If you’re buying perfume for someone this Christmas – here's some advice...

Hint hint.

Perfume is a fantastic gift for someone who wears and enjoys it...

It’s also really personal. In order to pick the right perfume for someone else, there are a few things you should take into consideration first. The safest bet is to buy perfume you know they already wear. This might require some snooping or asking around – but it will be well worth the effort.

If you’d like to find a new fragrance for the recipient, put that at the TOP of your shopping list. The perfume counter should be your first stop. Stores and malls are flooded with fragrance and your sense of smell will be the keenest before you venture too far in. Ask for help from a perfume expert behind the counter and describe some of the scents you think you are looking for. You’ll want to narrow it down to just 3 or 4 before you start spraying. Once you start sniffing, your olfactory system will get overloaded. To be really sure – take a walk outside and then come back in a few minutes to give the likely choice one more whiff.