Diorissimo Extrait de Parfum

For years I disregarded floral perfumes. It was my skin - well, my nose too - not to like florals. Diorissimo was never easy on me. A couple of months ago I rivisited that old bottle that I have had since the '70es. I opened it and ... ... magic appeared in front of me. I hurried to buy the new versions. If you ask me, yes, I will say yes to the new versions. I am one who has often complained about bad reformulations, who has shed tears on the masterpieces gone and destroyed. This new Extrait de Parfum is an absolute wonder: the creaminess of the old Diorissimo is there, lily of the valley and jasmine luscious as ever, soft and strong at the same time. What's amazing here is the development: it starts green, earthy and a bit rough. ??? - you wonder - where's the lily of the valley? Is this a joke? It isn't. Just patience. Something we are about to forget: patience, great perfumes command patience. Diorissimo IS a Great Perfume, therefore she commands patience. There's the lily of the valley, there he goes, arm in arm with the most beautiful jasmine you can find. Earth and grass at first, the flowers immediately after, then a luscious ylang leads the companions to a drydown spectacular to say the least. It lasts forever, it's beauty from beginning to end, it goes and develops and changes and amazes you every time you inhale and smell it. Yes, this may not be the Diorissimo in the pink box that generations of ladies and loved and worn, yes IFRA and all the rest, but believe me, this is something impossible to ruin, just as a fresco by some Renaissance master where time may have caused the colours to fade, but art and beauty are still there. Diorissimo is just like that: an ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE

(Esprit de parfum spray, bottle c. <1989. I'm not a Dior dating expert, so this bottle was made in 1959 (very unlikely), 1969 (unlikely), 1979 (likely), or 1989 (more likely)) The opening of Diorissimo certainly grabs your attention. Diorissimo, if we accept a play on words with the suffix most recognizably used with musical terms, means “Very Dior.” So, is this fortissimo (very loud), pianissimo (very soft), or are we talking about speed rather than volume? I think Diorissimo is more about volume than speed, and it is certainly very Dior in the way Roudnitska made a few legendary compositions for them. The opening, as I said, grabs your attention, and it’s Roudnitska’s favorite fruit salad accord. It’s mostly tree fruit, as far as I can tell, mainly lemons, oranges, pears, and peaches, but also a quite striking melon note is present that gives the opening a lot of flesh you could sink your teeth into. It’s sweet in the way ripe fruit is sweet, juicy, full bodied, and fortissimo. The next movement of the symphony is pianissimo, the gentlest and yet superbly vibrant lily-of-the-valley accord you or I will ever smell. Roudnitska tricks us though by using jasmine, there’s hardly any mistaking that vivid white and bright spring jasmine smell. But it’s combined with a powdery musk and maybe a touch of tuberose for creaminess that also makes it unmistakable that the aim is lily-of-the-valley, and Roudnitska’s aim is accurate, precise, and true. At the final skin scent we have pianissimo and adagissimo with musks and mosses. What a gorgeous perfume, and legendary for good reason.

Diorissimo Extrait de Parfum by Christian Dior is vintage elegance! Since this is the Extrait, the lasting power and sheer opulence of this fragrance is simply stunning – I love it! Muguet is soapy yet slightly powdery and a very fresh green floral note (absolutely divine in Diorissimo), buttery-soft ylang-ylang adding a hint of sweetness, and Egyptian jasmine that plays with your senses (it can be a deep pungent floral) but gives this fragrance a sensual, fleshy vibe. I only wear this fragrance when I have on a pair of chandelier earrings as I believe this to be a very dressy, feminine, and attention-getting fragrance for sure. Bygone beauty that is not to be missed by vintage collectors!

The perfumes I would call truly great have a challenging aspect to them. They make me think and move me emotionally. Vintage Diorissimo extrait is such a perfume. It starts off with a paint thinner screechiness that makes me recoil. Soon after this lovely muguet floral abstraction emerges, but it is tinged with an over ripe fruit note like Calyx. But then this heartbreaking beautiful floral emerges.it is smooth, radiant like a jewel, and grand. Absolute masterpiece of the muguet genre. I understand all the fans.

I scored a bottle of never opened vintage parfum on ebay and it is surely intoxicating. Like burying your face into a massive bouquet of soft white petals. It also feels like it's reaching some part of my brain that houses distance memories. I simply love it.