Dior Dior (1976)
by Christian Dior

The opening is a strong, animalic, realistic narcissus note paired with an almost over-ripe, fruity melon. There is a meaty note in the heart that is also found in Diorella, only it is more pronounced here. This is coupled with an oily note. The base is slightly sweet woods.

The melon fades out fairly quickly, leaving only a faintly fruity shadow as the fragrance evolves into its middle notes. The narcissus lasts a surprisingly long time, never quite giving up the ghost as it gradually transforms into an indolic jasmine. Aldehydes add some lift and emphasis to the floral component, some waxy aspects to the oily note, and some soapiness to the jasmine.

One review below calls Dior-Dior a smoky floral. Although there are no "smoky" notes to my nose, I understand the sentiment. It is a dark, brooding floral, the polar opposite of Diorella's sunshine. Diorella is a citrusy, mossy chypre with a hint of spice in the drydown. Dior-Dior is none of this. It is a deceptively simple dark floral over woods, but just as lovely in its own way. I sense the kinship between the two, but to say they are similar is doing a major disservice to each.

I tested the parfum and found that the longevity is good; I can detect it on my skin hours later. The sillage, though good to average upon application, decreases markedly after the first hour.

An expertly composed, classic Roudnitska.

8th March, 2011.

I loved Dior Dior! After not having seen it on sale for several years, I contacted the Dior boutique in Paris a few years ago, and they told me it was no longer available.

Dior Dior was a beautiful smoky floral; difficult to describe, though I can remember exactly what it was like. I think the nearest fragrance around now is Caron's Infini.

15th April, 2010.

This is one of my favorites..it is more elegant-if that were possible-and less citrusy than Diorella-but not as heavy or musky as Miss Dior or Dioressence. This review is for the EDT-I have a tiny bottle of the parfum to carry in my evening bag. LOVE this, but I would not call it a daytime fragrance, except for maybe at home on the weekend. Hard to describe, but wonderful

10th December, 2009.

'Dior Dior' is something of a forgotten 70s Dior release. In terms of naming fragrances, it looks like Dior finally ran out of snappy ways to use the word 'Dior' as a root and just said "eh...it's Dior...uh, Dior! yup, go with that Dior Dior." I'm something of a vintage Dior collector, or at least I wish I was, so I've always kept my eye open for a bottle and finally acquired one.

With no other source to compare it to I can't speak to whether the bottle I received has been damaged by time, and if so how much. The fragrance is definitely related to Roudnitska's "Diorella/Diorama/Parfum de Therese" line of fragrances. I'd be surprised if Roudnistka didn't play some part in creating Dior Dior, even if just indirectly. The "overrripe melon" topnotes are there over what I suspect to be a chypre structure. It distinguishes itself from the bunch with a heavier floral component and more prominent lily of the valley in the heartnotes. If I had to describe Dior Dior in a sentence I'd say it's 'mellower and more subtle version of Diorella'. Again, it may be that the strength of my bottle has faded with time and thus I'm only reviewing a shadow of this fragrance's former self - but what I smell I most definitely enjoy and will enjoy as a unique member of my budding vintage Dior collection.

29th August, 2009.