Something Pepe le Pew would approve

September 22, 2013 12:39 PM

What is a thoughtful gift (in the $100 range) for someone who loves perfume, but whom I do not know very well? I obviously wouldnt choose a scent for her but would still like to give her sonething relating to her love of perfume. She is in the UK and I am in the USA, so if I send her a gift certificate to a perfumerie it needs to be one she can visit in London. However if there is a non-gift card present you can recommend as well, so much the better. Thanks!
posted by egeanin to Shopping (9 answers total)

Surrender to Chance is a website that does perfume samples and decants. You could get her a bunch of little samples of new things to try. Or it looks like they do gift certificates. I think if it was a bunch of cool samples, that would be less like "choosing a scent for her" and more like "look at all these fun new perfumes!"
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:51 PM on September 22, 2013

100-dollar gift certificate to Luckyscent.com, Surrendertochance.com, or theperfumedcourt.com.

Buy her the new book about the house of Chanel by Tilar Mazzeo.

Buy her the new book by Denyse Beaulieu, entitled The Perfume Lover.

Buy her a locket she can wear around her neck that holds a perfume ball.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 12:57 PM on September 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

Penhaligons
posted by Sassyfras at 1:15 PM on September 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

Seconding the samples from Frederic Malle. Anybody who loves fragrances will love that.
posted by Piano Raptor at 4:49 PM on September 22, 2013

L'Artisan Parfumeur just opened a boutique in London, and they have lots of things in the near-$100 range including gift sets and candles. Harrods also has a wide selection of perfume. Penhaligons, mentioned above, is a British company, also with lots in that price range.
posted by matildaben at 5:08 PM on September 22, 2013

Perfume Bottles make wonderful gifts. Marcel Franck is a well known perfume bottle maker.
posted by JujuB at 10:18 PM on September 22, 2013

Liberty's fragrance department is the motherlode in London. A gift card or coins (so much more elegant!) should make any perfume lover a very happy bunny.
posted by stuck on an island at 2:08 AM on September 23, 2013

Send her some Demeter - it's near-impossible to get here. Rain apparently smells just like the pricey CB I Hate Perfume's Black March, and they do a lot of strange and intriguing fragrances.

Also, any book by Chandler Burr.

Both Liberty and Selfridges have great perfume halls so would be good gift-card options. Also, John Lewis has L'Artisan, Penhaligons, Jo Malone, Creed and Annick Goutal concessions alongside more mainstream fragrances - I think they might do Lutens as well - so that would be a good choice too.
posted by mippy at 7:11 AM on September 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: These are all fantastic suggestions! Thank you
posted by egeanin at 1:26 PM on September 23, 2013