More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.
From Boucheron, Boucheron Pour Femme in a black bottle for Holiday 2012. In 100 ml Eau de Parfum, due to launch in October…
Certain iconic fragrances have an army of supporters who despise any “fiddling” with their beloved perfume; Dior‘s Eau Sauvage by perfumer Edmond Roudnitska is one such fragrance. Released in 1966, Eau Sauvage has been getting lots of love for decades, even as the formula was tweaked. I like Eau Sauvage and enjoyed its variations: Eau Sauvage Extrême (1982 version) and 2007’s Eau Sauvage Fraîcheur Cuir (both discontinued). I’ll admit to getting a little excited at the prospect of Eau Sauvage Parfum (which is not, strictly speaking, a flanker, but a new concentration of Eau Sauvage Eau de Toilette).*
Featuring bergamot, vetiver, myrrh, woods and amber, Eau Sauvage Parfum was developed by perfumer François Demachy and is described as a woody-amber perfume (as opposed to the original Eau Sauvage Eau de Toilette, an aromatic citrus-floral); thus, I didn’t think for a minute that the new Parfum would be a “stronger” version of the original fragrance.
Eau Sauvage Parfum goes on watery and weak; my first thought on smelling it was: “Parfum?” Quickly, the fragrance intensifies…
Christian Dior has launched Oud Ispahan, a new addition to the La Collection Privée Christian Dior series…
A few more spritzes from my sample tube, and there it goes — the last of my Christian Dior Dior-Dior. Finished.
Lately I’ve been working my way through the crystal cocktail glass storing my most precious samples. A few unexpected (and in one case, fatal) accidents in my world during the past few weeks have startled me out of complacence. We’re not going to live forever. Meanwhile, those few drops of old Guerlain Mitsouko parfum, that dram of Lanvin Scandal parfum, that tiny vial of Christian Dior Dioressence parfum, and, yes, a two ml spray of Christian Dior Dior-Dior Eau de Toilette were going unappreciated. I put an end to that. It’s hard to use a vintage, discontinued fragrance knowing that when it’s gone it’s likely gone for good. But enjoying a perfume sure beats simply having the perfume…
I love both Christian Dior Eau Fraîche (1955) and Miss Dior Original (1947). I rightly suspected the new Christian Dior Miss Dior Eau Fraîche wouldn’t be like either of these.
Vintage Eau Fraîche teems with oakmoss and tart citrus. I took a decant with me on a 900-mile, one-day road trip a few years back, and spritzes of it — along with a thermos of coffee and several books on CD — kept me alert while summer-crisped stretches of the high desert flew by. As for Miss Dior Original, the jolie-laide leathery green chypre fascinates me enough that I laid down a lifetime supply of the vintage a long time ago.
Naturally, Miss Dior Eau Fraîche couldn’t live up to either of those fragrances. Lately my relationship with Dior has felt like a bad marriage. Remembering the early days of the romance — Diorella, vintage Diorling, my beloved Miss Dior, vintage Dioressence — I keep going back hoping to feel the same happiness. But the reformulations have consistently let me down. As I made the sample of Miss Dior Eau Fraîche from the department store’s tester bottle, I girded myself against more heartache. I needn’t have worried. Sure, it’s not Eau Fraîche or Miss Dior, but I really like it…