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.

Post, pre, it's all good. I can live in this. Hopeful, optimistic, lovely, delicious, yet not in the least bit girly. Delicate, sweet, medium pitched floral yet not innocent... How could this be? Diorissimo! It must be that you were made for me. ...Peace...

this is just beautiful.Very much like the pre reformulated version. Warm,sensual,and still clean. A little animalistic also. Last a good long time as well. Perfect for spring and summer. I am wearing it with a vintage EDT for maximum impact.

Le premier mai with Dior Diorissimo Extrait de Parfum... The 1st of May or May Day holds important connotations for the French, it is as we popularly know it to be La fête du Travail (Labour Day) and also La fête du Muguet (Lily of the Valley Day). The practice of gifting bouquets and sprigs of Muguet i.e., LoTV to family members, friends and lovers on this day has been a long tradition, however, it became an officialised (loosely decreed) custom since 1561, when King Charles IX decided to honour the ladies of his court (held at Fontainebleau Palace) with bouquets of LoTV. The scent essence of Muguet or LoTV flower cannot be drawn out through enfleurage like most other fragrant flowers, which is why LoTV is a 'perfumer's accord' or a 'fantasy accord', though mind you these terms aren't exactly interchangeable. Open to interpretation by a perfumer but of course, it must in some way represent the natural characteristics of the flower, or at least that's what perfumers of old believed. Some other perfumer's accords are, 1. Pois de Senteur (scent of the Sweet Pea flower, what do you think MFK tried to do with 724? Though to me Caron is the final word in PdS.) 2. Peau d'Espagne (Spanish Leather, or skin of Spain if you want a clearer translation, Bortnikoff Classica.) 3. Cuir de Russie (definitely the more well-known of the three I've listed, too many favourites to mention but of course, Chanel is where my heart lies.) Creating a Muguet accord draws attention to the skillset of a perfumer and how close they might be able to get to the scent of fresh LoTV. The very first LoTV perfume boasting commercial success and critical regard was Monsieur Dior's Diorissimo. It is to date the reference point for LoTV and a masterpiece by Edmond Roudnitska. Every other LoTV fragrance has drawn some manner of inspiration from it, be it the yearly Guerlain or Penhaligon's. Diorissimo is white floral, mildly aquatic, almost as if the bouquet of Muguets was spritzed with pond water, it is green, crisp, and fresh, at least in the beginning. Lilac adds to the aquatic feel, Jasmine keeps it within the sisterhood of the white florals and Ylang-Ylang gives it that custard-thick body. Mind you if you were to smell Diorissimo up close, pressing your nose to your skin, too close in my opinion, you will find that Acetone/Latex smell too, best avoided by getting beautiful whiffs of Diorissimo emanating from your skin instead. The watery/aquatic feel doesn't always remain fresh, it's got a 'water stagnant in a vase' quality to it, the whole composition is also slightly pungent, indolic and at times a bit 'dark'. This doesn't quite veer away from the floral standards set by other heavyweight white flowers (ala Gardenia, Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Tuberose). Also, the Civet in the base brings a bit of warmth to the floral background in the dry down. Your very own, The Perfume Vigilante (Also, in case anyone's curious, Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum don't necessarily follow the concept of 1st May for the Met Gala as much as they do The First Monday in May, so this year is just pure coincidence.)

This is the most beautiful lily of the valley and Ylang Ylang I've ever smelt! This is so intense and it starts green and earthy and then it develops into a really strong creamy green banana note, it smells intensely of bananas on my skin. It's gorgeous I'm lucky to have a bottle. The longevity and sillage is out of this world. I did not expect that.

This was available last year in France and I purchased it, I'm a big fan of Diorissimo pre/post reformulating. The post reformulating edt is less good than pre one, but I find this Extrait just great nostalgic and reminds me a little of the pre edt(if you got what I mean).

The packaging of my bottle from February 2013 looks a little different from this new version. I am curious if they are the same as there is a separate listing for Les Creations de Monsieur Dior Diorissimo Extrait de Parfum here in Fragrantica.

This one is the actual perfume OIL, it retails for $300 for 0.5oz I just saw it on Amazon today. March 16th

they really had to make an extrait version because Diorissimo CdM EDP and EDT were âss wáter, okay Dior