A person’s perfume is a unique way of expressing oneself. Some people choose the scent they wear depending on their mood, some wear one scent during the day and another in the evening, while many people choose to wear the same perfume all the time. Others have a favourite, very expensive fragrance that they wear only on special occasions.
Whatever someone does, the choice is a personal one. Some people use a perfume like a personal trademark, so that whenever you get a whiff of that particular bouquet, you instinctively think of that one person. My mother used a scent called ‘Wild Gorse’ made by the monks on Caldy Island in west Wales for this reason. Very, very few other people had that scent, as you had to go to the island to buy it.
It is almost hopeless to choose perfume for someone you do not know, unless you go for a famous, expensive name like Chanel No. 5. There are few women who would turn down a bottle of that, even if it was not their favourite fragrance. The more you know the person the easier it should get, in theory at least.
So, how do you know which scents are going to be a welcome gift? That is the $65k question. There are several ways that reduce the odds of you making a slip-up. You could take a sneak look on their dressing table to see what that person wears already.
If you plan far enough in advance, you could bring it up in conversation with an off-hand compliment like: ‘Oh, what a lovely scent/after shave! I like that. What is it called?’. But you have to do it weeks before you need the information.
Or you could choose a scent that brings a special memory to mind, like the perfume that was worn on their wedding day, anniversary, or graduation day. Perfumes like these bring back pleasant memories and make them feel good by association. If you are not a bosom buddy of the one you want to buy for, you could ask their friends’ advice.
If you want to give a present of scent to someone that you want to remember you by, why not invite them out for a meal or a show and a meal and present the perfume in the restaurant? Most perfumes lose their potency after four or five hours, which is why many women top up every now and again with a spray from their handbags. Very few men do this.
So, if you give the perfume later on in the evening, there is less chance of it clashing with what they are already wearing, meaning that someone is more likely to dab a bit on there and then, thereby associating the bouquet in their memory with the night you took them out. Just make certain it was a good night out.
If all of the above fails, then most department stores offer scent gift boxes which include the scent , a powder and body lotion. These scent gift sets are a decent option, even if the person only wears it to go to bed or around the house.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with men’s perfume. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts: Ideas
