Perfume is a very personal gift. While many people know what perfume they want to wear, others will often take their best guess when buying a fragrance as a present. Unless the person has a wish list and a perfume they want on it, there’s a 50/50 chance that they won’t like the scent you choose.
If you want to be brave and go perfume shopping here, you can use the following tips to buy the perfect perfume as a present.
1. Learn About Fragrance Families
Perfumes can use a variety of scents to make up the total scent profile. There are top, middle, and base notes to consider, but each of them will often fall into one of the following categories:
- Floral -The most common fragrance family is floral. This fragrance can include a single flower note or a bouquet of scents.
- Fresh – A fragrance family growing in popularity, fresh fragrances are often airy or smell like a beach or the sea.
- Oriental – Warm and spicy best represent the oriental fragrance family. Considered romantic, these scents are designed to last long.
- Woody – Warm and rich, these forest notes are a popular choice for men or women who like to be outdoors.
You’ll also find that citrus scents are regularly blended into perfumes. Creed Silver Mountain Water is an example of how these aromas can be combined to create something spectacular—this fragrance boasts notes of blackcurrant, green tea, bergamot, and sandalwood.
2. Consider the Person’s Tastes
If the person doesn’t tell you what perfume they want or you want to make it a true surprise, try and identify the scents the person prefers. Is the perfume that the person is wearing strong? Does it smell like flowers, citrus, or woody?
You can always casually ask the person what perfume they’re wearing and use this as a basis for choosing their gift.
3. Read Reviews to Gauge the Perfume’s Longevity
It’s difficult to appreciate a perfume unless you own it personally truly. You can and should read through reviews to better understand the longevity of perfume and to understand whether it’s a good fit for the gift receiver.
You’ll want to look for people talking about how long the scent remains strong.
4. Sample in Retail Stores
Ordering perfume online is popular because you can easily compare shops and find the best prices. And online stores offer various perfumes and styles to choose from. When it comes to variety, it’s almost impossible to match the options found online.
However, when perfume shopping, you can’t physically test out the perfume’s scent to know what it really smells like.
Retail stores offer a great opportunity to go to a store and spritz the perfume. You’ll want to wait and see if the first impression is a lasting one.
And if you do find a perfume you like in a retail store, you can always purchase it online.
5. Ignore First Impressions
When you first spray perfume, you’ll be hit with top notes. The top notes are designed to make a first impression, but it takes 10 to 20 minutes before the top note starts to fade. You want to ignore the first impression and wait until the base note scent is revealed.
Base notes make up most of a perfume’s chemical makeup and can’t be enjoyed until the top notes fade.
6. Ask the Person What They Like
You always have the option of asking the recipient what fragrances they like. The person may be interested in the latest perfume by a major perfume maker, or they may be able to give you insights into the fragrance families that they like.
7. Consider Lasting Hours
Every perfume has what is known as lasting hours. This is how long you can expect the perfume’s scent to remain strong. A general rule of thumb is that the higher the perfume’s concentration, the longer the scent will last.
The lasting hours are:
- Eau de Cologne: 1-3 hours
- Eau de Toilette: 3-8 hours
- Eau de Parfum: 6-12 hours
- Pure Parfum: 12-24 hours
These are the most common types of perfumes and how long they last. If a person plans to use their perfume for a major event, choosing Eau de Parfum may be a good option.
When buying perfume as a gift for someone, the seven tips above can help you find the right perfume for the person’s taste and style.
