brent David Freaney recommends Marb Lights, "The secret to life is that you get to smoke if you want to and that’s OK. Smokers have been villainized as social lepers and the time for that to stop is nigh."

If they want to start vaping, ThugPop recommended more of a deep cut with the Flume vape, “Banned, and Niche for a reason is this vape. Currently I’m sucking on watermelon sour peach. Judge me if you will, for I know only JAH can judge me. I love it with a side of ‘Synergy: Island Bliss Kombucha’”. Fabulous… 

For those looking to chill out a bit, comedian Kate Berlant recommends Alive & Kicking Slim CBD Hemp Cigarette Pre Rolls, “I stole a pack of these from my mother and when she protested I barked at her that I needed them more than she did. They are not real cigarettes and they make me feel like no one could possibly hurt me.” 

For your shoe gazer pedal lover rock n' roller, Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu recommends the Lossy Pedal by Chase Bliss, "it makes sounds that are bad for you but in a charming way. it reminds you that the end is high nigh but the pedal is bright pink so it will be a cutie pie, cartoonish kind of smashy smashy ending."

For the fun, coquette-ish type, both Petra Collins and Olivia Rodrigo recommended Blythe Dolls. Olivia says, “my friend Petra gifted me a custom Blythe doll inspired by the music video we did for “bad idea, right?” I’ve always been obsessed with dolls and miniature things and this little object brings me so much joy. I recently went to Japan and found a store full of them and became even more obsessed.” Petra says that “Blythe Dolls are perfect because they are the right amount of kawaii and scary.”

For the vibe-catchers, musician Nilüfer Yanya recommends Oneironaut’s incense,  “If you like incense this is the place! Old Havana is my fave” 

For board game lovers, actress Maika Monroe recommends Settlers of Catan. “Call me a nerd, but my God do I love Catan. It's a perfect board game because yes luck is involved but it’s also very strategic.” 

Suki Waterhouse also recommended Klask, "My mum got me onto Klask and now I’m obsessed. It’s like a mini air hockey, table tennis game that is apparently big in Danish pubs. Many a night on the KLASK!"

This has been the year of posting Fragrantica and Twitter perfume notes, and this has been reflected in the recs. 

For the fragrance-heads,

William Mahony (aka the handsome gangsta and one of my favorite posters of 2024) recommends Tom Ford Fragrances, “Ever wonder what a greasy Ferrari driving, espresso sipping, woman-seducing Italian son of a rich guy smells like?Tom Ford cologne.My personal favorite is ‘Tuscan Leather’ which smells like doing a line of blow in your Porsche 911 GTRS outside a fancy ball in Monaco with notes of throwing your keys extremely hard at back of the head of the valet driver.That’s the vibe we’re going for this summer.”

Filmmaker Miranda July recommends Marissa Zappas perfume, “Marissa is an independent perfumier and kind of an underground cult sensation. My child and I visited her studio a couple years ago and she sent us off with a bunch of samples and I gave one to the nanny and the next day I realized the nanny smelled INCREDIBLE and I slightly regretted giving that one away (Flaming Creature) but then my child walked by, also smelling incredible, and this was great news because children don’t really wear perfume so I stole their one (Ching Shih) and used every last drop. Perfume is hard to smell on yourself.” 

Designer and menswear style icon Aaron Levine recommends Santa Maria Novellas Patchouli, “Santa Maria novellas patchouli.  Just recently a friend, Todd nickey of nickey kehoe sent me some of what hes been working one.  They were both great but his brand Bernards cleome parfum ol bijou was so good.  So now i put that on first and the patchouli on top.  I love the mix.”

Musician and choreographer Sharleen Chidac recommends SC103 Relief Parfum, “Absolutely perfect roller fragrance by SC103. I am so lucky to have received this as a gift from Sophie. Every single person who has ever hugged me while wearing it has asked me what it is. I think it was sold out for a while but the website says it will be back in stock in January, lucky for you.’

For the grailed demons, SSENSE warriors, depop scrollers and fashion bros, perhaps you can use our stylish guests recs to put them on a holier path. 

For the more daring… try designer Carter Young’s rec of Exotic Skin Boots, “There's not too much to say here. I myself am not an especially flashy dresser, but I have a soft spot for python and alligator. I think maybe because it can be so tacky that if it is done well, it's effortlessly cool. A pair of jeans, a white shirt, and some python critter-crunchers. Doesn’t really get cooler.”

For those ready to ditch the sneaks, try GQ editor Will Welch’s recommendation of Church’s “Shannon” derby shoes. “This morning my friend Camilla texted a photo of me wearing sneakers to dinner last night and I was just like aw man ugh. I looked like a dork. I think it’s because, now that I’m in my 40’s, wearing ‘dad sneakers’ isn’t a style move. They’re just sneakers. Please delete that photo, Camilla. I will wear my real shoes next time.”

For the detail oriented, Will also recommended Artemas Quibble belts, “The world is full of so many brilliant people who are compelled to make very specific, very special things with their hands, and if you are the type of person who can sense that certain objects have souls, I think it’s rewarding to seek out the small-scale visionaries among us. Jason Ross is one of them. His thing is belts. He makes the most weird and wonderful belts, with thick straps and hand-forged buckles. I first saw his work on set at a Keanu Reeves shoot for GQ in 2019 that George Cortina was styling. Find Artemas Quibble on IG and DM Jason and beg him to make you something. It’ll probably take a second. (And do as Isaac says: pay him whatever he asks.)”

For those who want to look hot "no matter what" Model Kiko Mizuhura recommends TANKAIR, "One of my favorite clothing brand Born in Bangkok. Based in Downtown Los Angeles! Best quality, best fit, best colors and you will look HOT no matter what!!"

For the effortlessly chic, try Alexa Chung’s recommendation of Charvet Slippers. “I love that they smack of rich old grandpa and like to wear mine with socks in winter and in the summer au naturale as they make a great vacation shoe.” 

For those looking for a thrill, Ariana Papademetropoulos recommends Wearing A Coat With Nothing Underneath, so maybe just pick a coat? "Every time I do it I swear , people treat me different , ask me out on dates , smile at me , give me things for free. Just don’t do it at the airport as I did in once before as - they will ask you to take your coat off."

Or, for someone you can by something a little more risque for (the Mrs…) designer Mimi Wade recommended her Delphine Bikini, “Bow Bikini in silky satin swim fabric I designed for I AM GIA. I love designing pieces which I'm excited to wear!”. See, it’s got a bow on it. It’s basically already wrapped.

For those LARPing as Sexy Librarian (no judgement, it’s HOT, shh no talking in the library), try Tama Gucci’s recommendation of Miu Miu readers. “ My favorite addition to anything I’ve been wearing are my miu miu readers ! They just make me feel sexy and smart and I have them in brown so it kinda goes with everything!” 

For literally everyone, I cosign Ari from Untitled (Halo)’s recommendation of the Brandy Melville Zip-Up Hoodie. She says, “ They make the best zip-up hoodie I hate to admit.” It’s true… 

For the ritualistic skincare enjoyers, try musician Porches recommendation of Rhode. “I snuck a dab of my friend’s moisturizer out of his toiletry bag, I liked it so much I had to come clean and ask him where it was from. Turns out he had worked Hailey Bieber’s cosmetic brand Rhode’s launch party and got a goodie bag of some of the products. It was the barrier restore cream, I ordered one for myself, my girlfriend likes the lip gloss.  I like her and Justin’s whole thing.” 

Actress and musician Maya Hawke recommends Homeoplasmine, “is like a Vaseline-ish product…my understanding is it's like French Vaseline. Sometimes I get dry skin above my eyelids and around the corners of my mouth, and it helps a lot and doesn't do any damage like cortisone cream which can weaken the skin if overused. My brain used to be so susceptible to expensive “beauty” product advertising, but then I started getting really bad acne in my early 20’s, so now I see a dermatologist and use some medicated skin care, which helps so much and outside of that I love finding pharmacy or grocery store solutions to my skin issues. Like the aforementioned Homeoplasmine, coconut oil as body lotion, and icing my under eyes in the morning. This is all really obvious stuff, so I'm putting it under the umbrella of Homeoplasmine. (I do, however, still buy pretty lux moisturizers because the meds dry my skin out soooooo much.)”

For the bookish crowd, we’ve had so many sick reads recommended but I encourage you to check out the books put out by the guests we’ve had on this year. 

For the brilliantly hyper-online, I recommend Honor Levy’s My First Book, Matthew Davis’s Let Me Try Again, and Peter Vack’s Sillyboy. Everyone I know has read these books and talked about them incessantly afterwards, online and IRL. Everyone’s talking about these… 

For the opinionated cultural commentary enjoyer, I recommend Lauren Oyler’s collection of essays No Judgment.

For the Riot grrrls (or just music lovers), try Kathleen Hanna’s Rebel Girl. 

For the tortured and longing, I recommend my dearest anon twitter poet John Doe’s Autumn in the Pain House. I warn it is tragic and a bit raunchy, so maybe not for grandma, unless she’s into that sort of thing. 

IMO the best gifts are kind of obvious, not necessarily unique but practical. I’m of the pro-sock variety. Promise to give me something I will use forever and I promise I will always think of you when I use it.

For something practical and iconic, try Clairo’s rec of the Bialetti Moka Pot. “It’s the best way to make coffee in my opinion, and I love it as a part of my morning ritual. Mine is yellow :)” 

For someone looking for rocket fuel to start their morning, Tom Tun recommends Cafe Bustelo, "Delicious and strong as shit. This is the only supplement you need to take you down the slippery miami streets. It will get you hot faced. Fair warning."

For those with a sweet tooth, Manon Macasaet recommends Mariebelles in downtown NYC, "if you know me you know I love candy and have a major sweet tooth. This place is so chic and all of the chocolates are just fabulous little morsels of flavor with dope little designs on them"

For someone who loves trying new restaurants, send them Conner O'Malley's Perfectly Imperfect restaurant guide, "I was working in Milwaukee and on my days off I would sleep till 11, get up masterbate, then lay nude in my hotel room watching clips of shooter starring mark wahlberg till about 3 or 4pm. then I would go to drive to zebbs to get one of there 4 egg omelets as my only meal for the day."

For those with a stuffy nose, one of our most popular recommendations this year was randomly Jack Antonoff's Nasal Spray, "i love this thing. nothing feels better after a plane or a show… or honestly even just after dinner."

For those looking for some new art, MJ Lenderman recommends TVBeaches, who sells prints on his site, "His paintings and comics have been a huge inspiration for me. His stuff is full of the humor and darkness that you might find in a bar outside of Clayton, NY or any grocery store in The United States."

For someone who loves their bevs ice cold, Emma Chamberlain recommends the Stanley Cup (“Stanley Quencher 2.0 FlowState 40 oz Tumbler” to be exact). “Good things fall into the wrong hands sometimes, I believe this is the case with the Stanley Cup. Hear me out, the Stanley Cup got a sour reputation in the same way ultra famous celebrities do: over exposure. The Stanley Cup fell into the hands of the masses and couldn’t have possibly lived up to the pedestal they placed it on. Did the Stanley Cup do anything wrong? Not really. The Stanley Cup was just famous. I think the Stanley Cup is fucking phenomenal. My ice stays cold for an ungodly amount of time, it fits in the cup holders in my car, its existence somehow reminds me to drink water, and the little tray on the top is the perfect size to hold my little tray of Zyn’s.”

For the gamers, Evanora Unlimited loves Gary's Mod, "Its easily one of the most toxic game communities I can think of. My favorite things to do were joining CityRP servers becoming president and turning the server into some sort of extreme fascist state and change all the server laws to shit like “Being Outside During Lockdown = Kill on Sight”"

For those who love print media, Amelia Dimoldenberg recommends Polyester Mag, "hey are always discussing really wonderful and weird pockets of pop culture. From the power of Jane Fonda’s hair to a piece on How Late Stage Capitalism Changed the Real Housewives Shtick." A.G. Cook recommends Hellebore Magazine, "Part of a reemergence of British folk horror that delves into history, archaeology, psychogeography, and the occult."

To wrap it all up, I propose giving yourself a gift. This holiday season, I implore you to follow your bliss.

To quote Peter Vack’s rec, “Joseph Campbell said, ‘follow your bliss.’ Cynics be like, “Sure, Vack, I follow my bliss every night to the River (bar)!” Don’t listen to cynics. Instead, stand with Joe and me, and dream the impossible dream. Following your bliss does not mean chasing pleasure, it is pursuing the life you truly want. The life you envision when you get quiet and stop thinking. Remember, your ‘plan B’ is someone else’s ‘plan A,’ so go for ‘plan A!’”

P.S. Let's get meta. There's an ask on PI for you to share your favorite gift guides and gifts. So click below to tap in.