If you’ve lived in Dubai long enough, you know December only operates at two speeds: Festive decorations on full blast at every mall entrance, and that familiar moment of panic when you realise you’ve said “yes” to more festive events than there are days in the month. Some people cope with matcha. Others – the wise ones – rely on good perfume. And this year, Dries Van Noten seems to have declared, “Step aside, gingerbread candles – I brought metal.”
His new holiday line-up feels like an art-school prodigy collided with a black-tie gala, resulting in a beautifully scented creation with just the right amount of rebellion. It’s designed for anyone who wants to shine without looking like they spent hours curating the effect. Havana Gold enters the scene like the warm hug you pretend you don’t need. If it were a person, it would be that friend who arrives at brunch in sunglasses after sunrise yoga and still looks impossibly cinematic. With amber softness and a touch of liquorice and tobacco, it carries the quiet mystery of someone who will only reveal them by the third mocktail. The result is sweet, smoky and comforting – like a cosy holiday evening where fairy lights catch on someone’s cheekbones at just the right angle.
For those who like their allure with a touch of midnight danger, Voodoo Chile delivers. Housed in midnight-blue glass wrapped with engraved metal, the bottle alone could star in a dramatic bathroom selfie. The scent opens with a chic cannabis accord, layered with rosemary, patchouli, cedarwood and a velvet-smooth sandalwood finish. It’s hypnotic and bold, whispering, “Don’t fall in love with me – I’m complicated.” Naturally, Gen Z will understand every note.
Then there is Camomille Satin, the soft-girl scent that decided to have its moment after dark. Imagine chamomile tea dressed for a rooftop party in the Dubai International Financial Centre – wearing sunglasses at night just because it can. The fragrance blends the gentleness of chamomile with vanilla and subtle leather, a combination that feels both bucolic and bougie, like the moodboard of someone who romanticises life just enough.
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The real showstopper, however, is Mezzanotte Blu, Dries Van Noten’s first metal lipstick case – which is an object practically engineered for screenshots and instant desire. With its midnight-blue body and metallic cap, it’s the kind of beauty accessory that makes you want to reapply lipstick even when you aren’t wearing any. It’s collectible, shiny and deliciously dramatic, the beauty-world equivalent of a limited-edition sneaker drop in Dubai.
Dries completes the fantasy with embroidered pouches and packaging finished in patina-metallic textures, proving that when the gift itself looks this good, the wrapping should rise to the occasion. It’s the kind of present people hesitate to open – which is exactly why you’ll need to remind them to, otherwise your aesthetic flex may go unnoticed.
What ultimately makes this collection stand out is not only its craftsmanship or its theatrical touches. It’s the sense of playful duality – softness wrapped in metal, innocence with a side of mischief, chamomile meeting midnight glamour. It mirrors the mood of this generation: craving meaning but wanting sparkle, leaning into minimalism while still flirting with chaos, wanting to smell like a dream but not the dream everyone else is wearing. And Dries Van Noten? He understood the assignment – in metal, midnight blue, and a knowing wink.
