Diorella

This review is for the 50ml EDT Diorella. So hard to find words for this one. I've wanted it for so long and finally got my hands on a bottle. I've worn it a few times trying to make up my mind about what exactly it is that makes people compare Diorella to 'flowers and garbage' 'Vietnamese beef salad' and 'fur rubbed with mint toothpaste'. Diorella starts out like lemon zest on me, joined by a very subtle fresh mint/ basil note. Very fresh smelling at first. I wondered how anyone could think those notes smelled dirty. Then came what to my nose is limoncello. Still lemon zest, but not as freshly grated and sweet. VERY sweet, almost syrupy and unappealing. In fact at one point it was approaching disgustingly sweet, almost rotten. Just as I was processing the syrupy sweet limoncello and being surprised, came what I think might be cumin, even though it is not listed as a note. I'm not really sure what it is, but it smells faintly like BO. The first time I tried Diorella was right after I purchased it because I was so excited at finally getting some, and I thought maybe the BO note was just in my imagination, or due to the fact I'd been walking around the mall all day and wasn't shower fresh by any means. Nope, it's Diorella! I tried again today after a shower, and the BO note is unmistakably still there. It's not unpleasant or overpowering, it's simply the smell of warm, sweaty skin. There is something almost coital about it, like you took a quick tumble in the hay and then didn't have time to really freshen up afterwards besides applying a quick squirt of cologne. So limoncello and sexy BO, then comes the 'chouli to say hi! At this point I can faintly pick up basil again, and combined with the slight warm fleshy scent that is developing I can say that I now understand the Vietnamese beef salad comment. It's savory, and almost edible. As it develops further I can also now understand the mint toothpaste and fur comment shortly after. There is just something animal and alive behind the mint and basil that I can't put my finger on. I could see it being a fur coat though, especially one that has been worn a long time and has picked up the scent of it's owner along with her toiletries. And this is where I fall in love with Diorella! Why, I cannot even begin to explain. Even reading back over my own words attempting to describe Diorella it sounds repulsive, but it's not. I never really got the flowers and garbage at any point, although maybe that registered as limoncello to my nose instead of flowers tossed in the trash. It was definitely approaching an almost rotten sweetness when the fleshy note showed up to tame it. All in all the fragrance really lived up to it's hype for me. I was afraid I'd built Diorella up in my head and would be disappointed by the reality of it as sometimes happens when I finally get to smell something I've spent time hankering for, but that was definitely not the case this time! My bottle was manufactured in January of 2010, so it's not exactly brand new, but now I really am hankering for vintage. If it smells this great even after it was no doubt tampered with and reformulated, I can't imagine how amazing vintage must be!

(Review of an early 80s EdT) If it’s possible to ascribe a magnum opus to Edmond Roudnitska’s name, it’s probably Diorella. If perfect is possible: Diorella. We have Roudnitska to thank for the use of synthetics to create the watery-melony fruit note at the top of Diorella that blew people’s minds - though I’m not sure “thanks” is exactly what Roudnitska would feel is deserved if he knew how perfumers and houses were handling calone today. The rest of the perfume is an impeccably - perfectly - balanced floral chypre. The perfume sparkles away in the opening with glimmering aldehydes and green and yellow hesperidics providing the watery melon and peach notes with a shimmer like sunlight bouncing off of sliced fruit. It shifts very seamlessly to the fruity facets of the floral heart, carrying an insalubrious and salty quality that tantalizes the nose into blind voracity. Perfection. The citrusy jasmine, the orange-flower-honey of honeysuckle, green roses, and a gentle swell of damp woody oakmoss (just to make sure the watery calone from the top has a natural link to help stuffy 1970s noses find familiarity). I could smell this heart section nonstop for days, weeks, months on end and never tire of it. But I guess it’s not perfect because it eventually leaves me, yearning, but yet presents a silky smooth woody base that is nearly equally divine. A creamy and slightly spicy sandalwood accented with a clove type note, gently green and aromatic vetiver, and a fine beige patchouli give me the chills. A perfect dry down that is hopelessly addictive. Edmond Roudnitska was a workhorse and a visionary. Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, as the saying goes, but how true that is to Roudnitska is debatable. The man certainly seemed to be inspired by more than a percent, but he played with this structure for decades on end - constantly tweaking and evolving it. Perspiring workhorse indeed. This is unheard of today, and would be unthinkable to the vast majority of perfumers and houses. But it paid off. He’s a legend, one of the all time greats that will always remain so. Diorella is a legend, one of the all time greats that will always remain so.

[675] Diorella is another masterpiece composed by the legendary Edmond Roudnitska, and it certainly contains facets of his other compositions. It is a classic chypre, 1970s in style, featuring a prominent melon note up top - so far, so Le Parfum de Thérèse. Its woody-floral heart is reminiscent of a more potent Eau Sauvage, and there is an astringent green-citrus quality to the opening that recalls Chanel Cristalle (not a Roudnitska creation, but worth mentioning). It also reminds me of Ô de Lancôme, a radiant, summery citrus chypre (and affordable gem). I've long wanted to try Diorella, and bought a vintage miniature from the 1980s. It is a dream for this chypre-lover. Diorella has a radiantly fresh opening, with dewy green-herbal notes and bright citrus notes evident at initial spray. The melon note follows, initially green but becoming increasingly ripe as it progresses, dominating the opening for a while. Peach adds sweetness, rounding out the fruitiness of the opening. As it develops, the powdery floral heart emerges. Rose and sweet jasmine are initially detectable, given a nice spicy edge by the carnation. The herbal notes remain, alongside the melon note, muted at this stage, but keeping the fruity component alive. Soft woody notes ground it, and pave the way to the chypre base. It becomes deliciously mossy as it dries down - that vintage oakmoss is hard to beat. Patchouli adds earthiness, rounding out the chypre accord. The powdery florals remain until final fade, where it becomes a musky skin scent. Sillage and longevity are moderate. A masterfully-composed perfume, Diorella is cohesive, high-quality, reminiscent of other classics but is also very distinctive. Classically elegant yet bohemian, it is timeless, ageless and definitely unisex by today's standards. One of the best examples of its genre, Diorella is a stone-cold classic. 5/5.

Before I throw myself into this review, I'll start by saying that Diorella is one of my favourite chypres and one of the first scents I reach for during the Summer months. The Diorella I fell in love with was the most recent formulation, from the Les Creations de Monsieur Dior range. I never believed it was of upmost importance to test the vintage formulation, but now I'm kicking myself. I was warned that the fragrance I love was watered-down, and nothing like the Diorella from before, but at the time I refused to listen. The other day, hidden in a boutique, I had the opportunity to test the original, and much to my delight, it's even better than I expected. This fragrance is greener, with more of an aggressive bite. It's beautiful, dry and even a tad smoky. This newer version of Diorella is almost blasphemy. The old Diorella is an all-season fragrance, with enough warmth and depth to be enjoyed during the colder months too. While it's the oakmoss that has caused all this hassle, it's that allergen that makes the old Diorella so special and rich. I curse those restrictions. As a young person, born into a world of reformulations, it's sad to think of all the beautiful fragrances I've missed out on smelling. Thank goodness for the original Diorella. Don't get me wrong, I still thoroughly enjoy the new formulation, but when I compare them both side by side, the differences are evident. In terms of composition, I'm more in favour of the one that contains the real oakmoss. It's difficult to put into words the mixture of thoughts running through my head at this present time. It almost feels like a slap in the face, but perhaps less brutal. In regards to lasting strength, the old Diorella also tops the newer version. To choose between the two, you'll either choose what is easily available or what essentially smells better.

One of my favourite perfumes. I have been wearing this fragrance since I was 15 when, armed with my first pay packet for a part time job, I went into a local perfumery and bought some (for £11 – which was nearly ALL of my weekend pay). I got it from one of those old style shops (even then), everything on show and in glass cabinets – it was 1981 and I was in heaven, mulling over the Dior section trying to choose between eau Fraiche, Dioressence or Diorella. I must have been in the shop for well over an hour and it was a small shop – sadly long gone. The edt of Diorella (vintage) is utterly beautiful. In 1981 I sprayed it liberally, on my skin, clothes, bed-clothes, as an air freshener – I just could not get enough of the stuff. I have never been without a bottle of Diorella since that day. I have tried the reform – it’s good but the memories that my old stash evokes remains with me – I even have some pure perfume which I snagged by chance and without realising it was the pure perfume which appeared on the market (I understand) briefly in the early 1980’s. Diorella is a perfume that is crystal clear, green, herbaceous and, I would whisper it quietly,a refined version of eau Savage – but above all this perfume is a complete masterpiece, not loaded with fruit or heady with musk – this is an elegant, classy fragrance. It’s redolent, intriguing and has me under its understated but oh so present spell. I loved it then, I love it now, I will love it forever. I wear this for summer, a cooling honeysuckle note, a mere suggestion of sweetness; it’s green, spikey and harmoniously sings with spirit. It is a complete sentence in perfumery, nothing missing, nothing needed. Can you tell I love this stuff?