Fragrance is the gift people most want to get right and most often get wrong, for a simple reason: the thing you are choosing is how someone else will smell to themselves all day. Their opinion is the only one that counts, and you do not have it.
There are two ways around that.
1. Buy the category, not the bottle
You rarely know which fragrance someone wants. You often know whether they lean sweet or dry, heavy or light, floral or not. That is enough to pick a family, and a family is a much safer bet than a specific composition.
If you have ever noticed them wearing something warm and vanilla-ish, start in Vanilla or Amber. If they smell clean and sharp, start in Fresh. If you have no idea at all, Woody is the family that offends the fewest people.
2. Give the choice, not the decision
Hand the decision back to them. Bring them to one of our Sydney or Brisbane stores, where every fragrance is free to test on skin before anything is bought. If a visit is not possible, the Find your scent quiz narrows the range to a few scents that suit their taste, which is more than most people ever do.
It is a less dramatic gift than a wrapped bottle, and there is nothing wrong with that if you would rather be right than clever.
The common mistake
Buying what you like the smell of. It is almost impossible to avoid, because you are standing in a shop smelling things and responding to them. But you will not be the one wearing it, and fragrance behaves differently on different skin anyway.
If you catch yourself thinking a particular bottle smells wonderful, that is a reason to buy it for yourself, not for them.
Practical notes
If you are still unsure where to start, our best sellers are the scents our customers choose most often, which makes them a sensible shortlist. Orders ship Australia-wide with Australia Post Express, dispatched within 1 to 2 business days, free on orders of $90 and over. If you are in Sydney or Brisbane you can also come and smell things properly before deciding. The stores page has the addresses.
