How to give a perfume as a gift without losing your friend?

1. Two weeks before Christmas in a crowded Sephora, you are desperately looking for a perfume to give to your sister. Tetanized by the 2,450 options available to you and your 80% chance of making a mistake, you end up buying her an 18th bottle of her own perfume.

2. On 25 December, it's your turn: you open the package your grandmother left at the foot of the tree. Here is a gleaming bottle of "Rich B*tch", the latest Gazole. It smells exactly like Fanny - the girl you hated in your 3rd grade class, who used to make your life miserable in Latin class...

In short, for Christmas or a birthday, choosing a perfume for a loved one is no easy task. But no worries, we'll give you a little help. Follow us, we'll investigate and give you our best tips on how to become the expert on 100% successful perfume gifts.

How do you know which fragrance will appeal to her? 

Start by hunting for clues. If you've ever dreamed of being a detective, now's the time: put on a trench coat, get out a notebook and prepare your questions. "Okay, but what kind of questions should we ask?" Try to find out his/her taste in perfume: does he/she prefer fresh, woody, sweet, floral scents? Does he/she prefer niche perfumesIs he/she more interested in the classic, or the more classic, established scents? Is he/she more cologne or eau de parfum ? In short, gather as much information as possible before you start.

Declining your favourite perfume

If you know the name of her favourite perfume, you've hit the jackpot. It will be easier to please her. In this case, you can :

• opt for the larger format (always a pleasure!)
• try another type of concentration: be careful that the smell does not deviate too much from the original concentration used by your loved one. Because even if the name of the perfume remains the same and as surprising as it may seem, it may happen that from eau de parfum to eau de toilette, the perfumer has decided to change a few notes so that the result is more harmonious and therefore the smell is different.
• or offer a gift box containing products derived from the fragrance: body lotion, shower gel, mist or aftershave... Derivatives are a great gift idea that will allow your loved one to be embalmed with his favorite scent. A bit like our candle & perfume duo RayonVert: a sure hit under the tree.

If not, continue the investigation: discreetly - on tiptoe and with a magnifying glass in hand - head for his/her perfume collection. Inspect the most used bottles and the notes he/she seems to prefer.

You can also simply ask one of their relatives to continue to gather as much information as possible about their tastes.

A taste for risk

If you like adventure and risk - and your loved one often likes to change or discover new fragrances - why not try giving them a new one? Who knows, it could be their next favourite!

First, put your tastes aside. The idea is not to give a perfume that might appeal to you, but to give a fragrance that your loved one might enjoy wearing. Taste and colour, you know, is not an issue...

The easiest way to do this is to look for scents that he/she likes (be adventurous but not too adventurous!). You already know - after having carried out your little investigation - that your loved one is used to wearing such and such fragrances, that he/she likes such and such an olfactory family. All you have to do is note down their preferences, the notes that stand out the most in their collection and share them with a perfume consultant: you will surely be well directed towards something that will please them! Don't hesitate to favour Mixed scents You'll have a better chance of pleasing her.

Here are also our tips for avoiding "oh, it smells good... thanks!" (when it really doesn't) and your loved one doesn't end up with yet another perfume on her dresser that she'll probably never use - yes, it can happen, so we'd rather plan ahead:

• First tip: always offer the perfume you've chosen with a sample. This will allow her to test it on her skin and see how it evolves before opening the bottle. That's what we do at Bastille : all our fragrances are delivered with a sample for exactly this reason, and returns are free!
• Second tip: you can also offer the perfume with an exchange ticket - without the price tag, of course - so that the person can change it if they are disappointed.
• As a last resort, it is also possible to turn to less risky gifts that will allow her to discover new scents. These include bed mists, room fragrances and even candles.

For example, if your friend loves white flowers like jasmine and needs to relax, we have the perfect gift: our Pleine Lune candleA beautiful limited edition made in collaboration with Lorraine Sorlet. With essential oils of neroli and bergamot, this soothing and comforting candle is sure to please him/her! If you want to introduce her to the eau de parfum a little later, for a future occasion...

The daily routine

Also consider what your relatives do during their day: do they work in an office or outside? Do they do a lot of outdoor activities? Are they more of a Netflix team or a saturday night fever team? All of this will help you to know whether they need a strong perfume or not, a fresh one or an opulent one... For example, if the person in question does a lot of sport, he or she will surely want a fresh perfume to feel good after a good shower. If he or she goes out a lot, a strong perfume will make him or her stand out. Last but not least, if he or she spends most of his or her free time hiking in nature, there is a good chance that woody or green scents will appeal to them. Do you follow us? Of course, it's not an exact science, so don't bet everything on that and take your detective notes into consideration to make sure you give her the perfect scent!

Personal values

Is your friend vegan? Or a fan of clean beauty, committed brands, natural make-up or made in France? Is she a young mother who's careful about the products she puts on her skin? ? Here too, try to find in the perfume you offer her the commitments she follows on a daily basis. At Bastilleit's easy enough: all our fragrances are vegan, 95% natural, formulated with organic wheat alcohol and, of course, made in France. Don't hesitate to ask the brands when in doubt!

Style first

It is often said that clothing style reflects our personality. Don't hesitate to use this as a guide! Besides, it will allow you to know if you really know him/her: so, are you a good friend or not? If you want, we can help you a little: if his/her style of dress is rather classic and he/she is a bit shy, don't give her a very experimental perfume If he/she is a woman, there is a greater chance that he/she will not assume it, and that is not the point! On the other hand, if his/her personality is bubbly, cheerful and his/her style of dress is slightly atypical, you may be able to venture into the more singular, niche perfumes. 

We thought of everything

At Bastille, we've planned ahead with a discovery sample kit which includes all the fragrances in our collection, and a voucher to receive your favourite fragrance in a 50ml version! Our five fragrances are all very different from each other: they represent 5 distinct olfactory families. No doubt, your loved one will find something to suit them! And if you ever want to use your detective skills without taking too many risks, all our perfumes come with a sample. So go for it, you have no more excuses:

Finding the right perfume for a loved one is a mission you can now take on with flying colours. Follow our advice, try to know as much as possible about the person and don't worry: in any case, you will have offered your loved one a nice moment of olfactory discovery, and we bet they will be sensitive to it. Merry Christmas!

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 Photos: Jules Theret, Margaux Corda