Perfume, fragrance, EDT and the like are such a personal choice, and one man’s (or woman’s) trash can be another one’s treasure. We’ve picked the creme de la creme of natural and organic here, and although you can’t smell them through the screen the aim is convey the stories behind the scents, and whom we might buy each fragrance for.

Natural perfumery is also a challenge, to find natural ingredients that have staying power is one of the most difficult challenges, and they also behave differently to synthetic chemicals in terms of blending with one’s own natural scent. It’s much more of an individual experience.

So, without further ado, here’s our top fragrance picks for Christmas gifting this 2017.

You can see our skin & body care gift choices here and our ideas for aromatherapy gifting ideas here.

If you’re unsure about buying an unknown scent for someone, then we might suggest Eden Perfumes. Eden Perfumes utilise vegan and natural ingredients to recreate your favourite mainstream scents. I was sent a selection of these for review and the similarity between the Eden copy and the original is remarkable! Plus I love the take on the names of the perfumes!

For those of you willing to take more of a risk with your perfume gifting, here goes!

The Beautiful Mind Series Volume II – Precision & Grace £95 This was a massive hit with both me and Mr BB – in terms of us both wearing it! I adore the packaging; on the one side you have the name of the scent but on the other is a geometric design that is eye-catching and looks so pretty on one’s dressing table.

The inspiration for this perfume, created by nose Geza Schoen, is “what goes on in the mind of a great dancer while she’s dancing”. It was created in collaboration with internationally-fêted ballet dancer Polina Semianova.

This is a complex scent with a beautiful balance of uplifting, fruity and powdery floral notes. The unusual top not of Williams pear offers a crisp greenness which gives way to heart notes of Egyptian jasmine, plum, freesia, mimosa and osmanthus – a white blossom with an apricot aroma. The base notes are a sultry combination of musk, moss, myrrh, sandalwood and amber.

This is definitely marketed towards women, “to appeal to real women of substance” however the base notes make it an appropriate scent for men too, and even the bottle on the patterned side would not look out of place on amongst a man’s grooming shelf!

Lise London – The Perfect Woman £115 I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of Lise London earlier in the year and we passed a lovely few hours in her club. I will do a more in depth write up on this brand in the new year, but in the meantime let me tell you about the wearer of this perfume.

The Perfect Woman is the perfect scent for those who are at one with nature. Earthy types, into gardening and country walks, being outdoors. The top notes are very “green”, with heart notes of orange blossom (think sweet honey and orange), tuberose (a heady, sensual  floral), and ylang-ylang (another sensual floral with an intense sweetness and slight spiciness). The base notes are benzoin (a woody resin with a similarity to camphor) and patchouli (another seducer, slightly sweet but dark and musky to help offset the floral sweetness).

I think this is the perfect gift for most women. It’s sweet and floral but not too much so, and it has an almost soap scent – clean and fresh. I’ve been wearing this as my go-to daytime scent for a while now – it’s long-lasting and I’ve been complimented countless times on my perfume!

Frau Tonis Parfum Edgy Berlin 39 Euro 3 x 7.5ml Frau Tonis is one of those little gems of a find. I can’t quite remember how we were put in touch but upon receiving their Bogota Berlin to review, I was hooked. As was Mr BB, who seems to have instilled an unwritten rule in our house that any Frau Tonis in the house is strictly for him! Needless to say, I didn’t get much of a look-in on these samples, but I did have a very nice smelling man.

The Edgy Berlin set contains three scents:

Oud Weiss– oud is definitely a marmite but I personally love it. In this blend it’s combined with bergamot, sandalwood, cedar, tobacco, incense and amber.

Bogota Berlin– a green scent with fruity fig and bergamot notes, paired with peppery cedarwood and spicy vetiver. A very warm fragrance, comforting and homely.

Aventure – another green scent but sharper than Bogotoa, with warm cedarwood resin notes, combined with spicy pepper and vetiver.

All are vegan, and designed by nature to be unisex. These are the scents to gift to hipsters, edgy and arty types. Both men and women will fall for the gorgeous scents and also the tasteful packaging.

Florascent – Capri £26 This has a  gorgeous bouquet with beautiful jasmine and rose at the centre. Definitely more of a summer scent, with citrus top notes of orange and mandarin mixed with the freshness of basil. The base notes are where this perfume draws its uniqueness from:  davana is a member of the daisy family which brings a sweet and fruity depth to this perfume, and algae which may not sound like the most appealing of fragrances to have in one’s perfume but it delivers that smell of fresh leaves mixed with a tinge of salty sea air.

I would say this scent works for women from 16 to 60; it’s timeless and unique.

Florascent – Tango £54  So this is Mr BB’s latest love. I left the fragrances out after shooting and came home to find a delicious smelling man cooking in the kitchen. Whilst the latter part is not unusual, aftershave or EDT is usually reserved for when he leaves the house. Tango is an extremely exotic fragrance, with top floral notes of gardenia and orchid giving way to sweety myrrh in the heart and base notes of patchouli and balmy resins.

For me, there’s definitely a hint of Spanish leather, that soapy scent that is just archetypal of so many classic gent’s aftershaves and EDTs. As I wrote this post, I thought “would I wear it though?” so I gave myself a spritz and the answer is yes! Tango is definitely more geared towards men but I would wear this any day or night (as long as Mr BB didn’t find out!)

There you have our favourite fragrances for gifting – which one would you like under your tree? What’s your all time favourite scent?