Eau de Rochas Eau de Toilette Gift Set

Some fragrances are bought for the person who already owns a bottle, and Eau de Rochas Eau de Toilette Gift Set is squarely that purchase: a known quantity, presented so it can be handed over.

The scent itself is a citrus construction from Nicolas Mamounas. Lemon and bergamot do the sharpening, mandarin orange softens the edges, and lemon verbena adds a dry, leafy greenness that keeps the opening from being merely bright. That greenness carries into the middle, where daffodil brings a cool, sappy, faintly bitter floral note, jasmine adds warmth and lily of the valley adds a washed, dewy clarity. Underneath it all sit oakmoss, myrrh and patchouli, earthy and resinous, giving a light fragrance a surprisingly grounded finish.

As an eau de toilette it is a daytime strength and it is intended to be used generously. Wear it in spring and summer, in the morning, at work, or on the kind of warm afternoon where anything heavier becomes hard work. There is enough moss and resin underneath to stop it feeling flimsy, which is the usual failing of citrus sold for summer.

The advantage of a set is that it removes the wrapping problem and the guessing problem in a single purchase. For someone who has worn this for years it is a restock dressed up as a gift, which is usually exactly what they want.

The house was started in Paris in 1925 by Marcel Rochas, a couturier with a reputation for dressing young women, and it moved into perfumery in 1936. Helene Rochas succeeded him in 1955 and made the fragrance arm the larger half of the business. The brand was acquired by Interparfums from Procter and Gamble in 2015.