Olympéa Eau de Parfum Gift Set

Cashmeran is the quiet reason the Rabanne Olympéa Eau de Parfum Gift Set wears as comfortably as it does.

It sits in the base, soft and faintly furred, and it gives the fragrance a cushioned quality underneath the sweetness. The sweetness itself is salted vanilla in the heart, which is the material everybody remembers: sugary and briny in the same breath, so it never settles into plain dessert. Above that, green mandarin opens tart, jasmine broadens it into a white floral, and ginger flower lends a bright, soapy sharpness. Ambergris joins the cashmeran at the bottom with a mineral, skin warm quality. Six materials, and the balance between them is the craft of it.

At eau de parfum strength it projects properly early and then stays close for a long time afterwards. It suits evenings and cool weather, and it is worn across a very wide age range, which is unusual for something this sweet. Two sprays will see out a night, and a third is only worth it in the depths of winter, when everything reads quieter outdoors than it does in a warm room.

A set is the easiest way to give it, since it arrives looking like a present and asks nothing further of you once it does. It is a safe choice for a sister, a daughter or a friend whose perfume shelf you have never actually examined, because the fragrance is well enough known to have been met already and distinctive enough not to be dull. The perfumers are Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion and Loc Dong.

Rabanne is a French house, founded on the work of a designer whose first collection was shown in 1966. The perfume division was created by Puig of Spain in 1968, and Puig has owned the brand completely since 1987.