Let me introduce you to Dior‘s exclusive prestige line of perfumes, LA COLLECTION PRIVEE, made of rare noble ingredients. Below you will find my personal favorites along with the house’s newest addition: GRIS MONTAIGNE.
NEW LOOK 47
February 12, 1947: A major event was held at 30, avenue Montaigne in Paris, where Christian Dior presented his first fashion show. With his flower women and bright colors, the Designer launched a fresh fashion trend. “It’s a New Look!” exclaimed Carmel Snow, chief editor at Harper’s Bazaar, thus christening the Designer’s inimitable style. Today, the New Look has become an explosive, generous, ultra-feminine and floral fragrance.
Top note: Ylang-Ylang from Mayotte
Middle note: Indian Tuberose
Base note: Benzoin from Siam
Eau de Parfum Spray 125ml (CHF 275.00), 250ml (CHF 400.00) and 450ml (CHF 595.00)
MILLY-LA-FORET
After his fashion shows, Christian Dior loved to get away from high society Parisian life in order to recharge his batteries at his home in Milly-la-Forêt. “Hidden away from the world and surrounded only by my flowers, my canals and my small pond, I can listen to the sound of the Milly bells in peace.” he writes. Wandering through the surrounding woods, François Demachy imagined this fragrance as the embodiment of a romantic walk in the forest, with a fresh, tender and cottony scent.
Top note: Mandarin
Middle note: Neroli
Base note: White Musk
Eau de Parfum Spray 125ml (CHF 275.00), 250ml (CHF 400.00) and 450ml (CHF 595.00)
GRAND BAL
Literally fascinated by the excess of the imposing balls that he would not miss for anything, Christian Dior used his fashion to celebrate a certain luxurious and timeless celebratory spirit. A new chapter in the “Christian Dior Collection Privée”, Grand Bal elegantly embodies the intoxication of a summer’s night at the first light of dawn. Like the most beautiful of gowns, its radiant composition, dominated by Grasse Jasmine, conceals noble raw materials. “Grand Bal is an echo of Christian Dior’s great ball gowns, whose full skirts and beauty evoked the petals of a flower in full bloom,” François Demachy.
Top note: Grasse Jasmine
Middle note: Comorian Ylang-Ylang Essence
Base note: New Caledonian Sandalwood Essence
Eau de Parfum Spray 125ml (CHF 275.00), 250ml (CHF 400.00) and 450ml (CHF 595.00)
GRIS MONTAIGNE
And if grey were a perfume? The olfactory signature of the Couture House’s legendary location, 30, Avenue Montaigne, has become a reality. The perfumer’s response to couture, this sophisticated chypre fragrance is a bold interpretation of the Dior Grey. The Couture Grey featured in the collections since 1947, the Grey Emotion of Christian Dior’s family home in Granville, Pearl Grey like the facade of the boutique on Avenue Montaigne. Colour becomes a perfume: a burst of citrus, a floral heart of Turkish Rose and Jasmine Sambac from the Indian region of Tamil Nadu, followed by a woody note heightened with Indonesian Patchouli set against an ambery backdrop of moss.
Top note: Essence of Calabrian Bergamot
Middle note: Absolute of Damask Rose
Base note: Absolute of Macedonian Moss
Eau de Parfum Spray 125ml (CHF 275.00), 250ml (CHF 400.00) and 450ml (CHF 595.00)
In Switzerland, La Collection Privée by Christian Dior is exclusively available at Jelmoli Zurich, the crowning jewel of the Dior space at the Swiss department store.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of Dior and © Sandra Bauknecht
