Giving perfumes as presents? Here are some tips from the World’s best perfumers

Choosing a perfume is such an intimate experience. Just like finding that perfect basic everyday white tee that works for your body type, it can be tricky to find a scent that resonates with you or your giftee.

What makes it even harder when it comes to shopping for fragrances is, what smells nice on someone else, might smell different on you (or your recipient), thanks to the body’s unique chemistry.

Short of sniffing your way through all the fragrances in the department store, how can you find “the one”? Three top perfumers share their best perfume gifting advice. 

1. Opt for discovery sets

“Discovery sets, as the name suggests, offer a way for someone to discover a variety of different fragrances, and also the evolution on their skin. They allow people to discover what they truly love and what really suits them.

Also, if you prefer gifting a 100ml fragrance, you can answer a fragrance profiling questionnaire but trying to put yourself into the shoes of the person you want to gift. Or another tip would be to choose amongst some of our best-sellers and that most people love such as in our case Abyssae.” Reyes Lezcano Penalva, L'Artisan Parfumeur General Manager

2. Choose something unexpected

“I think that it’s also nice to surprise your loved ones with unique and unexpected scents!” David Benedek, BDK Parfums CEO

3. Pick a floral-infused formula

“Offering fragrances is important during special occasions like Christmas or anniversary. It's because you're bringing some happiness. You're bringing some joy and positivity. I think it's better to offer some fragrances (compared) to a bottle of wine or champagne because with fragrances, especially rose-infused ones, just like a bouquet of blooms, you keep them in your flat and each time you walk past (the bouquet or fragrance), you are reminded of the person who gave them to you.” Olivier Cresp and Sebastien Cresp, master perfumers