Christian Dior in Oil Elixirs

by: Sergey Borisov

Les Elixirs Precieux Christian Dior were launched in 2014. The in-house perfumer of Dior, François Demachy, now developed four aromatic oils – Rose, Ambre, Musc,Oud – following the Arabian traditions of mixing and using oil perfumes. The names speak for themselves; these ingredients you can find in almost every Arabian attar, and you can also predict the future: Sandal, Jasmin, Vetiver, Benjoin…

Customers from the Middle East, the addressees of this collection, know how to use these products, but for the less experienced perfume oil lovers there are instructions on the Dior website. Mixing several oils together is way of wearing a scent or, better, creating a new scent on your own skin, which you encounter often in the Middle East. First you apply the oil on your skin (wrist, elbow, neck, décolleté zone), you gently rub it in, and then you spray any other perfume over the oil, or apply another oil from the collection. For example, Rose and Musk, Musk and Oud, or any three or even all four of them. Dior offers 11 different combination ideas.

I do not know if with these oils Dior is convincing enough for a skillful customer from the Middle East, but I heard very positive feedback from many of my friends from the UAE, who especially liked Musc and Oud. Dior offers Les Elixirs Precieux as a foundation for the regular perfumes by Christian Dior.

François Demachy let's us know that it's "a collection that can be combined with the fragrances of La Collection Privée Christian Dior to brighten them, bring contrast, offer a whole new experience." Do we really need to enrich the already quite complex fragrances from La Collection Privée? Let's give them a try.

I had a chance to put my hands on the Musc oil and played a little with it mixing it with other Dior fragrances. It is a small bottle with a glass applicator inside. This process of perfuming yourself reminds me of some kind of cosmetic procedure. The oil quite quickly gets absorbed by the skin. The fragrance itself is a combination of white musks: fatty and waxy, a creamy cosmetic feeling with sour, sweetish nuances which get drier and more powdery later. Is it feminine? No, I would not say so, its cleanness would serve as a good base for fougeres accords, like moss, coumarine and tonka bean. Musc also smells positively old-fashioned in a good way, like the snow white, starched, lacy napkins of my grandmother.

Musc is the type of fragrance you get quickly satisfied with, it would be even annoying, at least for yourself, if it wouldn't quickly retreat and stay close to your skin. Oil gives much less of a trail than alcohol, so in order to enjoy it you have to stick your nose to it. After a while you will not smell it at all, being totally accustomed to its aura, but what is important, people around you will be able to smell it – the soft pungency and sweetness of vanilla and tonka. The smell of the elixir will come and go all day long, depending on the temperature of your skin and humidity of the air.

Although soft and round, Musc is very penetrating. It smoothes any perfume and makes it last longer. Keep in mind that generously applied, Musc will compete for the attention with the fragrance you choose to pair it with.

I tried to blend the new La Colle Noire from La Collection Privée Christian Dior with theMusc elixir. There were three spots on my skin to compare: La Colle Noire only, Musc only and La Colle over Musc. I thought that Musc would add a vintage feeling to the young, pink La Colle, but it did not happen.

Musc simply ate La Colle Noire without a trace (I sprayed it once over the oil), it took only 5 minutes. However, my control spot with only La Colle Noir lasted long and I couldn't say that it was a weak perfume. I sprayed the oil spot with La Colle again, it helped a little. I needed three generous applications of La Colle to preserve its pink radiance over the oil for a longer time. Its fine rosy silkiness yielded to the woody drydown, though.

So I learned from this experience, and I am sure that customers from the Middle East are already very aware of this, that you have to find the right proportion of the fragrances you blend on the skin. It is not a big deal, but you need some time to find the golden ratio to enjoy your new fragrance.

I tried one more combination. François Demachy suggested blending Musc withGranville. I started with two sprays over the oil and compared it with the pure Granvillefragrance on the other arm, which is a green woody scent with an herbal touch on a dry transparent rosemary/thyme background. The oil transformed Granville into an oriental fougere which was still very green and foresty. This was indeed a winning combination without any unfair rivalry: they behaved and yielded to each otheralternately.

So let's follow the maestro's advice and try the following combinations: Rose and Bois D'Argent; Ambre and New Look 1947, Oud with Gris Montaigne and Grand Bal. But I do not want to discourage you, I am sure you could find your own perfect blends.

Les Elixirs Precieux are not cheap at all, but they are very longlasting and you need just a drop for one application. Have fun!