Perfume expert Katie Puckrik has curated a dazzling gallery of the season's hottest new fragrance releases, designed to keep party-goers smelling sensational from dawn till dusk. The selection spans everything from a morning rave-ready Dior to a private jet-worthy Victoria Beckham scent, ensuring there is a perfume for every festive occasion.
From Day-Drinking to River Cruises
For those who like to start their partying early, Christian Dior's Jasmin des Anges Esprit de Parfum (£380 for 80ml, dior.com) is the perfect companion for bottomless brunches and morning raves. The fragrance blends jasmine grandiflorum from Egypt and Grasse with candied strawberry and syrupy peach, creating what Puckrik describes as a "lickable liqueur" that tracks your festive season debut.
When the party moves to the water, Hermès Barénia Pleine Fleur (from £74 for 30ml, Sephora.co.uk) offers a fresh alternative. While the bottle is styled like the house's iconic studded Collier de Chien bracelet, this latest iteration of the Barénia range is a chypre that sheds the overt woods of previous versions in favour of a fluffy cloud of white florals, with abstracted orange blossom and lily shimmering with dewiness.
Evening Glamour and Night Moves
As night falls, Iris Debonair by Creed (from £220 for 50ml, creedfragrances.co.uk) brings a dream sequence shimmering between warm powder, refined lavender and crisp bank notes, with an overall effect that is sexy and rich. For those heading to a private members' club, The Blazing Mister Sam Intense from Penhaligon's (£300 for 75ml, penhaligons.com) is the move. This intense edition of the bull-headed fragrance is a plummy, boozy tobacco with sharper horns, described as assertive but not assaulting, with a lot of throw.
Post-club, Heat by Akro (£160 for 100ml, Harveynichols.com) offers a sheer ginger and juniper woody scent in the Escentric Molecules fashion, but with more musky oomph in the long fade. Puckrik notes it is not just "your skin but better", but "your personality but better".
Cosy Nights and Sunrise Escapes
For a pyjama party at Elton and David's Windsor estate, Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu (from £117 for 50ml, Harrods.com) is a twinkly rainbow of positive energy. This elegant, cuddly pile of ambery florals is lifted by lychee and grapefruit, with patchouli and vetiver pumping unexpected muscles beneath the rose, jasmine and vanilla.
Jo Malone's Vanilla Scotch Cologne (£130 for 100ml, Jomalone.co.uk) is a whisky number liberally leavened with vanilla and the caramel-hay of tonka bean, finishing dry with woody amber. Finally, for a sudden desire to watch the sun rise in Portofino, Hotel Portofino from Victoria Beckham (£303 for 50ml, Victoriabeckhambeauty.com) is a stealth-wealth spritz of fizzy bergamot and leathery saffron against stern, rooty papyrus with a fruity oud accord.
