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On our way to visit a friend in the north of England, Madame Persolaise and I stopped off at an antiques market. In France, such places are usually teeming with perfume bottles, but in the UK, fragrance is a rare sight: it’s much more common to be surrounded by vintage clothes, glassware and crockery. So imagine how fortunate I felt when right in front of me I saw a sealed, handbag atomiser of the near-legendary esprit de parfum formulation of Diorissimo. Its price was laughably low: the person selling it clearly didn’t know what they had in their stock. Needless to say, the treasure was grabbed instantly and the required cash handed over promptly.
To read the rest of this post, please click on this link to my Substack: Christian Dior Diorissimo review.
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Thank you so much for this absolutely beautiful article, Persolaise. It brought back many happy, treasured memories as my late aunt (my father’s sister who emigrated with her husband from Aberdeen, Scotland to New York in the early 1960s, when it was an unusual, not to say brave, thing to do, especially in the face of huge family opposition) to whom I was very close (geography notwithstanding!), who while on a visit back home during which we’d been chatting about perfume (this was in the mid 70s & although I was beginning to explore ‘proper’ fragrance I didn’t have the income to indulge a purchase) gave me the remains of a bottle of Diorissimo with about an inch of juice left. I loved it from the outset, although thinking back lily of the valley had always been a favourite flower of mine, probably via my mother, who had some in her wedding bouquet & always grew it in the garden of our various homes over the years. I always take the opportunity to smell Diorissimo when I spot it, but it is indeed a bit pithless these days! The leftovers my aunt gave me certainly confirmed my then burgeoning & now all these years later still ongoing passion for fragrance, & on various visits on both sides of the pond before her death, my aunt & I had many fondly remembered chats on the subject, one in particular leading to much amusement when we realised we were both wearing the original (& in our opinion the best) Oscar de la Renta perfume!
Carolyn, wow! What a wonderful comment to receive and read. Thank you!
Isn’t it wonderful how so many of us have all these tender perfume-related stories to store away in our hearts… and to share.
Look after yourself.
You’re so welcome, Persolaise. I couldn’t not express my appreciation for the article given the memories it evoked, & you’re quite right about perfume-related stories. I’ve had two in as many days – your one, of course, & Robin on Now Smell This has been posting footage from various botanic gardens & parks around the world, & yesterday it was from RHS Wisley. My latter teenage years were spent in a small village in the area & my late mother, who was a very keen gardener, loved visiting here & I have happy memories of going with her often. I will reply to Robin’s reply to me, & tell her about your Diorissimo piece & my connection to it. You take care of yourself, too.
Carolyn, thanks for telling me about what’s happening over on NST; I wasn’t aware. We all need as much beauty as we can find right now.
Wonderful review Persolaise. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
That’s very kind, Daniel. Thanks for taking the time to write.
Great review of this all-time classic. Wonderful writing!
That’s very kind. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I have so much to say here-first , have you read The Lost Garden by Helen Humphries? The tone of your article reminds me of the love I have for her books-if you get the chance please consider reading it.
I have my own sort of lost garden story-I was trying to organize my mom’s garden after she died. Massive amounts of heavy pruning and raking. Well here was my reward: under a tree there is the world’s most enormous patch of lily of the valley. I had no idea, and the debris created the perfect moist alluvial soil which apparently lily of the valley craves. So every year there is more and more and more of it-and it’s a sublime scent.
I have a bottle of Diorissimo that I bought 12 years ago, and so it’s really good. Maybe not quite as good as what you describe but really really good. It’s important to enjoy all the beautiful things we have right now, don’t you think? To really give thanks for being alive. I can understand why you always want to keep a few drops of your wife’s beautiful perfumes, but I can also understand the concept that perfume is a shared treasure, meant to be enjoyed on skin.
Very best regards on Easter weekend-thank you for an incredible read,
Carole
Carole, thank you so much for this comment.
No, I haven’t read that book; I must check it out.
And I love your lotv story! How utterly magical. I’ve been trying to grow some in our garden for ages, but I’m afraid I don’t seem to have a knack for these things.
Treasure your Diorissimo!
What a delicate and impeccable description of this experience. When I read your description of the field of lilies followed by “civet” and then later the phrase “life affirming,” I now have no choice but to experience this gem myself. Thank you for sharing your memory!
Excuse my grammatical errors. 🤦🏽♀️
And thank YOU so much for reading.
Zuzana 30.9.2022. Košice Ďakujem že som si mohla prečítať o krájnej vôni.Aj moja mamička používa tú konvalinkovú vôňu.A 2.9.2022.bude oslavovať narodeniny 80.rokov,tak sa jej chystám kúpiť ten zázrak.Keď si otvára krabičku tak svietia jej oči a pritúli si na hruď a ďakuje za darček. Z flakónou mám už malú zbierku a stále sa teším že otecko už jej nevie kúpiť lebo predišiel nás do večnosti,tak ja jej robím radosť.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this message.