Calice de la Séduction Éternelle Dali Haute Parfumerie 2016

My journey (back) to the Dali brand actually began by chance. I participated in the sharing for “Dali Fabulous 1 (Eau de Parfum Intense)” because the scent or the fragrance pyramid simply appealed to me. It was by no means a disappointment, but on the contrary, really good and not at all (normal) like I had imagined a Dali fragrance would be.

Hooked by this very good fragrance experience, I wanted to know what the “Dali Fabulous 4 (Eau de Parfum Intense)” might be like. Since I couldn’t find any hints about sources here or anywhere else, I quickly used the contact option on the Dali website.

I then received a rapid response informing me that the Fabulous fragrances were not available for purchase in Germany and that there were currently no samples available either. They offered to send me scented paper strips to get a sense of the fragrance. I found that very nice and gratefully accepted the offer.
A few days later, the fragrance letter from France arrived. I sniffed and dared to make the purchase. However, since you cannot order to Germany through the website, I ordered via email. By the way, there were no shipping costs (since the value of goods was over €50), which I found very surprising, as the French usually charge quite a bit for shipping.

Through this entire email exchange, a lively contact developed with the lady from Cofinluxe (the producer of the fragrances). She wanted to know how people in Germany knew about the Fabulous fragrances, etc. So I provided her with some information about Parfumo and what we are dealing with here.

Without my prompting, she then informed me that she would include samples of the new “Haute Parfumerie” series with the shipment.

For the sake of good order, it should be mentioned that the shipping went smoothly and everything arrived safely and neatly with me. Oh yes, and the ordered fragrance also smells really good on the skin. Dali - for me, already one of the most positive surprises of the year!

But the journey should continue, as I now had the small black box with the “five treasures” and was very curious about what to expect.

To preempt, all five fragrances are of exceptionally high quality. You can literally smell that nothing was “quickly thrown together” and that there was a very demanding selection of fragrance materials.

All five fragrances were composed by Alberto Morillas, a passionate perfumer who has created scents for renowned houses such as By Kilian, Versace, Valentino, Zegna, Calvin Klein, Armani, Kenzo, Givenchy, Amouage, etc. His passion for fragrances is definitely evident in the new Dali series.

All five fragrances are only available in the 100ml size, and each scent is housed in an elaborate bottle with striking decorative embellishments on the cap. This luxurious design is explained by the fact that the fragrance series was inspired by Dali's jewelry art.

So far, everything is at a very high level and a very good step towards reorientation, back to the luxury brand.

Now, onto the fragrances themselves:

Calice de la Séduction Éternelle (roughly “Chalice of Eternal Seduction”)
…skillfully plays with floral and earthy-spicy aspects. From the very first moment, the patchouli is clearly recognizable. Slightly earthy with spicy-warm moments, it presents itself but is then immediately played with and somewhat dimmed by the white flowers and a not overly dominant rose. Gradually, the fragrance drifts in a balsamic direction, becoming softer, rounder, and finer thanks to labdanum, golden-yellow amber, and a perfectly sweet vanilla. Calice de la Séduction Éternelle is certainly not a lightweight fragrance, and yet Señor Morillas has managed to compose a wonderfully fragrant lightness amidst all the opulence that prevents the scent from feeling too heavy. The fragrance practically merges with the skin and releases its enchanting aroma for hours. Seduction? Yes, and at a high level. However, one must definitely like patchouli, as it is present throughout the entire fragrance development. This is also the reason why I would say that Calice de la Séduction Éternelle can certainly be worn by men.

Conclusion: From my very personal perspective, the Dali house has managed or will manage with this Haute-Parfumerie series to establish itself (again) in the upper fragrance segment. All five fragrances are not only visually but especially content-wise exclusive and come with the finest ingredients and well-thought-out fragrance concepts and compositions.