Dior Addict

I was fortunate enough to obtain an immaculately preserved half bottle (smaller one) of the OG 2002 formulation of Addict, and I'm delighted by it. As much as I love the 2014 reformulation by Demachy, Wasser's original seems more complex, even when I account for the two-decades' worth of additional maturation. (Two sprays of this stuff is MORE than adequate, and the current formulation of Dior, insanely potent as it is, doesn't seem quite as concentrated.) I find that the night-blooming cereus note--a scent I know very well because my husband's mother gave us an enormous 50-year-old one that blooms prolifically every summer--pops more for me in this one, but I can't tell if it's the power of suggestion (because I have seen and compared the note pyramids for both this and the 2014 formulation, where night-blooming cereus or Queen of the Night is no longer listed), or if it's just so beautifully melded with the Bourbon vanilla and the other florals (rose, mimosa, neither of which is mentioned in the obviously incomplete pyramid for the 2014 Demachy reformulation) that it's not leaping out at me as much as I expected. All in all, I'm not 100% confident that I will be able to pass a blind sniff test tomorrow, but I'll update this review whether I pass or fail. I'm also going to administer the blind test to my friend, just to see how our perceptions vary, if at all. Into the drydown, I pick up more of the aromatics, more of the balsams. It's getting very deep and boozy, this bourbon vanilla, and I can see why it reads as masculine to some noses (not to mine). It's just very dark and splendid, with a piquant, almost pungent, citrussy white floral top note: that Queen of the Night, the night-blooming cereus, whose perfume has a tartness that borders on acrid sometimes, a coloratura soprano's siren song for luring in all the night pollinators. I think doing a blind sniff test of 2002 vs. my new bottle of the 2014 reformulation (since reformulated again, I'm sure) will be difficult unless I wait for the drydown, and I don't know if the differences will be apparent on paper and not skin. But I'm going to cherish and hoard this original stuff like the precious elixir that it is! Update: My sniff-test plans fell through, so I decided to conduct my own experiment, with Dior OG Addict on the left inner elbow and current (2014 ostensibly, but a new bottle nine years later, so who can say) Dior Addict on the right inner elbow. I asked my long-suffering, not particularly perfume-oriented husband to smell the insides of each of my elbows, and he indulged me. He found them quite different, even before the drydown--he noticed right away that the OG is sharper and more aromatic, with a more pronounced dark booziness to the vanilla, and it's not as sweet and floral-girly as the one that's out now, and much more popular than the OG was everywhere except, oddly, Russia. (Or so I have read.) I think I'm smelling the night-blooming cereus more prominently, which accounts for the almost acrid citrussy notes hovering over the florals. The real night-blooming cereus blossom has that slight acridity, too, hovering between intoxicating and pungent, especially when fully opened Of course, I don't know if my version smells like it smelled in 2002--it's likely become more concentrated, well-preserved as it is. The atomizer is much cooler and more complex than the other version, but it also makes it more difficult to decant (not that I'm going to be sharing the precious and very finite store that I possess). The new bottle is elegant enough, the same bewitching shade of indigo glass, but it is not as interesting and arty as the first one, which is notoriously tetchy and looks like it could break at any moment because it's so Rube Goldbergy, but which is also delightful and, yes, addictive to use. On the new version, the one under Demachy's imprimatur, the little button on the top is merely decorative; it is infinitely more fun to turn the little knob and activate the sprayer on the old version, but maybe people want more predictability and less whimsy in their drug-promoting fragrance receptacles. For me, the new Dior Addict is recognizably Addict, but it's somewhat insipid when you compare it to the original version, and even then it's not a fair comparison. It's possible that the current formulation will deepen appreciably in 21 years. I might not be around to find out, and I don't have a time machine, so I could never compare apples to apples or oranges to oranges or Wasser to Demachy after all. I do enjoy this side-by-side comparison, and I like the overall effect of wearing two formulations of the same perfume at once. I just hope my growing love of the OG Addict doesn't ruin the 2014 formulation for me now that I see that the differences are perceptible throughout the wearing, not just at the end. The new Addict juice is also more or less clear, or a pale color, whereas the OG one is a deep reddish amber--in fact, it's so dark that it might stain any fabric that wasn't black. tl;dr summary: I love both Addicts, but I love the OG more. The new formulation is probably more wearable and more overtly feminine, but the old one has that piquant night-blooming cereus note and an aromatic sharpness that make it that much more special and unusual to me. I think I will reserve my OG Addict for significant occasions and wear the newer formulation (the most current one) when I want to smell wonderful in a less memorable but also less polarizing kind of way.

My girlfriend and I came across an older almost full tester bottle of this in a perfume store not too long ago. I had smelled Dior Addict in stores before and it had never really impressed me much. However, upon smelling this version my eye instantly rolled back into my head and I got goosepimples; my gf felt the same way, and we instantly bought it. This is one of the most beautiful female fragrances I have ever smelt, and I've smelt quite a few, not limiting myself to men's fragrances by any means. I cannot possibly write objectively about it because I am genuinely "addicted", but I'll try. This is opulent, purple, velvety, regal, witchy, sensual, mystical...When I smell it lights go off in my head and I feel like a Looney Toons character with heart comically beating out of my chest and tongue unrolling across the floor like a red carpet as I scream "AWOOOGA". This is Queen of the Night, Salomé, femme fatale, Ars Goetia, fey magic. My gf has a whimsygoth style with injections of dark academia - lots of blue velvet, star patterns, beaten up Docs, vintage wool sweaters, corduroy, jewel tones, heavy eyeliner, dark hair - and this matches her perfectly, not to mention smelling intoxicating on her skin. In the opening the mandarin leaf/petitgrain is quite noticeable, as is the berry tone and a slight talcum powdery fluffiness. In the air at this stage it smells like a foresty berry vanilla. But as you get closer and as the fragrance dries down, it begins to unfurl like night-blooming jasmine - layers of supple white florals, laved in voluptuous starlight, entwining like white limbs, secreting a glowing core of pink core and a rich base of vanilla and tonka and sandalwood. This is a perfume that never quite reveals all of itself to you - it shifts and changes, and each time you go into sniff you notice something new and delightful, a different play of light and shadow on this incessantly unfolding carnal flower in the ultramarine gloom of the night garden. It truly is addicting. It's also insanely strong. When my gf applies this the entire house fills with it. The trail she leaves behind her is heavenly, narcotic, delicious - it draws you in like a siren luring her prey. And smelled up close, on her neck, on her skin...There is no other perfume in her collection so sensual and inviting, yet so complex. This does not smell old lady to me at all, though it is incredibly sophisticated and definitely requires a certain bearing to pull off. It is as far from the synthetic plastic candy scents that you find in most stores nowadays as the far side of the moon. This is fine perfumery at its best - fabulous, innovative, high quality, mystical, practically niche - from the era when Dior was producing some of the greatest scents like the original Dior Homme, Bois d'Argent, Eau Noire, Pure Poison, Hypnotic Poison, Dune, and more; when Dior was a trendsetter, not simply reacting to trends. If you can find an older formulation of Addict, jump on it with ferocity and don't let go. This is an absolute treasure.

I’ve had this version for a few weeks now. I found an OG 20 ml spray bottle for a really fair price and decided to see what it was about. I think the top notes and heart have completely vanished. I do wish I could smell those as when I sprayed this one originally, it smelled like not what I was expecting. I was reminded of the top and heart notes of a vintage bottle of Obsession that I have. Then it dried down to the vanilla, sandalwood, and tonka base. It seemed to stay around and project for several hours, I eventually took a shower but it was going strong before. I could smell traces of it after the shower, before I dried off and moisturized. I sprayed it today and I swear it immediately went to the base. I did one spray on my wrist and I was immediately met with a strong waft of vanilla. This is really strong and powerful. It does have some spice to it, even though there’s not a lot listed in the notes to give it that. Maybe it’s just a perception of spice. And there is a sense of floral notes to me, but they seemed to have completely melded into the composition as a way to balance it. I don’t smell any of them in particular. After it really dries down, the sandalwood comes through a little bit more with the vanilla and tonka and there’s a powderiness to it. It kinda reminds me of an almond sugar body scrub, and vanilla/shortbread cookies. Buuuuut it is not a gourmand, it doesn’t go there. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s really nice! I haven’t seen a bottle of the recent formulation on any shelves so I don’t know what it’s like. Considering how strong this is, and how many other loved bottles I have, I think this one will last me quite some time. 🥀 Update 07/13 - Ok so I know that this isn’t meant to be worn in the summer heat. HOWEVER, my skin seems to just eat up fragrances so sometimes I do actually wear my fall/winter perfumes in the summer. Sometimes the heat makes them not only bloom, but stick around on my oily skin. Anyways, I’ve worn this a few times since it has gotten hot and it is absolutely so divine. Now I know why it’s so loved, and can only imagine the disappointment to many by the reformulation that I am hesitant to eventually try. My 20 ml bottle should last me a while as I really only need a few sprays of this, it has aged beautifully since it’s production (I can’t remember if mine is from 2002 or 2003 from when I looked up its batch code number). But I can’t help but yearn for a larger bottle. I would like to have this ALWAYS. I guess you could say that I have now become addicted to it. I smack my hand away from it as I can’t bare it not being in my reach any longer.

I was wearing the 2014 Dior Addict reformulation--the current version--last night and earlier today, and I just now decided to refresh with a precious spritz of my immaculately preserved 2002 bottle, which is highly concentrated but so much richer and boozier and more aromatic than the newer version that it barely smells like the same fragrance at first. The two formulations grow more similar a few hours into the drydown, but overall, at least to my nose, the 2002 version is sexier, creamier, more floral--the night-blooming cereus really sings!--and somewhat spicier. The cinnamon notes are deeper; the vanilla is darker and boozier; the jasmine is a little darker and skankier. Gender is a social construct, and everyone can wear whatever they want, but I consider the 2002 a scintilla more butch. When I wear the reformulation, my husband invokes the Pillsbury Doughboy and bakery aromas; when I wear the 2002 version, he thinks of it as a totally different perfume, which I guess, in a way, it is. I love them both, and I would never say that the current version is a travesty, but something tells me that the new stuff won't smell nearly this great 20 years down the line. (It doesn't have the Mysore sandalwood, for one--a sad reality that makes me treasure this 2002 version all the more and feel grateful to the wonderful decanter who sold it to me, Sarah of the Etsy store SarahsPerfume. I doubt she has another vintage bottle of Addict to sell, but I highly recommend checking out her decant shop, which is first rate, and you never know what might turn up. She knows her stuff for sure. Update on October 15, 2024: Wearing a spritiz of my precious, blood-dark Addict on my left inner elbow and Dua Her Addiction on the right. They're not identical, but I'd say the Dua iteration is much, much closer to my remaining stash of OG Addict than my 2014 reformulation is--and that's not bad, just fluffier and altogether more benign. I like the darker version, although I don't think it smells much like night-blooming cereus. I have one, and its fragrance can be so piercing, so acrid and pungent, that I don't think I'd want to smell one when there are flowers like jasmine in this world. It's beautiful, but its fragrance is best enjoyed at its source en plein air.

This is divine! It's an extremely seductive and addictive white floral vanilla. I managed to get an unopened original 2002 formula 50ml bottle from eBay for a really good price. I think the top notes may have gone off slightly as the opening smells slightly "off". The bottom of the bottle is engraved and the little twist knob on the top of the bottle is the actual sprayer which depresses itself, and you twist it to lock/unlock the sprayer. I have a bottle of Verset Charm and this is an incredible copy of the original formulation, I highly recommend trying if you'd like to smell what the original formulation was like. I haven't smelled any newer formulations and I don't think that I want to, as Dior have absolutely no loyalty to their formulations. Thierry Wasser makes some of my most favourite perfumes so I am unsurprised that I love this as much as I do! I can't really pick up the individual notes, however I think I get the jasmine and the orange blossom. It reminds me a little bit of the orange blossom notes in the original formulation of Armani Code for Women EDP. I mostly just get the most seductive tonka, boozy vanilla and sandalwood base. It's extremely creamy, smooth, sweet and addictive. It lasts an extremely long time, 10+ hours and great sillage. I usually get compliments when I wear this and it's very nice in cold weather and at night. I feel expensive and luxurious when I wear this! It's very cosy and creamy. Interestingly, my other half tells me I smell like pledge when I wear this, and he does for several other of Theirry Wasser's creations (several Mon Guerlains and not TW's, but Shalimar too) so I find it interesting that he can tell these share something in common with each other! I personally don't think I smell like pledge, I think it's lovely!