How to Choose a Party Fragrance That Sparkles

Party Parfums That Sparkle

It’s party season and that means festive dinners, cocktail parties and maybe a holiday concert or two. But how do you pick the perfect scent for each event. We’ve enlisted the wonderful Melanie Caplan, national fragrance trainer to give us some tips and tricks.

“To start, always consider how you want to make the fragrance make you feel,” she explains. Scent is about elevating emotions and feelings and a fragrance can make you feel energized, uplifted, happy or serene. “Once you decide how you want to feel, then ask yourself how you want to be noticed. Do you want guests to notice you as soon as you walk in the door or as you have a more intimate moment?” This is dictate the concentration and intensity of your scent. Go for parfum if you want to make an immediate splash. Eau de toilette is better for quiet moments.

“Remember, you want your fragrance to last all night, so apply an unscented body lotion on slightly damp skin then spray your scent over it. As the skin dries, the fragrance will absorb deeper and the lotion will hold it longer. I also like to spray my perfume onto a comb or brush and pull it through my hair. This will make the scent really last as the keratin in the hair holds fragrance very well.”

Now, here’s one of Melanie’s best party fragrance tips: dab a little scent at the back of your neck. As you walk, you’ll leave a trail of scent. This is called ‘sillage’ in French. “You want to be appreciated from all angles,” she adds. “Everyone loves to be told they smell amazing, so have fun with your fragrances. It really is an expression of who you are and can take you to places you dream of…”

Once you’ve decided how you want a fragrance to make you feel and impression you want to make, it is time to look for the best party scent ingredients. “I love a great patchouli aroma. It’s so seductive, intriguing and elegant. Saffron is warm, mysterious and oh so precious. And tonka bean is addictive without being overly sweet.” She says there is one special flower that makes for a great party scent. “Ylang-ylang is ultra feminine and exotic with its hints of rose and jasmine all wrapped up in a creamy nuance. In the dry down, you want some sandalwood for its warm, woody and smooth overtones. And musk – always and forever perfumers’ gold as it allows all the ingredients to shine. It’s soft, sensual and caressing.”

Here are some party fragrance suggestions guaranteed to make you the life of the party:

Atelier Versace Gingembre Petillant

Scent Style: a modern amber-vanilla fragrance for her or him

Fragrance Description: Atelier Versace Gingembre Petillant is a modern amber-vanilla fragrance by perfumer Jordi Fernandez who describes it as a dark, sparkling scent. Luminous red ginger from Laos is complemented by a heart of white blossoms. But it is the decadent praline accord intensified by warm vanilla that elevates the composition.

Ingredients: ginger, white flowers, praline, vanilla

Oscar de la Renta New York

Fragrance Description: Oscar de la Renta New York is an elegant floral-gourmand fragrance for her that layers delicate strawberry over joyful Tunisian orange blossom and velvety rose essential oil. Sweet crystals, delicious vanilla bean and amber add an addictive quality to the composition.

Scent Style: an elegant floral-gourmand scent for her

Ingredients: mandarin, pink pepper, strawberry, gardenia flower, Indian jasmine flower, clary sage, iris concentrate, Tunisian orange blossom, rose essential oil, sweet crystals, vanilla bean, slipped amber, sandalwood, benzoin, velvety musk

Donna Karan Cashmere Collection Palo Santo

Palo Santo is an addictive amber-woody scent for her that offers an immediate and distinctive warmth. “I wanted to push the addictive warmth that makes Cashmere Mist so iconic while taking it in a slightly different direction by adding a unique woody element with palo santo wood as the star,” explains perfumer Jerome Epinette.

Scent Style: A warm, addictive amber-woody fragrance for her

Key ingredients: sparkling golden peach, labdanum, cashmere woods, vanilla

Jimmy Choo I Want Choo Eau de Parfum

The ‘I Want Choo’ campaign emphasizes the energy and intensity of the new, sensual fragrance as three friends get ready to party the night away. It is not about going out, it is all about sharing the fun, the laughter and making it a girls night in to remember. Elegance and style are de rigueur.

Gathered together in a dressing room dreams are made of there is plenty of fun to be had.  The three models, Madison Headrick, Damaris Goddrie, and Yue Han, bring the party to themselves turning their home into their own personal club for dress up, dance moves and laughter between the best of friends.  

Scent style: ‘I Want Choo’ is a powerful floral gourmand woody fragrance that explodes with joy and good humour finished with a seductive twist.

Fragrance description: Excitement and anticipation: a sparkling, citrus top note of mandarin juice contrasts with the suave velvety peach nuances.

Let the party begin: red spider lily is a fascinating, almost hypnotic flower. It’s carnal and solar vanilla-like notes blend in with the sensual vibes of jasmine sambac to reveal a determined and daring allure.

Dancing the night away: the base notes of vanilla and benzoin, a duo of rich intense scents, anchor the fragrance in a deep, yet joyful way, leaving an intense vapor trail behind.  

Versace Crystal Noir

Fragrance Description: This sensual and delicate scent for her is built around a creamy, luminous gardenia note. Perfumer Antoine Lie perfectly balances the floral note with sensual amber and musk ingredients creating a dark and mysterious character that is ideal for evening.

Scent Style: a sensual, sexy floral-oriental for her

Key ingredients: blackcurrant, black fig, violet, tuberose, frangipani, jasmine, sandalwood, cashemeran, vanilla, heliotropine

Scent fact: Perfumers use black fig notes to give a fragrance a rich, sweet character.

Each of these party-themed fragrances is available on scentlodge.com

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