Exame highlights Pandora, chocolates and champagne for Dia dos Namorados

A well-chosen Dia dos Namorados gift does not need to shout. The strongest gestures this year are the ones that can live in a drawer, a dessert course, or a toast and still feel unmistakably romantic. The holiday lands on Friday, June 12, 2026, and Exame’s gift edit puts that idea into three objects that do the work cleanly: Pandora jewelry, a Mica chocolate box, and champagne. That focus makes sense in a market CNC expects to move about R$ 2.8 billion in purchases, up 2.5% from the same period in 2025, while a helloo survey shows that 51% of respondents still lean toward beauty and perfumery, 44% toward chocolates, 35% toward gastronomy, 31% toward fashion, and 28% toward jewelry and accessories. The same survey found that 67% plan to combine gifts with experiences or shared moments, which is exactly where these three choices earn their keep.

Pandora

Pandora is the clearest signal of commitment in the edit because jewelry turns the holiday from a transaction into something that stays on the body. The brand’s 2026 Brazilian campaign leans into personalization and all kinds of love, with real-couple storytelling and public figures including Alok, Romana Novais, Rita Carreira, Helena Silvarolli and Jordana Maia, which gives the collection a social life beyond the display case.

The most persuasive part of Pandora’s approach is that it does not ask one piece to carry the entire emotional burden. Charms, bracelets, pendants and Timeless pieces let the giver build meaning in layers, whether the relationship is new, long-established or meant as a self-gift. That flexibility matters in a year when jewelry and accessories sit at 28% of stated gift intent, because it makes Pandora feel less like a grand gesture for its own sake and more like a considered object with room for personal codes.

It is also the most scalable spend in the edit, because the final ticket depends on how simple or layered you want the story to be. Pandora’s collection is available in stores and through the official e-commerce channel, so the gift can be as immediate or as carefully staged as the moment calls for. In practice, that makes it the strongest choice when you want the present to signal intention before the box is even opened.

Mica Chocolates

Mica is the sweeter, more intimate end of the spectrum, but it is not a consolation prize. The brand describes itself as a maker of artisanal chocolate gifts with handcrafted bonbons, original flavors and packaging designed to enchant, and that presentation changes everything. A chocolate box can feel generic or it can feel like someone knew exactly how you like to be surprised; Mica is aiming for the second response.

The timing is right, because chocolate remains one of the holiday’s strongest signals, with 44% of respondents naming it as a preferred gift. What makes Mica useful in a luxury-gifting edit is not extravagance but specificity: handcrafted bonbons suggest attention, original flavors suggest a point of view, and gift-ready packaging saves the giver from having to add polish after the fact. That is often what separates a thoughtful present from an obvious one.

Mica is also the easiest way to stay emotionally precise without overcommitting the budget. It reads as curated rather than casual, which matters on a holiday when people are looking for a gift that feels chosen, not default. If Pandora says permanence, Mica says care in the moment, and that can be just as persuasive when the evening is meant to feel personal.

Champagne

Champagne is the most flexible luxury signal of the three because it does not have to stay on the table as a bottle. In the context of Dia dos Namorados, it can stand in for a toast at home, a dinner reservation, or the beginning of a larger evening, which is exactly why it fits a holiday that is increasingly tied to experiences. Exame’s June coverage points to São Paulo restaurants and hotels offering more elaborate Dia dos Namorados packages, some with menus and experiences that exceed four digits, and that shows how far the occasion has moved beyond a simple present.

The survey numbers back that shift up: 67% of respondents say they want gifts paired with experiences or shared moments. Champagne answers that impulse cleanly because it creates an occasion the second it is opened. It is also the most disciplined way to make a night feel celebratory without tipping into excess, unless you decide to pair it with one of those high-end restaurant or hotel plans.

What champagne communicates is not just romance, but timing. It says you planned ahead, you wanted the night to feel different, and you understood that the holiday is as much about atmosphere as it is about the object in hand. In a season crowded with restaurant menus, hotel packages and conspicuous spending, a bottle of champagne still reads as one of the most refined choices because it upgrades the moment rather than trying to dominate it.

These are the gifts that keep making sense because they do more than fill a category. Pandora gives the relationship a symbol to keep, Mica turns dessert into a more intimate gesture, and champagne turns the evening into the gift itself.