Bois d'Orange Wellbeing Fragrant Water Gift Set

Most citrus fragrance is sweetened to sell, the Roger and Gallet Bois d'Orange Wellbeing Fragrant Water Gift Set is not, and that is the reason to pick it out of a shelf of similar looking boxes. Bitter orange leads, dry and sharp, with the clean astringency of peel rather than the sugar of the fruit. Petitgrain carries that further, bringing the green, stalky bitterness of leaf and twig, and the two together make the fragrance feel more like a whole tree than a single fruit. Patchouli is the only other material, and it is a well judged choice: earthy, a little damp, it gives the bright top something to stand on and keeps the composition from evaporating into nothing.

The box holds a 30ml perfumed water and a 100g soap. Three materials, plainly laid out. The fragrant water format keeps it light, so this is a splash rather than a scent to be rationed, best used straight from the bath and reapplied without thinking about it. An hour or two of real presence is what to expect, which is the honest span of any cologne strength product and no reflection on the quality of the materials. Bought as a set, it makes a good present for someone whose bathroom shelf matters more to them than their dressing table, and for anyone who prefers to smell washed rather than perfumed. Summer suits it best; so do mornings. It is a particularly easy present for a man who refuses to engage with fragrance counters, because nothing about it feels like perfume.

The company dates from 1862 and from a Paris partnership between two brothers in law, who had bought the 1806 Farina house and the eau de cologne that came with it. Roger and Gallet has made soap as seriously as fragrance ever since, and the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore address it took in 1932 is still the one the name is associated with.