The
original Dior Homme by Olivier Polge
released in 2005 was strikingly beautiful, combining a stunning particularity
of Tuscan iris with cocoa, leather, sage and amber. There is a traditional
lavender note rubbed through the composition too, adding to the haunting
bruised quality the fragrance has as it settles onto the skin. Dior Homme really shook up the world of
men’s fragrance, being both ethereal and sensual, with a strange ambiguous edge
that caught the mood of the time. Yohji Homme
and Hanae Mori Men had been sweet and
strange too but Dior Homme drifted on
a razor’s edge. It has always reminded me of a particular Charles of the Ritz
powder my mother used, a peachy, caramel scented dust that was quite particular
to the brand. It is this troubling androgyny that has unsettled so many since
the launch. The rich Tuscan iris gave the fragrance a bloom and silvered
texture that was extremely rare in men’s perfumery. It seemed almost feminine,
soft and floating in a sea of its own musky subtleties.
I think
it is probably one of the finest men’s fragrance launches of the last 25 years
and altered the way many men wanted their skin to smell. It also proved that a
non-niche scent could fundamentally shift men’s scent on its axis. In many
ways, the launch of Dior Homme was as
important as the seismic shift in women’s fragrance after the appearance of
Mugler’s magnificently divisive Angel.
The
ambiguity and quietly pared down style of Dior
Homme was welcome relief from the raft of sweaty, pheromone saturated
releases flooding the market and dull sports replications of the great
granddaddy of them all: Pierre Bourdan’s calone drenched Cool Water. Everything really started to smell very similar, clone
upon scented clone. Bottles mimicked bottles, packaging looked uniform and
deliberately generic, campaigns used music stars and sports stars in an attempt
to appeal to a more bankable and trend driven customer base. The speed of new
releases seemed extraordinary. Flankers were stretched to breaking point with
colour (Red, Noire etc.), sport, metallic and Night etc variations. Some brands
toyed with stronger concentrations like eau de parfum for men such as Terre D’Hermès.
The test
of a true classic is longevity. Along with Jean-Claude Ellena’s original Terre D’Hermès, another modern marker in recent men’s
fragrance development, Dior Homme
sells in huge quantities and still smells very unusual considering how many
fragrances have tried to copy it’s formula: Van Cleef & Arpels’ Midnight in Paris, the rather
predictable Avant Garde from Lanvin,
Victor & Rolf’s shuddering Antidote
and a whole raft of high street horrors from clothing brands such as G-Star. One
of their recent releases is so similar as to be shockingly plagiaristic, albeit
a badly done photocopy where the toner is running low…...
Even
Polge’s own Power for Kenzo channeled
the same powdered weirdness and androgyny, not quite achieving the same level
of beauty however, something always twisted the formula the wrong way on my
skin and I was left with a whiff of burnt metal that made me feel unwell and
dizzy.
It was
the rendition of the iris accord in Dior
Homme that was so very unexpected. There had always been iris in men’s
fragrances before, especially orientals. Guerlain’s Mouchoir de Monsieur has lilting iris touches in the base offset by
vaguely Parisian pissoir notes. Creed’s
Green Irish Tweed flatters the
Florentine Iris with violet and verbena and the Different Company’s Bois D’Iris by Jean Claude Ellena sets
the iris amid a backdrop of narcissus absolutes, geranium, vetiver and cedar. But
Dior Homme was the first mainstream
male scent to rally ramp up the powdered more feminine aspects of this most
luxurious and strange of flowers.
Extracted
from the root of the iris, (the best comes from iris pallida or iris
florentina), orris butter: the result of hanging, aging and maceration of
the best roots, is one of the perfume world’s most exceptional and beautiful
ingredients. It has an incomparable quality and texture in fine fragrances, a
silken shimmering sensation that lies across the skin like glittering grey
spider webs. I love the ghostly effects of iris and when it is given full rein
in fragrance the effects can be utterly sublime. The recent Mon Numéro 8 by Betrand Duchaufour for
L’Artisan Parfumeuer was an ice-cold sheath of iris and musks, chilled like
death, but incredibly moving. Jo Malone’s limited edition Iris & Lady Moore blended the green fragrant leaf of an English
garden with the silvered powder of iris to great effect. And Prada have ben
tweaking and amplifying their obsession with iris for years. I do have a
nostalgic love of Hermès’ Hiris by Olivia
Giacobetti. Dusty and dazzling in equal measure, it fills the senses and plays
out a complex portrait of iris over notes of honey, carrot, hay, rose, vanilla,
woods and Ambrette seed.
I admit
to phases with iris. It needs a time and a place. I often need to be cold, or
feel chilled, the onset of frost, snow, and dampness. These are more than
abundant in Scotland, so I do wear a lot of iris as I criss-cross this majestic
city. Sometimes it can feel like you are wearing a veil of metallic threads. I
crave a tempering, a whoosh, a melting. So when I first smelt Dior Homme, I knew it was right. The
subtle interaction of iris and musks almost floating on a sea of dark chocolate
whipped up by leather tinted zephyrs. The construction was perfection. Odd,
sweet and highly addictive, (you were always tempted to drown in the musky sea)
just so right.
I wore
it obsessively and never got bored. It always smelt beautiful. I always smelt beautiful.
Arrogance? Not really, it is just the way Dior
Homme is. Adaptive, sensual, personal and oddly secretive.
Then Dior Homme Intense came along and a
whole new world opened up. A world of disconnections, cocoa dust, obsessions,
sensuality and deep deep skin cravings. Authored by Patrick Demachy, it was a brilliant and darker twist on Polge's original formulation. It had a really magnetic pull on the
senses, the cocoa note throttled up, darker and richer, all ganache and dusted
patisserie. A touch of animalic Ambrette seed (musk mallow), pear, cedar and a deeply
sexy injection of earthy lavender. I could happily keep on spraying until the
bottle is empty. It has been re-formulated already since its release which is a little disappointing. The
pre-reformulation recipe had a more rounded Guerlinade-style smoky base to it. This resinous bass vocality has
been lost a little, replaced by a thinness than becomes more apparent as the
fragrance stretches itself out over the drydown. The cocoa note has
become a little cheapened too, as if a bar of 85% cocoa solids has been replaced
with 50%. There is a more of a lactic, creamy quality now
and a turned edge to the scent, which was not there before.
But you
know what, even reformulated, Dior Homme
Intense is a extraordinary experience, wrapping you in layers of olfactory
sweetness and powder, woods and subtle yet persuasive masculinity. Like a trust
exercise where you fold your arms and allow yourself to fall backwards and be
caught. There is a reassurance in falling. You can topple into this strange and
mesmerising fragrance. It has an otherworldly quality I just adore. A kind of
replicant charm and sniffability other fragrances can only dream of. In another
world I am plastic and walk flickering cocoa dusted streets. I leave faint
traces as I walk trailing silvered powder in the air like fire. A car shimmers
to a stop and someone says my name. The sky flares with light, a sudden burning
setting of moons. I get in and smile, the engine roaring into life as I slide
into seats of the softest leather I have ever felt. All around cocoa dust
swirls and obliterates the view. A hand presses mine. My skin takes time to
reform. I smell iris everywhere like frozen air. The man in the car is blurred
and strange, radiating power. I am giddy on The Man Who Fell To Earth eeriness
of my own skin. The cocoa and iris glow like a halo in the dim mist of the car
interior. I am kissed and smile. I love this fragrance, the intensity and
depth, the smudged ambiguity. Engines purr. I sleep and dream.
Click below to Watch the Dior Homme Ad campaign directed by Guy Ritchie, starring Jude law and Michaela Kocianova.
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