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Oh the irony (for Dior Homme fans)...

post #1 of 18
10/20/06 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Just after Nordstrom pulled it off their shelves, Sephora is now carrying Dior Homme (link). And oddly enough, the Dior USA website still lists it as a "Nordstrom exclusive".

In all probability, it's probably because LVMH owns both Dior and Sephora. Still, I find it unusual that one retailer would drop it due to "poor sales" and another would pick it up in a nanosecond.
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post #2 of 18
10/20/06 at 8:47am
Poor sales at Nordstrom usually indicates good things about the fragrance. I wouldn't expect it to sell well at Nordstrom or the US in general. Last time I was there the SA told me they had done a trial run of Antaeus but the general public didn't like it. Their best selling fragrance was something by Zegna.
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post #3 of 18
10/20/06 at 9:56am
Dior really failed to market this Homme. And Nordstorm certainly weren't pushing it. When it first came out, the SA at Nordstorm had to go "hunt" for it when I asked about it. Should've been on prominent display like they are doing for Burberry London.
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post #4 of 18
10/20/06 at 10:12am
I couldn't really get into this frag, after sampling it twice (the samples are only 1ml which is a bit mean IMO). I'm not surprised if it's not selling as well as they'd hoped.

There's nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't press any buttons for me I'm afraid. Reminds me of the smell of make-up or something. The idea of iris and chocolate sounds good in theory, but in practice seems a bit fluffy. If I wanted iris I'd rather go for something like Divine L'Homme de Coeur.

The bottle is fantastic -- almost worth buying it for -- but I resisted the temptation.
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post #5 of 18
10/20/06 at 10:19am
Well, I can see why something like Antaeus wouldn't sell very well. It's a rather bold, odd fragrance. Same with the relative failure of Gucci PH, Rive Gauche, etc.

But Dior Homme is so likeable!! If I had to pick one recent designer scent that is unique, liked on Basenotes, and not a copy of 2384923 other scents that would sell well, I would say Dior Homme. But I guess i'm wrong, huh?
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post #6 of 18
10/20/06 at 10:21am
Ok, so, why didnt Dior Homme do well in America ? Is it because it smells too much like make up ?
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post #7 of 18
10/20/06 at 10:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zztopp

Ok, so, why didnt Dior Homme do well in America ? Is it because it smells too much like make up ?

Iris is often perceived as smelling like makeup. The iris that exhibits this association to the greatest extent is Lutens's Iris Silver Mist. It's an excellent fragrance - rich and complex (albeit fairly linear) but not in the same ballpark as Dior Homme. After six months of wearing it off and on I find Dior Homme relatively perfect and one of the best fragrances I own.

Without question an absolute masterpiece of the perfumer's art.
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post #8 of 18
10/20/06 at 10:39am
If Dior expected to successfully mass market something like homme, they might as well have been preaching to the fishes. It was a bold move to put out a fragrance not conforming in any way to popular tastes and conventions of "male fragrance" and perhaps it built some "niche" credibility for them among certain select publics . Who knows what strategy they were pursuing. It was in the top ten of Douglass, the German perfume retail moloch, for a while, and heavily pushed in stores, but now it's pretty invisible. It just stands askew from the watery mainstream, as well as the trend towards "black" fragrances or intimations of a spice-wood revival. I got a big bottle for 15 Euros on ebay, which is always a good indicator of (lack of) popularity.
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post #9 of 18
10/20/06 at 10:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pluran

Iris is often perceived as smelling like makeup. The iris that exhibits this association to the greatest extent is Lutens's Iris Silver Mist. It's an excellent fragrance - rich and complex (albeit fairly linear) but not in the same ballpark as Dior Homme. After six months of wearing it off and on I find Dior Homme relatively perfect and one of the best fragrances I own.

Without question an absolute masterpiece of the perfumer's art.

I never experienced this make-up note with MPGs Iris Bleu Gris. Also, I found Dior Homme to be severely lacking in longevity. The bottle's cool though.
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post #10 of 18
10/20/06 at 10:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zztopp

I found Dior Homme to be severely lacking in longevity.

It's odd how frequently people have diametrically opposed experiences with regard to longevity. For me Dior Homme has amazingly, surprisingly good longevity. It lasts longer than many other fragrances I've tried even though at first whiff I wouldn't expect it to last nearly as long.
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post #11 of 18
10/20/06 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pluran

. . . After six months of wearing it off and on I find Dior Homme relatively perfect and one of the best fragrances I own.

Without question an absolute masterpiece of the perfumer's art.

My scentiments exactly, and I mean exactly.

I wore it yesterday, and it lasted at least 16 hours on me, with a steady, uplifting redolent output. I could smell the iris (a woody iris to be sure) the whole time. I love the makeup note.

I don't give the smallest iota of care about where it's selling or if it's selling well. That has nothing to do with how or why I value a fragrance. The fact that a fragrance has sold well or hasn't sold well in US has hardly any direct relation to the quality of a fragrance. Look at the US top ten list for the last ten years if you want proof.

As long as it's available, and I can get my hands on a bottle, I am deeply grateful for this paragon of modern perfumery. Watch out for Olivier Polge; he's a chip of the old block, for sure.

scentemental
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post #12 of 18
10/20/06 at 10:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LiveJazz

Well, I can see why something like Antaeus wouldn't sell very well. It's a rather bold, odd fragrance. Same with the relative failure of Gucci PH, Rive Gauche, etc.

But Dior Homme is so likeable!! If I had to pick one recent designer scent that is unique, liked on Basenotes, and not a copy of 2384923 other scents that would sell well, I would say Dior Homme. But I guess i'm wrong, huh?

Ironically, although I like and often wear all of the scents you mentioned above it, I think of Dior Homme as being more bold than any of them. I find it generally more compelling. IMO, its construction is superior, it's more dynamic and has greater contrast/interplay between notes. While it is sufficiently masculine (some people will disagree. masculinity is profoundly misunderstood) it's good enough to be a feminine fragrance. That in itself is a quite an accomplishment for a masculine fragrance.
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post #13 of 18
10/20/06 at 11:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scentemental


I wore it yesterday, and it lasted at least 16 hours on me, with a steady, uplifting redolent output.

and Im wearing it today. God how I love it. I'm trying to think of a frag whose topnotes are so different from the bottom notes as DH, and I can't. I really can't think of anything else that crosses as much terrain as you wear it, evolving from that make-up zinger opening to that deep, masculine warmth in the end. Yet its all very coherent. spectacular.
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post #14 of 18
10/20/06 at 11:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joel_Cairo

and Im wearing it today. God how I love it. I'm trying to think of a frag whose topnotes are so different from the bottom notes as DH, and I can't. I really can't think of anything else that crosses as much terrain as you wear it, evolving from that make-up zinger opening to that deep, masculine warmth in the end. Yet its all very coherent. spectacular.

Again, exactly how I feel, and the scentiments I want to reiterate are: "God how I love it" and "spectacular". Deeply satisfying evolution, with the constant presence of the iris fixed throughout the duration of the fragrance; although, the iris's interplay with the other elements at any particular time in the drydown of the fragrance is dynamic and its presence and character variable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pluran

. . . While it is sufficiently masculine (some people will disagree. masculinity is profoundly misunderstood) it's good enough to be a feminine fragrance. That in itself is a quite an accomplishment for a masculine fragrance.

Glad to see someone who sees gender categories not as shackles but as possibilities for transformation, and Dior Homme is certainly ahead of it's time in that sense. I have always admired Dior for producing fragrances that are truly unique: Eau Sauvage (for it's time), Jules, Fahrenheit, and now Dior Homme. The "Higher" range was a momentary blot on the landscape, but the Dior Homme threesome and Dior Homme itself shows that at least they haven't sold out to the vacuous aqueous model of fragrance creation.

scentemental

P.S. While Dune Pour Homme is not as innovative as say Farehheit or as Eau Sauvage was for its time, I hold it in high regard. It wears beautifully and manages to have some relation to the fresh marine ozonic category without being a formulaic or perfunctory rendition of the category.
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post #15 of 18
10/20/06 at 11:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joel_Cairo

and Im wearing it today. God how I love it. I'm trying to think of a frag whose topnotes are so different from the bottom notes as DH, and I can't. I really can't think of anything else that crosses as much terrain as you wear it, evolving from that make-up zinger opening to that deep, masculine warmth in the end. Yet its all very coherent. spectacular.

As Luca Turin wrote concerning Dior Homme: "...a textbook example of successful top-down design."
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post #16 of 18
10/20/06 at 1:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by d4

It's odd how frequently people have diametrically opposed experiences with regard to longevity. For me Dior Homme has amazingly, surprisingly good longevity. It lasts longer than many other fragrances I've tried even though at first whiff I wouldn't expect it to last nearly as long.

Me too! Even with a small application, the scent still lingered on me when I woke up and lasted until after lunch.
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post #17 of 18
10/20/06 at 7:10pm
To me, DH is akin to walking into a bakery somewhere in the Middle East where they are just pulling out a spice cake from the oven! The scent stays with you all day. Really strokes the scent part of my brain. Oh, the sensations! Creed and all the niches are envious that they didn't come out with something this spectacular and enrapturing in 2005. I'm ashamed that I paid so little ($30) for a 100ml tester from Scentiments. Will you ever forgive me, Monsieur Dior? I promise to buy a bottle at retail next time.
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post #18 of 18
10/20/06 at 7:27pm
It's strange since i do not like DiorHomme very much but lately i am remembering the scent a lot and i smelled it on someone again, and i am sort of missing it now, what's happening to me?
I respected the scent from the start, but thought it was too sweet, too caramely and too strong.
Now wintertime is near and now i crave some of its sweeteness.
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