10 Step formula of buying perfume for the most important women in your life

Kanwal, Perfumery Consultant

Hello friends I am working as Perfumery consultant at Next Care Inc. Lots of my friends get confused while choosing the appropriate perfume for the most important woman in their life. I hope this article will help in clarifying doubts. If you have any queries please mail me at mynextscent@gmail.com

It’s always tricky, buying perfume for someone else. When it comes to gifting fragrance, it’s not about playing it safe. Perfume is not an intellectual thing. It’s very personal. You have to use what you already know about someone, but you also need to trust your instincts.  When you are smelling a fragrance, you try to really imagine the person wearing it. You can guess that someone who wears light colors all the time might like the idea of lightness. She is going to want something that’s pure and airy. Try to imagine her wearing a heavy, spicy fragrance, and it just doesn’t fit.

Getting the women in your life a great gift comes with a lot of anxiety. You want to get your mom the perfect present to say “thank you” for everything she’s done for you, but what sums up a lifetime of thankfulness? You certainly want to impress your sister with something that says "sisterhood" more than "friendship," and you're probably looking for a little trinket to give your best girlfriend to make her think of you whenever she looks at or uses it. Of course, you want to get your wife a gift so special that she’ll be singing your gift-giving praises for years to come. But what exactly should that present be? Smell is the strongest sense we have.

In fact, olfaction (sense of smell) lies somewhere between emotion and memory. It reacts even before the receptors in the brain can process the message. Hence fragrances make the most personal gifts and are high up on all gifting occasions. Since fragrances are personal experiences, there are no good or bad ones, just the ones that talk to your soul and lift your energies. While giving a fragrance we want to gift one that she will love and cherish. And each time they wear perfume, they will think of you. So, yes gifting a fragrance is a powerful act as it not only evokes memories but also connects you to the memory of the receiver.

But entering a perfume counter or logging on a perfume site with multiple brands and different genres of fragrances fighting for your attention can be a difficult task. We asked an industry insider on how to select the best perfumes for your friends and family. Ms. Ritu, Managing partner of NEXT CARE INC and a leading fragrance expert shares her foolproof guide to gifting perfumes…

Here are some tips from the discussion:

 If you are buying a perfume for someone in your inner circle and you know their favourite perfume, then finding the right fragrance to gift is the least challenging. Go to a perfume store, and the fragrance expert should be able to suggest something similar, or in the same family.

Steps for Buying Perfume for the most-important women in your life

1. Now, if you don’t know the favourite perfume, then try to get some hints from the person’s personality –clothing, colour, choices and character – which are very easy indicators in selecting a perfect fragrance as a gift.. The best way is to find out about the fragrance facets which the person likes or decode them as mentioned in the points above. Then find the fragrances which belong to this family, both classics and new ones. Narrow down your choice to three to four fragrances. If possible go someplace where you can smell them and finalise!
2. To know what’s the receiver’s favourite brand might also help. The fragrance might not work totally for the person, but the brand will probably make up for it.
3. Narrow down the choice falling in the budget.
4. Read reviews online on certain great blog sites or discussion platforms.
5. Lastly, if in doubt, select what I call the least risky types, which are generally, floral- fruity for women like Eve’s Delight
6. The last one is to gift a voucher and let the person select her own fragrance.
7. The secret of people who give great gifts is they think of the recipient rather than of themselves. Gifting someone a fragrance you like might not work out as the best option as it is a personal choice. So sideline your personal favourites and keep an open nose.
8. Match the personality to the perfume. It’s no surprise that we wear fragrances that reflect our mood. There are seven perfume families – , aromatic, woody, leather, oriental, fougere, chypre and citrus – in which most of the fragrances can be classified. Further, these families are then divided into 19 olfactory facets, each evokes an emotion. But choosing a scent is not so technical or some kind of rocket science. As a perfumer, I advise my clients to ignore the actual notes and instead focus on the personality traits of the wearer, whether it’s them or someone special to them. A scent is often described in the same words as you would describe someone’s personality –bright or subtle, intense or sparkling, light and sensual; complex or simple; natural or sophisticated. You’ll be surprised how easily you can home on to the right scent if you know the description of the wearer-to-be!
9. Some people have signature fragrances, and they only use those perfumes through their lives. Then it’s best to gift them the same fragrance that they use or line extension products in the same family. For perfume enthusiasts who are experimental and adventurous, step outside the box and introduce them to a new brand and a new olfactory universe. They might remember you for life for helping them get closer to a scent that they may not have considered.
10. Perfume with Name – Nowadays you can gift a perfume with the name of the recipient printed on the bottle or the label of bottle and certainly most important women in your life will be delighted to see her name. If you want to gift such a customized name written perfume then you can look forward to Next Intense Perfume

But, if in doubt, select what I call the eternal pleasers, which are generally, floral-fruity for women