Whether you’re looking to treat yourself or a man in your life that you love, nothing makes a lasting impression like a sophisticated fragrance set. Perfume can help enhance the wearer's mood and boost their confidence, as well as making them more attractive - and that’s not us just saying it, ask science!
However, finding a suitable set requires much consideration, particularly as one or more of the fragrances included could well become the recipient's trademark scent if you play it right! So, to help you separate the wheat from the chaff, we’ve put together a buying guide covering all the essential elements you should bear in mind when picking out a perfume set for him.
The world of scents and gift sets can be vast and confusing if you don't know what you're looking for. In this section, we'll make things easy with a concise and straightforward guide to the main factors you should consider when fragrance shopping.
Before thinking about anything else, you’ll want to consider the type of scent(s) included in the set. No matter what kind of products come as part of the package, they'll all follow a similar fragrance theme. The smell of the perfume will change and develop over time, as it consists of a mixture of top notes, heart notes, and base notes.
The top notes are what you can smell straight away after spritzing - think invigorating mint, zingy citrus, or that lovely clean aroma in the air when you're fresh out of the shower. These notes are quick to dissipate but they set the tone of the whole fragrance.
Heart notes provide the body of the perfume and work as a buffer between the fresh top notes and the deeper base notes. When it comes to heart notes, you can typically expect cool herbal elements like sage and basil or floral hits from ingredients such as lavender or rose.
Last, but certainly not least, are the base notes. These are big, bold fragrances that smell earthy and masculine. They're usually derived from spicy or musky ingredients like amber, sandalwood, and patchouli. These (and the heart notes, to some extent) are what tend to stick around the longest on the skin, so you’ll want to check which kind of aroma the recipient prefers before hitting that purchase button!
The fragrances in perfume are made by extracting scented oils from natural ingredients or, for scents that don’t occur in nature, are created using synthetic chemicals. These crafted scents are then held in solvents, the main one being alcohol.
Not all perfumes contain the same amount of fragrance though - there are actually four categories when it comes to fragrance strength. In strength order, these are: body spray, eau de cologne (EDC), eau de toilette (EDT), and eau de parfum (EDP).
Body spray usually contains around 1-3% perfume oil and will therefore produce a very subtle scent. EDC contains around 2-6% perfume oil, lasting up to 2 hours, while EDT can have anywhere from 5-15% which should linger for 4 hours. Finally, EDP contains approximately 10-20% perfume oil and has a lengthy lifespan of 5-6 hours - so you'll smell good all day long!
The last factor to consider is which items you get as part of the gift set. Sets for blokes don't usually have the same number of components as those designed for women, so don’t expect a package full of moisturisers, lotions, or hand creams!
Instead, alongside the perfume, there's often one or two grooming products like a luxurious shower gel or a handy deodorant. Smaller spray bottles with the same fragrance might also be included, which are perfect for travelling.
Of course, when you buy a gift set of miniature fragrances, you'll get just that - several bottles from the same brand with their most popular perfumes. This kind of set can be used to try out scents before you buy a full-size bottle, making it a great choice for keen fragrance enthusiasts who love experimenting!
Now you’re a little more clued up on the different types of perfume gift sets, let’s check out some of our favourites that are available to purchase online in the UK right now, from popular brands like Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, and Paco Rabanne!
£34.00
Top Notes | Mandarin, lavender, green botanics |
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Heart Notes | Basil, geranium, sage |
Base Notes | Sandalwood, rosewood, amber |
Type | Eau de toilette |
Includes | Perfume (30ml), body wash (100ml) |
£120.00
Top Notes | Orange, spearmint nanah |
---|---|
Heart Notes | Lavender, sage |
Base Notes | Ambroxan, ambrette |
Type | Eau de toilette |
Includes | Perfume (100ml), shower gel (100ml) |
£83.00
Top Notes | Jasmine, blackcurrant, gardenia, lemon, bergamont |
---|---|
Heart Notes | Orchid, lotus |
Base Notes | Vetiver, patchouli, sandalwood, incense, amber, dark chocolate |
Type | Eau de parfum |
Includes | Perfume (50ml), travel spray (10ml) |
£27.50
Top Notes | Various |
---|---|
Heart Notes | Various |
Base Notes | Various |
Type | 3 x eau de toilette (5ml), 1 x eau de parfum (5ml) |
Includes | 4 different perfumes |
£54.50
Top Notes | White and black pepper, bergamot |
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Heart Notes | Cedarwood, sage |
Base Notes | Tonka beans, cocoa |
Type | Eau de toilette |
Includes | Perfume (50ml), deodorant (100ml), travel spray (10ml) |
£48.00
Top Notes | Honeydew melon, pineapple leaf, lavender |
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Heart Notes | Pink pepper, geranium |
Base Notes | Suede, patchouli |
Type | Eau de toilette |
Includes | Perfume (50ml), shower gel (100ml) |
£61.50
Top Notes | Apple, bergamot, ginger, elemi, aldehydes |
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Heart Notes | Geranium, juniper, sage, lavender |
Base Notes | Tonka bean, vetiver, frankincense, operamide |
Type | Eau de parfum |
Includes | Perfume (60ml), shower gel (50ml) |
£45.00
Top Notes | Various |
---|---|
Heart Notes | Various |
Base Notes | Various |
Type | Eau de toilette |
Includes | 3 x perfumes (10ml each) |
£69.00
Top Notes | Blood orange, grapefruit, cinnamon |
---|---|
Heart Notes | Mint, rose, spices |
Base Notes | Patchouli, amber, white wood, blond leather |
Type | Eau de toilette |
Includes | Perfume (100ml), deodorant (150ml), travel spray (10ml) |
£120.00
Top Notes | Cardamom |
---|---|
Heart Notes | Jasmine, leather |
Base Notes | Amber, patchouli, moss |
Type | Eau de parfum |
Includes | Perfume (100ml), travel spray (10ml) |
Image | 1 Tom Ford | 2 Paco Rabanne | 3 Maison Margiela | 4 Yves Saint Laurent | 5 Jimmy Choo | 6 Carolina Herrera | 7 Versace | 8 Tom Ford | 9 ![]() Prada | 10 Calvin Klein |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Ombré Leather Eau de Parfum Fragrance Gift Set | 1 Million Eau de Toilette Fragrance Gift Set | Replica Discovery Set | Y For Men Eau de Parfum Fragrance Gift Set | MAN Eau de Toilette Gift Set | Bad Boy Gift Set | Miniature Fragrance Set | Black Orchid Gift Set | Luna Rossa Gift Set | Eternity For Men Eau de Toilette Fragrance Gift Set |
Features | Take a Trip on the Wild Side | A Luxurious Fragrance With Fancy Packaging to Match | Give The the Gift of Fragrance Exploration | An Aromacoaster Created by a Master Perfumer | Lead the Way With This Confidence-Boosting Fragrance | Bad Boy by Name, Sweetheart by Nature | Ideal for Those Keen to Try Out Luxury Scents | A Spicy Scent That Screams Sophistication | Inspired by Sailing and the Sea | A Timeless Set for the Modern Man |
Price | £120.00 | £69.00 | £45.00 | £61.50 | £48.00 | £54.50 | £27.50 | £83.00 | £120.00 | £34.00 |
Top Notes | Cardamom | Blood orange, grapefruit, cinnamon | Various | Apple, bergamot, ginger, elemi, aldehydes | Honeydew melon, pineapple leaf, lavender | White and black pepper, bergamot | Various | Jasmine, blackcurrant, gardenia, lemon, bergamont | Orange, spearmint nanah | Mandarin, lavender, green botanics |
Heart Notes | Jasmine, leather | Mint, rose, spices | Various | Geranium, juniper, sage, lavender | Pink pepper, geranium | Cedarwood, sage | Various | Orchid, lotus | Lavender, sage | Basil, geranium, sage |
Base Notes | Amber, patchouli, moss | Patchouli, amber, white wood, blond leather | Various | Tonka bean, vetiver, frankincense, operamide | Suede, patchouli | Tonka beans, cocoa | Various | Vetiver, patchouli, sandalwood, incense, amber, dark chocolate | Ambroxan, ambrette | Sandalwood, rosewood, amber |
Type | Eau de parfum | Eau de toilette | Eau de toilette | Eau de parfum | Eau de toilette | Eau de toilette | 3 x eau de toilette (5ml), 1 x eau de parfum (5ml) | Eau de parfum | Eau de toilette | Eau de toilette |
Includes | Perfume (100ml), travel spray (10ml) | Perfume (100ml), deodorant (150ml), travel spray (10ml) | 3 x perfumes (10ml each) | Perfume (60ml), shower gel (50ml) | Perfume (50ml), shower gel (100ml) | Perfume (50ml), deodorant (100ml), travel spray (10ml) | 4 different perfumes | Perfume (50ml), travel spray (10ml) | Perfume (100ml), shower gel (100ml) | Perfume (30ml), body wash (100ml) |
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Fancy adding more male grooming products to your shopping basket? With one of our recommendations from the links below, your man will be able to look his best and feel fresh too!
Taking that extra time to think about the different fragrance notes and types of perfume available means that a gift set can go from being a quick, last-minute present to a beloved grooming staple that'll provide pleasure with every spritz. Here's to treating someone you love (or yourself!) to the perfect perfume.
Author: Lewis Clark
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