How To Choose A Perfume For Someone Else

With so many fragrances to choose from, how do you know which one to pick? Choosing a perfume for someone else can be tricky, but it’s not impossible.

Here are our 5 top tips to help you on your way.

1. FIND OUT WHAT THEY WEAR

Either hunt through their perfume collection or just simply ask (if you’re feeling like they won’t guess what you’re up to)… but look out for the fragrance family that their favourite perfume falls into. It might be citrus, woody, floral for example and chances are that the person you want to gift has a preferred type of fragrance.

Just knowing two or three of their favourites is enough to get an idea of their scent profile. You can then put these into Google or perfume referencing websites such as Fragrantica or WikiParfum to find out if there are common structures or ingredients, and what perfumes might suit.

Discovery Sets are a perfect way to try several family style of fragrances in a single box without having to commit to one in particular.

2. MATCH THEIR PERSONALITY

Be logical when matching a scent with someone’s personality. That may be an obvious one, but don’t give an overpowering “look at me” scent to someone who usually doesn’t wear much perfume or has a discreet personality.

Big personalities can rock orientals, heavy white flowers, spicy notes and woody gourmand fragrances. Otherwise, go for lighter florals, soft orientals, musky and fresh citrus fragrances.

3. CHOOSE WITH YOUR NOSE, NOT THE BRAND

While the big brand names may be a sure sign of a great fragrance, what your partner is the most interested in is how they smell when they wear it. So trust your nose! Explain your journey in finding it, why you chose it and why you liked it – it might be that it reminded you of a place you visited together or there’s a special ingredient in there that is dear to you – the personal touch and storytelling is also as important.

Adding a personal touch to your selection process might be the perfect way to win their approval! Why not try our Scent Designer and design a fragrance you think they’ll love!

Another option is get them an array of choice and let them decide which scent will win their heart for themselves with our Creation Sets.

Photo by Brandon Anderson

4. LOOK BEYOND PERFUME

If you’re worried about getting the wrong perfume, then look outside the traditional spray format and into other scented gifts. Candles are a good example, soaps, room sprays (you can spray your bed linen), or there’s even scented jewellery such as bracelets.

Don’t forget you also have a wide variety of choice when it comes to hand creams, shower gels and bath oils that will beat your normal Nivea products hands down.

5. GIFT A PERFUME EXPERIENCE

Last but not least, here at the Experimental Perfume Club we give you the unique opportunity to gift a bespoke fragrance for that special someone to learn what type of fragrances they love by themselves!

Choose from a full experience at one of our perfume making workshops or our Blending Consultation at our London perfume laboratory where you’ll learn and create your own fragrance, or prefer a visit to our Blending Lab in Selfridges to get a 1-2-1 consultation and get a bespoke fragrance of your choice blended for you.

Explore our Perfumer’s Atelier and play perfumer at home!

So many options, but any one you choose, we guarantee you’ll smell wonderful and you’ll gain a better sense of what you like and don’t like while wearing a fragrance no one else will wear!