Fahrenheit Absolute (2009)
by Christian Dior

Fahrenheit Absolute by Christian Dior - Any similarity to its ancestral Farhrenit is left by the wayside in its opening; this is not a bad thing, inasmuch as this challenging fragrance indeed stands on its own extraordinary merits. The opening is a beautiful violet leaf, toned down by the additon of alluring myrrh, giving the impression of a darkened house of worship, after service, with vases of lovely violets scattered here and there. The heart with its smoky frankincense, a light oud and kisses of leather, beckons and subsumes the violet and myrrh into a warm melange. With the violet still twinkling here and there, this mixtture segues into the comforting base with the its dark cedar and agarwood, tempered nicely by coumarin with its tonka bean vanilla. Evoking a dark yet mellow character, this somewhat avant-garde composition is well done. Being a cool weather and evening scent, it has very good longevity and projection.

17th November, 2011.

A mild thumbs down on Absolute. It really does not remind me of the incredible original Fahrenheit at all. Instead I get Cartier Declaration, but leather and oud instead of fresh. Also like Declaration, the dreaded "BO" note that made me dislike that one makes an unwanted appearance... I think there must be some cumin in here even though it is not listed in the official notes. In any case, I don't loathe Absolute, I just don't like it and when you can easily buy the classic original for reasonable money, why buy this?

24th September, 2011.

Terrible scent. I tried a few times, and each time, my wife threw me out of the house. It's not even a shadow Fahrenheit. Dark, almost black musk, medicine. I feel like I was at the cemetery on a rainy day. For me, an abomination. Absolute sikness...

6th September, 2011.

I like this, but don't love it. The reason I don't love it is because there's nothing unique about it at all; it's yet another smoky woody oriental that's been done a million times before.

However, everything it does is done well. Fahrenheit Absolute smells nothing like the original Fahrenheit (thankfully), and rather the focus is on dark oud and incense notes rounded off with amber. I find this to be a sweet fragrance. What I like most about this scent is that the oud in this smells dirty, rather than medicinal, and it's well balanced with the incense and amber. If you added a ton of amber to Cartier's Declaration, you'd get something very similar to Fahrenheit Absolute.

Despite its obvious qualities, however, Fahrenheit Absolute still is sort of dull. It's a good fragrance made with quality ingredients and composed by a skilled perfumer, but it's not likely one I'll be buying.

MY RATING: 7.5/10

20th April, 2011. (Last Edited: 21st April, 2011.)

If you're not familiar with oudh or like it in a softer interpretation Fahrenheit Absolute may be a good point to start. A nice variation on the original violet /leather theme, lightly enriched with a tiny dose of oudh (absolute) and incense. Pleasant, very wearable and still one of the best Designer's releases in 2009.

20th April, 2011.

Not as angry or as well endowed as Daddy Fahrenheit, Absolute junior offers a more intellectual, modern, gristle, fat and offal-free, slimmed down, presentable image (with Daddy's bad-ass gasoline element swapped for a lead-free, eco-friendly hydrogen soup).

It's still immensely enjoyable, however, with a lovely woody, amber glow on the drydown and many pleasing characteristics of the original... just a little bit lighter. I'd happily wear it if I was given it as a gift but probably wouldn't buy it as I already have the highly addictive original stuff in my wardrobe.

28th March, 2011.