Perfume gift in France when you don't know their taste: 4 shops 2026

Four shops for an unknown taste, side by side

Read the table by size. Two of the three other shops lean on small samples made for a first sniff, and the third sells miniatures from 3ml up to 30ml. A 10ml perfume in a 10ML set holds around 200 sprays, and a 3ml around 60, so whoever unwraps it on Christmas morning has something to wear into January rather than a taste test.

Shop by shop

Each shop is described from its own site as read on 13 October 2026. Prices and thresholds are in the table, so this section sticks to what each shop is good at.

Maison des Miniatures

This is the shop closest to 10ML. It also sells boxes of 3ml, 5ml and 10ml miniatures, lets you build a box yourself and gives a discount as the box grows. Its gift card comes in amounts up to a high ceiling, and it reaches the recipient instantly by email. Free delivery starts at a lower basket than at 10ML, which helps a small order. If you want a box of miniatures chosen perfume by perfume, it is a strong choice.

50-ml.fr

The sets at 50-ml.fr are mostly discovery sets made by the houses themselves, plus the shop's own kits of very small samples. Chosen one by one, a 2ml sample suits a buyer who already knows two or three scents the recipient likes. Its gift card carries a message from the sender. The sizes are smaller than at 10ML, and the free-delivery threshold is higher.

Jovoy Paris

Jovoy puts many samples in each coffret, which is generous for someone who loves to explore. Its Try Me scheme rewards a later full bottle, because the sample price is deducted if the same perfume is bought online within a month. That suits a buyer planning a full bottle more than a gift, and the shop has no gift card online. Free delivery there also starts at a lower basket than at 10ML.

These shops win on cost of entry, and two of them on getting free delivery sooner. 10ML wins on what the recipient ends up holding: a perfume to wear for weeks, or a card that lets them choose it.

Why 10ML is our pick

Every perfume at 10ML is sold in 3ml, 10ml and 30ml, so a gift never has to be a compromise on size. 10ML decants every perfume itself. Where the perfumes come from is simple too: 10ML buys from authorized EU distributors and directly from the brands.

Size choice is what rescues a gift when you can't read the recipient's taste.

• Three perfumes in one box. Each set pairs three different 10ml perfumes, so the recipient can find a favourite among them and still has around 200 sprays of each to enjoy over several weeks.
• A card they spend as they like. The 10ML gift card is valid on any perfume at 10ml.com, in any size. You receive it by email the moment you pay, with your name and a message on it, and the same email carries a printable version for tucking into an envelope.
• A better price per ml as sizes grow. Take Lira: the 3ml works out at 3,09 €/ml per ml and the 30ml at 2,43 €/ml per ml, which gives a happy recipient a reason to step up.
• Fast dispatch. Delivery covers 26 EU countries, and every order ships the next working day (Monday to Friday), so a December order leaves without delay.

The sets are one click away: for her, for him and the third set. The card lives on the 10ML gift cards page. If you wonder how a set compares with a full bottle, perfume gift sets per ml does the sums. 10ML is independent of every perfume house and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

The nine perfumes in the three sets

Below is the line-up, so you know exactly what you are giving. Notes come from each perfume's own list, and the votes come from the community that rates these perfumes.

Lira by Xerjoff

Part of the set for her, Lira by Xerjoff dates from 2011. The notes run from blood orange, bergamot and lavender through cinnamon, licorice and jasmine to caramel, vanilla and musk. Community votes point to fall and winter.

Kirke by Tiziana Terenzi

Kirke by Tiziana Terenzi came out in 2015. Passionfruit, peach, pear and raspberry give it a fruity start, lily-of-the-valley carries the middle, and musk, vanilla, patchouli, heliotrope and sandalwood anchor it. Voters lean towards calling its sillage "enormous".

Hundred Silent Ways by Nishane

Launched in 2016, Hundred Silent Ways by Nishane starts with tuberose, peach and mandarin orange. Gardenia, jasmine and orris come next, with vanilla, sandalwood and vetiver beneath. Its community votes favour night wear.

XJ 1861 Naxos by Xerjoff

Leading the set for him, XJ 1861 Naxos by Xerjoff arrived in 2015. Lavender, bergamot and lemon lead into honey, cinnamon, cashmeran and jasmine sambac, and the base is tobacco leaf, vanilla and tonka bean. Voters favour winter for it.

Althaïr by Parfums de Marly

Althaïr by Parfums de Marly was launched in 2023. It begins with cinnamon, cardamom, orange blossom and bergamot, centres on bourbon vanilla and elemi, and settles into praline, musk, ambroxan, guaiac wood, tonka and candied almond. Most community voters call its longevity "long lasting".

Layton by Parfums de Marly

Also in the set for him, Layton by Parfums de Marly dates from 2016. Apple, lavender, bergamot and mandarin orange lead; geranium, violet and jasmine sit in the middle; vanilla, cardamom, sandalwood, pepper, guaiac wood and patchouli finish. Its sillage votes land on "strong".

Erba Pura by Xerjoff

In the third set, Erba Pura by Xerjoff dates from 2019. Its citrus trio of Sicilian orange, Calabrian bergamot and Sicilian lemon gives way to fruits, then to white musk, Madagascar vanilla and amber. Voters link it with summer and spring.

Ani by Nishane

Ani by Nishane, also from 2019, mixes ginger, bergamot, pink pepper and green notes at the top with cardamom, black currant and Turkish rose in the heart. Vanilla, benzoin, sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, ambergris and musk form the base. Its sillage votes lean "strong".

Arabians Tonka by Montale

Completing the third set, Arabians Tonka by Montale was released in 2019. Saffron and bergamot open, agarwood and Bulgarian rose follow, and amber, tonka bean, sugar cane, white musk and oakmoss close. Its community votes favour winter.

How to choose and test before you give

If you can learn one thing about the recipient, make it whether they reach for sweet, fresh or woody scents. A glance at what they already wear is usually enough. After that, a few habits help the person you are giving to.

• Spray on skin, not paper, because a perfume changes as it warms.
• Wear it on several different days before deciding, since the first spray says little.
• Begin with a 3ml for a short first look, move to a 10ml perfume to wear for weeks, and keep a 30ml for the favourite.

If they like warm, sweet scents, browse the vanilla, rose and amber note pages. For styles that rarely disappoint, read safe blind buy perfumes. For ideas around the festive season, see Christmas perfume gifts, and for how decants compare with a box of samples, discovery sets and decants. The wider picture is in the 10ML perfume gift guide, and 10ML perfume samples shows the smaller sizes.