Here’s our selection of some spectacular scents to consider for your perfect wedding day perfume, and to transport you this spring/summer …
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The scent you wear on your wedding day is a special one. It doesn’t need to be a madly extravagant one – whatever you wear will always remind you of this one day in time. When selecting your wedding day perfume, you might choose to wear your signature scent, to ground you and make you feel like yourself, or else choose something new and special that you’ll keep for rare occasions. One perfume lover I know is saving her most favourite Chanel Les Exclusif (Beige eau de parfum) to wear when she gets married, as a kind of olfactory talisman. Les Exclusifs are Chanel’s show-stopper range of perfumes, and each one is a masterpiece, with scents that date back to the 1920s (Cuir de Russie, 1924, by No5 perfumer Ernest Beaux) – any one would make a divine wedding scent as they’re so striking and long-lasting. If you can smell a single spray of Le Lion, for example, or Coromandel, without going weak at the knees with desire for it, that’s an achievement.
WEDDING DAY PERFUME
I wore Serge Lutens A La Nuit, a gorgeous jasmine perfume, although it’s been discontinued; I constantly scour perfume shelves in case it’s been reintroduced. If I were to choose a wedding day perfume now? I’d most likely head to Cloon Keen, and wear their Roisin Dubh, a blend of rose, patchouli and hints of ink. But in the meantime, Cloon Keen’s La Bealtaine is a show-stopper (see more here). They also have a brand-new perfume landing in March and I can’t wait to smell it.
If you tend towards a rich rose scent, Frederic Malle’s Portrait of a Lady is still the one to beat for an elegant wedding day perfume. It’s an investment, for sure, but there are few scents quite so forcefully and endlessly beautiful.
Here’s our pick of some unique and memorable, striking scents, some with an Irish connection, that are special enough to grace your wedding day (and beyond).
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1 Vyrao The Sixth. I spotted this in Space NK, the other week and was delighted to get to spray it again (I first smelled it in Liberty in London). Fashion guru Yasmine Sewell’s perfume brand is striking in many ways, with Witchy Woo and Verdant making a splash. But it’s Irish perfumer Meabh McCurtin’s The Sixth, in its gorgeous silver bottle, that really stands out for me. A blend of uplifting natural ingredients, from apple and basil to cypress, rosemary and patchouli, it’s designed to be calming and meditational. Which could well be what you need on your wedding day. Find it at Space NK, Grafton Street, €200. And it’s also available online at Brown Thomas. Try the candles and incense, too, at Brown Thomas.
Just to note that McCurtin is also behind Cloon Keen’s Roisin Dubh and La Bealtaine, and she’s absolutely a name to watch; she recently created a new Replica fragrance for Margiela. When you start watching perfumers rather than just brands, the whole perfume-buying experience becomes more interesting, somehow.
2 DS & Durga Pistachio. This has been a huge hit since its launch, and no wonder – it is a warm, nutty hug of a scent. It is very expensive, but you’ll fall hard for its delicious, quirky spin on gourmand perfume. Love its distinctive green colour, too. At Space NK, Grafton Street, Dublin 2, €263.
3 Eight & Bob Annicke 5. For a summer wedding, this perfume has plenty of citrus and floral bounce. There’s rich plum and honey in there, and it has an ambery golden glow to it, with treacly caramel. Their original is still the best – a classy cologne with elegance that’s smells fabulously chic on everyone – but this is a fun option for those who love a warm and summery scent. Eight & Bob Annicke 5, from €180; www.eightandbob.com.
4 The Merchant of Venice Maria Callas. Yann Vasnier is another perfumer I scent-stalk – he created Velvet Orchid, Santal Blush and Vanille Fatale and more for Tom Ford, as well as one of my favourite ever perfumes, Anima Dulcis by Arquiste, plus countless others (including two for Carine Roitfeld, and several for Jo Malone London). Though we’ll draw a veil over a 2011 male fragrance, Success, for Trump. Vasnier’s latest (together with Oliver Pescheux) is a celebration of the legendary Maria Callas (who would have been 100 in December 2023), made in Italy, and the perfumers suggest the inimitable opera singer with a heart of blackcurrant and rose, topped with mandarin and black pepper. It’s entirely delicious and one of the most memorable scents I’ve smelled over the past year. A diva spirit worth channelling. €260, exclusive to Selfridges.
