Strictly season is hotting up, and we’re scenting all the major dances with fragrances we feel best compliment their unique characters. Don’t forget to read Part One for all the background context of these features, but briefly put, music and fragrance have myriad connections. What’s more, we love mixing cultural references, as it adds to our understanding of scent as an emotive medium!
So, simply decide which dance best sum up your personality, or would match your mood today, and then seek out the perfume we’ve picked to accompany it…
American Smooth – BDK Vanille Leather
The magic of seeing couples glide over the dance floor in this so-sophisticated number never gets old, and we know you’ll be won over by the rich smoothness of the glorious vanilla in this scent, too. But if you avoid gourmands, fear not! Get set to banish all thoughts of it being sickly: this has great depth but glides on skin like a silky caress. Rich, yes, but so, SO chic. Shot through with Indian tuberose, Egyptian jasmine and orange flower, there’s a fizzing sense of excitement from pink peppercorns and a swoony violet to infuse the trail, along with that creamy, dreamy vanilla.
£195 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com
Viennese Waltz – Chopard Imperiale Iris Malika
A classic dance style often depicted in romantic films, the sweepingly graceful moves are reflected in this regally arrayed fragrance. Enrobed in purple, the majesty of this Chopard scent is apparent even before the first spritz. Echoing both the colour of the iris flower and the robes associated with royalty, this fit-for-a-Queen fragrance billows wild berries and warm spices borne aloft on a feather-light, powdery cloud of that exceptional orris concrete, garlanded either side by jasmine and ylang ylang. Further spices infuse opulently silky balms and woodiness in the base. One to fall madly in love with, for sure.
£90 for 100ml eau de parfum fenwick.co.uk
Salsa – Jean Paul Gaultier Divine
Overtly feminine in style, this is a blur of boobs, hips and feet sashaying with intent (and filled with happiness!) You’d not be able to do it in the actual corset, but you can definitely feel the vibe wearing this fragrance. Gilded breast cones? Of COURSE it’s a JPG – referencing one of his iconic fashion pieces in fragrant form, it’s sparkly, yet has a satisfying gourmand hit. Envisage sun-warmed skin, now add opulent wafts of white flowers, and a scented surprise where the addictive sweet creaminess of whipped meringue is suddenly shot through with a lip-smacking hint of the salty sea. Breezy yet buxom, it’s an invitation to be the very best, fragrantly fabulous version of yourself.
£66 for 30ml eau de parfum jeanpaulgaultier.com
Argentine Tango – Floris Tuberose in Silk
Surely the most passionate dance of all, this drama-filled spectacle needs a scent that can balance the sheer sexiness with restraint. Teetering betwixt the hip-swivelling sensuality of tuberose and the softness of a rose’s velvet blush, this surprising dive into untamed eroticism is held at bay by the cashmere fluffiness of musk, a warm hug of amber and a dusting of iris. Calmed by these, the orange blossom and jasmine join the white flowers in a more controlled dance than if left to cavort, while camphor’s on hand with the smelling salts for the final dip.
From £30 for 50ml eau de parfum florislondon.com
Charleston – Vyrao Sun Rae
Need an instant shot of energy? You will with this breathlessly entertaining dance, and wearing this gloriously uplifting scent – infused with ‘a supercharged Herkimer diamond crystal for clarity and to boost energy levels’ – the brilliant Lyn Harris has created her own magic from a ZING! POP! FIZZ! of citrus explosions that feel like you’re being beamed above the clouds with every spritz. Turn on the scented spotlight for a sizzle of turmeric and black pepper, adding ruffled layers of welcome warmth, while bergamot, lemon, and aqueous ginger sparkle like bottled sunshine throughout.
£135 for eau de parfum libertylondon.com
Couple’s Choices: (a category introduced in 2018 – celebs and their professional dancer partners have a choice of performing either a contemporary dance, a street/commercial dance or theatre and jazz. We’ve chosen a scent for each..)
Couple’s Choice Contemporary – Bruno Cucinelli Pour Homme
A poetically lyrical style of dance that often incorporates balletic moves and lifts, this dance truly expresses the emotion of the music. The fragrance for this match is just as expressive, while masterfully understated. Paying tribute to the Italian design house’s home of Solomeo with every sophisticated, spice-infused spritz, Olivier Cresp evokes rolling Umbrian hills, an aromatic landscape brought to life via cypress, juniper, clary sage and Nigerian ginger flecked with flinty black pepper. Known for his masterful textures and superb fabrics, Cucinelli’s aesthetic and his homeland are so brilliantly nuanced within the blend: a sense of overlapping complexity that simultaneously feels effortless.
£160 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com
Couple’s Choice Street – Art de Parfum Sabotage
Often introducing a retro dance style to appropriately nostalgic tunes, this dance always puts smiles on the audience’s faces. Similarly, this scent joyously revels in revery, harking back to the 90s as its perfumed point of reference. We’re imagining it worn while dancing to MC Hammer’s ‘U Can’t Touch This’ for extra fun. And this really is fun to wear. It has us pining for the optimism and carefree attitude of that era, which is cleverly evoked here with a boozy Negroni accord, a breeze of spearmint, tuberose naughtily swirled with wormwood, earthy patchouli and a mossy dry-down. It’s ‘da bomb’ (as we liked to say, back then).
£125 for 50ml extrait artdeparfum.com
Couple’s Choice Jazz – Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club
The vibrant allure of an illicit after-party in a wood-panelled club is evoked here via a fizz of pink pepper, the brightness of neroli and lemon slinking to the rum-infused fun of the rich heart. There’s a shadowy coolness of vetiver oil from Java, a sense of refinement from the tobacco, and a sensually resinous vanilla base; but it’s the kind of night that will linger long in your memory, and your secret smiles…
£115 for 100ml eau de toilette maisonmargiela.com
Written by Suzy Nightingale
