Life's little luxuries

NEW YORK -- "Luxury" is far more personal than a fur coat, expensive handbag or spa treatment.

Something truly luxurious turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. It will be different for each and every person. But take heart: Luxury doesn't have to be defined by its price tag. Life -- and the nearest department store -- has a few little luxuries to offer.

"To me, luxury doesn't necessarily mean cost or showing off," says Alain Viot, president and chief executive officer of Cartier North America, a company best known for its expensive jewelry. "True luxury is more about beauty, culture and self-pleasure."

Using a fountain pen on high-quality stationery, which Viot defines as 100 percent cotton with hand-engraving, to write a letter to a friend is a special treat, he says. Or glancing at the watch passed on from a parent that eventually will be handed down to your child.

A luxury could even be a new $5 hair barrette from the drugstore. It's anything that gives you a little lift.

For Viot, he gets that high every time he pulls out his wallet.

"I bought it many years ago and its packed with pictures of my family but it look like I bought it yesterday. Quality is the justification behind the price of a 'luxury' item," he says.

Other "luxury" items are almost necessities -- gloves, sweaters or soap -- but they have a little something extra that makes them special.

"When you're scraping ice off your car, having cashmere-lined gloves might make it just a little better," says Ronni Heyman, style director of eLuxury, a Web site with offerings ranging from a $5,500 Bulgari bracelet to $15 nail polish.

Something like cashmere, known as the fabric of kings, used to just be for the super-rich but it's now a luxury that many people can afford, albeit in varying degrees of softness.

Chinese cashmere is top of the line and top of the cost spectrum, Heyman explains, because of its long fibers, which help prevent pilling, and the color before dyeing is very white, which helps the final product retain its color. Two-ply cashmere is also better than one-ply because it creates a denser weave and stronger garment that will hold up over time.

But those details don't matter when you put it on. Wearing a cozy cashmere sweater -- whether it's the fancy two-ply or a more affordable version -- "you feel good," according to Heyman.

It'll cost you, though. While cashmere has "become democratized," it is and will always be more expensive than cotton because each goat produces only four ounces of usable fibers a year.

"It's a matter of supply and demand. And that also makes it a luxury," Heyman says.

What is most in demand these days for many people is time, which, of course, can't be bottled. But taking even 10 minutes for a scented bubble bath or even 30 seconds to spray on a perfume can break a monotonous routine.

"It's all about treating yourself," says Timothy Walcot, spokesman for Floris, the London-based fragrance company that holds the royal warrants to make products for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles. "We feel very positive about affordable luxury -- an everyday product that you can use to feel good about yourself. It's not about status."

Sure, Floris soap costs more than a generic supermarket brand, Walcot says, but unwrapping a soap that comes in beautiful paper, is hand-finished and smells like a garden flower will leave a more lasting impression.

When it comes to fragrance, no one else will know how much your scent costs since many actually smell different on different people, Walcot says, so it's a choice that should be based on preference. But he warns if your personal preference is jasmine, which can only be picked at dawn, or rose, which is best picked when the blossom is fully open, be prepared for a higher price tag.

Again, it's supply and demand.

In this new softer economy, Walcot expects to see some people switch from the purer (and more expensive) eau de parfum to the lighter eau de toilette but, he says, it's hard to downgrade to a different brand altogether once you've chosen your "signature" scent.

"Then it won't give you that little lift that you were looking for in the first place."