Olympéa Eau de Parfum Gift Set

Anybody who finds most sweet fragrances too simple should look at the Rabanne Olympéa Eau de Parfum Gift Set, because the sweetness here has salt in it.

Salted vanilla is the heart and the whole identity of the scent. It is sugary and briny at once, and that savoury pull is what keeps it from tipping into something childish. The top is green mandarin, tart rather than ripe, with jasmine for floral breadth and ginger flower adding a bright, slightly soapy sharpness that has none of the root's warmth about it. Below, cashmeran gives a soft, faintly furred depth and ambergris supplies a mineral, skin close warmth that runs to the end of the wear. Six materials, carefully balanced between sweet and savoury, with the salt always just ahead of the sugar.

Eau de parfum is the right concentration for it. There is proper projection for the first couple of hours and then a long, quiet stay, and because the composition is already rich, two sprays is more than enough and four would be a mistake. It holds on clothing longer than it holds on skin, which is worth knowing if you dislike finding yesterday's perfume on a coat.

It is a night scent and a cold weather one, although the salt keeps it breathable enough for a summer evening. Bought as a set it makes a straightforward present for a woman who likes sweetness but would rather not smell like dessert. The box does the presentation for you. Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion and Loc Dong are credited with the composition.

The brand is French, built on a designer who showed his first collection in 1966. Its fragrances have been made since 1968 by the Spanish group Puig. The house as a whole became Puig's in 1987.