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Choosing to buy someone a fragrance can be a tricky problem if you don't know what their favourite fragrance is.

Dioressence

Many people don't wear fragrances which actually blend with their own body chemistry.  Generally, we buy fragrances in the same haphazard manner as we buy an ill-fitting bra!  We like the packaging or it is the most popular at the moment.  Most fragrances are sold through good advertising campaigns.

Bal a Versailles

Some of us though, find a favourite perfume and stick to it religiously.  By doing this, we fail to take into account that over a period of time, body chemistry may change, and therefore what may have been a wonderfully perfect fragrance for us 20 years ago, no longer is.

Chanel Allure Sensuelle

Fragrances are very personal and how they mix with our body chemistry differs from person to person. When buying a gift, the best option is to think of the likes and dislikes of the person you are buying for and fit the perfume to their personality rather than what you think they may like.

Anyone having to use transport knows what I mean when I say trains, buses and subways are not pleasant places any day of the week, never mind a hot day! On a daily basis I marvel that at such an early time in the morning, the person in front of me smells like they've just rolled out of the nearest garbage dump and onto my train! Wouldn't it be wonderful if, similar to the proposed weapon barriers, we had a "safe smell" barrier?  As you pass through, if you didn't pass the 'safe for other passengers to sit next to' test, it would bleep and you wouldn't be allowed entry! Failing such extreme measures, why not atomisers in each carriage.  Many public bathrooms have these contraptions which intermittently spurt out fragranced air. Wouldn't it be wonderful if fragrance houses gave the commuting public a blast of their latest scent? As a morning fragrance, we would have something zippy, refreshing and light.  Thinking about it, it would obviously have to be something unisex.  My choice would be Dalimix by Salvador Dali.  A light, fruity aquatic that won't enhance the smell of yesterday's garlic dinner.

Salvador Dali - Dalimix £28.50

By the evening, I really just want a scent that takes no prisoners!  The heady mixture of gardenias, freesias, coriander seeds, jasmine, rose, vanilla, patchouli and bourbon vetiver make this a true "Rush" and would bring a different meaning to the word "Rush Hour"!

Gucci Rush £29.50

I often call after work drinks and then a return home on the train kebab hour!  This is when the drunken few treat commuters to a view not only of their tonsils but also their grazing habits.  The whiff of fast congealing burgers and kebabs greet those silly enough to travel after 9 pm!  I'm not sure there's is anything which can deal with these delightful fragrances but something sharp and sobering such as Issey Miyake's L'Eau D'Issey with notes of lotus, freesia, cyclamen, carnation, white lilies; and musk will certainly try!

L'Eau D'Issey Gift Set - £71.50

When reading the ingredients of a bottle of perfume, one can often be mystified by the contents.  What exactly does freshly laundered t-shirt smell like?

freshly laundered t-shirt

Sometimes our imagination will draw us to a smell.  I like the thought of inhaling something freshly laundered, or the faint whiff of new leather and suede.

leather

suede

Other appealing smells in a fragrance which seem unexpected are alcohol based or contain tobacco.  When thinking of a 'manly' fragrance for some reason we are attracted to smells such as bourbon, cognac, vodka,  gin and tobacco.

bourbon

cognac

vodka

Gin

tobacco

There's something smoky, warm and comforting about these scents that appeal to our senses. On the other hand, you can sometimes wonder why other smells appeal.  On looking at a picture of a musk, I cannot imagine that I would like to smell like one yet a fragrance that does not contain it, is often boring, bland and rarely seems to last more than an hour.

musk

Perfume experts complain of modern fragrances smelling synthetic.  Probably because modern day fragrances contain such things as aldehydes, coumarin and kephalis.  Chemical components used cleverly to recreate such smells as freshly laundered t-shirts or the smell of a frozen lake.

aldehydes

coumarin

kephalis

Fragrances with chocolate, cotton candy and popcorn almost deserve a date to the cinema rather than being sprayed!