If you're not one of those regular denizens of the perfume counter, you may be surprised to find out just how many fragrance products there are for every particular scent. It's not just about perfume and cologne any more. You're going to also see things like lotions, perfume solids, creams, soaps, and shower gel.

The idea behind these products is to layer scent on the body rather than just dab on a couple of drops of perfume.

For instance, a woman can take a shower and use a scented shower gel or soap, step out and apply a scented lotion, dust on a bit of scented powder, and top it off with a spritz of cologne.

All of those products may seem like too much of a good thing, but they actually work quite well together (at least when you use the same fragrance for all of the products). Individually, all of these fragrance products are quite mild. By layering, the woman gets an all-over fragrance to cling to her that is not too strong but not too light, either.

Very daring or very knowledgeable women may mix and match these products (using one fragrance of lotion and another shower gel and topping it off with a third perfume), but as a gift shopper, you should stick to one fragrance if you venture into a variety of different products.

Shower gel and soap contain the actual scent in a soap base. Lotion is the same principle; it's an emollient or moisturizing lotion souped up with the fragrance.

Why should you get a shower gel or lotion fragrance product?

• If you find a great deal on a "gift set" that includes two or more different products of the same scent, this is usually both a good deal and a nice chance to give your mom an extra bonus in her gift
• If you want to get your mom a fragrant product but you know she's just not the perfume type, a high-end lotion or shower gel can be an equivalent type of gift to a bottle of great perfume. Unless she's an absolute fragrance-phobe, most people like using good-smelling products in the shower or getting dressed.
• If you want to throw in a fragrance gift into a gift basket or as a tag-along gift with some other cool stuff but you don't want the fragrance to detract from the overall theme of your total gift, a scented lotion or shower gel is the perfect addition. It's classy, it's luxurious, and it's also nicely utilitarian.
• If you know your mom loves shower gels or lotions (but not necessarily perfumes), then you know what you have to do. There's no rule that says you can't buy her three different shower gels from three different fragrances.

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