It may not be Christmas just yet, but it is officially the party season. Time to dig out your disco pumps, peruse the menu selections for your work Christmas party (thanks for sending those around, Karen) and to hit the online shops for some seriously dazzling party dresses. Oh, and you’ll need a fragrance too because, as you will be well aware, it’s not dressing up if you’re not wearing perfume. Here are five perfumes to match your party dresses this season.
#1 The LBD
GUERLAIN La Petite Robe Noire Black Perfecto Eau de Parfum Florale
Let’s start with the classic, go-to choice: the LBD. If you’re stuck for something to wear, then the LBD never fails to hit the spot. Originating from the designs of the legendary Coco Chanel in the 1920s, the LBD has proved itself to be a timeless companion to many women and a staple in their wardrobes. And for a fail-safe dress you need a fail-safe perfume and like the LBD, sometimes with fragrance, the obvious choice is the right choice: enter La Petite Robe Noire Black Perfecto!
Black Perfecto is as sleek, chic and on fleek as that perfect LBD in your wardrobe. Boasting a trio of rose notes (rose water, rose essence and rose absolute) sprinkled with crunchy, cherry-soaked almonds and underpinned by a dark, smoky base of black tea, black leather and musk, La Petite Robe Noire is effortlessly stylish. Sweet and fizzy enough to grab attention, but also dark and moody enough to create a contrast (and avoid sickly sweet territory), Black Perfecto is just the thing to throw on with that perfect LBD. After all, you can’t argue with such timeless simplicity, can you?
Want to know more? Read the full review of Black Perfecto here.
#2 The Satin Slip
The satin slip dress is a subtle, sexy choice that accentuates your body, almost straddling the boundaries of lingerie and couture. In neutral tones, the satin slip dress grabs attention, highlighting you as the star. So, it stands to reason that the accompanying fragrance should be as beautiful as the dress, but it should let you shine. I have just the thing…
Idole by Lancome is a fragrance created by women for women. It is a delicate and sheer take on rose and musk that surrounds one in a brilliant aura of scent. Idole does not impose; it enhances, making for the olfactory equivalent of a healthy glow. The perfect thing to wear with that slinky satin slip dress, no?
There’s more to discover about Idole; learn more about its story, bottle and scent.
#3 The Tuxedo Dress
YSL was famous for empowering women through his clothing. He often brought masculine codes and tailoring into his work, creating a sense of power and an androgynous edge that has permeated the fabric of the house for decades. The tuxedo dress, which takes the classic black tie blazer and turns it into a dress, is angular, strong and damn chic. It needs a scent that feels equally as gender non-conforming.
Libre is YSL’s latest fragrance, and it’s a fascinating blend of masculine and feminine. Lavender (a staple of the male-dominated fougere genre) meets orange blossom, a floral note typically used in female fragrances to create a warming oriental perfume that feels as expertly cut as a tuxedo jacket. When you want to get dressed up, and I mean dressed up, then you’ll need something that is a showstopper: Libre is exactly that.
Want to know more? Read the full review of Libre here.
#4 The Sequin Mini
GIVENCHY L’Interdit Eau de Parfum
Sequins are the best thing ever created, and that’s a hill I am very much willing to die on. Based on this theory of greatness, it’s no surprise that it is also true that the sequin mini dress is the most wonderful style of party dress ever. Why? Well, if you must ask, the answer is sparkles. No, I will not be taking any further questions on this subject at this time.
So if you’re throwing on the world’s shiniest, sparkliest, shimmeriest sequin dress for your Christmas party, you’re going to need a perfume that entirely matches its exciting iridescence. My suggestion would be L’Interdit by Givenchy which, as far as I’ve heard, is a fragrance that likes to have a good time. Overflowing with fruit and tuberose, L’Interdit smells like the most luxurious bite of juicy fruit gum you’ve ever tasted, and it’s contrasted by a hazy base of patchouli to give it a dark, mysterious edge. L’Interdit is the olfactory equivalent of a disco ball, and you are very welcome for this suggestion.
#5 The Velvet Long-Sleeve Midi
Juliette Has A Gun Lady Vengeance Eau de Parfum
If your style is somewhat more va-va-voom then you may overlook the sequins, LBDs and tuxedos for something more opulent and daring. I ask you what could be more extravagant than velvet? And of course, if we’re talking velvet, the only acceptable colour is the most vibrant shade of red – don’t @ me, I don’t make the rules!
So we need a va-va-voom fragrance in a shade of deep red that is dripping with opulence, and the only thing that fits that bill is Lady Vengeance by Juliette Has a Gun. With a name that sounds like a MAC lipstick in the vampiest of reds, Lady Vengeance is an exuberant powdery rose zhuzzed up with oodles of fizzing, earthy patchouli. This is the type of fragrance to stare intensely at a man across the bar, putting the fear of God into him and making him weak at the knees. You know, just for fun.
