Is it appropriate to give cologne or perfume as a gift?
Short answerOnly for close relationships. Fragrance implies intimacy — you're claiming knowledge of someone's taste and how they want to be perceived.
Fragrance is a close-relationship gift. Choosing a scent for someone implies you know not just their taste but how they want to smell, what they want to project, and how their body chemistry interacts with notes. That's intimate territory.
Appropriate to give: partners, very close family members (mum, dad, sibling), and lifelong friends — but only if you already know the specific fragrance they wear or have explicitly asked.
Inappropriate: coworkers, acquaintances, casual friends, bosses, clients, or anyone you wouldn't comfortably hug. The implied message is wrong.
If you want to give fragrance to someone in a close relationship and you don't know their exact scent, do not guess. Either ask directly, gift a sampler set or discovery box from a single house they like (Le Labo, Aesop, Maison Margiela all do these), or gift a fragrance gift card from a multi-brand retailer like Mecca.
Never give fragrance as a hint. 'I bought you this so you'd smell less like X' is the gift the recipient hears, even if it isn't what you meant.