Miss Dior Esprit de Parfum

(Comparison of an extrait and an esprit de parfum both bottles c. early 1980s) One of the favorite activities of this perfume nerd is to mess around with Dior extrait and esprit concentrations of the same perfume. When wearing one or the other, I almost always put out the other to recalibrate my reference points. In my opinion, the esprits are usually the best versions of the Dior perfume in question. Their natures seem to be more energetic and lively, their evolutions more dynamic and pronounced. Miss Dior is a very curious case in this regard, mostly because there is something about the vintage extrait compositions that don’t stand up well to time, and the margin of variances is quite large. In some bottles both the galbanum and jasmine have severely muted, in others just the galbanum, and still in others the patchouli chypre base smells far more enormous than intended. The esprit concentrations generally seem to hold up well and maintain consistency, though that could be because the juice of those concentrations is typically much younger than that of the vintage extraits. In the two bottles of vintage extrait that I own, one has the galbanum top intact while the other generally goes straight to the jasmine floral heart. The galbanum is bitter green and waxy, when you can find it - a rush of freshly cut stems. When the galbanum is absent or greatly muted, the jasmine of the heart layer is immediately noticeable and pushes more of a honeyed fruity character, a sort of vague overlap to the narcissus and rose notes, before it dispenses to the white floral characters of jasmine and an oily orris. In the esprit the galbanum can be a bit iffy, but the jasmine is quite a bit brighter than it is any bottle of the extrait that I’ve smelled, which means that jasmine’s naturally green citrusy edge helps to hold up the green accord in a more convincing fashion. The narcissus note certainly helps with this, while the rose and orris seem to have been dialed back quite a bit. When the jasmine in the extrait gives out, a swell of oakmoss and patchouli comes forward in a very big and very loud fashion. For a classic extrait that would typically stay close to the skin, Miss Dior Extrait projects and sillages quite powerfully, and the esprit is no slouch either but it seems to have a bit less oomph than the extrait. This is probably due to there being noticeably less oakmoss to my bottle of the esprit, opting for more of the patchouli that has a loamy and green edge to it. The extrait eventually, after a long time, gets to the same place with the loamy green patchouli, but its brown earthiness is more pronounced. Miss Dior in both concentrations and in vintage formulations is gorgeous and exemplars of the vintage green chypre genre. Note, however, that neither the extrait nor the esprit have anything to do with the Miss Dior available to us in retail today. Formulations of Miss Dior created since the turn of the century should really have been called a different perfume, since the sweet fruity and soapy floral character is about as opposite to the Miss Dior of Jean Carles as it’s possible to get. Ironically, this old Miss Dior that I know and love is quite unisex today with its bitter greens, oakmoss and patchouli, and maybe that was the problem. Today’s ladies are likely not going to buy anything that smells like these old extraits or esprits, and how the hell would you successfully sell a perfume called Miss Dior to today’s man, the kind that would find it excruciatingly hard to explain to his gym bros and fellow craft IPA connoisseurs. I suppose this means that the Miss Dior I know and love is dead and doomed to stay that way, which is an awful pity. I really enjoy her company.

I worked at the Christian Dior counter as a manager for almost three years between 2008-2011. I have a bottle of Miss Dior Esprit De Parfum that has a batch code from 2007. It was a tester bottle,which we had been sent in to demonstrate Miss Dior EDT before it's 2011 reform. I would often acquire testers as incentives for making targets ect. I don't see any page to review this version, which is a shame because it single handedly sparked my intense passion for complex vintage mossy scents. This fragrance is a full bodied mossy green floral that starts off with a burst of lemony glabanam. Then softens (after at least 3 hours) in to an alurring white floral jasmine, lily of the valley and rose. Ending with a fully loaded base rich with oakmoss, veitiver and patchouli. I wore this fragrance to see my grandfather in the hospital before he passed away in 2010. The staff were none to pleased by my choice of such a forceful scent. ( I wore Tuscany Per Donna by Estée Lauder to my Grandmother's death bed four years later and no one was offended, lesson learned). I also experimented with ketamine in order to totally and full experienced this complex jem, as some of you might know it really heightens your olfactory senses. It was quite the trip twisting and turning as each layer unfolded. It was like walking through a bright sunny green feild into a deep mossy forest but at the tree line is a bed of lush flowers you have to meander through. I don't think you can buy this formulation, I'm not sure you ever could in Canada where I live. So I do feel blessed to own my little bottle. I wear it in very early spring when the snow is mealting and the first green grass is poking out. It will linger with you on your coats and scarves for the rest of the season, so for me in really embodies early spring ( feb-early April). If anyone knows anything about this formulation please write a review and enlighten me.

I wasn't sure what to do. Buy it or not, as I already have the eau de toilette originale. But the rating on this one is higher, so I bought it anyway. Yes, there is a difference! This version is less fatty, less soapier, dryer somehow if it makes any sense. Therefore I think it is closer to Vol de nuit, as well. In case you're a parfum-nut like me, it's worth having both. Otherwise you may be more happy buying 2 completely different perfumes. For me: I love having a new perfume :-)

Wow! My brand new bottle of fragrance sprays a real, dry as bone, classic chypre! Green ranging from fresh to deep. A jasmin that a jasmin-wary nose can love. Dry patchouli! No need for niche nor vintage here. Impressive! Why don't more design houses deliver such classic goods? Was this classic never that dependent on oak moss? About one hour in, becomes arguably unisex. I'm going to want the extrait, if it tops this.

I have been wearing this since the late '90's, yes, the Esprit de Parfum - so not sure why the description says it was launched in 2011. This is a beautifully elegant fragrance that dries down to a mossy green floral. The staying power is incredible. This is not a sweet, little girl perfume, this is a grown up "don't mess with me" lady who means business.