Fragrance & Cologne

Buying a fragrance for someone else is not as simple as picking out a something from the beauty counters and paying for it. Here's what you need to know.

A fragrance is a very personal thing. What smells good on you will not smell the same on someone else. If you want to buy a fragrance or cologne as a gift, you must put on the deerstalker cap for some serious detective work.

Don't rush it
Never surprise someone with a fragrance that you're not sure they'll like. Chances are it won't be appreciated (despite the huge, fake smile and squeals of "glee"). Give yourself at least one week to explore thoroughly whether they have a soft spot for perfumes/colognes or not and what sort of scents appeal to them.

Tap into her/his likes
Scents represent our favourite things in life; they are an extension of our personalities. A love of clean linens, tea, lemon, roses, musk, lavender, vanilla, cookies or even rainwater will be good hints as to what kind of perfume your friend will love.

Buy into the bottle
More than a good scent, fragrances are now appreciated for their unique flacons. Your friend doesn't need to be a serious perfume collector to love a great-looking bottle, just a connoisseur of design, architecture or creativity. They may not like the scent but if the bottle looks good on their dresser, your gift might not end up as a pass-on.

Classic rule
There are certain universal scents you can't go wrong with - the classics. Something from top noses, like Annick Goutal, Serge Lutens or Jo Malone could work. Otherwise, scents with citrus top notes, light floral middle notes and light musk or sandalwood base notes work well with everyone. Not lavender, though. Not everyone likes its "old lady" scent and associations.

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