FRAGRANCE | Eau Sauvage Parfum by Christian Dior: Undoubtedly masculine and elegant

halfwhiteboy - Eau Sauvage Parfum (2012) by Christian Dior

This was another blind buy for me and I was excited to try it when it finally arrived. A single spray on the back of my hand and I was instantly smitten! Of course I am aware of the much lauded classic that is Eau Sauvage EDT but I haven't gotten the chance to own a bottle just yet. And then I saw someone selling a supposedly old formulation of the parfum version and I just jumped the gun.

Christian Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum is one gorgeous heck of a fragrance, opening with a dark, smoky citrus that is almost immediately joined by a wonderful vetiver that starts shy but then grows only stronger by the minute. The citrus, which is not the sharp and perky kind, lingers for a bit before it surrenders to the resinous sweetness of the myrrh.

It's a strong perfume but I find that it doesn't whack everyone around you in the nose. I'm not sure if I can call it a beast because it appears quite refined and gentlemanly. A cultured beast? Perhaps, if there was such a thing. Plus it's always prudent to go easy on the sprayer when it comes to performers like this. Projection can be quite strong in its first 3 hours and the scent itself is very long-lasting.

halfwhiteboy - Christian Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum

Eau Sauvage Parfum seems like a pretty simple and straightforward fragrance but it's just so deftly blended. I think I get a hint of lavender in the heart but it's mostly the myrrh's sweet smokiness working beautifully with the vetiver's characteristic earthiness that gets me. While this treatment reminds me a bit of another resinous-sweet and smoky take on vetiver, Bel Ami Vetiver by Hermès, the differences are still quite noticeable. That said, I don't think having both is redundant.

On a side note, I have a friend who also owns this parfum but is confused about people raving about its supposed beastly performance because he's not getting any at all. He's even second-guessing the authenticity of his bottle. I don't blame him because his is more citrusy, very different from the sweet smokiness I just described earlier. I don't know if it's the 2017 reformulation but the scent appears thinner, lacking the heft of the original release. It's not necessarily a bad scent, just different. For the record I checked my bottle and it's from 2014, so I guess I'm lucky.

Anyway, Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum is a keeper for me. It's a gorgeous, masculine scent with the performance to boot. Absolutely a must-try!

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