Fragrance Gift Giving to You!

As fragrance lovers, I was wondering what your situation is with your friends and relatives when exchanging gifts. (Don't consider significant other in this thread.) Do they freely buy a fragrance gift for you? Do they not buy a fragrance? Take the poll and expand in the comments!!

For me, it's a definite don't you dare buy a fragrance for me. After getting duds in the past, I've made it clear I don't want that as a gift. 

Most know better than to just freely buy a fragrance. At this point, they ask me for links. Already had two such cases for the upcoming Christmas. 😁

My friends always ask for the link to my Parfumo wishlist before buying. They just get from my list. 

What a fun thread and poll 😃 

I’d love to give fragrances to each other. But! My wife just isn’t into them. I would definitely be giving hints on which ones to get though, lol. Parfumo’s wishlist would be perfect for that…

Before I had a wishlist, I'd gotten a few that I didn't care for and sold. Nowadays, I create a wishlist and even include links to the cheapest place I can find it online, but everyone tells me "you don't need any more fragrances" and gets me gifts I have even less need for.

We always make lists for birthdays and such, not every familymember will ask for perfumes on their list, but I certainly will and I will write down the scents I love. 

Blind buys for others are not a good idea unless the perfumery will give you a sample along with your purchase. I would only 'blind buy' a perfume for someone if I can give a sample of it along with the gift. That way one can first try it and the unopened bottle can still be returned. It also will allow the other to be completely honest about the scent. 

I really like getting mini sets and sample kits, of which I've been gifted a few. I asked for full-sizes (by name) once or twice in the past, per request by the people who gave me them. I think it really depends on the kind of gift givers in your life. We only get each other perfumes that we've directly referenced in conversation. One year, I gave my mother Jo Malone's Red Roses EDP, and my grandmother/her mother in law bought my mom the cologne! 

O that's really bad! They are so patronizing 😅

Thanks for the thread!

There is a notion in my family that you can't gift a perfume to someone, it's too personal a taste.

So I have a quite direct approach and give hints to what I want. So far my youngest sister has offer me a few bottles, and I am planning to ask her... well, more. She has a strategic position for me: she lives in the States while I live in Europe, so she has access to some perfumes I can't find here. That 's how she offered me Jockey Club Cologne (of which I curiously got a sample beforehand) and Leviathan Eau de Toilette (this one was a"blind gift"... It's one step ahead of blind buying, when you ask blindly for a perfume gift. A über leather-coffee by the way ). I am planning to ask her at least samples of Zaharoff this year as they are quite impossible to find this side of the Atlantic ocean. Maybe something from the American indie Sucreabeille, but I don't know how good they actually are. Or something not too gourmand from the lists of @Gourmandgrl ? ( Miel Bourbon ?). in any case, I have to wait a few months before she gets to Europe to get my presents...

The lady in my life offered me two cheapies last year, which she had tested in shop and found good. They were Ok indeed, and I do wear them occasionally. This year she asked me what i wanted for my birthday and offered me a"perfume tasting" in a niche perfumery in Brussel (my hint), where you leave the shop with a sample box and a reduction on your next purchase, along with a voucher (which was unexpected). Now I am planning this visit like crazy and ponder for hours of what I might purchase there. So I guess it was a good gift 😅.

I try not to overwhelm her with perfume gifts, as she has a restrictive approach to her tiny collection. However I offered her a full bottle of Mémoire d'une Odeur (to be honest i was planning to steal her some sprays when she doesn't look) and hand her out some samples i get which I find would be better on her. And her young son got Lempicka Green Lover which is really great on him.

My mother would give a me a few €, knowing that they are liable to end in a bottle of my choice... She offered Le Mâle Eau de Toilette to my 16 year old last year - his choice.

(In case you wonder: no, I am not the kind of father or stepfather that would sneak out some sprays of Lempicka Green Lover or Le Mâle Eau de Toilette. Your suspicions are misplaced.)

I am the one who usually gifts fragrance to friends and family. My people lead busy lives with kids, worries, stress, so they prefer that I select something for them. They usually help me out by having my personal fragrance purchases delivered to their European or North American homes, for things I cannot buy where I live. It`s a pretty symbiotic relationship.

I prefer to gift perfumes to friends, family and neighbors all year round.  And these people all know that I don't expect a perfume in return. The pleasure of giving is far more important to me than receiving...

I simply make a list with lots of perfumes that I would like to have and at different prices so that everyone can choose a gift according to their budget.

This is what I did for Christmas for example. So I will have a surprise because I don't know what they will choose but it will definitely be a good surprise

Nice plan @Xavica !

@LeatherLace yes gifting is great@