If you're stuck for a Christmas present, here's a suggestion. Buy anything produced by the Estee Lauder Corporation (the parent company of Clinique, Prescriptives, Mac, Bobbie Brown, La Mer, Jo Malone, Origins, Aramis,Aveda and Bumble and Bumble).

I am not on commission; there is an even better reason to ensure its sales boom. Estee Lauder is the subject of a boycott by many Arabs and Muslims because Estee Lauder's president, Ron Lauder, is a supporter of Israel and is active in various pro-Israel organisations.

There could be few better reasons to buy Estee Lauder goods.

UPDATE Some useful perspective from a correspondent

I wouldn't be so sure about the veracity of this boycott. I mean it may well have been announced but I don't see any visible signs of its effectiveness. It didn't seem to have got through to the waves of Arab girls I saw taking advantage of the xmas offers on the Estee Lauder counter in Selfridges yesterday evening.

These same Arabs also don't seem to be paying much attention to the Marks & Spencer boycott that pro-Palestinian groups are engaged in. On Sunday, Marks was packed full and to my eyes there were hundreds of Arabs and other Muslims (my Pakistani wife included) eagerly parting with cash. It's with glee that I notice the vocal anti-Israel protest outside Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street every Thursday barely numbers more than about 5 hardliners. And this is all on the edge of Edgware Road, one of London's Arab heartlands.