Gifts for your wife or girlfriend

An eau de parfum, 50ml, that opens with a lift of Italian bergamot, which fades within minutes as the lily takes over, so judge it after an hour rather than straight away. Spraying onto the wrists and neck rather than clothes lets the base notes come through as they should.

What owners say: Owners say it lasts well, love the scent and rate it good value.

Winsor & Newton has made Designers Gouache since 1935, and illustrators and designers still use it. A little goes a long way: squeeze out a pea-sized blob and mix from there. Paint left on the palette softens again with water next time, it dries flat and matte, and every colour is sold singly, so favourites can be topped up one tube at a time.

What owners say: Owners rate the quality as superb, with rich, creamy colour that covers well from a small squeeze, and call it an ideal set to start with.

The blade is 19mm wide and 4.8m long, marked in metric and imperial, and the case is built to take knocks, with a belt clip and a lanyard to hang it from. At 180g and 8.3 x 7.3cm it slips into a kitchen drawer or a handbag as easily as a toolbox.

What owners say: Owners find it well made, fairly priced and easy to reel back in, and plenty pick it for the pink.

Its 325 teeth work on wet or dry hair, straight to curly, and on wigs and extensions too. In the shower it combs conditioner or a hair mask through evenly before rinsing. On long hair, grip the lengths nearer the root while brushing out a knot, so the pull stops at the hand rather than the scalp, and pick loose hairs out from between the rows every few days.

What owners say: Owners say it turns a long, tearful brush-out into a couple of minutes, copes with curls wet or dry, and gets through knots without hurting.

The seven pieces include a 100-prong whisk, a sifter, a cloth and a handbook, and the bowl holds about 530ml. For an iced latte, whisk a double scoop with a little water before pouring, and use a tall glass. TEANAGOO fires its ceramic at 1,280°C and says it is lead- and cadmium-free.

What owners say: Owners call it a beautiful set with everything needed to make matcha at home and are pleased with how it whisks; beginners find the instruction book a real help, and one notes how much difference the whisk and sieve make together.

Each bar weighs 86g, and the other two are a 70% Peruvian and a 60% made with the maker’s own roasted coffee, which contains real ground coffee, so keep it away from anyone avoiding caffeine. Work through them in order of strength, finishing with the 85%, and let each square melt slowly on the tongue to pick up more of the flavour.

• 4 × 86g bars
• 55% to 85% cocoa
• Bean-to-bar from Suffolk

What owners say: Owners love the taste and the quality.

It keeps working while it charges over USB-C and remembers the last brightness used. It gives white, warm or mixed light, with six brightness steps or a smooth dim by holding the button, up to 8,860 lux. Physical keys rather than a touch panel mean a hand resting on the edge won’t switch it off, which matters when weeding vinyl or placing drills on a diamond canvas.

What owners say: Owners find the battery lasts well between charges, and like having both the brightness levels and the light colours to play with.

It’s the mount only, so the case, or Quad Lock’s Universal Adaptor, is bought separately. Two small and two large O-rings come in the box, so it straps to a slim stem or a thicker bar from 25 to 40mm without tools, with two zip ties as an alternative. The system began in Australia in 2011 as a Kickstarter project for an iPhone bike mount.

What owners say: Owners say the phone stays firmly put even on rough tracks and that it goes on in minutes, though some find it dear for a mount on its own.

Blending stumps, a sponge, kneaded and vinyl erasers and a colouring book come with them. The tan and black pages are where the white charcoal and metallic pencils come into their own, so try those early on. For shading, work from the harder graphite grades to the softer ones, then soften charcoal with the stumps and sponge before picking out highlights with the eraser pencil.

What owners say: Owners find it handles quick sketches and fine detail equally well, and like how the case keeps every pencil in its own place.

There’s no needle threader or speed control, so thread the needle in good light and let the foot pedal set the pace. The flat bed slides off to leave the free arm, and an LED lights the work. Brother covers it for three years, and took over Manchester’s Jones sewing machine company in 1968.

What owners say: Owners find it a gentle way in for beginners, helped by clear instructions and the DVD, and say it stitches neatly for simple clothes-making.