In 1845, in New York, Tiffany & Young published its first Blue Book, formally titled the Catalogue of Useful and Fancy Articles. It had a blue cover, and according to CNN the blue leaned greener than the robin's-egg shade we know now. That shade settled near today's Tiffany Blue only around 1966, was trademarked in 1998 and became Pantone's 1837 Blue in 2001, a name that nods to the year the house was founded. A color, in other words, took well over a century to become a brand.

That is the lens I use for Tiffany perfume. The house was founded in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young, LVMH took a majority stake in January 2021, and its fragrances are licensed to Coty, which was announced on 28 January 2016. The first scent, the Tiffany & Co. Eau de Parfum, launched in 2017, created by perfumer Daniela Andrier. John Lewis's copy says she was inspired by her love of gemstones and jewellery and built it around noble iris, a flower long associated with Tiffany as a recurring motif. Fragrantica lists mandarin, bergamot and lemon on top, iris, rose, black currant and peach in the heart, and musk and patchouli underneath.

The trick is to treat the first grid as a wardrobe of one idea. The signature Eau de Parfum in 1.7 oz is the original. Tiffany & Love for Her is the later one, launched in October 2019 according to Wikipedia. Rose Gold Eau de Parfum lists blackcurrant, blue rose and ambrette on the brand's page, and Rose Gold Intense adds citrus, pink pepper, orange flower, jasmine sambac, Turkish rose oil and orris butter. The Intense Eau de Parfum and the Sheer Eau de Toilette complete the perfume side. The Perfumed Body Lotion and Shower Gel are for anyone who wants the scent to start in the bath.

Smell the iris before you read the note list. Iris is usually described as cool and powdery, and you will know in two sprays whether it is a note you like.

Since Tiffany's scent leans on iris, this grid is the natural cousin shelf. Prada's Infusion d'Iris comes with neroli and mandarin, which suits anyone who likes Tiffany's citrus top. Santa Maria Novella's L'Iris has the flower right in the name, and Nonfiction's Iris Concrete is the other that puts iris front and center. Guerlain's L'Heure Bleue pairs iris with vanilla, per its name, and Dolce&Gabbana's The Only One has coffee and iris, so it is the warmer option.

Yves Saint Laurent's Coeur Le Vestiaire is made with precious orris butter, the most direct way to get iris into a bottle. Maison Margiela's Replica Sailing Day has an aquatic accord with iris, which puts it on a sunnier, saltier side. Lancôme's La Vie Est Belle Iris Absolu is the sweeter reading.

A pairing I like: Tiffany's Eau de Parfum on the wrists and one of these on a scarf. Two irises with different moods make a more interesting day.

What I would skip: testing iris on a stuffy, overheated wrist. Powdery notes need cool, calm skin to show themselves.

Wear a musk on clean skin, not over a day's worth of other products. The whole point of a soft musk is how it smells like your own skin, and a thick layer of lotion will bury it.

Glossier's You is the name most people mention first, and PHLUR's Missing Person sits close beside it. Both are the kind of scent that stays close to the skin, and neither one demands anything of the room. Maison Margiela's Replica Lazy Sunday Morning is named for the mood, which is my favorite use of a musk. Clean Reserve's Skin pairs musk with vanilla, and Marc Jacobs' Perfect has daffodil and musk in its title.

Juliette has a gun's Juliette is a smooth, quiet one. PHLUR's Father Figure is the one to sample next to Missing Person, and SKYLAR's Nude Skin is named for the skin-like finish it is going for.

These are the scents to choose if Tiffany's iris feels a little too polished. They do the same quiet job with less jewellery.

What I would skip: a musk as your only perfume for a formal evening. You may want a bit more presence.

Lotion goes on within three minutes of getting out of the shower, while the skin is still slightly damp. Scent lasts longer that way, and the cream sinks in instead of sitting on top.

Byredo has four here I would compare. Bal d'Afrique and Blanche body lotions are the pair for the bathroom shelf, and the Tulipmania and Vetyver hand creams are the ones to carry. Hermès's Barénia Body Cream and Eau d'Orange Verte Moisturizing Body Lotion are the two from the fashion house, and the orange one sounds like the brighter choice. Santa Maria Novella's Relax Fluid Body Cream is the calm one, and Maison Louis Marie's No.04 Bois de Balincourt Hand Crème is the woody hand cream, small enough for a coat pocket.

Put a scented lotion under your Tiffany perfume and choose one from a different family, like woody or orange, so they do not compete with the iris. Or choose Tiffany's own Perfumed Body Lotion from the first grid if you want the two to match exactly. Keep hand creams to a single pea-sized dab and warm them between your palms first, so the scent stays close rather than filling the room.

What I would skip: a strongly scented hand cream at a dinner table. Nobody wants to smell vetiver with their soup.

For me, the Tiffany & Co. Eau de Parfum is the one to try first, because it is the original, the iris one, and the one the jeweller built the others around. Then look at Rose Gold if you want something warmer.

Test it on a cool day, spray once on the inside of your wrist and once on a scarf, wear it for a full week, and decide whether the iris suits you before you buy another. The blue box took more than a century to become a color. A perfume can take a week. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Tiffany Bracelet Dupe and Rose Perfume Has Never Smelled Less Old-Fashioned.