Out of all the beauty product categories out there, fragrance is my favourite. Perfume is powerful. It acts as an olfactory vehicle to transport us to a place, a certain person or a treasured memory, or simply to shift our mood on days we want to feel a certain way. This is why I’ve started collecting fragrances and building a perfume wardrobe. When I’m asked about my favourite scent, I say that I can’t commit to a signature perfume because it totally depends on my mood, the season and where I’m going.
However, buying perfume—especially from luxury fragrance houses—can quickly become expensive, so I love perfume discovery sets because they allow me to try lots of different scents without breaking the bank or having buyer’s remorse. Unless you live near a good fragrance hall or boutique that stocks niche brands, trying new scents isn’t always easy, and blind-buying a fragrance online is risky. Thankfully, many brands now offer discovery sets or travel sets that allow you to test a couple of perfumes without committing to the cost of a full-size bottle.
One of the most-loved fragrance brands, Diptyque, offers two different types of discovery sets for its fragrances, which makes trying it’s chic perfumes much easier on your bank balance. Scroll head for everything you need to know.
Diptyque Discovery Set – Pre-Composed
DIPTYQUE PARIS
Set of 5 Eaux De Toilette – Pre-Composed
£105
The first discovery set contains five 7.5ml eau de toilette sprays that come pre-composed so you can experience some of Diptyque’s best scents. As I’m indecisive, this is the set I opted for, which contains classics I’ve tried before like Philoskyos and Do Son, as well as Eau Rose Ombre Dans L’Eau and Eau De Sens.
The scents are housed in a chic box covered in the brand’s iconic oval label motifs, which is presented inside a Diptyque pouch, and inside there is also a smaller pouch for you to store your favourite perfume in your bag. The small and nimble vials make them ideal for travelling, easily slotting into your carry-on bag or for top-ups on the go when out and about.
The pre-composed set comprises:
Philoskykos: With its take on the fig tree (which includes the bark, leaves and creamy fruit) this is one of the brand’s most iconic scents. It’s ideal if you like woody scents with a hint of creamy fruit.
Do Son: If you like white florals, you’ll adore this. Inspired by Halong Bay in Vietnam, this floral scent centres around creamy tuberose, orange blossom and jasmine carried by a sea breeze.
Eau Rose: I’ve seen Rosie Huntington-Whiteley post this perfume on her Instagram, so you know it’s a good rose scent. Think voluptuous rose petals with a twist of green, as well as some unexpected notes in the form of artichoke, chamomile and lychee.
Ombre Dans L’Eau: If you love Diptyque’s Baies candle, you’ll like this fruity-floral a lot. It’s inspired by the scent of picking blackberries and roses and smells like a riverside daydream underneath a canopy of willow trees on a summer’s day.
Eau De Sens: A celebration of the orange tree, with bitter orange, creamy orange blossom, green leaves and a twist of orange zest combined with angelica root, patchouli and juniper berry.
This discovery set contains Diptyque’s best floral and fruity scents, so it’s a great option if you want to add these to your collection or are buying for someone who prefers fruity and floral perfumes. If you’d rather have a mix of fragrance families, the To Compose discovery set below is your best bet for choosing your own selection of scents.
Diptyque Discovery Set – To Compose
DIPTYQUE PARIS
Set of 5 Eaux De Toilette – To Compose
£105
This discovery set allows you to build your own wardrobe of fragrances, and you can choose between 10 7.5ml vials to mix and match to your preferences.
In addition to the five classic scents in the composed discovery set, you can also choose between:
L’Eau Papier: This is a must-try if you love musk. Imagine the cleanness of a grained sheet of artisanal paper combined with blonde woods, musk and a sweet vapour of rice steam. It’s clean, smooth and slightly sweet, and a compliment-generator for sure.
Tam Dao: This one is based on the velvety, milky scent of sandalwood burned in temples amongst the holy forests of Indochina, and the addition of myrtle and cypress gives it a fresh twist.
34 Boulevard Saint-Germain: One of Diptyque’s more niche fragrances, this centres around rose, creamy sandalwood, sweet vanilla, spicy pink peppercorn and warming amber.
Eau Duelle: Perhaps the chicest take on vanilla, this scent is totally delicious. Bourbon vanilla from Madagascar unfurls into woody calamus and smokey cypriol. It’s a sugary scent with substance.
Vetyverio: This one is a celebration of Haitian and Java vetiver, a note that has so many facets. It’s woody, fresh, smokey and guaranteed to make you smell amazing.
I’d go for this fragrance discovery set if you want to try a few different fragrance families and choose some of Diptyque’s lesser-known scents as well as its best sellers.
Scroll ahead for more fragrance discovery sets I love.
Shop More Perfume Discovery Sets:
COMMODITY
Exploration Kit
£38
Commodity is one of my favourite fragrance brands of late (read my full commodity review here) for its unique approach to fragrance projection. Each scent comes in Personal, Bold and Expressive strengths, depending on how far you’d like your fragrance to float around you, whether you prefer it to stay close to the skin or fill the room when you walk into it. My favourite is Milk Expressive, a lactonic scent that melts into a creamy vanilla on the skin—heaven.
BYREDO
Discovery Set Nomade
£43
Byredo perfumes are amongst our favourites, and this discovery kit allows you to try brand icons such as Bal d’Afrique and Gypsy Water as well as the clean-smelling Blanche, dark academia Bibliotheque, ethereal Mojave Ghost and rosy Rose Of No Man’s Land. In the four weeks after purchasing, the set is redeemable against any 50ml or 100ml bottle, so you can buy a full size of your favourite.
MAISON FRANCIS KURKDJIAN
Fragrance Wardrobe Discovery Collection
£45
We all know Baccarat Rouge 540, but Maison Francis Kurkdjian has so many incredible fragrances to discover, which you can try in this set. 724 and Grand Soir are two of my favourites from this discovery kit.
FREDERIC MALLE
Discovery Set
£45
Every fashion person has a Frederic Malle perfume on their dressing table, and this discovery set includes 12 of the brand’s best scents for you to experiment with, from icons Portrait Of A Lady and Musc Ravageur to Carnal Flower and French Lover.
KILIAN
Mini Discovery Set Icons
£30
Kilian is loved by many a celebrity—Rihanna and Beyonce are fans—and this set allows you to try the fragrance house’s most popular scents, including Love, Don’t Be Shy and Angels’ Share. Kilian’s perfumes are bound to have people chasing you down the road to ask what perfume you’re wearing.
