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Dior Dune -- Lay It On Me

post #1 of 27
6/7/10 at 12:16pm
Thread Starter 
I'm pretty cautious about blind buys, but recently saw such a good price on this, and the reviews are so intriguing, that I couldn't help but spring for it. However, the reviews are all so DIFFERENT from each other than I'm having a hard time imagining what it will smell like! Help satisfy my curiosity while I wait for it to arrive.

What DOES Dune smell like? If I like warm spicy and woody notes, and am not a big fan of super-sweetness, will I be happy with my purchase? Some people seem to find it a rich oriental, and others find it downright WEIRD (not ncessarily a bad thing, IMO). Is it wearable in the summer?
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post #2 of 27
6/7/10 at 12:55pm
Dune Eau de Toilette:
Aldehydes,Peony,Mandarin Orange,Bergamot,Brazilian Rosewood
middle notes
Lily,Jasmine,Ylang-Ylang,Rose,Wallflower
base notes
Sandalwood,Amber,Patchoul,iMusk,Benzoin,Vanilla,Oa kmoss

I find it a nice florientalThank you for posting about this scent!I will wear it tomorrow!!!
Well,this one is fantastic!I like it!It has a fresh opening, nice floral heart and deep woody base!Good choice for you
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post #3 of 27
6/7/10 at 2:46pm
It's not sweet, and I wouldn't describe it as warm. It has none of the comfort of a traditional oriental. I'd say it's more of an oriental chypre. I love it in the summer; it does remind me of the beach, but not in any traditional way. This is no fabric softener scent.

Over on POL, the incomparable Mrs Veneering once described Dune as a tough old broad on the beach, smoking a cigar. I actually like that description! I like tobacco scents, and this one has a resinous, green tobacco thing going. It's also loaded with broom, which I adore and wish I could find in more fragrances. There is amber, yes, but it's not cloying or sweet, like some amber can become. The thickness of the amber is cut quite well with that astringent resin and broom.

And it's *strong*, so beware! I wore it once to a meeting, and someone walked into the (quite large) conference room and said "Someone smells wonderful in here." That's nice, but I really didn't intend to fill an entire room. I quietly excused myself and scrubbed off as much as I could.

I don't wear it often, but when I do, it's exactly right. It doesn't smell like anything else, that's for sure.
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post #4 of 27
6/7/10 at 8:53pm
I agree with others so far.

It isn't very sweet and not overtly floral. It is dry, somewhat cool fragrance. I own the vintage version, which comes in the box with the black strip across the bottom, and it is reputed to be better than the current version by being darker and richer.

I am a man and I wear the feminine version of Dune quite comfortably. I believe that there are a number of male Basenoters who prefer it over the masculine Dune (which is a very different type of fragrance).

I highly recommend it and think you will be fine with it based on what you have said.
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post #5 of 27
6/8/10 at 4:24am
Used to be one of the favorites, and politely disagree with Twichly, has nothing of a chypre to it.

It is a warm oriental with somewhat fresh tonality, slightly acidic and raspy dryout.

Agree with the previous poster: look for the older version with the black bottom on the packaging (as opposed to the all peachy orange box in later versions). Also try to find an EdP.
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post #6 of 27
6/8/10 at 8:43am
I don't know about the reformulation, but it's a soft, salty amber with a water accord. Not the dreaded ozone note, it's more sea water, warm sand and spicy air. A very neat scent.
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post #7 of 27
6/8/10 at 9:10am
It's really unique and quite hard to describe. I don't recall ever smelling any scent that compares. It's usually listed as an aquatic, but I don't find it particularly aquatic at all. Actually I imagine a desert and sand dunes. It's a warm air blowing, woody, dry, a bit sweet in a vanilla sandalwood combination sort of way. I think you can wear it in summer or winter. Like Twitchly, I don't wear it often, but when I do, it seems just perfect. I think if you like woody scents, you'll probably like it.
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post #8 of 27
6/8/10 at 12:52pm
Where is Evangeline when we need her most? It is rumored to be one of her recent favorites!
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post #9 of 27
6/8/10 at 3:01pm
Hi y'all - here I am! Actually, Dune is an old love of mine - I've had a bottle since its release (the vintage is definitely better and worth seeking out!) My new love that reminds me of Dune is Eau des Merveilles (thank you cello!) and now Roma (thank you for that one "you know who you are", and you were right about the Duney-ness in it!) Also, Dali's Laguna is to my nose a more floral, slightly sweeter Dune - it's very lovely and very affordable. So Thalia if you're familiar with any of these, that should give you at least a vague idea of the magnificence that is Dune.
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post #10 of 27
6/8/10 at 3:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangeline View Post

Hi y'all - here I am! Actually, Dune is an old love of mine - I've had a bottle since its release (the vintage is definitely better and worth seeking out!) My new love that reminds me of Dune is Eau des Merveilles (thank you cello!) and now Roma (thank you for that one "you know who you are", and you were right about the Duney-ness in it!) Also, Dali's Laguna is to my nose a more floral, slightly sweeter Dune - it's very lovely and very affordable. So Thalia if you're familiar with any of these, that should give you some idea of the magnificence that is Dune.

Hi Evangeline!I 'd like to say something ...believe me or not...i wear Dior Dune today and i was thinking of wearing another love of mine...ROMA for tomorrow !!!!!!Isn't it Amazing ???
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post #11 of 27
6/8/10 at 3:12pm
Do you agree about the similarity? It's funny how they can be so different, but still have that certain something that connects them, especially in the drydown. But I don't think it's about the notes - it's more about accords, or even just an impression. I haven't checked, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have a single note in common.
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post #12 of 27
6/8/10 at 3:17pm
Well,Roma has a very citrusy sharp opening..but a very nice and creamy-woody sillage and yes!calming down to heart notes gives the same aroma as Dune does!!!What do i like most in Roma?The drying down and the sillage Great longivity,too!!!
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post #13 of 27
6/9/10 at 7:18am
It IS very different. I can think of nothing that compares. It is not quite an oriental because it is very "dry" and "thin". It reminds me of sand & sea.
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post #14 of 27
6/9/10 at 12:34pm
I think both Dune and Roma feature amber in there, don't they? Roma is lots of amber to my nose. Roma has that herbal opening that is reminiscent of Dune, but it sadly doesn't last and the sweet amber quickly dominates. I like (and own) Roma, but it gets a bit boring to me after that glorious opening. Dune is many things, but boring isn't one of them. I wonder what Roma and Eau des Merveilles would be like layered together? Hmm ...
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post #15 of 27
6/10/10 at 5:19am
I would describe it just as Nymph did. :-) There is a definite salty note there. A strange but alluring combination of warm sweetness (by no means overly sweet) and salty sea breeze.
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post #16 of 27
6/11/10 at 4:56pm
Dune evokes the feeling of the beach, without smelling like a typically beachy scent. No coconut, suntan lotion or cliche notes, instead focusing on the environmental oflactory association. Clean, salty sea air, cool sea spray, fresh, delightfully feminine, floral and sweet. Of course its not all nature, it pretty much smells like a beautiful woman wearing beautiful perfume at the beach. Its not a balmy, sunny day and shes not in a bikini with the sun rippling through her long, sun bleached hair. Its cold, overcast and gray. She has a white cashmere sweater right up to her neck with a knitted pink scarf and hat, and shes bracing herself against the cold sea air whipping her loosely piled brunette hair about her face, stinging her with sea spray. But shes laughing unselfconsciously, trying to gain control of her golden Labrador, who is straining at the leash, threatening to plunge her into the icy ocean water. This is what Dune smells like to me. Definitely not the half dressed tanned nymph in the photo! Oh and by the way boys- shes married to the guy bringing her a blanket from the Lexus
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post #17 of 27
6/14/10 at 9:19am
Thread Starter 
OK, I'm wearing it now. To me it's on the sweet side, really quite sweet but it's not candyish so it doesn't put me off. It's warm but there is a cold saltiness in there. It seems very rich to me, not thin at all -- but yes, dry. It is really, really good! And it is STRONG, I probably could have been a little more restrained with the spraying.

I can see why people say it smells like the beach! It does smell like beach air -- hot sand and cold spray in the breeze, and something wonderful blooming back where the sand begins. And not a little girly beach fragrance full of of soda pop and sun lotion, but a windswept clean beach. It reminds me a little of the Oregon coast, where we usually spend a week or two in the summer. There's a lot of driftwood on those beaches.

It didn't come with the box, but I'm guessing this is the older formula -- the bottle is very dark orange.

Thank you everyone, for your impressions and for gratifying my curiosity! I didn't really understand how a perfume could smell "salty," but there is a brininess here and now I get it. I find the description of this as "bleak" totally baffling -- warm, sweet, rich, and reminiscent of one of my favorite place on earth ...
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post #18 of 27
6/14/10 at 3:05pm
Thread Starter 
OK, and the far dry-down is warm, warm, warm woods, something sticky and resinous, plus a healthy dose of vanilla. No more salt or coolness, it's all snuggly and if anything a little too sweet.
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post #19 of 27
10/20/10 at 7:13pm
Dune is dry extreamly woodsy not sweet
and it's with aldehydes
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post #20 of 27
10/25/10 at 11:51am
Thread Starter 
I just wanted to come back again and thank everyone who posted -- I looooove my bottle of Dune! I have concluded that the thing I own that's closest to it is vintage Chloe: warm, sweet, spicy, resinous. Dune manages to be more of everything than Chloe (except sweet) and yet it doesn't cloy the way Chloe can if I'm not careful with it. I'm going to be coming back to it again and again all winter, I think.
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post #21 of 27
2/18/11 at 2:40pm
I love Dune, its such a recognizable scent. What's unique about it is it gives multiple, mysterious and slightly contradictory emotional impressions all at once. Difficult to put in words. It's amazing stuff.

By the way...I can't honestly see any reason why it's smell should remind people of the desert other than the heavy promotional material that came out at the time featuring a woman walking on sand... and of course the name... and other adverts and images associated with the perfume. It's all a bit of romantic auto suggestion, I reckon!
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post #22 of 27
2/18/11 at 7:25pm
I think it shares a quality with Hermés Eau des merveilles. It is warm, dry and sweet-ish without being actually sweet. They both remind me of sunwarmed skin.
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post #23 of 27
2/19/11 at 2:53am
Hey everyone~

I like Dune as well, but not have the courage yet to pull it off yet (and to add it in my collection). So is there any big difference between EDT and EDP version? i.e probably EDT version is more masculine compare to EDP? Or EDP is not really suitable for warm or hot season? Probably anyone here who got EDT and EDP version can tell us how you find them when you spritz some on your skin? Do they turn flowery, or powdery, after some time, etc?

I tried Dune few times when I went to Dior counter. But being someone who lived in a dessert and near the beach, it doesnt remind me the smell of them either.

Sometimes Im confused, if Dune or Dolce Vita is the right one for me? Dolce Vita is nice as well (at first) but sometimes it can turn to 'flowery' on me which I don't really like.

Oh! I slept with Hermés Eau des merveilles (haha, not any dude!) for 8 hours (plus 3 hours I spritz before) and I must say I like how it behaved on my skin. It has multidimensional effect, I noticed something like woody, fresh, slightly chypre-ish, orangey notes that whispered silently and sweet without being like 'teeny weeny' or 'nauseatingly' sweet. All in one, Im kind of impressed with its uniqueness. Im not sure about the aldehyde part though.

Hermés Eau des merveilles definitely will be my next purchase!
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post #24 of 27
2/19/11 at 7:45am
Phoenix, I think Dune only comes in EDT. I have some older extrait and it is wonderful. The EDT is not bad and I think they have not messed too much with it.
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post #25 of 27
2/19/11 at 11:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GelbeDomino View Post

Phoenix, I think Dune only comes in EDT. I have some older extrait and it is wonderful. The EDT is not bad and I think they have not messed too much with it.

GelbeDomino, I just realized that. I was out for groceries shopping just now and dropped by at Dior counter. Had Dune on my wrist (like for how many times now? Cant remember my attempts. Just having the 'urge' to try again after Thalia mentioned it in the forum). And as usual, the result always disappointing. It fades away quickly after 3-4 hours. Sigh, my skin maybe.

But dont worry Thalia, maybe it suits and stick well on you. Just ignore my 'spongey-skin' problem here. Hehe.
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post #26 of 27
2/19/11 at 1:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spoombung View Post

I love Dune, its such a recognizable scent. What's unique about it is it gives multiple, mysterious and slightly contradictory emotional impressions all at once. Difficult to put in words. It's amazing stuff.

By the way...I can't honestly see any reason why it's smell should remind people of the desert other than the heavy promotional material that came out at the time featuring a woman walking on sand... and of course the name... and other adverts and images associated with the perfume. It's all a bit of romantic auto suggestion, I reckon!

l think it is desert-like because it is so very dry, & prickly as a cactus! l don't know whether it smells like a desert, but it certainly evokes one for me. lt lasts a good 8 hours on me, by the way.
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post #27 of 27
8/15/11 at 3:44pm
I love the original from 1991. It is one of my go to fragrances especially in the summer. I cannot abide the one that is on the market now. To me it is wildly different from the original and not very appealing.

Look for the original in the dark orange box with the black band at the bottom and the oval has Christian Dior in it. It is worth the hunt.

I can understand those that stop by the perfume counter today and try it and don't like it. Neither do I.
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