Perfume 101: 517 posts

For this holiday gift guide, I decided to put together some of my favorite scented body products and some fun accessories. I also wanted for all selections to be under $50. Despite what beauty magazines tell you, you can really score some great, quality products on a budget. The second part of my holiday guide includes interesting finds like soap made with real sandalwood, luscious looking powder puffs and orange blossom scented skincare for men.

Holiday Gifts for All Senses : Perfume Discovery Sets

Rosewater or Orange Blossom Water

As a scented gift for someone who also enjoys cooking, floral waters are unbeatable. They are available at gourmet food stores, Iranian, Indian and Middle Eastern shops and Whole Foods. $5-15, depending on the brand. If your gift recipient is new to floral waters, including a note with some of your favorite ways to use them would be a nice touch. You can find extra ideas here: 10 Ways to Use Rosewater and 10 Ways to Use Orange Blossom Water.

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And so December begins. The selection of holiday sets and packages at stores and online is downright overwhelming, and I don’t pretend to offer you a comprehensive guide. It’s only a collection of my favorite things, gifts I’ve given before to friends and family (and the ones they’ve enjoyed) and whatever I have seen and liked myself. Today the spotlight is on perfume sets.

Giving perfume as gifts is tricky, but if you decide to introduce a friend to fragrance, a set of mini bottles or samples is perfect. One gift idea is to make your own decants and package them in spray atomizers. Clear, well-attached labels and a quality atomizer are a must, but the rest is easy–a colorful box, a few notes describing perfumes, and a ribbon. If you would rather go with commercial sets, below are a few ideas for both men and women.

Another gift idea is a set of perfume and lotion, a good idea if you know a fragrance your gift recipient wears. The only problem is that many luxury brands’ body products are a disappointment. A big price tag won’t guarantee a quality lotion or a moisturizing cream or that they would even smell close to the original perfume. I include a few favorites that I found well done, but in all cases, I recommend sampling the body products at store.

Two exceptions aside, all sets are under $100. While I include a few suggestions on where to find them online, the list is far from exhaustive.

L’Artisan Parfumeur  The Perfume Box

L’Artisan always does excellent holiday sets, and this selection of 10 samples is terrific and well-priced. $20 gets you and your lucky gift recipient 10 x 2 ml vials of Batucada Eau de Toilette, Caligna Eau de Parfum, La Chasse Aux Papillonsr Eau de Toilette, L’Eau D’Ambre Extreme Eau de Parfum, Fou D’Absinthe Eau de Parfum, Mure Et Musc Extreme Eau de Parfum, Nuit De Tubereuse Eau de Parfum, Premier Figuier Eau de Toilette, Seville a L’Aube Eau de Parfum, and Timbuktu Eau de Parfum. $20. Available at Luckyscent, Aedes, Barneys and major department stores.

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Lauren who is a professional fragrance evaluator shares her insights into what makes us perceive some smells as unpleasant. 

My dog smells like Saltine crackers: bleached white dough, a touch of yeast, and a generous sprinkling of salt. Her doggy scent, while unexpected, is not altogether unpleasant – and really quite appropriate, since she is snow-white. Historically, I never liked the smell of Saltine crackers—it conjured anxiety-filled memories of being sick with a stomachache—but today, I inhale my dog’s Saltine odorprint, and I’m filled with all the light and sweetness that her little spirit exudes. Whatever my associations with the aroma, it begs the question: how can my pet really smell like a processed cracker?

It turns out that many things we come into contact with on a daily basis do, in fact, share flavor or fragrance compounds. This explains why large tomatoes, if unripe, taste metallic like fish to me; or why, if I’m awakened by tempting odors luring me into my grandmother’s kitchen, I can never pinpoint if it’s brewing coffee, frying bacon, or both – bacon and coffee smell extremely similar to me.

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Corralling those pesky perfumes, or my attempts at organization is how Patricia described to me her idea for this article. As you will see, she was being modest, and her organization method is impressive. 

First, let’s get this out of the way. I have a lot of perfume. But, if you are reading this, chances are you have a fair amount yourself and struggle, as I do, with containing it all. The first stages of perfume collection don’t pose a problem. A few bottles here, a few samples there are easy to keep track of. However, once the collection swells (I swear, those dab samples in their neat little plastic bags multiply like rabbits!), some form of organization is necessary if you want to find anything in under an hour. The following is my method, which has evolved over the years by trial and error and is not meant in any way to be a guide or “how-to.”

Housing. My collection, large as it is, lives in three different locations: a tall, narrow cabinet in the bathroom, a shelf below my bedside table, and my dresser tabletop. (Newly obtained samples, of course, can be found floating here and there throughout the house.) None of these locations is ideal for perfume, which likes dark, cool places, but I don’t want to keep my perfume locked away in a special refrigerator, and for the most part I either never had or didn’t keep the original boxes. I make some effort at limiting direct light, but that‘s about it.

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One of many reasons why I’m captivated by scents is their ability to take me out of the ordinary and into the world of fantasies. They inspire me to dream, but because a perfume is a story with a set of characters, plot twists and backdrop changes, there is always a sense of discovery. In this spirit of discovery, if you have 10 minutes, I would like to invite you on a short animated journey with “Hedgehog in the Fog”.

Why this film and what does it have to do with perfume? At first glance, little, but its themes of curiosity, adventure, and discovery, its lyrical atmosphere, and its fascinating characters plunge me into the same dreamy state as the best perfumes. Hedgehog in the Fog, created by Yuriy Norshteyn in 1975, is also a must see because it’s an animation masterpiece, cited by renowned animator Hayao Miyazaki and director Michel Gondry as one of their favorites.

I won’t tell you the story, which is very simple, but every second of this 10 minute film is exquisite, supported by incredible drawing, muted colors, and a haunting soundtrack. It was made for children, but it’s really a little philosophical tale for adults.

“‘I wonder,’ thought hedgehog, ‘if the horse falls asleep, will it drown in the fog?’ And he started descending into the fog to see what it was like inside.”