Gift ideas to “live deliciously” this Valentine’s Day, no matter your relationship status
words by laura roscioli
Vintage erotica, sensual massage and spicy bouquets.
Laura Roscioli is a sex writer based in Melbourne. Her fortnightly column on Fashion Journal is here to make sex (and the conversations around it) more accessible and open-minded. She believes that the best learnings come from lived experience, and she’s here to share hers — and other people’s — with you. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @lauraroscioli.
I think it’s time we rebrand Valentine’s Day into something more everyday. It’s most commonly known as the day we celebrate our romantic partners. We take them out for dinner, buy them flowers, maybe write them a note gushing about their best qualities and quirks. But to me, those gestures feel like things we should be aiming to do daily. For our lovers, and for ourselves.
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I made a promise to myself four years ago, when I ended my last long term relationship. The promise was simple. To live deliciously, no matter my relationship status. For me, that meant taking long baths whenever I desired, exploring different pleasure products when the mood struck, cooking slowly and dancing to music in the nude.
It meant doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Wearing loud clothes. Resting without guilt. It meant bringing the concept of Valentine’s Day into my everyday life, asking myself: What do I desire today, and why shouldn’t I have it?
I’ve curated this gift guide with that in mind. You might be reading this because it’s nearly Valentine’s Day and yes, these gifts might feel romantic. But that doesn’t mean you can’t save this list and return to it whenever you feel like indulging yourself. Every day can be Valentine’s Day, whether it’s February 14 or not.
Peak lovergirl bedding
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Is there anything more luxurious than new, cute bedding? Slipping in between fresh sheets is such a delicious feeling and best experienced alone, I think.
I’ve actually been loving Spotlight’s bedding range lately. It’s good quality, affordable, and the colours are divine. In keeping with the Valentine’s theme, I’m very into the idea of a rose coloured linen and bamboo sheet set paired with a champagne silk pillowcase to match. There’s something about making your bed feel romantic just for you.
A voucher or trip to a sensually curated adult store
If you or your lover are curious about pleasure products but have never quite found an adult store that meets the appetite aesthetically or emotionally, allow me to change your life! Tucked into Melbourne’s CBD is one of the most beautiful brick-and-mortar sex stores of our time, High Tide.
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Owned by local couple, Paige Aubort and Søren Poulsen, the space feels warm, considered and deeply inviting. It’s designed for exploration, connection and learning, rather than overwhelm. They stock pleasure products for all bodies, genders and preferences, including a few you may not have realised were yours.
The in-store experience is super accessible and unintimidating, and I promise that even if you don’t leave with a product, you’ll leave with more knowledge and less fear. It makes an ideal gift for couples wanting to explore together, for anyone looking to deepen their relationship with pleasure, or simply as a romantic gesture that says, ‘I care about how you feel’.
A spicy bouquet
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If you want to stay a little more traditional (and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that) a flower delivery is always going to land. But if you’re looking to push the brief just slightly, there’s an incredible Melbourne based floral-meets-sex delivery service called Margo’s that pairs bouquets with a few sexier extras.
Think beautiful arrangements alongside locally made lube, pleasure products, body oils and carefully curated cards. All from Australian brands, all packaged in a way that still feels romantic rather than clinical. It’s playful and it feels like a very modern take on the classic Valentine’s gesture. Flowers, with a little sexual wellness energy folded in.
An erotic massage workshop
This one is definitely more couple-coded but as far as shared experiences go, it’s a pretty sensory one. If you’ve ever wanted to feel more connected physically, or simply slower with each other, an erotic massage workshop is a very intentional place to start.
It’s about getting present with each other and learning how to touch your partner in a way that feels attentive and confident. It might even be a space that opens up something new for you both, where you can learn more about yourself and each other.
Independently owned and female-led, Goddess Glow Massage offers private, hands-on sessions that guide couples through sensual massage techniques. They have a focus on female pleasure, safety and attunement, with most of the touch staying between the two of you so it feels personal. It’s the kind of gift that you can take back into your relationship long after the class ends.
Vintage erotica
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Take yourself to a secondhand bookstore and find a vintage erotic book. Truly, wandering a bookstore is one of the most romantic things you can do alone or partnered. Slow, quiet, a little voyeuristic in its own way. There’s something special about holding an old text that speaks about desire and yearning from decades, sometimes centuries, ago.
Proof that longing isn’t modern, it’s eternal. That people have always been writing about bodies, about fantasy, about the ache of wanting someone you maybe couldn’t have. It feels indulgent in an old school way. A chance to romanticise your inner world, to indulge in analogue yearning, and to keep something beautiful and a little bit mischievous on your bedside table.
A few titles to look out for: Delta of Venus by Anaïs Nin. The Sexual Life of Catherine M. by Catherine Millet. The Story of Eye by George Bataille. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The Romance of Lust by Anonymous. The Perfumed Garden by Sheik Nefzawi.
Art classes
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We’re always telling ourselves we want to try new things but it’s always hard to actually start. Here’s your sign. If you — or your lover — have always been drawn to art in some way, why not gift a cute art class at the NGV?
They’ve just launched a new season of their ‘Art School’ program, covering art, design and art history across all skill levels, so you don’t need any prior experience to join. The courses are led by curators, creative practitioners and specialist educators, and run both in person at NGV in Melbourne’s CBD, and online if you’d rather do it from home.
They cover topics like colour, Surrealism, Impressionism, fashion sketching and more. It could be about honing a new analogue skill, getting better at something you’ve always wanted to be good at or simply just about getting out of your head for a bit; the best gift of all.
A ticket to a workshop on how to live a delicious life
And if you want to take the whole ‘live deliciously’ philosophy one step further, I am, in fact, hosting an event on exactly that. In collaboration with Melbourne sexual wellness brand The Department of Bed Intentions, we’re hosting an evening at Bar Liberty on Tuesday, February 24, exploring what it actually means to live more deliciously in your everyday life.
I’ll be joined by a handful of experts across pleasure, intimacy and ritual, guiding guests through practices you can bring into your daily routines. Think romance, self connection, sensuality, softness. All the things we say we want more of but rarely make time for.
Consider it the gift of an experience. One you can come to with a lover, a friend, or entirely alone. Because living deliciously isn’t just a Valentine’s Day concept, it’s a way of moving through the world.
For more information on the event, head here.
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