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Let my first review be a fitting one...
Context matters. It defines how we look at something, and it can be the breaking point between loving something and absolutely hating it. I believe this is the case with this fragrance.
Looking at the commercial, the posters and the whole marketing aspect of this fragrance, i think Hedi Slimane is straight up a genius. Nothing less. He changed the whole landscape of how men think of fragrance. He turned everything on its head. This is how Dior Homme was born.
I belive that he wanted to make something for the modern man - along with his fashion line, this just hits the bulls eye. It came in the right place, at the right time. The whole "metrosexual" trend started around that time, and this just fits that whole aesthetic. I think that this is the perfect European, more precisely, French style. This is not overly butch, its not classically aggressively "masculine", but it plays a different role, its suave, sophisticated and charming. It's much more subtle than your average fragrance for men, that came out around that time, and/or before.
In terms of the scent, this is a distant cousin to Dior's own Bois D'Argent. While BdA is more sweet (that doesn't say anything, because both of these are just sweet enough, to never be cloying and annoying), BdA is just a tad more sweet, and the structure of that fragrance is totally different from this. This relies mostly on the Iris note, which it brought to the big stage, and was sort of controversial for. Everything here is a song & dance around the Iris. It begins with this soft lavender and citrus, it has a chalky waxy scent, then goes to a buttery Iris, accompanied with cacao and cardamom to give it a warm, slight spicy feeling. The main reason why i think this is still a masculine scent (ladies you can wear this if you want, im not passing any judgements here) is the base. The base is mostly about a soft suede-like leather, and woods, coming from vetiver and patchouli.
Context context context...and marketing. If this was a Chanel womens fragrance, made with adverts starring a gorgeous girl, i would probably look at it from a totally different view. I would have a totally different picture in my head. Let me be honest, i would not wear that fragrance, cause it would feel feminine for me to wear it. Instead the commercial was about a man, looking sensually at a camera, indicating that this is not your typical man, he has class, he can show emotion and is sophisticated. He knows what girl he wants, what clothes he wants (Hedi Slimane era Dior Homme, duh), what car he wants, and he knows that he wants to live in Paris.
In conclusion - i personally do not wear fragrances for girls, but if i ever did, this would be my first choice. Just because i feel automatically better about myself. And confidence along with Dior Homme, is a combination that is hard to beat. And from what i have heard, girls in fact, do LOVE this one, so i could not be happier.
Looking at the commercial, the posters and the whole marketing aspect of this fragrance, i think Hedi Slimane is straight up a genius. Nothing less. He changed the whole landscape of how men think of fragrance. He turned everything on its head. This is how Dior Homme was born.
I belive that he wanted to make something for the modern man - along with his fashion line, this just hits the bulls eye. It came in the right place, at the right time. The whole "metrosexual" trend started around that time, and this just fits that whole aesthetic. I think that this is the perfect European, more precisely, French style. This is not overly butch, its not classically aggressively "masculine", but it plays a different role, its suave, sophisticated and charming. It's much more subtle than your average fragrance for men, that came out around that time, and/or before.
In terms of the scent, this is a distant cousin to Dior's own Bois D'Argent. While BdA is more sweet (that doesn't say anything, because both of these are just sweet enough, to never be cloying and annoying), BdA is just a tad more sweet, and the structure of that fragrance is totally different from this. This relies mostly on the Iris note, which it brought to the big stage, and was sort of controversial for. Everything here is a song & dance around the Iris. It begins with this soft lavender and citrus, it has a chalky waxy scent, then goes to a buttery Iris, accompanied with cacao and cardamom to give it a warm, slight spicy feeling. The main reason why i think this is still a masculine scent (ladies you can wear this if you want, im not passing any judgements here) is the base. The base is mostly about a soft suede-like leather, and woods, coming from vetiver and patchouli.
Context context context...and marketing. If this was a Chanel womens fragrance, made with adverts starring a gorgeous girl, i would probably look at it from a totally different view. I would have a totally different picture in my head. Let me be honest, i would not wear that fragrance, cause it would feel feminine for me to wear it. Instead the commercial was about a man, looking sensually at a camera, indicating that this is not your typical man, he has class, he can show emotion and is sophisticated. He knows what girl he wants, what clothes he wants (Hedi Slimane era Dior Homme, duh), what car he wants, and he knows that he wants to live in Paris.
In conclusion - i personally do not wear fragrances for girls, but if i ever did, this would be my first choice. Just because i feel automatically better about myself. And confidence along with Dior Homme, is a combination that is hard to beat. And from what i have heard, girls in fact, do LOVE this one, so i could not be happier.
Jbl775