Guest Post | Common Scents: Picking the Perfect Perfume Gift for Your Lady

Jess Savage has worked at perfume counters for years. She enjoys sharing her insights on women's fashion and consumer blogs. 

Buying your wife or girlfriend perfume for Christmas is a fantastic idea but without a little knowhow choosing the right scent can not only be frustrating for you, it could lead to disappointment for her! Luckily, we’ve put together some great tips to make sure you get her a perfume she’ll love.

Before you go to the perfume shop

1. Have a look in the bathroom or on her dressing table to see which perfumes she already has. Write them down because you’ll be sure to forget them once you actually get to the shop!

2. If she’s running low on one, it might be as simple as buying a replacement of this one.

3. Give the perfumes she already has a sniff and write down if they’re sweet, musky, strong, light, rich, floral, fruity or fresh. Get creative! A good assistant in a perfume shop will know exactly what options to explore with you after hearing your descriptions.

4. If your lady doesn’t already own perfume, have a sniff of some of her other products like moisturisers, body sprays, lip balms, etc. These might give you a clue about what sort of scent she might like.

5. You could always just ask her! She may already have a new fragrance in mind but just hasn’t got round to buying it yet.

When you’re at the perfume shop

There are a number of big perfume shops you can visit that will be in most shopping centres. Shops that just sell perfume will have staff who are knowledgeable about scent and can help you choose the newest and best perfume for women.

6. Ask an assistant for help straight away and be prepared to take a little bit of time testing out some fragrances. They’ll be happy to help you so be forthcoming with the research you’ve done beforehand.

7. An assistant is likely to give you a number of perfumes to smell on a card stick. To smell the fragrance at it’s best, wait for the strip of card to dry so you don’t just get a nose full of alcohol!

8. Remember that after a while your nose will struggle to differentiate between different scents so take the tester strips away with you if you find you can’t tell one from the other but make sure the name of the perfume is written on there first!

When you’ve found the perfume you want to buy

9. Once you’ve narrowed down your search to a couple of fragrances, have a look at the packaging. Perfume is a luxury item meant to make you feel good however, an older lady may love Britney Spears’ new fragrance but be put off once she knows the name and sees the packaging!

10. Find out if the perfume you have chosen comes in a gift set. These are usually excellent value and can come with a lovely range of extra items.

11. Finally, find out if they provide a gift-wrapping service because that will certainly save you a job if they do!

With these tips we’re sure you’ll find a gorgeous Christmas gift for the special lady in your life that both of you will enjoy. You’ll also know exactly what to buy next year when the perfume starts to run out!

Interested in being a guest blogger? Please let me know!