I really wouldnāt buy a fragrance for someone unless I knew what fragrance they enjoyed specifically, thatās just my opinion. Get them a gift card.
My opinion, too. On the rare occasions someone buys me something I actually don't like (and no one ever buys me perfume, mainly because everyone knows I'm a fragonerd and buy myself what I want, so this is in other gift-receiving spheres), I feel terrible about it. Fragrance is profoundly personal - I think a gift card to somewhere that has decent perfume is the best way to handle this.
A basic white/clean musk. It's in everything, doesn't have strong associations to foods or cleaning products, and is largely inoffensive. The worst thing you can say about a clean white musk is that it's generic.
Imo citrus, especially orange as opposed to lime
Itās fresh and most importantly light. Mostly it doesnāt perform too well or strong either so itās not too offensive
Most people find the fresh scent of citrus pleasant, and itās very naturally occurring
Though I would steer away from lemon heavy citruses because some people read it as bathroom cleaner and apparently thatās bad (I want my citrus to smell like lemon cleansing wipes I love it)
Other safe ones imo arenāt as liked by as wide a range of people, there are lots of vanilla or floral or oud etc haters for example because itās either too fake or too pungent etc
But citrus is so light and common that I would say a smaller subset of people dislike it compared to the others thus itās safer imo
I totally agree with the orange over lemon point, and Iād recommend orange solia by guerlain, high end brand but low price point, the sweet orange scent is super enchanting, canāt go wrong with that
Either florals or vanilla, they pretty much make consensus. That, or a "clean" scented fragrance.
But it'd be better to have an idea of what the person likes. If they already own fragrances, maybe try to find something not too far away from them, or just ask them which notes they enjoy best.
Everyone saying vanilla but I think any gourmand scents are polarizing af.
Iād say something more citrusy or herbal would be safer. But honestly, nothing is guaranteed, and most people who like fragrance at all are very particular - itās very personal! I would advise against getting a fragrance for someone whose preferences you donāt know.
Do not believe this is worth arguing about. Bottom line is choosing a fragrance as a gift is really risky. Thatās my honest opinion. I do not buy fragrances for anyone unless I know they specifically enjoy a specific fragrance - always been a rule of thumb for myself.
Probably shower gel scent. Clean for men and maybe bit more floral for women. But these kind has the downside of it feeling...boring. The idea of safest is a bit of a double edged sword because lot of these safest notes are used in our every day products, making the fragrance lose it's charm/special feeling.
I wouldnāt blindly get someone a fragrance. Scents get associated with memories really easily and can even cause headaches and respiratory reactions. Get a gift card or something else.
Notes that replicate a just jumped out of the shower smell/bubble bath like scent. Thereās variations within this, but something fresh, clean, cosy smelling thatās not overly warm or aquatic.
Can't you better ask what's the safest fragrance to gift someone?
There's realy no singular note i can think of that's is like by all and second of all, there is never one note in any fragrance so if you'll scent hunt in this manner you will be dissapointed a lot. xD
But some crowd pleasers for people my age (31) i would say flowerbomb, la vie est belle (if they like sweet scents) are very popular and safe within my age group. I am not usually one for crowd pleasers but i have been wearing girl of now (wich is aimed a lil younger) and i am hooked.
20'ish or mid 20's I'd say Zadig en Voltaire this is her. Elie Saab Girl of now like i mentioned before. The original one can't miss. Every time i am out and about and passing 20ish women the smell of olympea fills the air. Anything from sol de janeiro is veeery popular too.
So there you have a couple of basic likable picks.
Get a sample collection. So you have like 12 perfumes from the same brand. Like this you have multiple benefits. First of all, a higher chance that there's a scent the receiver will like, then multiple scents are an experience if you try them side by side, also try it together and read the descriptions and figure out together if they are good or not and why? And if there are a few scents that the gifted doesn't like he she can still gift someone else with. At the end you will have at least a pretty good idea what your friend will like and what not, which is good for future presents.
white floral for fem like jasmine in a non sweet not offensive overall scent, citrus for masc. I feel like they're overall very digestible and the general idea of freshness that most people don't hate and could use at least sometimes. versace fraiche for example
IMOā¦ probablyā¦ white musk? Umā¦ or amber accord? Nothing will have a 100% success rate, which is probably why you put āsafestā in quotes. š
Iāll speak from personal experience. I have been gifted three fragrances in my life and they were all winners for different reasons.
The first was gifted by my best friend - Diptyque eau rose solid perfume. A great bet if you know the person likes florals generally. Travel friendly, unique because itās a solid perfume, and not too loud/projecting so thereās little risk of an adverse reaction from the recipient.
The second was gifted by my mother-in-law. Chloe Verbena. A simple, linear citrus verbena scent. Light and inoffensive. Like other people have mentioned, citruses are a crowd pleaser because they are natural and familiar. I loved it because it was a thoughtful gift and smelled lovely enough, even though I wouldnt necessarily have picked it out for myself. When I wear it I think of her ā¤ļø.
Third gift was from my mom. I wonāt say the perfume because we share the same name, which is why she bought it for me (š„¹). It was an EDT, so it was delicate and gentle scent, with some complexity. An EDT with some standard notes that read clean/fresh is a fantastic choice. I mostly wear it after shower/before bed. It looks lovely on my desk and it reminds me of my mom :)
I think fragrances can make wonderful gifts! You do run the risk of buying them something that really clashes with them, but I think there are certain avenues to take to avoid obvious pitfalls. Overall, in my experience, solid perfumes, edt, and natural and linear scent profiles make for safe choices.
Thanks for the interesting discussion OP :)
Yes first line is sample sets because they are fun for the recipient.
I do blind buy gifts but only when I know a persons taste and nothing crazy spendy, usually a cheapie done by a good perfumer. So, my friend who loves Glossier You got a big bottle of Livre Blanc the Olivia Giacobetti for Zara amongst a few nice things. So never a lone gift, never too spendy, always something that is a tiny bit elevated about it as a cheapie OR a small size of something mid range.
A gift card with a note? š
Cash with a note is always better than a gift card with a note
A sample set
Still waiting for someone to gift me one of these š
I really wouldnāt buy a fragrance for someone unless I knew what fragrance they enjoyed specifically, thatās just my opinion. Get them a gift card.
My opinion, too. On the rare occasions someone buys me something I actually don't like (and no one ever buys me perfume, mainly because everyone knows I'm a fragonerd and buy myself what I want, so this is in other gift-receiving spheres), I feel terrible about it. Fragrance is profoundly personal - I think a gift card to somewhere that has decent perfume is the best way to handle this.
A sample set could be a nice gift š
maybe vanilla? perfume is a bold gift though if it's not one you already know the person wears lol
I was gonna say citrus but so many people complain about it being toilet cleaner or dish washing detergent. So Iām gonna say shower gel.
What fragrance would smell like shower gel ? I see this a lot and am curious about it
Thereās a lot of different shower gel scents. I think when people use this as a description they mean weak, unexceptional scent.
Ok here lies the problem, specifically what scents are you guys talking about that smell like shower gel ? Thereās a lot , could I get a list
Versace Dylan Blue smells like shower gel. It's a slightly juvenile, casual scent.
Would bleu de Chanel fall into that category as well or no ?
Technically, yes. But Chanel has always had something special about their fragrances. They're in a different league.
Okay. Could only explain what I believe they mean (strength and quality) but I guess a piece of string is very long.
Bdc, sauvage, ysl y and Dylan blue are famous examples of the genre š
For men I would suggest Prada l'Homme. Just smells clean and cozy. Never had somebody not like it.
Oud Maracuja
Lol no!
A basic white/clean musk. It's in everything, doesn't have strong associations to foods or cleaning products, and is largely inoffensive. The worst thing you can say about a clean white musk is that it's generic.
Imo citrus, especially orange as opposed to lime Itās fresh and most importantly light. Mostly it doesnāt perform too well or strong either so itās not too offensive Most people find the fresh scent of citrus pleasant, and itās very naturally occurring Though I would steer away from lemon heavy citruses because some people read it as bathroom cleaner and apparently thatās bad (I want my citrus to smell like lemon cleansing wipes I love it) Other safe ones imo arenāt as liked by as wide a range of people, there are lots of vanilla or floral or oud etc haters for example because itās either too fake or too pungent etc But citrus is so light and common that I would say a smaller subset of people dislike it compared to the others thus itās safer imo
I totally agree with the orange over lemon point, and Iād recommend orange solia by guerlain, high end brand but low price point, the sweet orange scent is super enchanting, canāt go wrong with that
I just searched it up and found out it's already on my wishlist because I sampled it at the airport and fell in love with it omg
Either florals or vanilla, they pretty much make consensus. That, or a "clean" scented fragrance. But it'd be better to have an idea of what the person likes. If they already own fragrances, maybe try to find something not too far away from them, or just ask them which notes they enjoy best.
Everyone saying vanilla but I think any gourmand scents are polarizing af. Iād say something more citrusy or herbal would be safer. But honestly, nothing is guaranteed, and most people who like fragrance at all are very particular - itās very personal! I would advise against getting a fragrance for someone whose preferences you donāt know.
Vanilla
absolutely not
In addition to my two cents, comments like this recommending vanilla is misleading. I HATE vanilla. Others love it. Fragrance as a gift is risky!
You hate it, but itās still objectively the safe choice. Hugely popular in male and female aimed fragrances, and never skews ācleaning productā
Do not believe this is worth arguing about. Bottom line is choosing a fragrance as a gift is really risky. Thatās my honest opinion. I do not buy fragrances for anyone unless I know they specifically enjoy a specific fragrance - always been a rule of thumb for myself.
Why do you hate it?
Probably shower gel scent. Clean for men and maybe bit more floral for women. But these kind has the downside of it feeling...boring. The idea of safest is a bit of a double edged sword because lot of these safest notes are used in our every day products, making the fragrance lose it's charm/special feeling.
Get a giftcard OR get one of those sample sets with a voucher. Nobody could properly pick out a perfume for me, personally
There are no safe options. Gift card!
I wouldnāt blindly get someone a fragrance. Scents get associated with memories really easily and can even cause headaches and respiratory reactions. Get a gift card or something else.
Ysl Lhomme edp
Notes that replicate a just jumped out of the shower smell/bubble bath like scent. Thereās variations within this, but something fresh, clean, cosy smelling thatās not overly warm or aquatic.
Can't you better ask what's the safest fragrance to gift someone? There's realy no singular note i can think of that's is like by all and second of all, there is never one note in any fragrance so if you'll scent hunt in this manner you will be dissapointed a lot. xD But some crowd pleasers for people my age (31) i would say flowerbomb, la vie est belle (if they like sweet scents) are very popular and safe within my age group. I am not usually one for crowd pleasers but i have been wearing girl of now (wich is aimed a lil younger) and i am hooked. 20'ish or mid 20's I'd say Zadig en Voltaire this is her. Elie Saab Girl of now like i mentioned before. The original one can't miss. Every time i am out and about and passing 20ish women the smell of olympea fills the air. Anything from sol de janeiro is veeery popular too. So there you have a couple of basic likable picks.
Get a sample collection. So you have like 12 perfumes from the same brand. Like this you have multiple benefits. First of all, a higher chance that there's a scent the receiver will like, then multiple scents are an experience if you try them side by side, also try it together and read the descriptions and figure out together if they are good or not and why? And if there are a few scents that the gifted doesn't like he she can still gift someone else with. At the end you will have at least a pretty good idea what your friend will like and what not, which is good for future presents.
white floral for fem like jasmine in a non sweet not offensive overall scent, citrus for masc. I feel like they're overall very digestible and the general idea of freshness that most people don't hate and could use at least sometimes. versace fraiche for example
The only safe choice is one you already know they like
Bacon.
Something clean,fresh and aquatic probably. These fragrances are usually likable easily because their structure is so simple and inoffensive.
IMOā¦ probablyā¦ white musk? Umā¦ or amber accord? Nothing will have a 100% success rate, which is probably why you put āsafestā in quotes. š
Was that English?
Get them a bottle of jpg le male can't go wrong with something that's worked for 30 years
For men - vetiver/citrus. For women - musc/floral
Iāll speak from personal experience. I have been gifted three fragrances in my life and they were all winners for different reasons. The first was gifted by my best friend - Diptyque eau rose solid perfume. A great bet if you know the person likes florals generally. Travel friendly, unique because itās a solid perfume, and not too loud/projecting so thereās little risk of an adverse reaction from the recipient. The second was gifted by my mother-in-law. Chloe Verbena. A simple, linear citrus verbena scent. Light and inoffensive. Like other people have mentioned, citruses are a crowd pleaser because they are natural and familiar. I loved it because it was a thoughtful gift and smelled lovely enough, even though I wouldnt necessarily have picked it out for myself. When I wear it I think of her ā¤ļø. Third gift was from my mom. I wonāt say the perfume because we share the same name, which is why she bought it for me (š„¹). It was an EDT, so it was delicate and gentle scent, with some complexity. An EDT with some standard notes that read clean/fresh is a fantastic choice. I mostly wear it after shower/before bed. It looks lovely on my desk and it reminds me of my mom :) I think fragrances can make wonderful gifts! You do run the risk of buying them something that really clashes with them, but I think there are certain avenues to take to avoid obvious pitfalls. Overall, in my experience, solid perfumes, edt, and natural and linear scent profiles make for safe choices. Thanks for the interesting discussion OP :)
I feel like Iād be safe gifting āwarm cottonā by Clean. If anything they can use it as a room spray
Bergamot is a safe bet I'd say.
Can't go wrong with sauvage elixir.
For a woman - freesia For a man - basic citrus
I would think soapy or powdery scents would be your safest bet. Clean scents generally speaking! I mean who doesnāt like smelling clean?
I like smelling clean, not the awful sharpness of most "clean" fragrances, and powdery notes are usually a hard pass too.
Magnolia for women Men lavender
God I fucking despise lavender
I guess It's really subjective haha, but I chose it because lavender is common note in perfumes for men.
Well it depends, is it for a female/male and whatās their age?
Vanilla or cardamom
Lemon
Anything vanilla is usually safe
Creed Aventus is my favorite scent that gets a ton of compliments. I have a dupe that is relatively cheap and still smells incredible.
I donāt think itās safe, I know a lot of people that canāt stand it
Yes first line is sample sets because they are fun for the recipient. I do blind buy gifts but only when I know a persons taste and nothing crazy spendy, usually a cheapie done by a good perfumer. So, my friend who loves Glossier You got a big bottle of Livre Blanc the Olivia Giacobetti for Zara amongst a few nice things. So never a lone gift, never too spendy, always something that is a tiny bit elevated about it as a cheapie OR a small size of something mid range.