Diva

"DIVA is a sophisticated and feminine perfume. An unforgettable fragrance with a distinctively sensual powdery note. A feminine, sensual and sophisticated Ungaro signature Diva is a semi-oriental floral-chypre perfume." That's what Ungaro's site says. Correct. When perfumery nose Polge decides to deliver HE DOES. With Diva everything is on the place. If you ever wondered what a good, brutally feminine fragrance is, smell Diva. If you dare, test it. When I did that for the first time I was so impressed... I had to have it. Fast. A lot. Constantly. I violated people with this scent. And they loved it. Yes. People love to be violated by beauty and might. Diva is might. That's why this is diva. One that inspires others and reveals herself only inside intimate moments. Between the two of you. Don't expect more. This is a famous perfume. The epitome of strong femininity. Femme fatale could easily wear it. While simple girls can't. It will give no chance to weaknesses. This fragrance doesn't pity anyone and doesn't give a chances. Just one. Every perfume has a colour. This one is black. It's a witch perfume. It's a feather perfume. It smells like fine feathers full of vintage powder. While gently biting your skin. Like it loves the body's intense scent. Like it teases it. When it settles it's feaders powdery magic. This is a mastery fragrance. Popular perfume by Emanuel Ungaro for women, released in 1983 still going strong. Very very strong... Top notes: Cardamom, Coriander, Tuberose, Aldehydes, Bergamot, Mandarin orange, Rosewood, Hyacinthe... The opening is citrussy fresh with 'fatty' sparkling aldehydes. Vintage slap. Right there. That toxic aldehydes (all vintage, class woman right there). Hairspray, synthetic stockings, powder, fine-smelling soap, bee wax lipstick, cigarette! Vivid, remaining even when the scent settles. Ohh yes! Heavenly. Then spices join in. So let's describe them. They don't jump in. They penetrate in. Very sexually. Cardamom. Ultimately, cardamom is an essential element in the perfume industry, bringing a touch of exoticism and originality to modern olfactory creations. Cardamom's aromatic profile is complex and rich, offering a variety of warm, sweet and spicy notes. Perfumers often use cardamom as a top note to add a zesty, spicy touch to their fragrances. Cardamom is often combined with notes such as ginger, black pepper and cinnamon to create warm, intoxicating fragrances. In perfumery, cardamom blends well with other spicy notes such as black pepper, clove and cinnamon. It can also be combined with floral notes such as rose and jasmine to create a more sensual, feminine fragrance. Cardamom also combines well with woody notes such as cedar and sandalwood to create a warmer, deeper fragrance. All that we have in this fragrance. But not without Coriander. Which I adore. Coriander has a characteristic, complex perfume, combining spicy, herbaceous, fresh and slightly lemony notes. Its fresh leaves have a green, slightly pungent perfume reminiscent of parsley. The main constituent of coriander seed is linalool. The seeds offer a warmer, spicier aroma with woody nuances. BUT... That's not over. We have the first flower in. Top Notes remember? Tuberose. Which I adore. See? Diva enters big. Sucks in all attention. Intoxicating everything around. Tuberose voluptuous as it is doesn't give any mercy to anyone. In Victorian times, tuberose symbolised ‘dangerous pleasure’ and voluptuousness – and that’s pretty much what perfumers are aiming for when they use it. In India, meanwhile, it’s known for its aphrodisiac powers (young women are advised not to breathe its scent, after dark.) YES, the mysterious Tuberose. Coated with Bergamot. Complex and deep at the same time; similar to lime, but with floral, herbal, and resinous undertones. That bitterness that I love. The envy bitterness. Right there at the beginning... Absolutely amazing! With Orange blossoms, deep mysterious rosewood and a scream of fresh hyacinth. A complex scent which can be interpreted within a large palette of notes. Sometimes, it builds on its heady, floral-animalistic note. That's the case here. Diva tells you right at the beginning "I will eat you alive." Imagine that! That's the opening. It has also that leathery slightly dirty violent push. I dream of the soap smelling like this... Not over at all... Diva is just getting ready. Because that opening is long. Strong. It chases away all weak characters and consumes only admirers. If you don't like the opening, leave. The rest of mastery will give you lifetime complexes of less worth. Diva is transcendent' for it to be placed in any era. It's a timeless class! It is only vintage in the way it outperformed the linear, boring scents of today. It eats them. Before middle notes swim into top notes. Yes, here that is the case. While you are enjoying a melange of the top notes suddenly... Heart Notes: Carnation is not to smell first, there is Jasmine first but let's keep the written order I can write the smelling developing notes. "The earliest references to the carnation date back to Greek and Roman times. The Greeks called it "Dianthos", meaning "divine flower" or "flower of the gods". The Romans commonly used carnations for various ceremonies and festivities. In the Middle Ages, the carnation gained popularity in Europe and was cultivated in royal gardens and monasteries. The flower was highly prized for its pleasant fragrance and delicate petals. Over time, numerous varieties of carnations were developed by horticulturists, giving rise to a great diversity of colours and shapes. The carnation has become a much-loved flower in bouquets, floral arrangements and perfumes, thanks to its heady fragrance and timeless beauty. " (bonparfumeur) Carnation contains that green smoke-like note. Rarely captured. Here in this scent, you can smell it. That's the most beautiful part of different notes captured inside beautiful flowers. Jasmine. Clean, strong and masculine. It's like a flower with a penis. Jasmine gives richness and intensity to fragrances: a sweet floral note, but with a dead-sexy muskiness to it. If you smell different concentrated 'absolutes' (the oily liquids created through macerating the jasmine flowers), they have their own characteristics: some smell medicinal, some sweet, some musky, some green. I have a collection of oil-based scents from Muslim countries. Jasmin and oil as carrier. All smell different. One from Palestine. Very old. Smells green. A blast of green notes dancing around the sharp jasmine smell. Same I smell with Diva. Not over yet! Narcissus. Very hard not to bring on your side. Polge succeed. It didn't overtake the whole soul of the perfume. See what is going on here? Diva doesn't stop. Gets stronger every moment. Floral, green, fruity, animal, honeyed, fierce, bewitching, narcotics of Narcisse. Fiercely bewitching and ever-narcotic, the scent of narcissus is renowned for a reason. Its heady, honeyed facets are both animalic and sweet. They are! Joined by Orris root mainly as a fixative and base note in perfumery. Telling you "I am here to stay. You must leave." The dried roots of the plant are ground up, distilled and extracted into either a resin, an absolute or a butter. They have a buttery-soft, smooth and skin-like scent. Its powdery aroma is undeniable and can also be reminiscent of suede or even freshly baked bread. And still, it's not over. Tired already? 2 powerful Roses (Moroccan and Türkis) will shake you into cosy powdery heaven. Both smell different, both working on the mission to refresh your tired nose with subtle, erotic and dark Ylang-ylang. It's over for you. The spell is thrown. Parfumery in reality is witchcraft. Now look at this. Diva the black dressed witch is telling you that you have a prison now. It's called Diva Base Notes. The Contra spell doesn't exist. Oakmoss, Honey, Musk, Patchouli, Amber, Iris, Vetiver, Civet, Sandalwood, Vanilla This is beyond beauty. Beyond playing coincidence. Beyond the majority of Polge parfumés that he invented or provoked with greatness with them. Yes, he invented also a lot of cheap linear shames! Yes, for big names. Corporations. He failed. With Diva he wrote himself into history. I won't go into describing every note from The Top Notes. I leave it to you to try it. That, with all from up of course more gentle, will be your long-lasting dry down. It will seduce you forever. Bottle is in my eyes absolute beauty. Some people say whiskey bottle? No. It's like early vintage Art Deco bottles. Also, ALL other vintage versions of the original bottle are Divine. Search. Buy. Another femme fatale fragrance.

I first fell in love with the work of designer Emanuel Ungaro at the age of 9 years. It was during an Ebony Fashion Fair presentation to which my mother had taken me in the late 1980s. Short history lesson: Ebony Fashion Fair was a popular traveling fashion runway show within the African American community that featured the haute couture and Ready To Wear of elite fashion designers from around the world. It was the brainchild of the late Eunice Johnson who was married to the late John Johnson. Together the Johnsons established the iconic African American news and society magazine, Ebony. The Ebony Fashion Fair runway show began during the late 1950s initially as a means of showcasing both black models who were often barred from participating in the mainstream fashion world as well as to present the fashion collections of black designers. This was back in the day when the world of high fashion was very insulated in terms of class and race. The money raised from such presentations was to be used for community charities. Eventually the shows became so successful that Ms. Johnson began to seek participation from mainstream design houses as well. This proved to be quite difficult due to the stereotypes that surrounded African Americans at that time. Many of the mainstream designers did not believe that there was an audience to be had among blacks, especially black women. Often, black clients could not even book buying appointments with the mainstream design ateliers. The design houses did not believe that there were black people who could afford the clothing nor did they want to risk losing their majority audience by having blacks wearing the same clothing. There were certain designers who were always supportive and inclusive, such as Pucci, Valentino, Mackie. The House of Ungaro was one of the favored houses of the Ebony Fashion Fair and partly because Emanuel Ungaro was also one of the initial designers who readily participated. Okay...so enough history. Now...picture it...Sicily... (kidding but points if you got the reference) It's the late 80s, I'm nine years old in a central Valley California auditorium waiting to see a couture spectacle. I'm wearing my finest sitting next to my mother who is dressed up as well. The entire audience is decked out to the nines. The people are looking almost as good as the models! Where the fashion world got the idea that black people don't like to dress, I don't know. They need only attend a black church service to have that stereotype laid to rest. The hall lights dim and out walk...no STRUT...the first models. I have been in love with high fashion ever since. Out of all of the garments that I saw that evening, the clothing that most caught my eye, were those by Ungaro. They were opulent and sophisticated. They were baroque with beading, heavy embroidery, and vibrant colors. They were exactly what would be worn by...a diva. Years later, I unwrap the cellophane from the white box. Open it's cardboard inner layer, and remove the heavy glass bottle reminiscent of fine baccarat crystal. Even the stopper/cap has heft to it as it's also made of glass-- how rare these days. The juice is a deep amber color, my bottle is from the early 2000s. I spritz a small bit on my arm and I am pleasantly overwhelmed by a beautiful bouquet of crimson red bulgarian roses in all of their sumptuous amber chocolate animalic glory. The roses sit in a fine crystal vase with touches of gold filigree around the base. The vase sits on a dark mahogany table in a room drenched in sunlight with heavy tapestry curtains and brilliant gold antique rococo influences. This fragrance belongs to the type of woman whom you will never see partially clad or wearing the latest trendy ill fitting thing. You will never catch this woman without her lipstick which is always the most well applied deep dark red. You will never catch her without her high heels. You will never catch her in any way that does not bespeak elegance, sophistication, and quiet confidence. She's not dry or staid however...but the very essence of womanly sensuality The little girl inside of me is swooning---this is what grown ladies smell like. The dry down is soft and spicy fading from an opulent oil painting to a impressionist water color. Longevity is good and sillage is appropriate to the name of the fragrance. In other words, spray lightly. I am in love with diva...but of course!

I blind bought Diva back in April but didn't wear it up until now because from the bottle it smelled so strongly of patchouli that it overwhelmed everything else, and the paper test was no better. Everything pointed towards the bitter end for me and Diva. I still kept it just to have it as a part of my collection and it likely would've stayed untouched if I hadn't purchased Obsession, another huge hit from the 80s. Since I liked it quite a lot, I thought I'd give Diva one more chance as well. Either I've changed or the scent has in the span of six months - or perhaps a bit of both - but the stars aligned and I don't pick up the killer patchouli anymore. Better yet, I do love it and most certainly want to wear it. Furthermore, I'm confident this is the best female chypre ever. Yep, we've come a long way. Seeing the reviews across multiple platforms that call it dated, "old lady" and such, I'll just say this: do not approach vintage perfume expecting a modern scent, you'd just be setting yourself up for disappointment. And if your dislike for Diva or vintage chypres in general stems from aversion towards old-fashioned scents, it is, for the lack of more respectable terms, perfectly valid but still a question of personal preference rather than critique of the perfume itself. In modern conditions it is hard enough to keep legendary perfumes authentic-smelling so they can preserve their legacy (we've all seen world-famous brands destroying their heritage out of pure greed), and luckily, Diva wasn't turned into an oversimplified, watered down, synthetic mess. It smells very authentic to the year 1985, the way it was meant to. Wearing it makes me feel like a time traveler, not like a modern person chasing after the long gone grandeur of vintage perfumery. A little bit about me: I dislike oakmoss, I dislike spices and can't stand animalic scents. Patchouli is my sworn enemy. Diva still rocks. Yes, against all odds, rendering my general preferences irrelevant because somehow it all still works out and my usual complaints regarding those notes do no apply. Oakmoss isn't prickly and medicinal and spices aren't revoltingly bitter or flat and civet doesn't smell like unwashed privates and patchouli made itself scarce. That's just my POV, though, and I can't guarantee the same for you but this I can say for sure: when approaching it, do expect a blast of aldehydes, vintage powder, old-fashioned mossy smell, heavily dated florals, smokey honeyed civet. Expect a totally vintage perfume, which is what it is. Somewhat skanky but strangely, in a sexy way. Bitter, truly - not even bittersweet - to me as a lover of everything saccharine, but somehow very nuanced still. Provocatively loud, completely justifying its name. So well-composed and well-blended you could even begin to feel as if it was made specifically for you like L'Interdit of 1957 was made for Audrey Hepburn's personal use. Undeniably a touch of old-fashioned class and elegance despite the overall loudness, a testament to Jacques Polge's skill. You don't have to like it and don't even have to appreciate it for any of these reasons; it will remain the perfect example of a masterfully crafted 80s female chypre regardless. Not a "timeless" scent: it doesn't comply, doesn't adhere to the turn of time. Just like a true diva. There is nothing modern about this perfume. Diva is pure retro chic and I'm here for it.

1983 Jacques Polge Chypre Gem of HONEY-ROSE-OAKMOSS with Civet, Coriander & Sandalwood. Language evolves, and the term 'Diva' didn't mean exactly the same thing in 1983 as it does today. There was more of an aspirational tone to the word that's illustrated by the '80s film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985). Bored & desperate housewife, Roberta (Rosanna Arquette), 'desperately' wants to be like what she imagines Bohemian drifter, Susan (Madonna), to be. Just how Roberta dons Susan's jacket with its gold-thread pyramid on the back, one could spray on Diva, and gain a little of that sparkling, Bohemian star quality. In the first couple of minutes before the spray dries, I can feel the coriander and oakmoss. Once the spray dries, and the sillage starts to open up, I get tuberose & aldehydes, with carnation & honey swelling through. As it transitions to the floral heart there's rose & ylang added to the mix. This has a traditional chypre base with oakmoss that's sweetened by honey & soft woody tones from sandalwood. Civet is there in the base, but it's well blended. There's a lot going on here, but overall I get a coriander forward vintage chypre-floral that has some sweetness from honey & creaminess from tuberose & sandalwood. Performance is excellent, and what you would expect for a vintage chypre. It's a love for me. 10/10 for a vintage chypre. Enjoy! Contrast to Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso: These are different, although Paloma Picasso was released the year after Diva and there are similarities with rose, coriander, ylang, oakmoss & civet. However Diva is sweeter & creamier with forward honey & tuberose, while Paloma Picasso has much more forward animalics. Both have excellent performance. Contrast to Coco Chanel EDP: These are different, but these are both composed by Jacques Polge and there are similarities with rose, coriander, yellow-floral, civet & sandalwood. Coco has a more forward amber accord, while Diva is a chypre. Both have excellent performance. Update 02/13/25: Sprayed this on this morning as it's very cold. I love these bold vintage chypres, but mainly dare to wear them in the heart of winter. Diva is one of my favourites, especially for the rose here. The animalics are there, but have a more natural feel when compared to Paloma Picasso. Love it.

This is luxurious, sensual, and oozes golden, oily persona out of the receiver pinholes of an old telephone, trickling warm down your arm as a throaty voice on the other end groans something lecherous in a foreign language. It has all the Cronenberg DNA of the ideal 1980s female chypre, doffing it's cap to Shalimar while the hot air of a passing subway train full of mugwumps and Canadian-accented gene editors blows up its skirt from underneath. It smells like Nicki Brand, from Videodrome, but it also smells like, Bill Lee from Naked Lunch. Like the best feminine chypres of the era, it could easily work on a man with the will to wield it. You guys need to start trying this. LISTEN TO ME! YOU PRICK. LISTEN! *holding your face tightly in my hands, while gritting my teeth a half centimeter from your eyelashes* All the serious femininity is burned in the first hour of wear. Have you even left home by then? There are masculine ouds that stay delicate for longer. The aldehydes are toyed with by the amberous, spicy, patchoulescent animalia until they are exhausted, like Christian Bale's Batman interrogating Heath Ledger's Joker. "There's nothing you can do with all your strength" *licks lips* What you are left with is a unisex sensuality that is owned by whichever gender wears it. And it lasts! And it projects! And it's sweet, but green. And it's dark, but honey-gold. It is erotic but not necessarily come hither. It is a sort of fleshy, sexual dialectic. Allow yourself to inhabit it, men. Women, get over your chocolate cake tiramisu cappuccino sandalwood vanillism and allow yourself to live a few days with something that smells old fashioned at first. If you keep smelling soap, it's because you don't know how to smell anymore after steeping in cacao and praline or trend-chasing scents too manically to spend time with any particular fragrance. Let yourself get used to something. And, at such an intensely modest price point, choose to get used to Diva. More approachable than Paloma Picasso. More affordable than Montana Parfum de Peau. And a 50 ml EDP will last you for a long time, considering how few sprays you'll need. Sexy and perfect. I will be wearing this regularly. Warmer than Paloma. Spicier than Montana. Incredible.

I was curious about Diva after I learned that it is the perfume that Jacques Polge created a year before he came up with the formula for Coco (1984), the signature scent of my early 20s. Back then, I chose Coco entirely for superficial branding associations (I was young and dumb and it wasn't as easy to research fragrances back then as it is now), but it turned out to be a scent profile that grabs me to this very day: clove-kissed rose with citrus notes, an in-between kind of fragrance that hovers over the various categories (oriental, floral, amber-woody) and eventually transcends them altogether. Diva is built around a big, mossy rose. You might expect it to be a big, glossy rose, a luxuriant, backstage-bouquet type of rose, but you would be mistaken. Diva is a rose chypre, a rose engulfed in a dark welter of forest--woods, herbs, spices. Diva might not be as elegant and iconic as Coco, but in its own way it's more affecting, or at least more poignant, even in its reformulated version. Also unlike Coco, Diva is (almost heartbreakingly) underpriced. I find the rose-chypre combination bewildering in a good way, an enchanted forest kind of way. There is oakmoss (almost certainly not real, alas, which makes me want to look for a vintage, pre-IFRA formulation) and vetiver and a dark juicy rose. Woods (sandalwood I'm pretty sure, maybe cedar). Some kind of citrus--maybe tangerine? It's a strangely liminal fragrance: not really a pure floral fragrance, and not really a chypre, and weirdly fruity also. And always the rose regnant! It's by Ungaro and made in Italy (to this day, it would appear), but it smells very very frannnnnnnnnnnnnnch, thanks to Polge. He based the scent on the rose because he loved the rose, but also because the rose is part of the family symbol for Ungaro, something I learned from reading Fragrantica. I'd love to smell the vintage version someday--as great as this reformulation is, it probably suffers from the absence of real sandalwood and oakmoss. Then again, maybe it's better not to find out, since loving a scarce commodity is a recipe for disappointment.

When I first sprayed this on I didn't really understand what I was smelling. The notes in this are very well blended, and in the opening that kind of makes it a bit hard to find out what kind of personality this scent has. It feels warm, a littlebit spicy maybe, and sligtly ambery and incensy - without smelling a 100% like any of those things. Because I had a hard time understanding this perfume I thought I didn't like it. But thankfully I tried it again, and the Diva opened up to me and let me in - and oh my gosh, she is gorgeous! This fragrance does open like an enigma of notes on the skin. But the deep red intensely arabian smelling rose emerges not too long after application and makes the scent a lot more understandable. It's a very deep and sensual rose, it's blended beautifully with other floral notes to create a diverse and interesting rose scent with so many facets and layers. The deep, slightly animalic honey follows right behind the rose and lends a lovely ambery sweetness and depth to the scent. When the honey mixes with the oakmoss in the base I'm reminded of another classic fragrance: Lancome Magie Noire. Diva and Magie Noire is in no way twins, but they have the same deep green, mossy sweetness - but where Magie Noire is a fierce and frightening sorceress, Diva is a soft and alluring enchantress. Two very different personalities indeed, but they still have an interesting undertone in common. These two are both powerful ladies, but they exhibit their power in two very different ways. After about one and a half or two hours on my skin, most of the rose is gone and I'm left with honey, a gentle oakmoss and the civet. Civet has always worked amazing on my skin, it smells like a combination of smoldering incense and dirty honey - and this scent is no exception. The drydown on Diva smells like I've bathed in milk and honey and then walked through a room filled with mysterious, fragrant incense smoke. This Diva has a bit of that Cleopatra DNA. And I love it! Sillage is pretty strong, and dries down to a solid medium. Longevity is superb on me. It lasts all day.

I had already done a partial review on the reformulation before. Not a real review. More of my first impressions. And my first impression, at that time, was that it was STRONG. I mean like room filling strong. I really liked this honey dipped rose chypre, but ultimately found it a little too loud and dated simply because I couldn't think of an appropriate place to wear it, especially in this perfume adverse culture we're living in today. I do wear it, and enjoy it, but it's either when alone or around people who don't give a damn what I am wearing. I was always curious about how the reformulation measured up to the OG formula, so I was delighted to receive a part used bottle of the OG as a surprise bonus in a swap. Honestly, after doing a side by side comparison, to my nose there's not much difference between the original and the reform. The floral profile is the same, but the honey note a little heavier in the reform, making it a tad sweeter, and the aldehydes and spice a little heavier in the OG. But the biggest difference is there is real civet in the original formula and not in the reform, and is especially prominent and comes forward in the base. Overall, the OG formula does seem a little richer, and a little sexier because of the civet, but the difference is so minor it's negligible. Whoever did the reformulation did a wonderful job in keeping this fragrance as true to the original formula as possible. Honestly, after comparing both versions I wouldn't go out of my way, or pay the extra expense, for a vintage. Besides, buying the reform means you will most likely save money, and won't have to risk dealing with spoiled top notes. But if you want something more animalic, vintage is the way to go. No matter the version though, this is a beautiful fragrance and one worth having, especially when you feel the need to channel your inner diva. This certainly fits the bill for that.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of Fragrantica, Thank you so much. I'll try to keep this brief!! I have always adored perfume. I bought what I liked or loved the smell of and had a very simple system of categorisation: winter/summer/cheap but nice for day or work. Expensive for special events/sexy night out and my Signature scent of 30 years: Givenchy's Amarige. But until I started reading your posts and reviews it never occurred to me to consider WHY I liked them or the reason I wore them when I did. I couldn't have identified which notes pleased or repulsed me or even which family of scent the perfume belonged to. Sillage, opening, dry down, longevity were all unknown terms and considerations. But now, thanks to all of you, I am experiencing and enjoying perfume in a completely new way and quite frankly it's amazing! Perhaps one of THE most important things I have learnt is to let my perfume rest after transit and not to judge by the first couple of sprays. Which brings me to Diva! I made the mistake of trying this as soon as it arrived a few days ago. All I could smell was a spicy, powdery, woody and very dated scent. I really didn't like it either on paper or my wrist. Today I decided to try again and applied as I usually would. My newfound knowledge isn't anywhere near the levels expressed here, but I fell in love with Diva. I was enveloped in the most beautiful scent. I could detect more florals, a touch of sweetness, powdery, woody and a definite vintage feeling to Diva. It smells expensive and very classy. It was a blind buy based on reviews and I'm very happy to have this in my collection. This is my first ever review, perhaps not great in it's description of Diva but with your help I hope to improve!

I just bought a 2003 bottle of this on evilBay, got it home, sprayed it on, and immediately knew I'd made a mistake. Because it's 29 Celcius today and humid, and Diva is NOT happy. She's a fall and winter gal. I feel like I'm suffocating in furs and champagne when I should be topless sipping a Mai Tai. Oh, did you think I meant a mistake in buying the perfume? Hah! Tell me another. Diva is drop-dead stunning . A genuine old-school honeyed chypre with lush floral flesh, animalic musks that hum like neon, a properly mossy backbone, and enough glittering aldehydes to blind the sun. Why does no one talk about this stuff?! It's a classic '80s kitchen-sink concoction, dense and decadent, but smooth as hell and utterly luxurious for its modest sticker price. Imagine Lauder's Knowing under a satin slip and after-bath powder, or Cartier's La Panthère after she's matured a bit and seen the world. I don’t get much resemblance to Paloma Picasso, even though on paper they should be siblings. Paloma always seemed sour and angry to me, like Maleficent’s green-eyed glare in fragrance form. Diva is forceful but playful, bordering coquettish at times. (Maybe I just think Diva smells better. De gustibus non est disputandum. ) Don't blind-buy this unless you're of a certain age, love vintage chypres, can't bear the thought of smelling another modern fruity floral flop, or all of the above. Diva projects for miles, lasts ages without being obnoxious, and leans feminine in a velvet-evening-gown way, ie. not girly in the least. Sprayed on when the time is right, it makes me feel like Beyoncé hosting a New Year’s Eve party on top of a skyscraper. Absolutely fabulous. 💃🏽

Where to begin on this classic? I read about Diva for the first time a few days ago on Fragrantica. Then, by supreme luck, I was able to acquire a vintage Diva EDP sample from a Fragrantica swap partner. All it took was one spray, one wearing before I knew I needed this beauty in my repertoire. There is no mistake that this is a vintage Diva from a bygone era. The concentration of real (and synthetic?) oakmoss, honey and florals balance out the aldehydes for me, a note that I often struggle with. Diva feels like the 80s; strong, loud and proud. It’s a perfume that says I have entered the room. One spray being sufficient—anymore and you risk gassing out those around you. One of the best parts; the next day. The scent has mellowed but she’s still present, softer, and more reflective. It takes a lot for me to spring for a vintage perfume, it has to be a love. I’m so happy that I got a brand new, cellophane wrapped box with a 30ml bottle in perfect shape. I didn’t get the deal others got, paying about double what Mapache paid for less product, but I’m still thrilled. Buying older stock you’re never certain the condition of the scent, but my purchase is in perfect shape. I started wearing perfume in the late 70s and early 80s. I am certain this passed under my radar because it’s the kind of scent only a woman could pull off. I was too young to feel I could wear Diva confidently. A big, retro Grande Dame of a scent—she’s singing on my skin. And yes, most importantly, a wearable, vintage perfume with aldehydes no less. A real standout in my bulging 200 plus bottle collection.

I totally agree with gypsy perfumista D-I-V-A!!!. This is a lovely, beautiful, wonderous, class act in a whiskey bottle. Even the color of the juice says it all. Rich warm, pulls you in close. Spraying on my hand I thought I got a clunkette, but oh my goodness, it starts off just a soft little bite, intriguing the sniffer and then, wait for it this sumptuous rose billows up but not an old rose but a dreamy kinda rose, like someone says that this rose makes a beautiful grand entrance, then it develops into this wonderful floral bouquet and stays and stays, i do detect some oakmoss at the last unveiling but that makes me want to spray my hand again, which I did! I really thought it would be an old fragrance but it is amazingly wonderful. I do love the 80's and 90's frags, big white florals,and floral cyphres. Amarige, ysatis, jessica mcclintock, gucci rush even angel, so I do love bold, sexy and romantic fragrances, I carry 'em pretty well and I do remember trying this one but wasn't developed enough (nose) for this treasure, oh but now, rounded out a little bit, with some experience and loving my life, this was just what I needed! Lol Ha, let's see what next week brings! These new fragrances that come out every week need to take a tip from the tried and true divas of the day for sillage and longevity. They are tricking the consumer causing us to spend more in a shorter amount of time, pushing us toward the niche frags and not all of those are worth the money they ask for! OK I'm off my box now. Thank you!

I wanted to buy this for my mom and it was very difficult to decide if it's good or not or if it's worth it considering most reviews are written by women and they have nothing positive or worthy to say here: this is a masterpiece. Not only because it's so good but because it pretty much is the mother of Boss number 1 and Lapidus. if it's not and I'm wrong, tell me what other fragrances have used honey in this way. Wow. It's really good. So girls can't ever get excited about something? Wow, if this isn't on par with Antaeus then it's definitely at least better than Egoiste. No doubt. So Jacques Polge is also practically responsible for the use honey in the 80's. Too bad he spent the rest of his career making flankers for Allure(Even Bleu is an Allure flanker really) This is better than Coco by the way. The civet note in Coco is annoying and smells like Kouros. And I think this and Rives Gauche are Jacques Polge's best feminines. Interestingly neither are Chanel. Just blind buy this. It's good. Cuz I got this package I got just to compare Boss number one to lapidus before buying Lapidus. And now I'm sitting here thinking out of all these isn't Diva the best honey? Wow. This is good. Which makes me think how good Pour L'homme III is. Pour L'homme III ain't no Diva. And I confirm it's better than Coco and even more similar to each other than I thought.

This is a beautiful rose chypre that I have been wearing constantly this autumn and winter. This one is warm, unlike Paloma and other chypres that can come off as a bit cold and aloof. I have been into chypres for many years. I was drawn to them for their complexity and mystery, and also their drama. You could never be neutral about them, as they elicit such a strong reaction in people. Not everyone can understand or appreciate how complicated they are, and I loved that! However, lately I've been wondering if chypres suit me anymore. They still work well with my chemistry, but they just don't feel like ME. Maybe it's my age, or the fact that my life has changed so much in the past 2 years (divorce, new career), but I can now slow down and appreciate the beauty of simplicity. I am no longer the femme fatale with the sky high heels and shimmery cheekbones. I still put effort into my appearance, but I have become more understated and I feel like my perfume should reflect that. Even the name Diva seems quite disconnected from who I am now. My search for a signature scent continues. In the meantime, I will wear Diva while appreciating her beauty and sex appeal. And I highly recommend it to all of you lovely femme fatales out there, with your sky high heels and shimmery cheekbones. Diva was made for you, and I gladly pass the torch ;-)

Such a beautiful, classy perfume - Makes me feel sophisticated and rich! I was looking for something similar to Ysatis and Boucheron (my mother’s signature scents). I’ve always loved the DNA of 80s chypres and florientals, and this seemed like an affordable option to test. The first few times I tried this, I didn’t love it at all. However, after it’s settled for a month or so, and I’ve given it a few more tests, I’ve grown to absolutely love this perfume! I crave this perfume now- Whenever I spray it I can’t help but smell my wrists over and over. I know some people think that this is a perfume for a very mature woman, but I disagree! I’m 26 years old and to me this suits me perfectly- I think it actually smells surprisingly modern for a vintage. It’s clean, but sweet and has depth that modern perfumes lack. The top notes are definitely strong, and remind me a lot of Ysatis, but that’s why I like it. After a few minutes the rose and honey really starts to come through and it sweetens a lot in the dry down. It’s very feminine and a bit soapy without being too powdery. The longevity is insane, especially on clothes. This is very strong- I tend to only do 2 sprays max with this. One on the back of my neck and another small spray on my wrists. If you spray this on the front of your neck or chest it can almost make you sick.

Enchantingly beautiful. The bottle design is supposed to closely resemble the pattern and folds on a fashion gown designed by Ungaro. This is a very grown up perfume that left me overwhelmed. At the very heart, a rose, dipped in sweet honey and amber, but surrounded by floral notes of ylang ylang jasmine, carnation and iris. It starts off with aldehydes which give it a classy and classic feel. Soapy aldehydes but warmed up with citrus. The honey and vanilla are already coming through. The floral notes in the heart let loose their sweetness. But like I said, it's mostly a pink rose perfume that just happens to be blended with all the other florals listed on this page. To me the spiced up carnation and the jasmine plus ylang are bigger floral players than the others. As the perfume begins to dry down you get some honey and vanilla, some cozy musk, amber and some slightly woody note. A vintage beauty that has a wearable quality for today. It leans feminine and worldly, sophisticated, and elegant. Great for wearing to a fancy dinner date. It asks you to wear make up and put your hair up. Long lasting all day and the next, projects well. This is a real beauty. I think it's great for spring/summer but may also smell well in autumn.

Diva by Ungaro ... what to say !? Jacques Polge Docet . The triumph of opulence of the legendary 80s. Fragrance that reminds me of flashy jewels, sparkling evening dresses, stiletto heels, sumptuous furs, even a little straps, eye-catching make-up, fiery red lipstick. I cannot criticize it as I read in many comments, because Diva is a masterful aphrodisiac storm of intoxicating aldehydes, a thunderous, floral blend that does not bring peace to the nose, a slight jolt of citrus almost affected, and a riot: boisée, chypre, amber , honeyed all expertly framed by an animalic, aggressive and powerful civet. She embodies the powerful, fickle, spoiled, sensual, aggressive, hot and sexy woman. It is a very powerful ultra-feminine elixir that devastates the sensory, if you do not know how to love it as it deserves. She found it incredibly feminine, it contains all the thousands of shades of the female world, all these aldehydes the floral, woody, animalic succession turns over time into an inexorable and reassuring powdery, a bit like all apparently aggressive women but in private with whom they love loving and sweet as honey. Impetuous sillage, for women of character. Extraordinary almost infinite duration. I love

What a beauty! In the day when we dread every new bottle of our favorite juices, this one still shines. I was shocked how good it was when I received it. Can not tell if it's different, never wore it before. For years I hesitated ordering it online, it disappeared from conventional perfumeries and was replaced mostly with sugar. Well, the opening is grand, some find it old fashioned, I think it's classic. Timeless. It sparkles and tingles like champagne, flower bouquet is baroque. Spices are like percussions in the orchestra, accentuating the rhythm and the natural flow. The backbone is classic chypre, woody and mossy. What makes it different and easier to love and wear is overall brightness, the floral creaminess and honey. It's so well done and blended with amber. Round. The civet brings expected and well accepted oomph! Nothing is hidden, nothing stands out, except it's awsomnes. Everything is perfectly balanced. The bottle is imposing and heavy, even the stopper is glass. It screams quality. I highly recommend it to every vintage lover. Some masterpieces are very much alive and kicking. But you do need to have a little bit of inner Diva to pull this one right, it's really grand. Wallflowers, beware!

There are People who will FLOCK to you if Diva agrees with your chemistry. It has allure, and it has panache, and it has purpose. It says, 'I am a woman; hear me roar!' A powerhouse, indeed. My bottle is 10 years old, so I have not a clue if the current formulation is as strong. Even if it is not, this is likely to be hated or adored, depending on your taste and that of your loved ones. No doubt it is too sophisticated and mature for many. It is too sophisticated and mature for ME on some days! It also requires me to shoo people away who zoom in for hugs, so there's that... My sister has commented that it strongly reminds her of Amouage Beloved, and while I do not have that particular Amouage, it DOES vaguely call to mind the Amouage classics. Interlude and others have a bold, woody-rose profile and seem very like cousins of Diva. Put another way, if someone had given me a sample of this with an Amouage label, I would not have been at all surprised. It smells of the same family and quality. To sum up: Oakmoss, wood, rose, and animalic notes in spades. Amouage quality on a budget! Not blind buy safe. A bang-up budget category win. Recommended. Five stars.

This is a gorgeous perfume. I blind bought a full size bottle based on the notes, accords and reviews. This has the same character as Passion by Elizabeth Taylor and Ysatis by Givenchy but while those are aldehydic spicy white florals w/ amazing honey notes and deep resinous dry downs, Diva centers herself on the Queen of Flowers the Rose. This opens w/ an aldehydic blast from the past, are the 1980's calling? Why yes, they are, and you should heed that call if you want to smell sensual and like you have it going on. You have to be very comfortable in your own skin and femininity to pull off this type of perfume. Not for the faint of heart. This is bold stuff. As the aldehydes fade off a bit a deep dark rose enters the room, she is spicy and rich, dripping w/ resins and honey. This also has a very red spicy carnation, powdery iris, woody rich sandalwood, patchouli and vetiver. This is a sensual fragrance, in my opinion more sensual than Passion and Ysatis, those are a bit colder, Diva is a warmer Aldehydic floral. All 3 of these perfumes are wonderful and I am happy to have Diva in my collection. Not a blind buy unless you love very bold perfumes.