Spark the season with a fire-red spritz

By Ashley Kowalewski

The colour red evokes so many emotions: Love, lust, happiness, confidence. It’s a colour that stands out from the crowd and demands attention—no wonder it’s a go-to shade when it comes to perfume packaging as well. When a fragrance channels red’s fire and joie de vivre, in both a sexy bottle and an essence, it makes a statement. Here, a few of the racy red spritzes we believe are tailor-made for the holiday season, whether you’re giving or receiving.

SPORTY
Lacoste L.12.12 Rouge is inspired by the brand’s preppy-sporty polo shirts. The preppy-sporty scent—in a preppy-sporty red, logo-boasting flacon—mixes ginger, black pepper, cardamom, iced red tea, mandarin liqueur and mango with woody and resinous acacia wood, benzoin and labdanum. Like the iconic collared shirt, it’s fresh, spicy and versatile. $78 (100 ml), www.fragrances.lacoste.com

HAPPY
Marc Jacob’s latest perfume offering is the fruity-floral Dot. The spritz, inspired by the whimsy of the polka dot, has uplifting notes of red berries, dragonfruit, honeysuckle, jasmine, coconut water and orange blossom mixed with vanilla, driftwood and musk. And the bottle: a kitschy-cute, ladybug-esque flask guaranteed to put a smile on your face. $79 (50 ml), www.marcjacobs.com

LUSTY
Dior Hypnotic Poison takes its inspiration from one of the most notorious women in history, Eve, and turns the apple into a tool for seduction. In a bottle inspired by the heroine’s legendary snack, we meet a lush, spicy and powdery scent of vanilla, bitter almond, caraway, heliotrope and jasmine. An oriental for the modern moment. $78 (50 ml), www.dior.com

CONFIDENT
Bath & Body Works releases its first eau de parfum, Forever Red. The sweet spritz embraces its namesake’s high-energy DNA with look-at-me-notes of pomegranate, marigold, peche de vigne (a French red peach), red osmanthus, marshmallow and vanilla rum. $45 (75 ml), www.bathandbodyworks.com

POISED
Elizabeth Arden has made its vibrant red Fifth Avenue salon door its signature for most of its 101-year history. In homage to that elegant architectural detail and tradition, we have two fragrances, Red Door and Red Door Aura, which come in red-door designed bottles. The latter is a new twist on the former late-eighties classic, which defined itself with rose, ylang-ylang, orange flower, sandalwood and oakmoss. Aura’s lighter composition sees raspberry, bergamot and lily mixed with a heart of orange flower, rose, and jasmine petals; and a base of amber, sandalwood and musk. $60 (50 ml), www.elizabetharden.ca