Well, Black Friday is laying behind us and Cyber Monday is ahead! Christmas sales have officially kicked of and surely its high time to think about what to give to your family and friends this Christmas. As much as I love gift giving I usually feel its a rather easy tasks as the present should reflect the personality of the presenter as much as the personality of the recipient! I don’t have a rational explanation but whenever I start to make up my mind about Christmas presents the first thing that comes in is fragrances. However, over the years I finally got some experience on how to find the perfect fragrance present? So what to keep in mind when buying fragrances for your loved once?

Some inspirations on fragrances as Christmas presents!

• Le Labo, Santal 33, 50ml, EUR 125.00, lelabofragrances.com
• GIRL, Pharrell Williams x Comme des Garçons, bottle designed by artist KAWS, 100ml, EUR 95.00, colette.com
• Memo, Kedu, 75ml, EUR 169.00, nose.fr
• Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Cologne pour le matin, 200ml, EUR 145.00, nose.fr
• Guerlain, Cherry Blossom, 125ml, guerlain.com
• Hermessence, Rose Ikebana, hermes.com

To find the right scent family there is a theoretical more scientific and an inspirational approach. For the inspirational approach try to think about a nice experience the two of you shared within the last year. Than imagine the scent that surrounded you at that time and try to find a corresponding fragrance. For the scientific approach ask in advance for the names of fragrances the person likes the most. Afterwards check out the dominant notes of those fragrances under http://www.fragrancedirectory.info and you will know the corresponding scent families (e.g. oriental, floral, fruity, green). To avoid pitfalls buy fragrances of the same family, which was previously used! I usually try to start the inspirational way but double check in the end with the help of the more scientific!

Its not a must but its nice to go for something created by an in house perfumer that is produced in a small scale rather than a high price but mass produced product with a scent created by one of the so called fragrance and flavor companies, like Symrise, who create everything from French fries aroma to perfume!

Bottle and packaging are something that deserves some attention too. Is the recipient a minimalist, who is obsessed with sustainability? Than go for brands that offer refilling, like Le Labo. Is the recipient interested in contemporary art? The KAWS designed bottle of CDG’s new Pharrell Williams scent Girl might be the right thing. Is the recipient an old style fashionista, who loves nothing more than her beautifully decorated vanity chances are she might love Guerlain bee bottles.

Go for small scales first – in the end its for trying! When the recipient likes it you can find a nice occasion to present him or her with a bigger bottle, while they can keep the smaller for traveling!

Do you have fragrances that always work as presents? Do you go for classics like Chanel Number 5 or do you prefer to be slightly more experimental?