Beauty: Sparkling scents for the festive season

With its dark days and party nights, December calls for scents which sparkle. Whether you’re buying a gift or writing your own Christmas list, these are the fragrances to go for, writes Alice Ryan

L’Occitane Néroli & Orchidée Eau Intense Eau de Toilette, £55 for 50ml, L’Occitane, Rose Crescent, Cambridge; arc, Bury St Edmunds; and uk.loccitane.com

The olfactory equivalent of being swathed in a vast cashmere blanket, this scent layers sweet orange blossom over creamy vanilla bean to soft, warm, singularly comforting effect. Introduced by the French beauty brand in limited edition last Christmas, this fragrance sold so fast it was gone before the festive season even started. If you want to bag the EDT this year - bath and body products are available too - best add to basket ASAP.

To The Fairest Élan Vital Eau de Parfum, £85 for 50ml, tothefairest.com

Every time To The Fairest releases a new fragrance, I think I can’t love it more than the last; every time, the Cambridge-based brand proves me wrong. Transporting its wearer to a woodland in the wake of rain, Élan Vital opens with vital vetiver and white nettle and closes with grounding oakmoss and patchouli. Its name translating as ‘life force’, the unisex scent promises to lift spirits even on the darkest winter’s day.

Molton Brown Rose Dunes Eau de Parfum, £120 for 100ml, Molton Brown, Rose Crescent, Cambridge and moltonbrown.co.uk

In eau de toilette form, Molton Brown’s Rose Dunes scent has a daytime freshness to it; in this velvety, voluptuous eau de parfum, it’s a recipe for after-dark seduction. Heady with finest grade Indonesian patchouli (sustainably sourced from Sulawesi, in line with the British brand’s ethos) and Bulgarian rose oil (from the famed ‘rose valley’), it has a woodsy, musky base. The combination, which softens beautifully on skin, is irresistible.

Scentology Floriental Mandarin Eau de Parfum, £9.99 for 100ml, Boots stores

The latest budget beauty line to hit Boots stores, Scentology’s pledge is simple: to make quality fragrances affordable and accessible to all. Of the five core scents - which together form a complete fragrance ‘wardrobe’, at a cost of less than £50 total - Floriental Mandarin is a standout for party season. Sparkling with mandarin and pink pepper at first sniff, it mellows to rose, heliotrope, jasmine, tonka and vanilla - seriously pretty.

Floral Street Wild Vanilla Orchid Eau de Parfum, from £25 for 10ml, John Lewis & Partners, Grand Arcade, Cambridge and floralstreet.com

Wild Vanilla Orchid is a best-seller for Floral Street, the British brand loved for its vegan, cruelty-free, UK-made, sustainably sourced and packaged scents. From first wear, it’s easy to see why: with vanilla and orchid the headline ingredients, you’d expect it to be super-sweet and super-floral, but sharp cassis and citrus, green bamboo and warm sandalwood give edge and create balance. The result is modern, distinctive, delicious.

Jimmy Choo I Want Choo Forever Eau de Parfum, £89 for 100ml, Boots stores and lookfantastic.com

Let’s be frank: not all designer-label fragrances are made equal. But this one, a new iteration of the original and top-selling I Want Choo, is anything but an excuse to sell its logo-embossed bottle. Described as having a “celebratory energy”, it combines peppy pink pepper and bitter almond with darkly fruity black cherry, creamy tonka and earthy moss. Deftly treading a tightrope between frivolity and elegance, it’s perfect for the festive season.

Kayali Lovefest Burning Cherry Eau de Parfum, £67 for 100ml, Boots stores

Like its sister brand HUDA Beauty, Kayali is the brainchild of US siblings Huda and Mona Kattan, one a celebrity MUA, the other an entrepreneur. Billed by Mona as “so hypnotic it instantly lights your soul on fire”, Lovefest Burning Cherry blends succulent cherry and raspberry, caramelised praline and smoky palo santo, guaiac wood and patchouli. If you like your scents big and bold, this one’s a beauty.