J'adore l'Or ( Christian Dior) - new exclusive fragrance review

J'adore l'Or is the sensational perfume of the fall. If J'adore absolu was the magnificent expression of J'adore, with each note emphasized by the use of several very special floral absolutes, J'adore l'Or is its quintessence. In the previous version, the floral facets of J'adore where underlined and magnified. Sambac jasmine, ylang, tuberose, fresh jasmine, all were represented like petals in a stellar composition. J'adore l'Or is now the center and not the "ray of light". It is the apotheosis. Its amazing structure shows a linear panoramic development for a fragrance that lasts forever and ever. The perfume, with an outstanding floral tenacity, works like a spiral that goes deeper and deeper inside the spirit of J'adore. From the very first seconds it acts like a carousel: all the notes are there, the rose, the jasmine, the lily of the valley, the soft fresh peach, the vanilla, the woody sandalwood. Each contributes with its own facet through the floral metamorphosis, none is dominating the structure and there is no contrast. This is the new and original interpretation of the J'adore idea. The original masterpiece of Calice Becker was in fact a champaca poem built around the freshness of a magnificent flower surrounded by all its shades: sparkling freshness and fruity top note, green flowers, sensual woody drydown. Champaca is one of the most amazing flowers of the planet and the composition of its scent reveals something unique - all the major 7 flower types are present here and somehow, this flower is the quintessence of all other flowers. Calice Becker translated this idea into a landscape of embroidered flowers, each explored with exquisite accuracy. J'adore is obvious today because many have copied this perfume but, like the champaca absolute, it's not a simple formula. If the flowers were suspended between the top and the drydown in the original creation, a very dynamic structure, J'adore l'Or is quite the opposite. It is condensed matter. It's the density of the original perfume and not the accents. The drydown, with sandalwood, vanilla absolute, soft lactones and powdery musks is of an extreme beauty and the fruitiness reminds the texture of Nuit de cellophane from Serge Lutens (that I did not like because it was too J'adore). A similar idea was explored by Magnolia Nobile (Aqua di Parma) but it was not perfectly mastered.

The most unusual element in J'adore l'Or from Christian Dior is in fact its chanelesque style. François Demachy translated here all his experience from Chanel and the result is sublime. J'adore l'Or doesn't borrow any specific accord from modern Chanel perfumes, it takes the soul. From the very first seconds, I had all the richness and magnificent smoothness of natural ingredients found in several Chanel extracts (and not EDT/EDP): Coco, Allure, Coco Mademoiselle. J'adore l'Or is now the new representative of the French classicism style, something that did not exist in the first version. This perfume is not the representation of a specific note / flower / accord, but their abstraction. The combination "rose de mai" note and jasmine over a rich sandalwood base, the ylang-ylang, the peach-apricot note that suggests osmanthus petals, the green floral freshness found in jasmine sambac absolute, the lightness of a coconut gardenia-tuberose, everything here is perfect. There is not a single moment in the evolution of this fragrance when the scent "falls", there is no faux pas. The milky richness of sandalwood combined with vanilla suggests the warm drydown found in Chanel No 5 and there is even a short almondy-tonka absolute-coumarine-aldehydic effect that evokes the perfection of No5 Eau Première and the smoothness of Beige. Like in Coco Mademoiselle, the peach-modern chypre note has something alluring and sophisticate but J'adore l'Or took out the green pineapple-galbanum pungency. The chypre facet is delicious with patchouli-labdanum-amber and light mosses, all surrounded by the eternal softness of a long lasting peach-apricot note that becomes very creamy with a hint of exotic vanilla (frangipanni effect of Tahiti vanilla).

Unlike other modern Dior creations, this perfume was a sensational discovery for me and I was totally impressed by the quality of ingredients, how they were used and how the whole structure of the perfume was built starting from J'adore idea. I soon understood why. Dior has now its own plantations in Grasse and the lesson of Chanel was perfectly learnt.

"As magical as it may be, a perfume is above all the art of raw materials", confides François Demachy, Dior's Perfumer-Creator, for whom using the finest ingredients is a top priority. Produced exclusively from Dior's Domaine de Manon, Jasmine and Rose flowers provide the beauty of the fragrance.
This is not marketing.Try J'adore l'Or and you'll see the big change with the other Dior perfumes (their very cheap Escale line).

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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art