There's no doubt about it, perfume sample sets make a lovely Christmas present. Here's my pick of the bunch, ranging from quite economical to absolutely lavish.
The Bond No 9 Bon-Bon Box is covetable for its multi-coloured sweetie-paper packaging alone. This set of 18 different 6ml samples will set you back an enormous $260. This isn't actually bad value at only $2.40 per ml, but it's a hefty investment.
The Ormonde Jayne Discovery Set includes 12 samples of 2ml each, for a bargainous £42, which is £1.75 per ml. As a fan of Ormonde Jayne, this is a great set to own.
, For devotees of Penhaligon's you could try the economical Scent Library for £15. It includes 10 samples of both male and female Penhaligon's fragrances. The samples are probably 2ml sizes, which gives a price of £1.33 per ml.
Make your own selection of Tauer perfumes to create a unique Discovery Set at $31.30. This is pretty pricey at more than $4 per ml, but as Tauer creates some truly distinctive fragrances, this might well be worth the investment.
At the luxury end of the market, the Clive Christian Traveller Sample Set includes 3 fragrance samples in 10ml sizes bottles. For the total price of $310, that's just under $1 per ml, which is less than half the price of the Bond No 9 samples. You just need to make sure that this gift recipient likes at least one of these Clive Christian scents.
At Hermes you can select 4 perfumes to create a bespoke coffret of 15mls samples from a total of seven Hermessence fragrances. At €430. The sample size is 15ml so this works out at excellent value: €0.69 per ml.
Happy shopping.