With fond memories of Christian Dior’s last big launch — Higher — I have excitedly been awaiting my sample of their newest men’s Eau de Toilette, Dior Homme. Touted by Dior as a “masculine iris, a ‘skin’ fragrance with an addictive grace,” it is the 4th fragrance to be launched by Dior’s new artistic director for men’s fragrance, Hedi Slimane. It was created by Olivier Polge, and has notes of sage, bergamot, lavender, Italian iris concrete, cocoa, amber, vetiver, patchouli, and possibly leather and cardamom.
While the bottle is being described as a unique design, with a steel column housing the usual plastic spray tube, the fragrance, with its iris and cocoa notes, is being described as a composition that does not conform to current trends in men’s perfumery. I have to disagree. The best way to describe the overall effect of Dior Homme is “sweet”. Like Hanae Mori Men a decade ago, like Yohji Homme 5 years ago, and like Nikos Homme last year, Dior Homme is a men’s gourmand and shares similarities with all three.
The fragrance begins with a sweet blast of iris, cocoa and amber, perfectly blended and just the right strength, but then begins to fade into a slightly powdery amber accord with a mere hint of patchouli and lavender. If amber and lavender sound familiar to you, think Gaultier’s Le Male. I can’t detect the sage and bergamot at all, and after about an hour, had difficulty detecting the fragrance, full stop. I had been hoping for more leather and patchouli, something slightly richer in the basenotes, and I’m hoping that in the future we’ll perhaps see a variation on the theme with greater depth and richness along the lines of Cartier’s Must Essence or Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche Intense.
Overall, the effect is a bit too sweet for my tastes and invites close comparison to Hanae Mori Men. Still, the bottle and packaging are well done and it’s nice to see Dior step up to the plate with a men’s gourmand to compliment Addict. Now if only there was a bit of coffee or a richer leather note added to the composition — alas, one can dream…
Christian Dior Dior Homme is currently being launched in department stores around the world.
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Hmm, I wasn't interested by this until now. Amber and lavender is a combo I keep trying to get right, ever since I sprayed Yves Rocher Pur Désir de Lavande on after a day of wearing Ambre Sultan, and I realized it was fantastic. Jo Malone's Amber & Lavender was disappointingly bland, soapy, and boyish; Caron Pour Homme had too much personality to be considered anything like the effect I wanted; and nothing else I've smelled has matched up. And now this sounds too sweet. Guess I'm going to keep layering at home. I too would love to get a bit of leather in there—maybe I'll layer my Yves Rocher lavender, Ambre Sultan, and bit of CB I Hate Perfume Russian Leather and tell you how it goes.
I tried this last week and I must say that I liked it. It must be the iris – it is great and I am an iris fan. I can understand when you write that it is a bit too sweet for you. It is is one perfume that will do well with some women.
Thanks for the review Marlen.
Tania – Hmmm, have you ever tried Crown's Eau de Russe? The amber and lavender in Dior are not prominent players, but I'll try to think of other amber lavenders that you might like – OH! Mauboussin pour Homme might be a good choice!
PL – I agree, I think this will find popularity with a female audience who will likely buy it for their SO's. I do like the scent, and might get a bottle in the future, but it will strictly be a cold weather scent!
Hi Tania! Have you tried SMN Amber Lavander? It maybe worth testing.
I actually think some women will enjoy wearing this perfume.
I've been so bored by SMN and turned off by their uber-precious image that I haven't even ventured in that direction. If I can overcome my prejudices, might give it a shot. Thanks, N!
I thought the Crowns were discontinued? Are they back? Never smelled it, or the Mauboussin. If I run into these, I'll be sure to stick my nose in!
PBI: I think a few of the Crowns are back, but Eau de Russe is not one of them. You can still buy it from parfumsraffy though, until they run out.
PL – Yes, I agree! It really is a nicely crafted scent…I wish it lasted longer…
Tania – They've all been discontinued sadly, as Clive Christian bought the house of Crown and then laid the entire collection to rest. Still, they do pop up on Ebay quite regularly. Mauboussin on the other hand, is quite inexpensive and easy to find!
Hi Robin,
I had the chance to smell Dior Homme today, and I do agree there must be some cardamom and leather there. The fougere effect the lavander gives is also evident, but the cocoa note seems to blend all pretty well.
Needless to say, the splash of iris is really superb, a true invitation to keep on smelling till there's nothing more to smell.
Though it's not very much my style, I think I would wear it in one of those days when I'm fond of sophistication.
Hats off to Dior!
Hi Rafael — this was Marlen's article (the author notations are very small and nobody notices them), and he will probably wander by & answer you eventually! I haven't even tried the Dior Homme yet, although I'm hoping to soon.
Hey Rafael! It is a great scent, but not sure I would reach for it very often with the other 10,000 things I have. Also, on my skin, the scent very much reminded me of Hanae Mori, a scent I wore (and have had enough of) years ago. You're right – it is a well-blended scent! Let's hope this is merely the beginning of new men's scents from Dior!
Dior Homme was introduced to me by a sales rep. at my local Nordstrom. It was love at first sniff, for me. I am a huge fan of iris and cocoa, cardamom, i can leave it rather than take it, but I found traces of the note of my skin. My only complaint of this fragrance is the fact that it doesn't last very long. I asked a few of my friends to wear Dior Homme on their skin and I also got the same outcome. It's unfortunate, I do love the sweet (but not intensity) of the powder and the cocoa and lavender elements. I find it exciting that finally the bounadries of “male” and “female” fragrances are finally being broken and merging into one. Does anyone know of a fragrance similar to Dior Homme but with lasting power?
Hope Marlen will be by to answer you eventually (he is in a different time zone) — I can't think of anything really similar.
Hi! I have Dior Homme, and really think of it more as a woman´s scent. All the boys at work agree with me..Apparently, they find it extremely feminine,…until I inform them that is a men´s parfum. The lasting power is also great for me, and I must add,…I normally HATE iris, but I find this well blended. I don´t know, it just work for me…
It's so funny I found this article! I tired this out on myself to get my boyfriend interested, and he loved it … on me! I was afraid to say, but it seems I am not alone!
I tried this while I was out and about earlier. About an hour after trying it, the drydown smells like cocoa butter that someone has rubbed vanilla into.
It's overture though was a spectacular lemon sherbert so sweet one of my teeth needs a filling now. I quite liked it actually.
Thing is though the drydown is really quite unsophisticated and sweet – the top and mid notes promised so much more.
I would wear this, but then I quite like scents that to many noses would be “feminine”. I would wear it, but I would only buy as a tester off Ebay.
Marlen is no longer around to answer comments, but thanks to everyone who is still weighing in on Dior Homme.
Is it possible to do a review of Dior Homme Intense (preferably by Kevin)? Thanks.
Kevin did not like Dior Homme, and also they never officially launched DHI in the US…so it does not seem likely, sorry!
The phrase “men’s gourmand” is usually enough to send me scurrying under a couch, but Dior Homme doesn’t really strike me as such. It is sweet, and grows steady more so as it sits on the skin, but its dusty, dry floral quality lends a sober touch entirely absent from the likes of A*Men and Black XS and keeps it out of pure gourmand territory. Powdery amber usually drives me nuts, too, but the iris and patchouli seem to keep the amber drier and more grounded than that of Le Mâle and its brethren. I’m rather impressed with it, and while I hesitate to declare it the masterpiece that others have, I do think it’s unique and very well-made. It’s the perfect 21st century successor to Fahrenheit, another notably floral masculine from Dior that dared to be distinctive in the “me-too” men’s market.
It may well be a masterpiece…certainly many other perfumers think so. I just don’t much care for it — much prefer A*Men (really prefer the flankers — Pure Coffee especially). But I know lots of men and women who love it!
Pure Coffee is indeed fab, but I always compare A*Men unfavorably to its raunchier and more spirited sibling Angel. To me, Dior Homme smells drier and less juvenile than A*Men, so I’d pick that one to receive a bottle of.
And yes, not only can women easily wear Dior Homme, they should. I think Dior should have marketed it as unisex all along, but I gather that unisex doesn’t always sell.
Dior Homme.
This fragrance blends tradition and modernity. I like it.
It is the smell of Sex in a very expensive car!
I’m not the most sophisticated person when it comes to fragrances, but I can tell you this…
Dior Homme is the only fragrance I’ve ever worn that has had perfect strangers come up to me to tell me how wonderful I smell, and to ask what it is. I’ve honestly never had that happen with any other cologne I’ve worn. So I’d wager by this metric that Dior did something right with this one.
I agree that it is a bit “sweet” and unisex, and I even had one of the aforementioned admirers (a woman) state that she thought it would smell good on woman too.
But Dior Homme is a winner, and does add an air of sophistication to the wearer. It’s hard to describe, but it just smells luxurious and classy. The aforementioned description of “sex in a very expensive car” is about right!