Miss Dior 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.

A deceiving name for 21st Dichotomy “We as perfume enthusiasts have a solid idea of the different eras of perfumery and why certain genres i.e chypres, fougères, orientals carry gendered legacies. But what if those legacies were never as rigid as we’ve been taught?” Gender in perfumery and fragrances: The millenia of the horticulture of perfumes has been under traumatic gender associations throughout its massification. Genres like chypres and orientals being the core derivatives of the feminines, whereas fougeres and citrus woody(s) being the masculines. The very first well known chypre being Chypre de Coty was directed for the 18th century classy women, whereas Fougere Royale being the first fougere for men. Miss Dior, a chypre officially released in the late 40s for the masses was among the first green-floral chypres marking a brand new facet to the pre-existing genre for a wider permutation. This is basically Dior at their peak with a revolution, having brilliant minds like Jean Charles and Paul Vacher work, which later was extended by Edmond Roudnitska. MY TAKE: Miss dior, don't let the name fool your neurons; the “Miss” here refer to the 19th century misses. it was seen as how a women with class and intricacies might smell like back then. Which to todays reference smells more like a unisex or even mens release. The original 1947 (extract) formula is a chiaroscuro of contrasts, much like the interplay of light in a photograph. Its green-floral chypre structure opens with a sharp, almost metallic bergamot (limonene’s citrus bite), softened by galbanum’s sappy verdancy. The galbanum is razor sharp and crushed, not sliced an emerald bitterness that still feels avant-garde. The heart is a labyrinth, a narcotic jasmine absolute (indole’s animalic hum) clashing with cool, dewy muguet (hydroxycitronellal’s soapy elegance), all anchored by a leathery rose—a nod to phenethyl alcohol’s velvety depth, all smothered in 100year old patchouli EO. The genius flare emerges in the base: a rotten elegance of civet and oakmoss, fermented via a phenolic leather accord (likely IBQ) that reads as “feminine” only through the lens of postwar optimism. Structurally, it’s closer to a fougère’s bone marrow to lavender’s ghost haunts the geranium heart, but inverted, with moss shouldering 70% of the pyramid. Why Vintage Miss Dior Defies Time Consider sillage as a wave function, vintage Miss Dior’s projection is a probability cloud, oscillating between floral luminosity and earthy decay. Its longevity (8+ hours) stems from nitro-musks, now banned for phototoxicity but prized for their radiant persistence. Modern iterations rely on a messy ethyl maltol cotton-candy diffusion, a monochromatic sweetness that collapses the fragrance’s quantum complexity into a flatline. Wearing (40s-90s) vintage Miss Dior today is an experiment in paradox. Is it masculine? Feminine? Both. Neither. Its oakmoss-leather coupling resonates with the austerity of a tailored suit, while the jasmine-muguet duo blooms like a silk gown. This duality mirrors quantum superposition, a scent existing in multiple states until perceived. Modern perfumery, obsessed with gender binaries, could learn from this.

Miss Dior from 1947, by two perfumers, whose perhaps "trademarks" are imprinted on this beauty. The meeting of two genius noses of their time. Jean Carles. I am not sure, but having seen that he was behind Me Griffe and Schiaparelli Shocking, I suspect he was behind Le Six de Schiaparelli, created in 1937, a precursor of verdant loveliness, to this creation for the house of Dior. Et Paul Vacher, who created the mighty Arpege (and until you whiff the vintage, Arpege may not be so spectacular to you). Miss Dior was reworked fairly recent (unsure when), with a new "originale" version. But this is far more complex that the notes above suggest. Notes are: Top: Gardenia, galbanum, clary sage, aldehydes Heart: Jasmine, rose, neroli, narcissus, iris, eyelet, lily of the valley Base: Patchouli, cistus-labdanum, oakmoss, ambergris, sandalwood, vetiver, leather (cuir de Russie) Vintage parfum, not sure of the date, but it is pre-barcode, but says 30ml/1Oz.. am guessing late 1970's. I am immediately hit with a floral green aldehyde chypre. crystalline. then warm mossy woods with a touch of dirtiness and leather. straight backed. becoming warm. sexy. naughty. Miss Dior. Having not yet managed to get my mits on Ma Griffe, Chypre de Coty nor Vent Verte, I am unable to compare with these other green beauties, who I understand share a passing resemblance to Miss Dior. I am also getting a dry down reminder to the base of the lovely Heure Exquise, but Miss Dior is smoother, silkier, creamier, more complex. This perfume to my nose is where the haughty green chypre club meets the floral aldehyde posse. So would suit anyone who fancies that kind of fusion. I personally cannot get enough of my vintage collection of green goddesses. Pure bliss. Having had a vintage splurge recently, as a glut just suddenly appeared on eBay - I wonder whether I will ever again appreciate "modern" materials in perfume. I hope so.

A bit fat YES to this one, despite the fact it opens up with a slap in the face from very powerful chypre demons!! The 1st time I smelled it out of the bottle cap - it smelled like old lady's panties. I could not fathom who in the world would ever want to wear that! Then, after a while, feeling too intrigued, I just decided to surrender the designer hype ( figuring, Dior could have NOT possibly deserved the good name producing bottled stale pee!! ) and bought pure perfume on Ebay, for a song, compared to the store prices. It was still a risky venture, but I thought - hey, I'll put it on when I want to play pretentious just for laughs, or when/if I hit 80! Sprayed on the skin, waited out ca. 10 minutes - and WOOOOOOOW, it just kept evolving and blossoming, light, freshly-cut-grass green, sunny and so fragile!! After "Gianni Versace" by Versace this is the 2nd perfume that changes so much, starting as hideous and peaking in perfection! If I ever get to the point in life, when I can afford this high-class stuff to penetrate my daily life , I will definitely make Miss Dior my spring/summer signature scent, COCO taking over in colder times. For now it's a fancy daytime summer occasions perfume for me - and I hope I will have a lot of them in the coming year just to have an excuse to wear Miss Dior!

I have just opened a recent purchase of a vintage Miss Dior gift set - 2 ounces of EDT and 1/8 ounce 'parfum pour le sac' - in its original satin-lined presentaion box. Like Carinas, I bought this blind. In my case it was just on the strength of my love of all the other Dior-named creations I have. I am wearing a small dab of the parfum, and it is transporting me to another time and place. A place where refinement and etiquette are the orders of the day. Where there is mutual respect between the sexes as well as an appreciation of the differences. The old song "I Enjoy Being A Girl" is swirling in my head and I am tripping lightly down the street in a beautiful day dress with my handbag swinging. (But I am not a Stepford wife!) The thing I love most about the scent is the balmy notes. Most of my favorite perfumes are either fresh green scents (like Diorella) or lush florals (like Diorissimo). And if what I'm sensing is patchouli, all I can say is that I must never have experienced it in its purest form. This is a truly feminine and beautifully crafted fragrance and, like all my other vintage Diors, is a gift from the past.