What to buy her

February 14th 2013 – Valentine’s Day, yes, it’s just around the corner. In fact, it’s tomorrow. If you are reading this I’m guessing you are yet to dive into the plethora of red, heart-shaped, rose-scented and love poem scrawled gifts sugaring the shop windows. If the reason for this is because your special someone dismisses the date as a silly occasion for forced romance and unnecessary frills, take it from me – as one of those women – we secretly hope that a little display of affection will come our way, land on our desk at work or indulge us at bedtime. Its basic reverse psychology on our part but it’s very important that you get the hint – which normally crops up in the form of ‘let’s just stay in’ or ‘Valentine’s Day is ridiculous this year’ – and rise to the occasion.

I’m not necessarily talking about big gestures – these should be saved for a more spontaneous occasion and planned further in advance than three days. With all the Valentine’s Day paraphernalia around it should be so easy to get it right but, be warned, the margins are very slim. Steer away from the heart confetti and tacky red lingerie and take guidance from The Gentleman’s hand-picked selection of the classic Valentine’s Day gifts – all with an added special touch – to save you from tripping up in that all –important moment.

Perrier Jouet, Belle Époque Rose 2002, Perrier–Jouet Champagne is elegant and delicate, fragranced with floral tones and offset by subtle berry notes of wild strawberries and raspberries., The extra special detail: The signature floral design on the bottle adds the perfect touch to a special gift that can be enjoyed together. Serve chilled in your best champagne flutes. £175.00 available at Selfridges. selfridges.com

Yves Piaget Luxury Floral Hat Box, Flowers are a fail-safe gift but don’t settle for an average bouquet and, whatever you do, steer away from the predictable dozen red-roses – these mass-grown stems lack scent, colour and life at this time of the year and, as I’ve already pointed out, couldn’t be less original. My personal advice would be to opt for a beautiful arrangement of garden roses or peonies. Keep it simple and remember that scent is everything on this occasion which is why this bouquet of highly fragranced Yves Piaget garden roses tied with sprigs of rosemary and has a collar of aromatic eucalyptus leaves is perfect. The Real Flower Company has a range of other bouquets to choose from www.realflowers.co.uk., The extra special detail: There’s no floral gift paper involved in the delivery of these flowers. After specially arranging each bouquet, The Real Flower Company delivers each bunch in unique hat boxes for an extra feminine touch. On opening, the flowers release a gorgeous fragrance that will instantly woo her. The Real Flower Company £155. realflowers.co.uk

Ariel collection, Agent Provocateur, It’s quite simple; Agent Provocateur has to be your go-to brand for Valentine’s Day. The photo provides enough explanation and it’ll be easy to pick the perfect set from their special Valentine’s collection. A seductive look is guaranteed no matter what design so go for a soft romantic colour like the pink and purple set above or a delicate peach design to make your intentions less transparent. agentprovocateur.com

Valentine’s Alexa glossy goat leather satchel, Mulberry’s red Alexa satchel gives the luxury brand’s most-coveted design a special Valentine’s Day twist to win her heart and will take her from day to night with instant glamour so you can spend more time together on the night., The extra special detail: This re-imagined limited edition design features exclusive silver heart studs – a special touch for the classic Mulberry design. Mulberry, £995.00 mulberry.co.uk

Rose Gold Infinite Love Pink Amethyst Pendant, And finally, if you really want to spoil her, go all out with Links’ 18ct rose gold Infinite Love pendant with diamond-cut chain, signifying eternal love in more ways than one; the stone, the setting and, of course, the diamonds., The extra special detail: The sugar loaf-cut pink amethyst stone is held forever clasped in the embrace of the entwined figure-of-eight cup while light dances playfully off the studded pave diamonds; you couldn’t say how you feel better than through this. Links of London, £895.00 linksoflondon.com

The rest is down to you…

By Emma Corbett