A perfume gift guide for under R500

Fragrance is a lovely gift and an intimidating one to buy. At designer prices, R500 does not stretch to a full bottle of much, which is how so many people end up giving a gift set of shower gel that nobody asked for.

At our prices it stretches a long way. Here is what R500 actually buys, with honest notes on when each idea is the right one.

Under R100: one bottle, properly chosen

A 30ml eau de parfum is R70. That is a real bottle of real fragrance, not a sample, and it will last most people a couple of months of regular wear.

This is the right gift for a colleague, a teacher, a secret-santa draw or a teenager who is just starting out. It is also the right way to introduce somebody to a scent they have not met, since nobody feels obliged to finish a small bottle they do not love.

Two 30ml bottles at R140 is a better version of the same idea. One light and one warmer turns a guess into a choice, and the recipient gets to tell you which one was right.

Around R200: the bottle they will actually finish

A 100ml at R200 is the best value in the range by a distance, and it is the gift to give when you are reasonably confident about what they like. It sits on a dressing table for the better part of a year.

If you know they wear a particular designer fragrance, look it up in the inspired-by directory and give them ours of the same character. It is a thoughtful gift precisely because it shows you noticed what they wear.

Around R240: a pair of 50ml bottles

Two 50ml bottles at R120 each gives you something a single bottle cannot: a choice. One light for daytime and one warmer for evening is the combination most people actually use.

This is a good gift for someone who owns one fragrance and wears it everywhere, which is most of us.

Around R400: a small collection

Two 100ml bottles, or a 100ml plus two 30ml, builds something that looks and feels like a proper present, in a way that a single box does not.

A few combinations that work:

• For her, one light and one deep. Ivana, inspired by Si, is soft, fruity and easy to wear in daylight. Punish Me, inspired by Black Opium, is coffee, vanilla and sweetness for the evening.
• For her, something classic and something modern. Gold Velvet, inspired by No.5, alongside Pure Duchess, inspired by Good Girl.
• For him, day and night. Chaotic Theory, inspired by Cool Water, with Rule Breaker Risk Taker, inspired by Aventus.
• For him, office and weekend. Nine Seas, inspired by Bleu de Chanel, with Intense Duke, inspired by Le Male.

Each of these is an original composition of ours, inspired by a designer scent we name openly. We are not connected to those houses, and the pairing is there so you know what character to expect.

Around R500: a considered set of three

Two 100ml bottles and a 30ml comes to R470, which leaves room for delivery. Three 100ml bottles is R600 and worth mentioning here because free delivery starts at R750, so a fourth bottle sometimes costs less than you would expect.

A set of three works nicely as a family gift, or for somebody who has just moved into their own place and owns nothing.

When you genuinely do not know what they like

Buy a gift voucher. There is no shame in it and it is very often the better present.

Ours start at R100, in any amount you choose. They are emailed to your recipient on the day you pick, with a message from you, and they stay valid for three years. The recipient chooses their own fragrance, which removes the single biggest risk in buying fragrance for somebody else.

A voucher is the right answer when the person is fussy, when you have never noticed what they wear, when the gift needs to arrive tonight, or when you are buying for somebody whose taste you respect too much to guess at.

How to choose well when you do want to choose

• Start from what they already wear. The bottle on their dressing table is the most reliable piece of information you will get. Photograph the label discreetly.
• Think about their life, not the occasion. Somebody who works outdoors in the Lowveld and somebody who sits in an air-conditioned office want different things.
• Sweet is not universal. Gourmand vanilla scents are widely loved and strongly disliked, with very little middle ground. If you are unsure, go fresher.
• Do not buy a fragrance you want them to smell like. It is their fragrance.
• Smaller and better beats larger and wrong. A 30ml of something they love is a better gift than a 100ml of something that stays in the cupboard.

The practical details

Delivery is by door-to-door courier anywhere in South Africa, two to four working days from dispatch, and orders of R750 or more are delivered free. Orders paid before noon on a working day go out the same day. Gift vouchers are emailed and arrive immediately, which makes them the answer to a birthday you have remembered on the day.

Everything is in the shop, or use the scent finder if you want a shortlist rather than a catalogue. If you would like a hand choosing, write to us and tell us about the person. We answer our own email.