Dioressence

My review pertains to the 1979 release, the re-orchestration by Max Gavarry, and not the original 1969 formula by Guy Robert, which is said to be far more animalic. Either way, my 1979 bottle of Dioressence is, to me, one of the very best Dior creations and one of the most beautiful fragrances in general! Dioressence is an intensely animalic green oriental. It seems weird but if you take the spices of Youth Dew, add a lick of animal notes and envelop everything in aromatic green herbal notes, this is what you get. It smells so perfect that I’ve never had the urge to pursue the harder to find and far more expensive first version; there’s simply no need for me. The opening is powdered geraniums and carnations, laced with bright and sparkling bergamot. The richness of the citrus is unparalleled and together with the aromatic notes of geranium, it smells like the most sensual powder; it’s bright, soothing, floral and dry, giving the feel of moist greenness. There’s a touch of cinnamon and orange but instead of going all ‘pomander territory’ it manages to convey the same hot spiciness of Youth Dew or Opium. The mid floral heart, which is so expertly blended that no flower stands out takes it more to chypre territory, leaving some of the spices behind. I can still sense the cinnamon and the geranium, the two notes that stand out more on my skin, but now I smell the connection to Miss Dior; the same elegance, the same class, but somehow wilder. Hair down, a print kaftan and a chaise longue. Le Parfum Barbare comes alive! All through the lifespan of Dioressence (hours on end on skin, with more than big sillage) there’s a briny and salty feel, which I’m sensing as ambergris. It doesn’t make it dirty per se, but adds the barbaric element of naughtiness. The drydown brings forth the heavier musks and animalic notes, adds a final spin of the spice rack and envelops everything in dark patchouli, powdered herbal notes and the floral facet of geranium. Rose becomes more apparent but other than that, the rest of the flowers are invisibly blended to provide the overall smoothness. Oakmoss, spices, some resins...this is everything without trying, without falling apart. It’s hard to decipher it and I won’t, because it smells so fu*king good that I just want to savor it. It feels so 70’s, yet so 80’s Studio54, that I wonder if my version is still the Guy Robert formula or the Gavarry vision, because it’s a masterpiece. I’ve no idea, I’m guessing that each perfumer emphasized a different side of the same coin and Dioressence feels at home in any version, be it a 1969 chateau or a 1979 disco. Transcending like no other and never feeling or smelling dated. 10/10 from me!

(Review of the EdT, my bottle c. 1985) Long live Dioressence! Not the current version, though. The current perfume being sold as Dioressence has nothing in common with the one I’m wearing now, bottled around 1985. The current version is an absolute mess. This though.... This is one of the best fruity floral chypres ever created. Full stop. The end. No other arguments accepted. I go into a lot more detail on Dioressence, what it smells like, and its very sad history in my review of the extrait, which you can find here: https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Dior/Dioressence-Parfum-33768.html?ccid=2625217#focus-zone So, I will simply notate some differences between this and the extrait. First is that, obviously, the EdT moves through the note pyramid significantly faster than the extrait and arrives at its skin scent in about three to four hours weather-dependent. That’s as a classic EdT should. The fruit notes at the top are quite a bit shorter lived as well, no surprise, but they are also a bit less moldy-funky. The floral heart is virtually the same: spicy floral with an emphasis on carnations and roses that is absolutely gorgeous. The oakmoss, patchouli, woody vetiver, and highly animalic musky base is also intact. Where you’ll find the differences other than durability/longevity is with the lightness and breathability. Every note of the EdT that you can, and will, find in the extrait is made more spacious, lighter, like gentle mists rolling across a breeze as compared to the heavier and dense rain shower of the extrait. In this lighter, easier-going concentration Dioressence’s personality is also easier-going. The extrait is quite a handful in the best way; it’s a very complicated character, though one you are very happy to spend a lot of quality time getting to know. The original EdT is like a phone call with Dioressence: you still get the complicated and complex person, but in a brief, easy, yet nonetheless very satisfying conversation. This is one of my favorite perfumes of all time, and I will always mourn that it is no longer with us. I cherish my vintage bottles, clutching them like the hand of someone you dearly love. Long live Dioressence.

Dioressence is Gold topped with oakmoss. Guy Robert's work is highly recognizable. Compared with YSL's Y, which is slender and easy to fold, clean and bright, Dioressence is a huge and dark fragrance. A sturdy chypre—a dark green as deep as ink, Dioressence is the earth beneath my feet. Although it's not very polite. It is said that the people of Dior asked Guy Robert to make a savage, animal perfume (bath oil) to match the bespoke collection of the time. Guy Robert's work is as he said: "The most important thing about perfume is to smell good." Dioressence details are clear and the various elements are arranged in an orderly manner. Guy Robert's complex and beautiful, not as poetic and romantic as Guerlain. Guerlain has the common perception of French perfume and is the most faithful face of French perfume. And Guy Robert, after smelling his Dioressence, you will understand why Amouage chose him to make Gold. Guy Robert's approach to perfumery is unlike any other perfumer I know. Straightforward and bold, with a strong style. This pure ambergris! This oakmoss! Cinnamon and pale orris root are oriental to Youth-Dew by Guy Robert. He processes silver-grey ambergris. I didn't have time to record the rose-headed floral scent, and the heavy oakmoss took all my attention. The salty notes of ambergris combine with patchouli resin, musk, and eugenol (carnation) for a warmer and more unique blend of ambergris. Vintage parfum is rich and intoxicating, and its durability is far better than that of EDT. Obviously, it is prepared with the best raw materials. I smell daffodils, but it's not written on the notes. Dioressence's floral fragrance is transparent and bright, with three distinct fragrance notes, full and rich. Natural stacking and depth, reproducing Gold's symphonic form. Dioressence has stood at the pinnacle of fragrance art. Dioressence, a calm and qualified fragrance for women, needs to have the corresponding age, wisdom, and temperament. I'm not sure if my Dioressence was made in 1982 or 1992. No matter what the answer is, the charm of Dioressence will never be lost. I just want to witness the glory of Dior before its decline.

Summary: holy, holy, holy dirty, dark, classy, leathery oakmoss. Complex and full of notes that come and go in harmony. This is just AMAZING in the formulation I own. I am speechless. Beautiful to the point of almost making me cry in awe, velvety, well-rounded, meditative but as if inner strength had a scent. Very good. Very long lasting (at least 13 hours and still going strong and beautiful). In later hours goes more resinous and incense-y, reminding me of old style Opium, though much darker, more meditative. ---- I received this in a generous giveaway and Oh My God! I am so lucky :) I had been recommended this fragrance several times, and those people were ABSOLUTELY right. I love this. From the address on the bottle, this one is from before 1990-91. And it's beautiful! The formulation I own starts sharp, pungent, almost a mixture of green, oakmoss, leather and animalic, almost vaguely fecal notes (in a good way). Amazing and not at all anything I can find in current fragrances. Reminds me of Niki de Saint Phalle, but even sharper, darker. It quickly goes very well-rounded, elegant and classy, but still strong. Balsamic, warm, full of strong oakmoss but also a lovely orchestra of notes that come and go. Sometimes cinnamon, sometimes something I read as leather, sometimes a rich sweet-ish patchouly, sometimes dry and masculine notes, sometimes almost powdery but in a deeply sensual way and not at all like violets, more as a powdery woody scent. Sometimes almost almost oriental but not quite. As it dries down it reminds me of the dark resinous incense of Opium (old formulation), but where Opium is carnal and spicy and juicy in a reddish orange dark way, this one is meditative, incense-y, bewitching, dark green mixed with blue-black incense smoke. I don't find it too old-fashioned to be worn comfortably, but it does not match in any way the current scents. I am lucky that in this formulation the aldehydes do not predominate and instead other notes I love have the opportunity to shine. It makes me feel strong but warm, ready to take over the world but feeling comforted all the same. I really love it and want to try it at Winter.

Oh Dioressence how much I love and how much I hate you sometimes! I don’t know what have you done to my heart...It is so weird cause today I simply find it the most original scent ever and in few hours I consider it strange and unpleasant. I have a bottle of the “good” Dioressence before they reformulated it. The opening is so dusty and dirty that reminds me of my attic and my basement in the same time. It is earthy and humid... The main notes that obsess me all day long while wearing it are the patchouli, the geranium, the benzoin, the cinnamon, the dry roses and the styrax. Every time I open the door from my basement a soapy, powdery and dusty Dioressence smell punches me in the face and invades my lungs. My basement that brings me so many memories from my childhood where I used to hide so many times. It is a cold perfume with an Orthodox church smell where they burn all day long incense and styrax. As those around me know it very well, I love heavy fragrances like Dioressence. It is the most classic perfume from all the perfumes in the world. It is hard living with Dioressence but even harder living without it. Even though usually people considers the reformulations worse than the originals or pale shadows of what the original smell was, I have to admit that the reformulated one it is wonderful. I think that both mister Guy Robert and mister Francois Demachy done a great job with this one. The second version it is more bearable and has the same strange beauty as the first one. I make a strange couple with Dioressence, and sometimes just like a wife, it drives me crazy but I am so conscious that I just couldn’t live without her! My all time favourite fragrance and the best Chypre ever!

Imagine a green-eyed and bronze skinned woman. Bella, bella, bella. You wouldn’t expect a wonderful chypre from a perfumer whose expertise lies on aldehydics. A green, powdery and musky chypre with lovely gradations on the rose and fruit spectrum. There’s a saltiness which I think contours the composition preventing it from becoming another generic creation of its time. Truly, Dior knows how to utilize the most wonderful noses into creating nothing but artful splendor. If anything, the perfume feels prim despite the stormy nuances. More like beneath the studied exterior lies carnal desires seething. Not elegant and not sophisticated but luxe. The main accords I smell are musk, mossy greenery, and the violet, rose and geranium trinity. Also please don’t worry about it being another acerbic chypre reminiscent of the 70s. The greenery here is much more of an idea but not the thing per se. It will imply that there’s a green facet according all notes and it’s impeccably done and tempered by cinnamon. You can buy the latest version. I think it’s a faithful reiteration of Dioressence though its seamlessness depreciated. Beautiful still nonetheless. Edit 10/18: (Blue bottle vs Les Creations) First creation feels dry and a true chypre, latter is more pronounced with that semi-gourmand, salted white chocolate accord. Also the description where the reformulation feels emaciated I disagree; if any, the former feels like a woman who’d rather smoke and drink than eat as compared to the latter being more voluptuous. The ashen quality I find in Diorama can also be gleaned in the former Dioressence.

Let me begin by setting the context, a naughty minx sent me some vintage Esprit de Parfum. Pow! This is NOT what I expected! It opens as if Opium's spices & smoke were grafted onto a thick chypre base! I almost thought it was a different version of Opium until the spices quelled, and the green began to show. I'm getting clove, carnation, orris, oakmoss, geranium, cinnamon, ylang ylang, jasmine, the flowers just now dare to show their presence, after the spices sit down and settle, all the while I keep getting halo whiffs of deep, deep green. Deep, chartreuse forest green that will open up for hours. At this phase the spices, florals, & base balance at a perfect pitch, its the absolute moment of intense sensation. Bitter cold & perfect sunshine, the line between pleasure & pain, the perfectly balanced umami, or the chord sung so beautifully it brings a tear to your eye. Intensity. In the most delicious kind of way. If the reward that follows is as beautiful as the opening & heart I'm in for a short & hot love affair! For surely it will be a rare chance for me to be in the presence of such mastery again. You naughty, naughty girl! (Thank you soo much) this really is a rare treat to try in this format. I think when I try to purchase it it will have to be the esprit de parfum. Anything else will leave me unsatisfied. Until then.. I bid you Adieu my dear.. Update: I just received my Esprit De Parfum! I'm ecstatic! I feel so lucky! Finding this rare liquid gold feels like hitting the lottery!! Chypre lovers should try this in any form available before its gone forever!

I found a little vial of this at my favorite 'fume consignment shop EVER (where I used to live in Barnesville, GA). They were always wheeling & dealing in that store from their "bigger fish to fry" business of all sorts of collectibles, antiques & junk. They bought up estate sales & storage units for auction & resold all these things in their shop. On the end of a long counter they always had a big basket catch-all for the various fragrances. I would go in there & always buy up all I could. They sold the little vials for 25 cents sometimes just to get rid of them. I was a very frequent customer & the folks in there just always let me have them, practically giving them away since fragrances were not their "push". And it was in that store that I found my first Guerlain treasures, all sortsof other brands, some foreign, some I have yet to discover the name...and this one little vial of green Dioressence. It was my first Dior ever & I have been searching for an affordable bottle of it ever since. I have never tried Vent Vert but I immediately fell in love with the green notes, aldehydes & (always my faves) OAKMOSS, PATCHOULI & BENZOIN. Dioressence is incredibly sparkling with it's abundance of greens. I have up to this date thought it to be one of the most beautiful chypres (again my fave) that was ever made. A true masterpiece so incredibly beautiful, as if the very soul of Mother Nature in all her glory of verdancy is captured into a bottle. A must try for every budding perfumista! Superb sillage & longevity, too. My absolute favorite from the house of Dior.

This is one of the best perfumes EVER! Certainly one of the most tight chypre's I've ever tried. It's epic, but not in a huge look at me way. It's not a loud flamboyant chypre, it's just a very well constructed piece. It's no slouch though, you won't forget you're wearing it. Guy Robert is a master. It was so long ago that I tried Rochas Femme (a dear perfume collector friend it) that I genuinely can't remember what it was like, nor was I a massive fan of the genre back then anyway. However this Dior makes me want to seek out Rochas Femme. To reduce fragrances down to Male and Female tropes is something I avoid but for me the oakmoss coupled with unsweetened, musky, powder in this fragrance makes it spectacularly masculine and wearable. I would urge any man who likes his classic, 70's and 80's men's stuff to try this perfume, because you'd be pleasantly suprised. I have a mini from the early 80's and it's fantastic! Mildly animalic, musky, opening gives way to a suggestion of peachy aldehyde powder, full on oakmossiness, lighly spiced carnation talc, rosehips, balanced woods and a ton of little added nuances as it dries down. It's spectacular but not dressy, it's practical, wearable on a regular basis, and feels...well...real. I need a old bottle of this.

TS Eliot was wrong you know, it’s not always April that is the cruellest month, it is whichever season that brings sorrow with it. Dioressence is a terribly sad smell, the smell, in fact, of sorrow. In the vintage formulation a vertical door of heavy as lead oakmoss serves as an opening. Aldehydes, unspecified green notes and a slight citrus seek to sanitise and lighten this dark accord but do nothing to soothe its awesome presence. The interior of the fragrance remains determined by this entrance too, and whilst there are floral elements within: geranium most noticeably, rose, carnation and some structural jasmine, the whole effect remains resolutely patchouli , grassy green and solemn. The spices, resins and hint of musk that seem to come to the fore for a moment in dry down fade to pianissimo much sooner than the principal notes are done with their song. The overall effect is magisterial and silencingly beautiful. Others of course will hear the spring chorus singing nature’s melody in the meadows by the way and are in their way are quite right too. Dioressence is a substantial enough work to allow many readings. ************* Sorrow does not discriminate between men and women and nor does the springtime, then why should this scent?

From the bottle, it opens with a positively overwhelming patchouli, rose, geranium, and green blast. It has a distinct Lauder signature to it, with the intense balsamic/green/mossy character, quite reminiscent of the much later Aromatics Elixir, its ancestor Youth Dew, and especially a very concentrated oil parfum called "Ultima" (not Ultima 2) by Charles Revson. Since this was originally launched as a bath oil, it is not absurd to consider that it may have been formulated to compete with the magnificently successful Youth Dew(also worn as a perfume), additionally considering that Dior's reputation was all but in the gutter at the time. The middle notes are a soapy, eugenol-tinged cloud of rose, violet, and ylang-ylang grounded by a very thick patchouli and balsamic base. The base notes come in as quite a surprise - Castoreum and patchouli create a very sensual aroma quite unlike the rest of the fragrance, enveloping the wearer in the beautiful scent of fur and leather. This is so good texturally. It's more of a single entity in the dry down than a compilation. I own a bath concentrate from the 60s and an EDT from the 90s and they are the same fragrance. The later versions and the Les Creations version aren't remotely the same thing.

I received a decant of Dioressence from the always generous and gracious anamandy. Thank you so much! I don't know if this is an older or more recent formulation and it doesn't matter to me at this point. This is a masterpiece. On first spray, I get a very deep, inky oakmoss followed by something green. It's very difficult to break the rest down because it is so much more than just it's individual notes. It's Dioressence, and while others bear a resemblance, it is most definitely it's own thing. I have a decant of 1947 (I think) Miss Dior EDC, and it is clear that this has the same DNA. All I can say is that I just walked to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, and I was aware of this cloud of now softer, spicy, floriental loveliness enveloping my body, with wafts radiating out. I can not wait until my husband gets home so I can see if he notices and comments. I am now hunting for a FB because I absolutely NEED this in my collection. I thought of all the Diore____'s that have been created, my preference would be for Diorissimo, but this is the stuff. A true love for me. PS - Hubby just got home, leaned in for a kiss, and said "You smell great!", completely unprompted. I rest my case!

I have always wanted "Hasu-no-Hana" from Grossmith Perfumes London which is an oriental chypre, which this "Dioressence" also is. Every version of Dioressence up to the Les Créations de Monsieur Dior version also has this rich, shimmering, almost camphoraceous quality. The best of both worlds (balsamic-resinous oriental and rich green chypre)! I still want Hasu-no-Hana someday but they are both gorgeously related. This Dioressence is possibly the most perfect perfume I know, up there with Chanel No. 5 which in extrait form is what I would call the most interesting and arresting perfume ever created (so you get an idea of my tastes). The Les Créations de Monsieur Dior version of 'Dioressence' is lovely but mainly based on geranium, cinnamon and patchouli -- for me it lacks some very pleasantly persistent sweetness, almost vanilla- or amber-like, in the base. I love it too though on it's own merits...For precious natural materials I would say this perfume is like crystallized amber and emeralds together, an amber gem seen at the nearly translucent bottom of an emerald pool.

God, what a perfume!! A beautiful supremely made chypre- an irresistible blend of oakmoss, florals and animalic furry musk! Poet Federico Garcia Lorca: Green, how I want you green. Green wind. Green branches. The ship out on the sea and the horse on the mountain. With the shade around her waist she dreams on her balcony, green flesh, her hair green, with eyes of cold silver. Green, how I want you green. Under the gypsy moon, all things are watching her and she cannot see them. I have bottle of the vintage it was sealed and some of the liquid have evaporated, the liquid may have degraded but it is still a beautiful perfume. I am looking for more bottles to hoard. I just love the history of this perfume, of Guy Roberts rubbing his hands on a black block of ambergris to smell the oily, salty-musky scent before creating this masterpiece, Roberts then had to go take a flight so he washes his hands with a cheap dupe of Dior soap. (Perfumeshrine)

I'm in love with Chypre aldehydic fragrances! This one makes me crazy, it really is an animalistic scent...being 22 years old I don't know how Dioressence used to smell now almost 41 years ago when it was created; I read some reviews on the internet and from what I saw, people seems to be a little disappointed by the remakes...I can notice the diferences between the last editions of Dioressence,there is the edition of Dioressence with the bottle with letters writen directly on the glass, the edition with the bottle that has an etiquette with the name and the last bottle, the remake..there are few small diferences between them all that only someone who really has a good nose can notice. I think that the best version is the one with the bottle that has the name writen directly on the glass, and the liquid is very green. Very long lasting and hard to find... so unique!

I ́m a man, and have always loved this fragrance. It reminds me of classy, confident, well-resolved women. I read that some consider this a possibly unisex fragrance, and decided to make a somewhat risky and weird test: in a hot day, at 3 p.m., I put one spray on my right arm. Initially fruits and green notes opened the simphony: wow! After 20-30 minutes floral and speciated notes dominated, and it became so predominanttly feminine that I almost washed my skin. But I waited and, after 3-4 hours,the woody and earthy base notes evoluted to a soft, warm and almost (I said almost!) masculine drydown. I think the impressions if I tested it in a cold day would be very different. I ́ll certainly try it in the winter. A beautifully constructed fragrance, clealy feminine for me. Use it, Ladies, with parcimony and wisdom, and men will, at the same time, love and respect you.

Dioressence is a beautifully smooth, sophisticated and clean take on a classical Chypre with outstanding quality and an overall incredible scent profile. It starts off very green with earthy patchouli and an array of green leaves and flowers, alongside a hefty dose of soapy aldehydes to brighten it up. From here the dense, rich florals begin to shine alongside a gentle spicy touch of cinnamon. The star of the show here is obviously the oakmoss, alongside patchouli and aldehydes. I find this shades a lot of similarities with the original Miss Dior but this seems to be much brighter and cleaner in a way. I would urge any lover of chypres to seek out this scent, particularly an older bottle where the oakmoss shines proudly. I adore my EDT and can only imagine what the parfum must smell like, a true masterpiece of a scent.

This is one of the the stunning, majestic reasons I comb through eBay for vintage scent. Oakmoss! This, along with vintage Vent Vert, Miss Dior, and Givenchy 3. Four scents completely ruined and undone by the sanctions on allergens, never the same again, and despite the amount of oakmoss I'm wearing, I'm as healthy as a horse. No-one near me has had their nose explode, or come out in hives. In fact I've had compliments such as, 'where can I get it?' Scent is such a small pleasure, in a world of cruelty and incomprehensible events. Why a beautiful formula such as this had to be ruined, is beyond me, when we tolerate air pollution killing thousands, and our oceans are full of plastic. But a miniscule amount of oakmoss.... oh, no! - It's pathetic. Anyway, I love this, for all the reasons given by others. x

This is my all-time favorite perfume. Discovered it when I was a teenager and have been wearing it for the last 30+ years. I have tried other perfumes, but nothing else comes close to how good this smells on me and how much I adore it. I have gotten compliments on it my whole life, with men and women asking why I smell so good. I was upset when they reformulated this, but I have accepted that even a reformulated Dioressence is far superior to any other scent I've tried. Dioressence is a sexy, mysterious, sophisticated and delicious scent that is never overpowering or headache-inducing, but draws one in, wanting to get a little closer to breathe that intoxicating scent a little deeper. The patchouli, musk, cinnamon and spicy geranium work beautifully with the rose and other florals. Truly wonderful.

Although I admit, that I was positively surprised by the recent formulation, as it is unique for todays standards in it's own way, it can't compete with the vintage. The new one doesn't have the vibe. It's not only a term, like Miss Dior Dioressence vibrates in my nose. Still, the new one is one-of-a-kind, as it would have never been created, weren't it not for the vintage. Please give it a try. Though, if you're fallen for vintage and/or chypre, the vintage is a must-try. You need to know this scent. At least go for a decant, I know that prices are ridiculous for a full bottle of vintage. It is veeery potent. Little goes a veeery looong way. Grottola wrote a good description.