Shopping for someone else can be tough at the best of times but when the festive season rolls around, the pressure and panic increase. That said, fragrance is one genre of gift that never ceases to delight – and while a 100ml bottle might be a stretch, perfume gift sets promise comparable luxury for less.
While any of the best long-lasting perfumes would make wonderful and very luxe gifts, few of us could justify the cost of presenting multiple friends and family members with them at this time of year. Therefore, if you want to gift perfume you have to be savvy. Luckily, you have woman&home's beauty team on your side, all of whom have many of the best perfumes for women on their dressers – and who have been scouring the web for the best scented sets to gift this Christmas themselves.
With December already upon us, there's thankfully no shortage of festive sets available – with limited-edition options from the likes of Jo Malone, Diptyque, Maison Margiela and Glossier. So, for those seeking a straightforward but expensive-looking gift, here are the perfume sets that we think are worth buying – and that are guaranteed to make any fellow fragrance lover's day.
9 perfume gift sets that offer luxury for less
RRP: £110
If someone close to you is a Diptyque lover, this festive miniature set is the perfect gift. Wrapped in a hand-sewn-style festive ornament box are five 7.5ml bottles of the best Diptyque perfumes including Fleur de Peau, Eau Rose, Do Son, Orphéon and Tam Dao – with each spray bottle featuring an illustration specific to each scent. While on the pricier side, this set offers five scents rather than just one or two (like most). Plus, if you have multiple fragrance connoisseurs in your acquaintance, you could always split them up – giving you five potential gifts instead of one.
RRP: £83
Another very luxe-looking gift is this Jo Malone London Christmas set which features a 30ml bottle of the Peony & Blush Suede Cologne (one of the best Jo Malone perfumes), the Peony & Blush Suede Body Crème – perfect for layering with the perfume – and a Pomegranate Noir travel candle. In total, this set is worth £91, meaning you're saving £8 and gaining a very chic and festive box.
RRP: £80
A favourite among our beauty team, this Glossier You set is perfect for fragrance fans (and fans of the millennial pink-themed brand in general). Inside the cute red and pink packaging you get both a full-size and travel edition of the iconic skin scent, with its notes of iris, pink pepper, ambrox and ambrette – meaning the recipient can keep one on their dresser and the other in their handbag for on-the-go spritzes. Separately, the duo would set you back £110, meaning you're saving a very tempting £30 by buying the bundle – and, again, you can also split this set up into two potential gifts instead of just one.
RRP: £38
Housed in an adorable Christmas cracker that's embellished with blue and silver bows, this set features a 9ml bottle of Jo Malone London's Wood Sage & Sea Salt cologne, the Lime Basil & Mandarin Body & Hand Wash and the Blackberry & Bay Hand Cream. For a newbie to Jo Malone London, this set will familiarise them with three of the brand's signature scents, while an existing lover of its scents will no doubt treasure these three iconic products – all of which are as useful as they are aesthetically pleasing.
RRP: £85
Maison Margiela's REPLICA perfumes are beloved for their familiar and memory-evoking blends, few more so than By The Fireplace – which is not only a favourite among our team but is perfect for wintertime wear. Inside this set, you'll get a full-size 30ml bottle, as well as a 10ml size and 7ml travel spray. As with all of these sets, you could use the contents as different stocking stuffers or present one very lucky person with three iterations of a very luxe and cosy classic fragrance.
RRP: £45
We just adore the packaging and price of this Après Ski-themed set from Jo Loves. Inside, you get a 15ml bottle of Jo By Jo Loves, with its sparking notes of fresh grapefruit, bitter orange, lime and spearmint, as well as a 15ml Jo by Jo Loves A Body Lotion – so the recipient can layer the two to boost longevity and wrap yourself up in one of their favourite Jo Loves perfumes.
RRP: £90
We couldn't resist including this set from Diptyque, which features both the hair mist and hand cream iteration of Fleur de Peau in a festive-themed pouch. This gift set is perfect for a lover of the scent, as it allows for layering, or for a general fan of the brand to expand their collection. Both the hair mist and hand cream are luxurious and useful beauty staples that one might not buy themselves but will always appreciate receiving as a gift.
RRP: £33
This set boasts four 30ml bottles of the best Sol De Janeiro perfumes for just £33, including Cheirosa 62, 40, 68 and 59 – all of which double as hair mists and can be layered with similar smelling fragrances to boost their longevity and projection. These body mists are also ideal for travel and are known crowd-pleasers, so you really can't go wrong with gifting this set to a sweet scent fan.
RRP: £50
There's just something so luxurious about these tiny perfume bottles, aside from the fact Penhaligon's is, of course, a luxurious and high-end brand. Inside you get five 5ml bottles of the following: The Favourite, Elisabethan Rose (which features on our list of best rose perfumes), Empressa, Halfeti and Luna – making this an ideal gift for anyone looking to expand their perfume collection.
Where to shop Christmas perfume gift sets
Luckily for our fellow fragrance fans – and those seeking an easy but luxe-looking gift – there's no shortage of perfume gifts sets, from both designer and cult-favourite brands, nor retailers who stock them.
You can find a plethora of festively wrapped gift bundles (featuring the scent and a travel-size, or a matching lotion, hand cream or candle and so on), at the likes of Cult Beauty, SpaceNK, Sephora, John Lewis and LOOKFANTASTIC – as well as directly from the brands you're looking to gift, such as Jo Malone London. Better still, several of the larger beauty retailers, like Sephora, often have discounts available, which will likely increase as the festive period draws nearer.
