When it comes to holiday gift giving, I usually advise against purchasing a fragrance or cologne unless the recipient expressly requests a particular brand. Like fingerprints, fragrances are unique to the wearer, and they almost never smell the same on everyone. So in spite of your best intentions, buying a perfume/cologne blind is really a game of Russian Roulette; what ‘blossoms’ on you might be a scrubber on your friend, mother, dad or significant other.
Also, if your loved one has a signature fragrance, and you know it, chances are everyone does and ten bottles of the same fragrance under the tree are nine too many.With that said, as a fragrance specialist, I do give fragrances to my very close family and friends. Last week it was my Dad's birthday. He wears fresh, citrusy scent, mainly because he receives them as gifts! Yet, citrus/fresh colognes do not work on him. Fragrance is memory and chemistry. My grandfather wore Old Spice, and my Dad wore Aramis until about 20 years ago – both fragrances suited each of them perfectly. I then turned my father on to Terre d’Hermes, which is composed is a woody fragrance with citrusy notes. He was a little teary eyed after smelling the scent as it immediately evoked memories of another time and place and most strongly of his love for his father. He believes it is the best fragrance he has ever worn in his life.
There is no arguing with my mother about fragrance. She only wears Violetta by Penhaligon. It’s lovely on her, although she and my grandmother both wore Vintage Rochas Femme until 1988, she admits other fragrances suit her better. She started wearing Violetta when my grandmother passed on because she adored Choward's violet candies.
Then there is my best friend Gail, a picky perfumista who knows what she likes and doesn’t care what critics or blogs have to say. In her case, it was an amazing victory when I, on a whim, purchased Jasmin and Cigarettes by L’etat Libre d’Orange for her Christmas gift. She grudgingly admits she adores the scent. Both she and I love Doblis, a discontinued fragrance from Hermes. Doblis smells silky smooth and powdery on her, like a true woody oriental, but deep and rich with an almost Chypre nuance on my skin.
This year my best friend will get a 10ml decant of this precious elixir in a beautiful flacon I found in an antique store. So, I’ve gone from talking about how I advice against gifting fragrances to sharing with you all my favorite scents that I’ve gifted over the years. My point is that if you do decide to give someone a new fragrance, turn to an expert. I’ve acted as a personal ‘perfume’ shopper for years, and one of my past clients recently purchased my services as a holiday gift for her 80-year-old mother.
To use my ‘gift’ as a gift is the greatest gift of all.
Michelyn Camen is a fragrance specialist and the owner of FifthSense N.Y.C. She is the Editor-at-Large www.fashiontribes.com and Fragrance Editor for UptownSocial.net. Email her at fifthsensenyc@aol.com and follow her on twitter @fifthsensenyc
