Christmas Gift Shopping part 3: Masculine Fragrances For All Styles

Opting for a fragrant gift for a man poses two major risks: The first is the man in question is not interested in scent, period. The bottle will collect dust on the bathroom shelf and he will only wear it once a year or so, to please you. Why gift him with fragrance then? Probably in order to induce him, through a very well judged choice, to open up and experiment a bit for both your sakes. It's a market fact that 75% of masculine fragrances are bought by women.

Another risk is the man in question is very much determined in what they like (or think they like) and your favorite is not necessarily his favorite. Excepting perfumistos who have an avid interest in fragrance all by themselves and are not opposed to a owning collection of colognes for all occasions and moods (a fragrance wardrobe), many men are somewhat "married" to their scent of choice. Diverting them might be a tall order, but replenishing them with the old bystander time and again feels like refueling the fridge with milk. Not sexy.

So, here are a few suggestions for festive season gifts for men, stemming from a personal curation of relied upon choices that might see you through most styles of fragrance wearing. [You can find more Christmas Gifts Shopping Guides consulting our link. ]

pic via oystermag

• Stylish & Unconventional Chaps

Dior Homme: This out-of-the-box thinking on how a masculine fragrance should be (full of the flesh-meets-starch note of orris and a dusting of cocoa powder) has become a modern classic. It's still lovely and feels very to the minute, plus the austere bottle is luxuriously heavy and there are ancillary body products too. After Jude Law, now fronted in ads by Robert Pattison, subject of many a teen swooning. Available at major department stores.

Biehl Parfumkunstwerke GS03: This is a niche fragrance brand, meaning you will only find it at specialized boutiques or online (try luckyscent.com in the US or ausliebezumduft.com if in Europe, they also do samples for you to try before committing). But the plus is he won't be smelling like anyone else! A modern upbeat cologne, this diaphanous fresh aura will be buzzing around him for very long, but will never come across as intrusive. Soapy, lightly spicy with a hint of pink pepper and juniper, woody and sophisticated. Perfect!

• Sensual, Hedonistic Scents 

Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb: Candied citrus over tobacco, amber and vanilla make for a rich, satisfying cologne that invites you to peel off layer after layer. Great for winter and will have those who smell it salivating for more. Available at major department stores.

Ramon Monegal Mon Patchouly: Some people hate patchouli, some people love it. It's such a distinctive material, no less because it's associated with the 1960s and hippies. But if he loves it,  oh how he will love Mon Patchouly by this niche Spanish brand that has infiltrated the United States last year. The warmest, plushest whiskey and rum evoking patchouli, darkish, with a chocolate underlay, it's good enough to imagine you're John Hamm for a day. Available at www.RamonMonegal.com

pic via GQ

• Tried & True, Surefire Bets

Prada Luna Rossa: Sometimes one doesn't want to venture too far out into uncharted territories. When reviewing this fragrance there was a mention of the "Modern Urban Male Accord": briefly, aromatics such as lavender, fanned on a laundry day clean base of modern ingredients that give diffusion and lasting power. Prada's cologne is among the nicest in this standard genre. Available at major department stores.

Chanel Sycomore: Vetiver is an exotic grass with a scent at once cooling and earthy, like upturned dirt. It has given us so many classics over the years (such as Guerlain Vetiver) that it's a staple in any discerning man's fragrance wardrobe. Chanel does a superb vetiver composition, lightly smoky and just beautiful beyond words. Available at chanel.com

• Budget-Considerate Fragrances for Men

If you're shopping the more economical end of the market, you can't go wrong with Old Spice. This timeless classic, full of the scent of carnation, agrestic lavender and warm spices has been modernized in its image thanks to the -by now a marketing case study- recent campaign. It won't remind him (or you) of his dad anymore. Phew...

Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Bean is a dependable choice that isn't too common. The scent is woody, traditionally masculine, with a delicious violet note on top that catches one's attention. Available online and at several drugstores.

Christmas Gift Shopping part 2: perfume discovery giftsets

In the mad rush to Christmas shopping (or Hannukah or whatever it is you fete) the choices seem endless and the possibility for an error in judgement infinite. I'm trying to make this easier on you by cherry picking some products that will allow for a presentable festive season gift that shows the giftee they matter and will make it easier on you to shorten your browsing history and legwork. You can find them tagged under Christmas Gift Shopping on these pages. Today, it's perfume discovery sets!

I pinched this photo from The Non Blonde.

I have found that while perfume is a highly desirable (and indeed popular) choice of a gift, when offering it you're always met with that awkward moment of inward wonder: will it go down as something enjoyed or will it just gather dust on the bathroom shelf? This is why I highly recommend discovery sets. These are usually small coffrets that for the price tag of a big perfume bottle they give the option to test and wear a few different fragrances. Inevitably not everything will appeal in the same way, but the odds of pleasing are exponentially increased. It is essential that the set includes rather substantial bottles/atomisers size-wise; 7ml and up is the way to go, as anything less might appear as skimpy or mean-spirited.

Niche perfume companies have a few of those sets to choose from and indeed my selection comes via this market share because I just find that, with the prices what they are, niche perfume shopping is a riskier bet for most people from an initial money outlay point of view. The ones I recommend below are my personal selection (non affiliated) and I think they'd make a very fetching gift. Take a moment to explain to the person receiving it how you think that partaking in a luxury is a journey of personal discovery...

First one comes from L'Artisan Parfumeur. The Discovery Set they have prepared for Christmas 2013 has a selection of their best-sellers which might appeal to both women and men and caters to different tastes: from the musky clean and tart classic Mûre et Musc, the ethereally floral La Chasse aux Papillons, the woody, milky goodness of Premier Figuier and the more narcotic floral Nuit de Tubéreuse (the latter is the only Eau de Parfum in a collection of Eau de Toilette spray tubes of 7ml each). It's a 35GBP/40 euros/60$ value, available through the brand's site and at L'Artisan boutiques.

Second one comes from Neela Vermeire Creations (shown on the top of post). The glass travel sprays are cute, with the Ashoka wheel logo on the label, and look big enough to last you a while; they're 10ml each. Plus they come beautifully packaged in an organtina pouch. The fragrances themselves are g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s. (Need I repeat myself? Check out the Neela Vermeire Creations Trayee, Mohur and Bombay Bling reviews on the links). Available through the official e-boutique. (please note however that the Discovery Set contains a sample of the newest Ashoka eau de parfum, but the Discover your India sample packs do not). The Neela Vermeire Creations discovery set retails at 85-90 euros.

The third one is from Parfums MDCI: Very credible perfumes from a brand worth checking out, but this discovery kit save you the Roman bust "caps" of the regular bottles which encumber the purse as well as the eye. The one on parfumsmdci.free.fr is approximately $120USD for a set of five fragrances in 10ml screw-top glass bottles.

Happy shopping!

Christmas Gift Shopping part 1: Scented Candles

In the countdown to the most festive season of the year Perfume Shrine will pop shopping enabling posts to help you wade through the vast selection and steer you into the most interesting and worthwhile choices.

For part 1 I was enchanted to see that Diptyque perfumers have collaborated with the creative design duo Tse Tse to render a limited edition of 3 scented candles, each presented in either 70 gr (burn time of around 20 hours) retailing for 28 euros or 190g (burn time of 50-60 hours) retailing at 52 euros each. Personally, I'd be thrilled if a guest brought me as a housewarming gift a jar with Encens des Indes!
But here are the three scents in detail.

Écorce de Pin
The woody and Christmasy scent of snow covered pines mixes with hinoki wood, a Japanese variety of cypress used for furniture. The scent of the candle hints at camphoraceous and smoky notes, including galbanum, cedar and patchouli.

Encens des Indes
Purple like a bishop, this spicy and floral tinged candle mingles franckincense (powerful with citrus tones and pepper nuances softened by woody and balsamic notes) and myrrh, poised between incense and rosemary, a musky, smoky and slightly pungent scent. The gifts of the Magi. A lemony rose alongside spicy floral notes reminiscent of carnations complete the harmony.

Orange Chaya
This brightly hued candle envelopes the room in spices. Sweet without being thick, it evokes the warm roundness of an orange, then the freshness of cardamom, rising, an exotic tea mixture with notes of quince, ginger and cinnamon. We are projected into the flavors of winter.