All the beauty world and its most dedicated acolytes are in a fragrance frenzy (finally) and I have recommendations to share! If your budget permits, and you dare shoulder the risk of a full-sized bottle, I have a guide on the best perfumes to gift everyone in your life. Should you prefer a more practical—or less presumptuous—approach, a fragrance discovery set makes for a wonderful present. It’s indulgent yet not overwhelming so, and highlights experience over immediate commitment. It’s like dating but wholly on the giftee’s terms, which allows them to approach each new vial with butterflies of anticipation.
Rather than beeline for more mainstream curations, however, do go the road less traveled. Niche perfumery in particular has reached new heights in innovation and imagination; not to mention, there’s the unexpected factor bound to surprise and delight. Below are the fragrance houses that have captured my heart these last few years; I hope you (and someone lucky) love them as much as I do.
Marissa Zappas
Best for: feminists, poets & Pisces
I’ve said it before: Marissa Zappas creates for the girls. A signature trace of nostalgia runs through each perfume, no matter the collection—giving a retro sensibility that feels indulgent (never stuffy, much less dated). Maggie the Cat Is Alive, I’m Alive!, Annabel’s Birthday Cake, and Queen Nzinga are marvelous introductions to her line and are on heavy rotation within my personal collection. Flaming Creature is a cult-favorite too, if you know they love a patchouli.
Jazmin Saraï Mixtape Sample Set
Best for: vinyl collectors, dancers & Libras
I found—and fell in love—with Jazmin Saraï at In Todo over the weekend and am certain I landed upon one of my forever fragrances. They’re crafted in small batches as consciously as possible, and truly a labor of love: it’s palpable from scent story to first spritz. Music is the inspiration behind each blend, and my god are they full of soul. I know this isn’t about me, but the moment the mixtapes come back, I’m ordering one: these are the scents you’re meant to live, love, and create new memories in. The olfactory soundtrack to your life.
Strangelove Eau de Parfum Discovery Set
Best for: lovers, vintage connoisseurs & Geminis
Do not gift this unless you know the person in question is willing to part with a pretty penny should they find their new signature scent within this discovery set. Strangelove is for the expensive epicurean: each perfume is a vial of liquid gold crafted with sustainable oud and the headiest, most sumptuous of ingredients. (Ambergris, orris butter, and sandalwood among my favorite of notes; the floral enflourages are stunningly photorealistic, too). deadofnight is enthralling; meltmyheart is addictive. Proceed with caution, I dare you. It just might be worth it.
Marlou Discovery Set
Best for: any fire sign & the Samantha Jones in your life
Another word of warning: Marlou is best suited for the giftee who has had some olfactory experience outside Sephora or department stores. It’s not a slight, I promise; this niche French fragrance house is incredibly polarizing, even for those well-versed in Fragrantica. (I’m of the camp that finds the line more wearable than reviews claim, though in the interest of transparency, I adore an indole note.) Marlou isn’t a bubblegummy or gilded Hollywood kind of “sexy:” its perfumes are raw, dirty, and sensual in the most human (and sometimes animalic) sense. Less so lascivious, more so waking up in the middle of the night or the morning after in still-damp, sweaty sheets. (It’s not during or just before, if you catch my drift; Marlou is a different kind of sexy.) It’s neither pursuit nor seduction, but entirely a bottling up of satisfaction after the fact. Most won’t get it, but the ones who do, do. (And do it well.)
Perfumehead Los Angeles The Icons
Best for: creatives & the new-age fashion elite
Perfumehead is one of my favorite fragrance brands, and not just because I find kinship as a new(ish) Angeleno and revel in the romanticism of discovering the city with a scent that memorializes the moment just so. Each fragrance is wildly hedonistic without hubris: lush, full-bodied (these are extraits after all, which are formulated with a higher percentage of raw materials than an eau de parfum), and narcotic. Not in a Kilian way, but simply because you’re high on life. Canadian Tuxedo is a revelation; Cosmic Cowboy is all-consuming. Xanaboud is dry yet intoxicating—completely unisex, but a fragrance I would love to smell on a man. LA LA Love is their latest (this is how it makes me feel): a dirty amber that channels the energy of those nights that feel like a fever dream.
Régime des Fleurs Discovery Set
Best for: Lana lovers, Cancers & the perpetually infatuated
Most know Régime des Fleurs because of Little Flowers, a perfume made in collaboration with Chloe Sevigny—but there is so much artistry behind the rest of the line that deserves just as much (if not more) of the limelight. I love how the samples are presented: each vial is attached to a little card (featuring original photography by Inez & Vinoodh, Alexei Hay, Daniel King, Anna Condo, and Richie Talboy)—and your giftee receives a $50 credit to use toward a full-sized bottle of their choosing. Little Flowers is one of 10 within the set, but of (personal) note are Tóor-Tóor (recently reviewed here), Là-Bas, and Himitsu—all of which wear like poetry.
Le Labo Classic Discovery Set
Best for: corporate execs & FiDi residents
There’s nothing niche or new about Le Labo, but if your giftee is someone who toes the line and appreciates the finer things, you can’t go wrong with this brand. Say what you will about Santal 33 or Thé Noir 29: what you can’t deny, however, is that they’re ubiquitous for a reason. The five in this set also include AnOther 13 (reviewed here), Rose 31, and Thé Matcha 26—and can be mixed, matched, and layered to create something a bit more unique (with the exception of Santal 33, in my opinion; it’s a powerhouse). It’s likely your lucky recipient will appreciate tinies over full-sized bottles anyway: throwing in a mini makes it that much easier to touch up between the office, Equinox, and Stone Street.
D.S. & DURGA Deluxe Box Set
Best for: Lower East Side creatives & Silverlake screenwriters
What else is there to say except the best things in life are perfectly petite? I’ve loved D.S. & DURGA for years now and though I have nearly every one of the six featured fragrances in all their full-sized glory, I’d be lying through my teeth if I didn’t admit how tempted I am to go for these irresistible miniatures. But I digress: D.S. & DURGA is for the Brooklynites and LES multi-hyphenates who love smelling good. Simple as that.
Maison d’Etto Discovery Set
Best for: horse girls, earth angels & Martha Stewarts in the making
I’ve waxed poetic about Maison d’Etto over at Editorialist, so I’ll keep my thoughts brief. Few brands launch with everything done right from the jump but its founder, Brianna Lipovsky, left no stone unturned. Every detail is as immaculate as it is considered, and it’s clear that there’s so much love behind the brand—for the horses that inspired each fragrance, the noses’ artistry behind each perfume, and of course, the crafting of a most sensorial experience for the wearer. The blends are nuanced and distinguished, like nothing else I’ve yet come across.
Stora Skuggan Discovery Set
Best for: Copenhagen fashion girlies & the manic pixie dream person, if they were written by a woman
Stora Skuggan is a niche line crafted by hand in Stockholm. It’s eccentric for sure—peculiar, even—but wholly wearable for those who don’t mind a scent that feels a little offbeat in the best way possible. For those who have a foot in the perfume world, Moonmilk is their most famed fragrance, but for me, Thumbsucker deserves more recognition. (It veers so far from my usual preferences, but I’m positively entranced by its honey-dipped cherry, doll-like trail.) In any case, this is a line for the introverts with a million and one things to say, but express it all without uttering a word.
Parfums de Marly Feminine Discovery Set
Best for: Sophia Coppola stans & bougie coquettes
It seems like an obvious one, but it’s worth mentioning at every turn because Parfums de Marly is simply the perfect gift for those who see the world through rose-tinted lenses and can never resist a Ladurée stop, even at the airport, or a Bottega Louie brunch. (Brownie points if you present this set with the Sophia Coppola Archive book.) If you have someone in mind who’s hyper-feminine but prefers Khaite’s clean lines over lace and frills, the Parfums de Marly’s Masculine Discovery Set is the one to gift: the men’s and unisex line has all the delicious elements without the saccharine sweetness.
Dries Van Noten Modepalais Discovery Set
Best for: gallerinas & Sagittariuses
Designer perfumes have a certain reputation, I’m aware, but Dries Van Noten defies. If your giftee is perpetually indecisive or bases every move on their mood, this will satiate no matter the occasion or craving. The profiles are just interesting enough to feel more distinctive than the luxe perfumes that have become household names, but they’re not at all avant-garde: each scent are both easy and appropriate for everyday wear. Soie Malaquais is perhaps the most recognizable of the ten perfumes in the line, but up there (for me) are Fleur du Mal and Neon Garden, too.
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xx
Your turn. Thoughts?