Dioressence is a beautifully smooth, sophisticated and clean take on a classical Chypre with outstanding quality and an overall incredible scent profile. It starts off very green with earthy patchouli and an array of green leaves and flowers, alongside a hefty dose of soapy aldehydes to brighten it up. From here the dense, rich florals begin to shine alongside a gentle spicy touch of cinnamon. The star of the show here is obviously the oakmoss, alongside patchouli and aldehydes. I find this shades a lot of similarities with the original Miss Dior but this seems to be much brighter and cleaner in a way. I would urge any lover of chypres to seek out this scent, particularly an older bottle where the oakmoss shines proudly. I adore my EDT and can only imagine what the parfum must smell like, a true masterpiece of a scent.

Got a vintage 10ml. Love it! It's old-school aldehydic floral complexity with an emphasis on minty, green patchouli (clean). Perhaps I'm romanticising it to myself but I can really see how this and other such perfumes shaped the course of things to come. Here we also have quite strong violet, and there's something about the whole composition that reminds me of Lipstick Rose. Update: Chypre Palatin! That's what this resembles too, gorgeous mossy sweetness.

My review pertains to the 1979 release, the re-orchestration by Max Gavarry, and not the original 1969 formula by Guy Robert, which is said to be far more animalic. Either way, my 1979 bottle of Dioressence is, to me, one of the very best Dior creations and one of the most beautiful fragrances in general! Dioressence is an intensely animalic green oriental. It seems weird but if you take the spices of Youth Dew, add a lick of animal notes and envelop everything in aromatic green herbal notes, this is what you get. It smells so perfect that I’ve never had the urge to pursue the harder to find and far more expensive first version; there’s simply no need for me. The opening is powdered geraniums and carnations, laced with bright and sparkling bergamot. The richness of the citrus is unparalleled and together with the aromatic notes of geranium, it smells like the most sensual powder; it’s bright, soothing, floral and dry, giving the feel of moist greenness. There’s a touch of cinnamon and orange but instead of going all ‘pomander territory’ it manages to convey the same hot spiciness of Youth Dew or Opium. The mid floral heart, which is so expertly blended that no flower stands out takes it more to chypre territory, leaving some of the spices behind. I can still sense the cinnamon and the geranium, the two notes that stand out more on my skin, but now I smell the connection to Miss Dior; the same elegance, the same class, but somehow wilder. Hair down, a print kaftan and a chaise longue. Le Parfum Barbare comes alive! All through the lifespan of Dioressence (hours on end on skin, with more than big sillage) there’s a briny and salty feel, which I’m sensing as ambergris. It doesn’t make it dirty per se, but adds the barbaric element of naughtiness. The drydown brings forth the heavier musks and animalic notes, adds a final spin of the spice rack and envelops everything in dark patchouli, powdered herbal notes and the floral facet of geranium. Rose becomes more apparent but other than that, the rest of the flowers are invisibly blended to provide the overall smoothness. Oakmoss, spices, some resins…this is everything without trying, without falling apart. It’s hard to decipher it and I won’t, because it smells so fu*king good that I just want to savor it. It feels so 70’s, yet so 80’s Studio54, that I wonder if my version is still the Guy Robert formula or the Gavarry vision, because it’s a masterpiece. I’ve no idea, I’m guessing that each perfumer emphasized a different side of the same coin and Dioressence feels at home in any version, be it a 1969 chateau or a 1979 disco. Transcending like no other and never feeling or smelling dated. 10/10 from me!