The Ritual of Karma Large Gift Set

When the occasion is a large one, Rituals has The Ritual of Karma Large Gift Set, which is the box that looks the part and holds enough to justify it. Inside it is a rose scent with more going on than rose. Bergamot opens brightly and briefly. Freesia gives a crisp, faintly peppery lift and lotus a cool watery one, while violet leaf cuts green and sappy across the middle and sichuan pepper adds a tingling spice. Vetiver and patchouli finish it, dry root over damp earth, and that lower half is what keeps the flowers from going soft and sweet. The rose itself is broad and velvety and sits at the centre of everything else.

The large box runs to a 150ml body cream, 70ml of mini scented sticks, a 200ml foaming shower gel, a 70ml hand lotion, a 50ml body mist and a toiletry bag. The argument for the large set is straightforward. It is the best value of the boxes, it is substantial enough to be the only present you need to give, and it lasts long enough that the person will still be using it months later. For a wedding, a significant birthday or a serious thank you, it does the job without any further explanation. It does need to go to the right recipient. Somebody who showers and thinks no further about it will not get through a box this size, whereas somebody who treats bathing as part of the evening will be glad of it. The rose makes it an easier gift for women, though nothing in it rules anyone out, and the earthier base means it is not a sugary scent that a recipient will tire of.

Rituals dates from 2000 and from Amsterdam, where its earliest shop occupied a Kalverstraat site. The Dutch company is headed by the founder who started it on returning from Asia, and it has built a large share of its range around presents. Its body and home goods outnumber its perfumes by a considerable distance.