Sauvage Eau Forte

Ladies and gentlemen, I am apparently about to go to war with the fragrance side of the internet. I am not a fan of Francis Kurkdjian’s work. I’m not a fan of metro/sweet/club fragrances such as most of the Le Male line, or his arguably even larger personal hit, BR540. I think that he specializes in synthetic sweet bombs that most younger men and women enjoy. And let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with that. However, it was my personal theory that he doesn’t particularly enjoy making “truly” masculine fragrances, as it’s not his specialty and he doesn’t particularly identify with the concept of masculinity in fragrances, or at least doesn’t find it compelling. Again, there’s nothing wrong with any of that, and any artist is entitled to create that which they find compelling as much as it is up to the consumer to decide if they wish to engage with that kind of product. With that being said, I was concerned when he was announced as the new in house perfumer for Dior because I didn’t know how he would handle the Fahrenheit and Sauvage lines. Lines that, mind you, are unapologetically and even stereotypically masculine, each a masterpiece and testament to their respective generation’s interpretation of what “masculinity” smells like. I didn’t think he would do a good job, and I had very little faith. I was wrong. While shopping at Dillards I noticed that they just got in a tester for pre-sale. Apparently it officially comes in stock on the 15th. After seeing a couple videos on it, one of which being from Gents Scents, who did not like it much at all (I actually do respect his opinion heavily), I knew I had to test the fragrance for myself immediately. It’s worth noting that I am not interested in alcohol free formulas and think that they are a pointless gimmick, and I already had in my mind that even if this smells decent I’ll hate it because of the texture and lack of performance. Expecting to hate it, being biased against FK, being biased against alcohol free fragrances, being biased against the scent itself by the content I consumed, I sprayed four long pressurized sprays onto the back of my hand, put it to my nose, and was shocked. It genuinely smells good. It smells cooling, it smells masculine, it smells clean, it smells like pepper, it smells like that Dior lavender: it smells like a Sauvage. I think the best way to describe it, and those who smell it down the line may very well agree, is that it is like (on my skin) a Dior Sauvage soda in the sense that it is sweeter like the edp, peppery, and effervescent. Then, in the dry down, it gets sweet and creamy on my skin and smells like a Sauvage Ice Cream. And here is the kicker gentlemen, it actually does perform acceptably well. It’s performance is no where near bad on my skin like other people are saying. I think the best way to describe the performance is that it’s not as fantastic as any of the other Sauvage scents, but, it’s stronger than the alcohol based fragrance known as Mont Blanc Explorer. It projects about arms length, and it lasts all day. Finally, the milky vibe isn’t as bad as you think it is. Dior atomizers aren’t like other brands. If you spray it the way it’s meant to be sprayed, it comes out in a delicate but large mist that throughly disperses the fragrances all over your skin. You don’t tap/click the sprayer like other fragrances. You strongly yet slowly spray, and you spray a good couple of times. I promise you, if you “over spray” like you would a weaker fragrance such as Mont Blanc Explorer, you will be very happy with its performance. Overall, I’m going to give it an 8/10, eat my words about FK, and say that if you like the idea of a woody, lavender, Sauvage Ice Cream, this may be one you want to look into. Don’t believe the hate, and please test it yourself. Edit: Actually, the price point is standard market value for a parfum concentration. Dior Sauvage Parfum is $193 for 100ml, Sauvage Elixir is $193 for 60ml, and this is also $193 for 100ml. For the rest of the designer houses (Chanel, YSL, GA, Gucci, etc.), they range from around $180 - $200, with the exception of Tom Ford which charges $300 for 100ml parfum concentration versions of their mainline fragrances. I have therefore removed my negative comment regarding the price point.

Genuinely cannot understand the hate for this. As subjective as scents are, this feels like a 'pile-on'. I tried this after receiving a free sample dab bottle. Immediately I felt it was a very masculine and modern fougere that just smells good with nothing offensive at all. For ages I didn't bother trying it or have on my radar, because I can't be bothered with poor performance in scents. There was so much negativity i though there was no point. Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, this has average performance at minimum. I read other reviews commenting on it having good performance, and one person stated if you know where the spray then it has great performance. For me, applying to the chest area works an absolute dream in terms of longevity. Some concentrated sprays on the chest, and then some repeat misting up and down the arms and around the neck works for me. I can apply to my chest and smell this the following day, and it retains all its enjoyable parts rather than becoming a simple base. It's genuinely one of the best finds of 2025 for me. Today my proper bottle of it arrived (which I got second hand for an absolute steal because it's so overlooked). I do not see me losing interest in this one throughout 2026. It's better than Sauvage EDT, EDP and Parfum. Smells nothing like it. It's great owning this and Elixir. Solid, dependable scents from the line.

Got to admit, I’ve been curious about this one for a while. Initial spray is very sweet, then come the woods and spices (nutmeg, pine, cypress & cedar) which add a deeper, darker, more resinous vibe. As it settles, the lavender becomes the dominant note; it has a sun-bleached, faded sort of vibe that I really like, and is not as oppressive as I sometimes find lavender to be. The Sauvage DNA is there in the background, underpinning the whole experience. It becomes muskier as it fades gradually away. Being an alcohol free formula, the initial spray is quite watery and can run down your arm. It leaves a small amount of oily residue also. Neither are complaints, just observations. To me, this feels like a cross between the EDT and the Elixir. I would say it’s the sweetest of the line, and perhaps the most traditionally unisex (although I am a woman and will happily wear any of the range, so make of that what you will). It lasts about 6 hours on my skin, and projects moderately. It is slightly more subdued than some of its brothers, but not everything needs to be beast mode. It’s beautifully smooth and aromatic; definitely not deserving of the hate it seems to be getting, although of course everyone’s tastes vary. I enjoy this, and would consider buying a FB.

Hell yeah Dior, this is a headturner that exudes confident masculinity. I ain't gonna lie though because at first smell of that opening I said to myself this is some kind of fragrance nothingness. But me having years of scent experience backed up my notions of not being so quick to judge especially since it's a fragrance made by the great Dior. So I tried it out several times on skin and it smells really nice. It even feels like it can attract a crowd of low-key fragrance admires looking to get some wafts of the scent trail. Even at one point I was walking outside and I was like what is smeeling so damn good. It was me. Very impressive moment for Sauvage forte. Something like Santal 33 meets Sauvage very cool spray then the current Dior homme woodiness added to the fray and lastly made whole with hints of Sauvage Parfum(and of course all that Sauvage linear good performance included). Keep pumping these slightly sweet Sauvages out whenever the wind blows. They truly enrich my days. Oh. Let me not leave out that this fragrance is giving the aura something that is very rare in the fragrance industry and that is it being something like a warm weather gourmand, vanilla/lavender. That's right, fresh yummy.

I’m definitely in the minority here, but I think this smells awesome. My girlfriend HATES it though. I love ultra woody smells and this kind of caters to that. It also has some clean musk and I totally get the “bleached lavender” vibe MFK was going for when he constructed this. Basically smells like a sharper, almost astringent lavender note. With the balsamic elemi resin which makes it so interesting and enigmatic. What’s wrong with this fragrance is that it should not be in the Sauvage line at all. It should’ve been its own fragrance. But of course they wanted that Sauvage sales money... Also, the price tag is absolutely ridiculous for a designer scent. I sprayed this on at a Sephora store and I’ve been enjoying it throughout the day. Upon first sniff I get this enigmatic resinous woody smell that is extremely hard to explain, but I find it masculine and mysterious. My grandparents live in a cabin in the woods with a wood stove and I feel like this is the way one of the rooms in that cabin would smell. Not a crowd pleaser, and hard to justify the price, but if you love woods and resins this may just be your new jam.