Roudnitska’s Swan Song for Dior

Roudnitska’s last contribution to his legacy at Dior. Dior-Dior is named appropriately, as it is self-referential. Femme by Rochas began his “overripe fruit” accord obsession. Roudnitska tinkered with this initial idea (Femme being the first fragrance he made) for the entirety of his career (Ocean Rain being his final achievement).

I have said before that Dior-Dior (‘76) and Ocean Rain (‘90) are closely related. I don’t know what happened in those 14 years, other than the introduction of a revolutionary fruity aquatic note: calone. Was Roudnitska done with his accord— his second greatest achievement next to Diorissimo?

The world will never know.

I know Dior-Dior like the back of my hand. I have worn it and gotten a 1/5 on Uber and been told the parfum smells like “nothing I’ve ever imagined” to others. Dior-Dior does not care about being liked, it is itself. “My Funny Valentine” represents this fragrance well, if you’re familiar with the lyrics…

The smell:

Top: fruit dropped from trees, becoming so ripe they fall to the ground and begin to lightly ferment. You step on one, afraid it’s a piece of shit, but it smells lovely when you grab your ankle and sniff in fear. It’s earth, dirty, juicy, wet, sweet, rich, and smells photorealistic. Alongside this a downpour of Diorella/Eau Sauvage’s top note accord rains down

Heart: Diorissimo??? Where did you come from? Of all the ways to make a fragrance, monster mashing the greatest hits could be disastrous. But instead, Dior-Dior is just an improved Diorella. The implementation of the LOTV from Diorissimo enriches the formula and lightens the fruit note as the citrus burns off

Base: dried fruit, spices, musks, amber, the accord persists until it says goodbye a day later

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