Dedicated to those in love who like to spice things up with original ideas, this list of the best Valentine’s Day perfume gifts for her is made just for you.
Valentine’s Day is a time of romance, passion, and dedicating yourself to that one special person in your life. Get ready to celebrate the most romantic day by gifting the most personal gift of them all.
Perfumes and fragrances have been present since ancient times traced back to 4000 BC to the island of Cyprus, and while it did serve a different purpose back then, today, perfume is much more than scented alcohol-water.
Just how much is a perfume special to ladies, shows this timeless quote from one and the only Coco Chanel:
No elegance is possible without perfume. It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory.
Coco chanel
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Now, come and join me as we explore together the perfect perfume gift you can buy this Valentine’s Day for your lady.
Brief History Of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is celebrated annually on February 14 around the world. Also known as the Feast of Saint Valentine or Saint Valentine’s Day, it originated as a Western Christian feast day honoring the two Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine.
There are two different stories about how Valentine’s Day became what it is today:
- According to the earliest tradition, Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his jailer.
- The 18th-century legends claim about Saint Valentine wrote a love letter signed “Your Valentine” which he wrote before his execution.
As mentioned Feast of Saint Valentine was established by Pope Gelasius in the 5th century, as a celebration of Saint Valentine of Rome, but it wasn’t associated to love until the 14th century with the association with the “lovebirds” of early spring.
By the 18th century, in England, the association of couples expressing love to each other by presenting gifts such as flowers, and sending greeting cards(valentines) made its way into popular culture.
While today Saint Valentine’s Day is not a public holiday in any country around the world, it is one of the most popular traditions just as Halloween, celebrated by millions which some also use as a renewal of marriage vows.
According to CNBC article, “Americans were expected to spend an average of $142 on Valentine’s Day present for their significant other last year”.
Best Valentine’s Day Perfume Gifts For Her: The List
Roses, nice drinks, and the color red are associated with Valentine’s Day. Just like with my men’s perfume list for Valentine’s Day, ladies also like to be surprised with a nice perfume.
Just don’t forget to make that restaurant reservation early enough and buy some perfume before that upcoming date.
I have tried to diversify perfumes as much as possible and throw in a couple of scents that work in multiple seasons. Winter is not going to last that much more, so having a couple of options that work in Spring and Summer is a good idea as well.
No matter which one you choose, make sure that you are already familiar with your lady’s fragrance taste. You can learn more about how fragrance families work in my how to find a signature scent article.
Chanel No. 5
Top reasons to pick Chanel No. 5: There is a great reason why No. 5 is the best-selling perfume of all time.
Coco Chanel’s idea of what No. 5 should smell like was a creation of something new that would appeal to the liberated feminine spirit of the 1920s.
Coco challenged Ernest Beaux to create a perfume that “smells like a woman, and not like a rose”, and “a woman’s perfume with a woman’s scent“, rare and powerful.
Aldehydes in the opening can bite your nose, but that glorious warm, woody, and musky dry-down is to die for.
Read the full review here.
- Perfumer: Ernest Beaux
- Perfume Oil Concentration: EDP
- Fragrance Type: Floral Aldehyde
- Release Date: 1921
- Most dominant notes: Aldehydes, Ylang-Ylang, Amber
- Age Group: 30+
- Seasons: Fall and Winter
- Occasions: Business and Leisure
- Longevity and Sillage: 6 – 8 hours with moderate projection
- Uniqueness: 5/5
- Value for money: 10/10
Tom Ford Black Orchid Parfum
Top reasons to pick Black Orchid Parfum: You don’t have to be familiar with Black Orchid from Tom Ford to know that girls adore this masterpiece fragrance.
One of the most unique scents of all time has received an update in 2020 in the form of Extrait perfume oil concentration.
It opens with a very noticeable truffle and additional plum that dries down to delightful orchid accord. The addition of the rum note that’s noticeable throughout the scent is a touch of genius.
- Perfumer: n/a
- Perfume Oil Concentration: Extrait
- Fragrance Type: Sweet Floral
- Release Date: 2020
- Most dominant notes: Truffle, Rum, and Ylang-Ylang
- Age Group: 25+
- Seasons: Fall and Winter
- Occasions: Romantic and Leisure
- Longevity and Sillage: 24+ hours with great projection
- Uniqueness: 5/5
- Value for money: 9/10
Guerlain Shalimar
Top reasons to pick Shalimar: No woman should be without Shalimar. Arguably, the best perfume ever created and suits a woman just like red lipstick.
A multi-faceted perfume that opens up with punchy and powdery Bergamot note that quickly shifts into a powdery bouquet of flowers that overtake the fragrance.
The dry down is composed of ambery/incense notes and vanilla leaving the sexiest trail on the planet. Still fresh and new as it was almost 100 years ago.
Read the full review here.
- Perfumer: Jacques Guerlain
- Perfume Oil Concentration: EDP
- Fragrance Type: Oriental
- Release Date: 1925
- Most dominant notes: Bergamot, Vanilla, and Incense
- Age Group: 25+
- Seasons: Fall and Winter
- Occasions: Business and Romantic
- Longevity and Sillage: 8 to 10 hours with decent projection
- Uniqueness: 5/5
- Value for money: 10/10
Parfums de Marly Delina
Top reasons to pick Delina: If you can imagine how Turkish delight sweets smell like, you can imagine what’s the whole deal about Delina.
It is also one perfume that if you are not familiar with this scent profile, can take time to appreciate which doesn’t mean it’s anything less than a perfection made for those ladies with a romantic heart.
Masterfully blended sweet floral perfume with an intoxicating scent trail that is a compliment magnet. The red rose note in Delina is balanced by musk without ever going into the sour territory.
- Perfumer: Quentin Bisch
- Perfume Oil Concentration: EDP
- Fragrance Type: Floral Musk
- Release Date: 2017
- Most dominant notes: Rose, Rhubarb, and Litchi
- Age Group: 20+
- Seasons: Any season
- Occasions: Romantic and Business
- Longevity and Sillage: 10 – 12 hours with great projection
- Uniqueness: 5/5
- Value for money: 10/10
Jean Paul Gaultier La Belle
Top reasons to pick La Belle: There is something fascinating about this perfume that comes from combining oriental and woody notes with a pear.
Much more complex than an apple, pear makes this perfume pleasantly sweet and gives it a touch of freshness making La Belle wearable even when it’s warm outside.
This perfume has great lasting power and projection, and the vetiver is prominent only in the opening that leaves amazing oriental sweet dry down projecting without any sharp edges.
Playful fragrance ideal for those young at heart.
- Perfumer: Quentin Bisch and Sonia Constant
- Perfume Oil Concentration: EDP
- Fragrance Type: Oriental Woody
- Release Date: 2019
- Most dominant notes: Pear, Vanilla, and Vetiver
- Age Group: 20+
- Seasons: Spring and Fall
- Occasions: Romantic and Leisure
- Longevity and Sillage: 10 – 12 hours with great projection
- Uniqueness: 3/5
- Value for money: 9/10
Hermès L’Ombre Des Merveilles
Top reasons to pick L’Ombre Des Merveilles: Due to its unusual combination of mixing resinous notes such as incense with a green and sweet combination of black tea and tonka beans, L’Ombre Des Merveilles smells fresh and minerally with a touch of smoke.
Ideal for all year-round usage, especially on the hot summer nights, since it reminds the wearer of the Adriatic coast and carefree life.
Projection and longevity are good, giving the wearer just the right amount to project, but not offend.
- Perfumer: Christine Nagel
- Perfume Oil Concentration: EDP
- Fragrance Type: Oriental
- Release Date: 2020
- Most dominant notes: Black Tea, Incense, and Tonka Beans
- Age Group: 20+
- Seasons: Any season
- Occasions: Business and Leisure
- Longevity and Sillage: 6 – 8 hours with moderate projection
- Uniqueness: 4/5
- Value for money: 9/10
Marc Jacobs Decadence
Top reasons to pick Decadence: If there was one perfume on this Valentine’s Day perfume gift for her that I would consider gifting first to my girlfriend, that would be Decadence.
It is pleasant, has that sweet powdery touch that’s attractive, and gets compliments like crazy.
Sweet and floral notes such as plum and rose to give the vetiver a touch of sophistication and boost your confidence.
Some people compare Mugler’s Aura to Decadence, but I believe that this one is more refined with an earthiness from the vetiver and sweetness coming from the plum.
- Perfumer: Annie Buzantian and Ann Gottlieb
- Perfume Oil Concentration: EDP
- Fragrance Type: Oriental Floral
- Release Date: 2015
- Most dominant notes: Amber, Plum, and Vetiver
- Age Group: 20+
- Seasons: Spring and Fall
- Occasions: Romantic and Leisure
- Longevity and Sillage: 10 – 12 hours with great projection
- Uniqueness: 3/5
- Value for money: 9/10
Armaf Club De Nuit Woman
Top reasons to pick Club de Nuit Woman: Easy to wear, affordable warm-weather scent.
An excellent perfume inspired by Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle for just a fraction of the price without cutting the quality.
Sweet citruses and rose notes dominate the composition until it dries down to floral vanilla. Great longevity and sillage. You can say whatever you want about Armaf, but it cannot be denied that when they hit a home run, they hit it big time.
- Perfumer: n/a
- Perfume Oil Concentration: EDP
- Fragrance Type: Floral Oriental
- Release Date: n/a
- Most dominant notes: Rose, Patchouli, and Vanilla
- Age Group: 25+
- Seasons: Spring and Fall
- Occasions: Business and Leisure
- Longevity and Sillage: 10 – 12 hours with great projection
- Uniqueness: 3/5
- Value for money: 10/10
Lancome La Vie Est Belle L’Absolu
Top reasons to pick La Vie Est Belle L’Absolu: if you are late to the La Vie Est Belle craze that has been going on for quite some time now, just skip everything and go straight to L’Absolu flanker.
It is by far the best perfume in the line and the most interesting one. Instead of Iris that dominates through the most La Vie Est Belle scents, L’Absolu makes a shift with sweet pralines and pear.
Sensual and deep, L’Absolu will leave you breathless. Ideal as a signature scent if you don’t overspray.
- Perfumer: Dominique Ropion and Anne Flipo
- Perfume Oil Concentration: EDP
- Fragrance Type: Sweet Floral
- Release Date: 2014
- Most dominant notes: Praline, Cashmere Wood, and Iris
- Age Group: 20+
- Seasons: Fall and Winter
- Occasions: Romantic and Clubbing
- Longevity and Sillage: 24+ hours with great projection
- Uniqueness: 4/5
- Value for money: 10/10
Jil Sander Sun
Top reasons to pick Sun: It may seem strange to expect a perfume that works in any season just by looking at the scent pyramid of the Sun, but it does.
Sun is a nice oriental vanilla-centered perfume with a touch of flower aspects. It suits colder weather the best when its oriental woody aspects come to the forefront.
It’s not old-fashioned in any sort of way, which just proves how some formulas still work even after more than 30 years.
Timeless, elegant, and still one of those nice little perfumes that remind us of warm bygone days.
- Perfumer: Pierre Bourdon
- Perfume Oil Concentration: EDT
- Fragrance Type: Floral Oriental
- Release Date: 1989
- Most dominant notes: Vanilla, Ylang-Ylang, and Tonka Bean
- Age Group: 25+
- Seasons: Any season
- Occasions: Any occasion
- Longevity and Sillage: 10 – 12 hours with moderate projection
- Uniqueness: 3/5
- Value for money: 10/10
Conclusion
Going on romantic dates is great and they work even better when we are wearing our best perfume.
Hopefully, you have found something for your dearest and nearest on this best Valentine’s Day perfume gifts for her guide list that will make that special day even better.
Let me know in the section below which fragrance did you choose as your next gift purchase and let’s start a conversation.
Find out more Scent Grail articles about perfumery, check out top lists, and other helpful reviews via links below:
REVIEWS
- Terre D’Hermès
- Etat Libre D’Orange Fat Electrician
- Bentley For Men Intense
- Lalique Encre Noire A L’Extreme
- Acqua Di Parma Colonia Essenza
- Dior Fahrenheit
PERFUME LISTS
- Best Perfumes For Women Of All Time
- Top Fall Perfumes
- Best Men’s Fragrances Of All Time
- Best Office Colognes
- Best Winter Fragrances For Men
- Best Cheap Perfumes For Men
LEARNING CENTER
- 12 Youtube Fragrance Reviewers That I Still Watch
- My 11 Most Important Fragrances
- History Of Perfume
- Fragrance Addiction
- How To Wear Perfume
- How To Start A Perfume Collection
Until next time, have a great time and choose your scent wisely!
Best, Marin!
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– Marin Kristic
