When Buying Scented Gifts
This newsletter was supposed to be a gift guide for Christmas. It’s not late. Let’s just consider this super early.
I am hoping everyone isn’t sick and tired of gift guides by now and that this will inspire anyone in a pickle regarding what to give as scented gifts in 2025.
You can use this little guide for any upcoming birthdays, name days (apparently this is a purely Nordic tradition), housewarming parties, or even if you are smart, organised and already buying presents for next Christmas. I salute people who actually do that.
My most important rule for fragrant gift buying is: don’t buy perfume. Just skip the thought of it, unless you know for a fact that you are able to get a specially requested bottle the recipient is dying to own and has clearly wished for. More about this a bit later on - I will speak from some recent experience.
Perfume aside, giving a scented gift is rarely a bad idea. Scented gifts are personal, create bonding memories and it is something that feels pretty luxurious, even if small in size. Often scented gifts are good gifts for those who “already have everything”.
It’s the scent that counts
For Christmas last year I bought some of my close friends Japanese incense stick packets. The boxes included tiny flower shaped ceramic holders too (which, to me, are adorable). The packaging was neat, holding 50 sticks. The quality I had already tested out before and knew was good. If Aesop’s incense gets 10 points then these by Nippon Kodo called Morning Star get 8,5 points from me, a very picky incense judge.
As gifts, the incense didn’t break my bank either. Admitting now that I bought the boxes at Antwerp’s Amazing Oriental. I was in line, buying my favourite udon noodles and some mushrooms after school and suddenly was hit with inspiration. Pleased with my sudden realisation of finding the perfect gifts, I grabbed a bunch of boxes and succeeded in surprising a whole lot of very special people.
I individually picked each incense scent (with the mushrooms tucked under my other arm) which was great fun. I also think that I blocked the incense shelf from other customers. It took a good 30 minutes pondering which scent would suit which gift receiving friend.
For a matcha queen I got some green tea incense, for a restless sleeper I chose a lavender one, sage was for a friend we often gushed over the ingredient with while cooking together, etc. After getting carried away with picking and choosing I had to ultimately get myself a packet too and opted to try out pink lotus.
First scented gift tip: Buy something scented that could be used at your friend’s home. Try to picture what kind of scent reminds you of them - it’s fun to tell the story behind your choice and show that you have given it some thought. Incense, scented candles (for branded ones at a good price check Vinted), room sprays, hand soaps and pretty soap bars are all considered good choices in this, first, gift category.
The vintage shop I work at, Ensō Vintage, just launched their own room spray called Concrete Bergamot. The fresh notes of the fragrance are Bergamot, Concrete Accord, Neroli, Cedarwood, Lime, Geranium, Lemon, Verbena, Frankincense, Myrtle, Basil, Labdanum and Patchouli. I gave a bottle of the room spray as a gift to a friend in Finland and it was an instant hit.
The spray is light and has a raw and natural scent. In my opinion it’s simple enough to be purchased “blindly”, meaning without smelling it first.
Late Lily Deliveries
Two of my closest friends celebrated their birthdays in December. I keep track of all important birthdays with reminders on my phone. Yet somehow, I still managed to mess up my plans to send out gifts on these special days. I wanted to send bunches of lilies, but suffered some major logistic problems. The idea doesn’t always count.
Lilies stay fresh and pretty for a long time, they travel well and look, and, smell divine. To Kirsi in Rotterdam I did manage to send a bouquet, but one day late. For Mariina in London I sent a bouquet too, but from a florist that was on holiday and was only able to deliver the flowers one week later. I found this out after the order was placed, had to cancel it and will be hand delivering the lilies to her later this year.
Anyway, my failings aside, I think flowers are sometimes underrated as gifts. People should give flowers more often, even for minor occasions. I can’t come up with any reason why a bouquet of flowers wouldn’t be a wonderful gift.
On my 29th birthday last year I received the prettiest bouquets. With my apartment full of flowers after the celebrations, I was reminded of the people who gifted them to me for many days. So, as the 2nd scented tip: Buy more flowers. Even the ones from any grocery store are nice if you ruffle them up a bit. Just remember to take the price tag off.
If you send flowers abroad, make sure to support local, smaller florists close to the receiver’s address. Take some time to call the florists and ask for possible deliveries in advance. Using big flower delivery companies is risky because of quality and customer service issues. Make sure you have the right dates and the stores are open. (Yes, I am still kicking myself here.)
Spices and teas
Some of my friends received special Sri Lankan curry powder mixes for Christmas. I consider these underrated (and very fragrant) gifts. Coffee, hot cocoa and special tea packets all fall into this same category. All very indulgent and thoughtful scented gifts.
For a tea lover or a cozy homebody, gifting ingredients for a fresh chai, for example, would be fun. Pop some fresh ginger, a bag of pepper corns, a bag of cloves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods and a hand written recipe, and you are good to go.
3rd scented tip: Giving someone some special tea or coffee might sound like a small gesture but it is such a warm idea and promises heavenly aromas. Chai, milky oolong and vanilla rooibos have been received as gifts lately and I have deeply appreciated these on chilly days in Antwerp. Spices might also inspire a friend to cook!
Give samples, not big bottles
One of my favourite pastimes is surprising people with little perfume samples.
The last time I gave one was to Adrien, a small bottle of my own perfume oil blend. Before that, I gave a sample of Aqua Celestia by Maison Francis Kurkdjian to a date when we last met. He said he liked to use Acqua Di Gioia but needed something new. After finding that super attractive I went on a mission to suggest something to him. He later reported that he had received tons of compliments from friends and may now buy a full bottle of my recommendation. (No idea if he ultimately did so.)
As mentioned before, I made the mistake of purchasing a big bottle of perfume as a gift not that long ago. After attending an event at Necessities for Une Nuite Nomade, I made the decision of buying my mother a perfume for her birthday. This was back in November.
After smelling Fleur des Fleurs, the brand's first creation, I felt confident Mum would like the scent too and that it would suit her. The perfume is said to be an ode to Ylang-Ylang and Jasmine, a beautiful mixture of tropical night time flowers.
Mum adores Diptique's Do Son and Eau Rose, so I figured gifting Fleur de Fleurs would be a match. Later on, when testing the perfume on her skin it was far too strong and sweet. Now the bottle is in use -as my own. I’m not complaining about this outcome but have now definitely learned from it.
It was heartwarming that one of the founders of Une Nuit Nomade, Philippe Solas, wrote a sweet note together with the perfume as a gift. Mum did keep that.
Wrapping it up
If you receive a perfume you don’t like you can always use it as a roomspray.
If you think a bottle of wine isn’t enough as a gift you can buy a single flower and tie it on the side of the bottle as decoration.
Writing a handwritten card and spraying it with a special perfume makes it instantly more special.
A gift doesn’t have to be big, branded or pricey for it to be good. Sometimes lovely surprises can be found while doing groceries.
Gifting a scented present will make the recipient think of you and that’s my favourite part of it all.
Please feel free to share some of your favourite scented gifts in the comments.
Until next time,
M