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Musicandarts
2
An expensive, underwhelming powdery violet fragrance with little development.
Cologne Blanche is an older fragrance from the La Collection Privée Christian Dior, created in 2004 as part of the original three. Unfortunately, it feels a bit dated now. This review is based on a 7.5 ml travel size original bottle from Dior. Francis Kurkdjian is the perfumer behind Cologne Blanche, but this is the powdery fresh Kurkdjian who made Le Male, not the rosy gourmand of later years.
Cologne Blanche is a soft clean powdery scent that is unlikely to offend anyone. The notes listed on Dior’s website are neroli, violet and amber, which creates “an exceptionally satiny softness, like a powdery caress on the skin”. Though I agree with these notes and the description, they contradict what is reported on the various websites. I believe that websites like Parfumo list the notes in the original 2004 Kurkdjian version, not those of the new release. The Cologne Blanche from the original La Collection Privée was discontinued a long time ago. Kurkdjian must have re-imagined and reconstituted this perfume when he took over the leadership at Dior. Though some of this is pure conjecture, the new version does not contain almond, rosemary, bergamot, vanilla or tonka bean in any appreciable quantity, at least according to my nose. So, I will simply classify Cologne Blanche as a powdery scent with neroli, violet and amber accords.
It opens with violet with a bit of neroli and amber thrown in. None of these notes are dominant individually, but they combine to produce a single powdery accord. There is no development that I can see in this perfume. The overall persona of this perfume is that of a lovely baby powder. This powder smell very likely comes from violet, or the alpha ionone used to create this note. This vibe dominates and persists throughout the heart and bottom notes. That is why Cologne Blanche feels underwhelming and generic.
The performance is a good, though not overwhelming, befitting the cologne persona of this perfume. The powdery accord lasts of my skin for 6-8 hours. The modest sillage works great for an office perfume, but the baby powder may be off-putting for most cubicle-dwellers.
Cologne Blanche is an underwhelming fragrance, best suited as a loungewear. I can see its appeal when you are curled up on the couch with a cup of cocoa and nice book on a wintery weekend morning. But it is too pricey for the $165 you pay for 40 ml. There are many superior perfumes in La Collection Privée Christian Dior that beats Cologne Blanche in value.
Top Notes 
Almond
Orange
Rosemary
Heart Notes 
Orange blossom
Bergamot
Base Notes 
Woods
Tanelv
Janetbeary
Omnipotato
Kurai
