Diorissimo by Christian Dior, 1956

This was my first fragrance after I finished college and started my first job.  A man I worked with said "that's not for a young girl you need something for a young girl".  To me, Diorissimo screams young Victorian girl.  Men were so chauvinistic back then.  What was I suppose to wear at 23?  Tinkerbell?  Little Lady from the children's department.  I ignored him and kept wearing this until I used up the entire bottle.  By then I was on to Shalimar and other things.

 

A few years ago I smelled it on someone and once again fell in love.  It still makes me feel very young heart and just screams springtime which is my favorite season.  The lilly of the valley is very strong and may not be everyone's cup of tea.

 

Usually wear this in the early spring and summer.

It was bought for me but whereas I loved the initial hit, like being pelted with fresh flowers, it very quickly smelled 'wrong'. Just didn't suit me :(

New diorissimo opens up very synthetic:-) , i am just not hue fan of lily of the valley or muguet, because it smells too green for my taste, cold (I'm a jasmine lover), synthetic note with that aquatic feel of lilac, and lily too, all the flowers with very intensive characteristic smells, that also smell coldish It dries down into something musky clean modern, not huge fan of this unfortunately, reminds me of calyx type of scents:-)

In the same vein of Nina Ricci Fleur de fleurs this one is an artistic and Victorian feminine floral with a nostalgic and romantic soul and something contemporary in the effect, may be the airy, sensual and sophisticated womanly corporeal  and animalic effect elicited outside. A touch of civet is supposed to be introduced in the blend. The smell itself is almost natural in its initial slightly  floral-herbal, earthy, citrusy and angular kind of whiff. Elegance and femininity are extreme as well as the simplicity of the composition. You inhale a bunch of lily of the valley accompanied by some roses and jasmine. The muguet is notable under my nose, even if not so much at the beginning, and obviously the lily plays a protagonist role. Some woods are cleverly placed in the blend and may be a touch of musk. You smell an indolic floral temperament around, if you layer the scent on a paper is just like smelling the acid undertone of the floral water stuck stagnant in the pit of a vessel. While smelling Diorissimo  i figure a young woman carefree, joyful and natural but with an high level of spontaneous sex appeal that you breathe in air. An airy and sunny classic.

I find Diorissimo extremely severe. If i were to wear it on a cold day I'd feel very bleak. It's like certain authors whose wit is penetrating, ascerbic and merciless. Agatha Christie comes to mind rather than Bret Easton-Ellis though, because Diorissimo is decorous. So I wear it to formal daytime things of an official nature where vigilance and steeliness are desirable, and only in spring. That doesn't sound very complimentary does it; actually this perfume is in my very soul, irrevocably, and its place there is deeply cherished. It's just that I could never be an elegant early 1960s twinset dominatrix, which is what Diorissimo evokes for me.

Diorissimo is one of the only two womens perfumes I wear. Its lilly of the valley is so singular and evocative its as if, while hiking in a wood, I snapped off a wild stem and stuck it in my shirt pocket. There will always be a place in my wardrobe for this lovely creature.

Dior Diorissimo is my go-to pretty princess scent. From 1956, she is very much a product of her wholesome, innocent era. She goes well with pearls and a sweater set. Warning, you may be accidentally transformed into any princess you want when you wear her. Princess Diana, Princess Grace, This fragrance is an obvious choice for a spring or summer wedding scent. Princess Diorissimo is a green lily of the valley soliflore with jasmine, ylang ylang and frangipani and it is HEADY heady heady, so beware. I find Diorrissimo somewhat perfumier than other great muguets (such as the most recent Guerlain, and CdG Lily), but the perfumey aspect allows Diorissimo to across as slightly more formal and polished. The dry down, however, is entirely muguet. Now, the more you research this scent, the more you will hear about how Diorrissimo has suffered in reformulation, and I would not doubt it. Although I have the modern EdT, and have no trouble wearing it. I would recommend at least sampling the vintage Parfum to anyone interested in exploring the LOTV note. A treasured fragrance to me, in my top 5 always.

Diorissimo, what can I say, grand not despite but exactly because of its simplicity and different from anything else ever created. I tend to like complex scents but sometimes the simplest is the best and this fume is one of the most magical creations in fragrance history. I own vintage EDP but unsure when exactly mine was released. I have smelled the current EDP as well and I find that nice too but as usual vintage is better. Definitely the work of a genius, proven by timeless beauty and elegance and how actual it still is and will always be.

The scent of a field of lily of the valley shrouded in the hazy/ dewy/ cool/ evanescent veil of fog on a spring morning! Prim/ proper/ Victorian/ virginal -- Diorissomo exudes a child-like innocence in its simplicty. And that is perhaps its genius. This a white floral scent that floats/ light as air. Wonderful!

With my initial testing of this, my first thought was Whoa, LILY OF THE VALLEY in spades! It was a remarkably real and natural lily of the valley note, strong, with a simple touch of green to me this seemed almost like a soliflore lily of the valley. The next seven - eight times I tested left me befuddled and unsatisfied: The opening and heart were primarily green with some bergamot and a little lily of the valley. After the green settles down some, I pick up the amaryllis, I think, and possibly some lilac but the lily of the valley is highly limited and I get no floral jasmine, although I definitely get an indole or civet note. The sandalwood stays in the background while the civet or indole-of-jasmine(?) quietly moves in and out of the green / floral accord. What happened to the lily of the valley? It was so dominant and clear the first time after that, nada! It still turns out to be a pleasant fragrance but I would very much prefer that killer lily of the valley fragrance I smelled the first time.