New perfume launches in October

Shorter days, longer nights—celebrate the darkness with new perfume this October.

October is the month when fall turns dark. The nights get noticeably longer and twilight seems to hang in the air a little heavier. It’s no surprise that Halloween rounds off the month—a night of both darkness and magic. So this October, let’s dig into that darkness and magic with the new perfume releases.

Nina Ricci Luna

Nina Ricci launches Luna, a complementary scent to the brand’s iconic fairy-tale inspired Nina. In fact, the campaign positions the two fragrances together—light and dark—in a space that press materials suggest is “neither day, nor night.” It’s true. The campaign, featuring a blonde Frida Bustavsson (Nina) and the brunette Jac Jagaciak (Luna) do seem to inhabit a fairy tale world. But what of the fragrance created by Christophe Raynaud and Marie Salamagne? Orange blossom and wild berries at the top, melt into immortelle flower and caramel, with a base of vanilla and sandalwood. It’s sweet—the caramel comes like a sugar rush—but there’s something darker at play here too. The vanilla, sandalwood see to that.
Nina Ricci Luna, $90 (80 ml), www.shoppersdrugmart.ca

Valentino Uomo Intense

Valentino Uomo was already a dark and masculine fragrance. Uomo Intense takes it even darker. The press descriptions include: “the atmosphere is magical and mysterious…” and a “fragrance possessing the symptomatic mystery of a strong personality…” It’s safe to say that Uomo is refined, dark and strong. This is definitely a fragrance for the night. Notes of sage, suede, iris, mandarin vanilla come of much darker than you would expect, with a subtle, sensual effect.
Valentino Uomo Intense, $115 (100 ml), www.holtrenfrew.com