How To Choose The Perfect Perfume … For Someone Else! (AD)

How To Choose The Perfect Perfume … For Someone Else!

It’s no secret that perfume is a huge weakness of mine. I love nothing more than browsing the metaphorical aisles of a perfume store and picking out my next fragrance obsession. I have oodles of bottles and I love to splash it over me, my boyfriend and given half the chance, my friends too! A lot of people see buying perfume as a massive indulgence and it’s rare they will buy themselves a new bottle, instead they wait for Christmas and cross their fingers that someone does the ultimate gesture…. buy them a bottle of something special! However, it might seem like a simple task, but choosing perfume for a friend or family member can be super tricky, which is why I’m here to lend a hand! Let’s go!

Personality

There are so many things to consider when shopping for fragrance as a gift, but the first thing I always think about is their personality. For instance, are they cheerful, bright and bubbly? If so, perhaps a uplifting, Summery citrus based perfume might suit them. Alternatively if they are very career focused with a dry, dark sense of humour, then perhaps something a little more structured and woodsy might work for them. If you close your eyes and imagine that person in their happy place, are they climbing mountains, hosting a conference, dancing till dawn or relaxing on a dessert island? Once you have that vision, imagine what it might smell like; Sexy, Summery, Natural, Sporty, Tropical, Romantic… now try and match that with a scent. Let me give you an example, if you friend love to get dressed up and dance the night away, it’s likely she will adore perfumes which are dark, rich, sexy and exciting, much like Marc Jacobs Decadence which is filled with notes of plum, rose, iris, jasmine and amber. Alternatively if you friend is sporty, they might like something a little more breezy, uncluttered and fresh, like Eau de Lacoste which feels very clean and simple with notes of pink pepper, citrus, cassis, violet and heliotrope.

Sweet or Savoury

This is a fun one, does your friend favour sweet of savoury foods. For instance, if they love cream cakes, macaroons and cupcakes, it’s possibly they might like their fragrance to contain a hint of sweetness, like Gucci Bamboo which is a blend of vanilla, lily, sandalwood and orange blossom. If they like more savoury foods, it’s possible they might favour less sweet fragrances, like CK One Summer which is a unisex summery fragrance containing notes watermelon, juniper berries, cucumber, ginger and musk. Also there tends to be a correlation between age and sweetness, younger ladies like sweeter fragrances than us oldies… just something to consider!

Personal Style

Think about the colours and style of clothing your friend / family member wears. For instance, my dad loves greens, browns and country attire, so I often choose a fragrance which is a little more earthy for him, like Lacoste L.12.12. Blanc which is fresh, uncluttered, natural and woodsy. If you get really stuck, look at the bottles and think about the colours and designs of the bottles and which one reminds you of your friend the most. Perfume bottles are designed to reflect the fragrance so if you friend loves all things pink, feminine and often can be found wearing a floral dress, it’s possible that Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream will be right up her street! Similarly if she’s the kind of girl who would happily wear a ball gown to the supermarket, she might want something opulent, luxurious and fabulous like Marc Jacobs Decadence One Eight K, which is filled with notes plum, iris, saffron, Bulgarian rose, jasmine and amber.

Early Riser or Night Hawk

This is a really interesting one, well, I think it is anyway! Most of us are either early risers, or night hawks. I don’t know about you guys, but I do my best work and feel most inspired at about 10pm! Where as my mum loves to get up at 6am and whip out her sewing machine and craft something fabulous before breakfast! The early risers of the world tend to like fresher, cleaner fragrances (like which are more citrus and floral based, where as the night hawks tend to like darker fragrances filled with ouds, woods, rose and amber. I know it sounds crazy, but I swear it’s true!

Trust Your Gut!

Finally, trust your gut! If you are scrolling around and totally unsure what to choose for whoever it is you are shopping for, just close your eyes (I keep making you do this today don’t I!?) and go with your gut instinct! It could be the bottle design which reminds you of them, the brand who created it who you know she adores or just the description seems to remind you of them. Your gut is rarely wrong and if it is… well that’s what gift certificates are for! *insert monkey emoji covering it’s eyes!*.

♥

This post has been sponsored by Fragrance Direct. As always, all opinions are my own. You can see their Thoughtful Fragrance Edit here and make sure to check out all of their amazing gift sets too, also if you spend over £20, postage is free (within the UK, of course!)

Also a huge thank you to Charlotte from Betty Magazine for being an awesome hand model!