As much as it may seem cliché to gift a bottle of perfume or cologne for a special occasion, it's still one of my favorite things to give and receive. Fragrances are beautiful, with bottles we display proudly on our vanities and dressers. They're expensive and luxurious. They become a little piece of our identities - a familiar scent that friends and lovers remember us by. Understandably, fragrance can also be a tricky thing to gift when someone hasn't requested something specific. Personal taste can vary incredibly from one person to another, and the last thing you want is to buy an $80 bottle of perfume for someone that you aren't sure they'll love. My personal solution? Opt for a gift set with a variety of fragrances to choose from. Not only do they offer variety, but they can be a great way to introduce someone to a specific brand and help them find a new favorite scent.
Personally I had my eye on the NEST Fragrances Eau de Parfum Collection ($38.00) for quite a while. With unique scents and absolutely beautiful packaging I was definitely intrigued by everything I saw on the NEST website. Since I'd never owned (or smelled, for that matter) any of NEST's perfumes it would certainly be difficult to try and choose one at random. But with this set of five adorable minis I don't have to!
NEST Fragrances is a New York based company that offers a full range of luxury fragrance items for bath, body, and home. Originally focused on manufacturing for private labels, NEST has helped develop home fragrance lines for over 80 luxury brands, including Tory Burch, West Elm and Laura Mercier. After the launch of a very popular candle and holiday collection that debued in 2008, NEST Fragrances has expanded their home fragrance line and also introduced an entire line of personal care products.
NEST's Fine Fragrance line was launched in the fall of 2012, and was inspired by the works of 18th Century British artist Mrs. Mary Delany. I won't lie, one of the things that drew me most to NEST in the first place were these stunning floral designs. Laura Slatkin, the brands founder, looked to develop fragrances that would capture the essence of each of these gorgeous botanical visuals. This Sephora exclusive set includes five of the seven scents from the Fine Fragrance line - Midnight Fleur, Paradise, Dahlia & Vines, White Sandalwood, and Indigo. There is also a similar coffret available from the NEST Fragrances website, which includes the two remaining scents (Amazon Lily and Passiflora) instead of Indigo and Paradise.
Each scent comes in a 0.25 oz dabber bottle. While the dabbers are a little less convenient to use than a spray bottle, they definitely still do the trick. Applied to your pulse points, these fragrances last decently well without being overpowering. In addition to being beautiful, even in their adorable miniature form, this set is an awesome value for what you get. A full-sized 1.7 oz fragrance retails for $65, which would put the value of each of these dabbers around $10. However, a 0.27 oz rollerball retails for $25, which has only slightly more product than each of these minis. Either way, getting five of these fragrances is a steal for only $38.
Of course, all of this would be kind of irrelevant if they didn't smell lovely. Luckily I was totally impressed by how much I enjoyed all of these scents, as unique as they all are.
Paradise perfectly captures a luscious burst of fresh, Mediterranean blood orange balanced with watery nuances, a hint of white ginger, and a lingering base of cedarwood.
Lush and citrusy, Paradise feels like summertime to me. It reminds me of a classy cocktail - refreshing and fruity without being cloyingly sweet.
Midnight Fleur features exotic wood, patchouli, and black amber blended with sensual notes of night-blooming jasmine and vanilla orchid.
Some fragrances scream sexy, and this is one of them. Sweet, spicy and exotic, this scent has a very alluring quality to it.
Indigo transitions well from day to evening with notes of Moroccan tea, Kashmir wood, and black cardamom, enhanced with hints of wild fig and bergamot.
While I've never owned a fragrance quite like this one, I feel like this scent should have always been my everyday go-to. Warm, inviting, and yet with a hint of fruity freshness from the notes of fig, this scent is feminine, but sophisticated.
Dahlia & Vines blends dewy daffodils, peony, and rose with the essence of garden vines.
If you're a fan of floral scents, Dahlia & Vines will almost certainly be your go-to. While florals are not usually my preference, there is something so elegant and classy about this particular fragrance that I still enjoy wearing it.
White Sandalwood is blended with creamy almond, white musk, and exotic spices for a scent that is truly unique.
I definitely get the notes of almond from this fragrance right off the bat, but it's tempered with woody and musky notes. I think I've outgrown gourmand scents (as fun as it was to smell like a cupcake), and I appreciate that, while there is a definite delicious sweetness to this perfume, it's complexities make it feel much more grown up.
To be honest, I don't think I can pick a favorite out of these five. They're all so unique and have such entirely different characteristics that I can see myself wearing them all depending on my mood or the occasion. I'm so happy that I decided to pick this set up and to get to know the NEST Fragrance brand a little bit better. If there's someone in your life that appreciates fragrances that are a little out of the box, I highly recommend gifting them this set!
Have you tried anything from NEST Fragrances before? Are any of these perfumes calling to you?
