Christian Dior Miss Dior

OHHH, I love this one!

I have the new formulation of Miss Dior.  It is the ad campaign with Natalie Portman.  The creator behind Miss Dior is Francois Demachy. 

I have said it before, but I appreciate a pretty presentation.  Miss Dior doesn't disappoint.  The bottle itself is squared with a hounds tooth textured underside.  But, the lid is what is so beautiful.  The lid has a silver metal bow attached by a little ring.  Otherwise, it is clean and simple. It is just enough to be romantic and not over the top.

This opens very crisp and bright with mandarin. It is fruity and youthful, but not sugary sweet.  While the citrus burst is going on, I also smell a slightly earthy note.  I, without question, detect patchouli.  It keeps it grounded and from becoming syrupy. As a fan of patchouli, I love this.  Even at its most "dirty", I love patchouli.  However, this isn't as harsh as patchouli can be.  (How many times can we say patchouli?  HAHA!)

About 15 minutes in, I finally pick up on the jasmine.  Thank goodness it isn't heavy, though.  Somehow, the jasmine is delicate and plays nicely with the mandarin and patchouli. While not listed, I pick up green tea. It gives me a sense of Déjà vu, but I don't know why.  I have tried and tried to figure it out...but can't. 

The dry-down is diamonds, pearls, and elegance.  I get rose, but not real powdery and obnoxious.   It is a tamed, shy rose. I also get something clean, like being fresh from a shower...yet not soapy, if that makes sense. It is pastel pink, lace, and all things sparkling...seriously. That is what I keep picturing.  The musk, I believe, cuts the rose and makes it sit nicely on skin...  kind of blending with the skin and not sitting heavily on top.

For me, Miss Dior starts out quite fun and flirty, but settles into something classy and soft spoken.   The personalities in this perfume amaze me.  It changes so much from initial spritz to the dry down.  It keeps me interested. I highly enjoy experiencing each change that comes forward. The amazing thing is, it only contains mandarin, musk, patchouli, jasmine, and rose.

I think this can be worn year round, but the opening would blossom in warm weather.  However, the dry down is what lingers, and that works well for year round, I think.  I can tell you I will be going to this perfume no matter the season.  Ah, and the lasting power is amazing on my skin. I can spray it on several hours before I go to bed and the next morning it is still there.  A lot of perfumes have worn off at that point, but this is still lingering (mostly in the crook of my elbow).

While I was waiting on my bottle to arrive, I had been in a Sephora and sprayed some on a little paper strip and brought it home with me.  I kept getting little whiffs of something delicate, soft, and just plain beautiful.  I don't get bored at all smelling Miss Dior.  It is all around a winner for me.

I like to spray this on my wrists and the inner corner of my elbows, and sometimes a bit on the back of my neck, under my hair.  It wears differently depending on where I spray it.  It is the most light on my wrists, and stronger on my inner elbows.  This makes sense since it can evaporate quicker on the wrists where very exposed, and will linger a bit longer on the crook of my elbow.

I think this is worth a sniff.  Check it out when you are at a counter or in Sephora.  

LISTED NOTES:

Top: Italian Mandarin

Mid: Egyptian Jasmine, Rose

Base: Patchouli, Musk

Thierry Mugler Alien (EDP)

Alien is a rather popular perfume by Thierry Mugler.  It was launched in 2005 and created by Dominique Ropion and Laurent Bruyere.  Most people will know of Angel, but Alien is supposed to take to the other side of the spectrum.

I bought this one as another blind buy.  For the most part, those who test Alien can clearly tell you if they love or hate it.  There is a small group that are torn, but that is a small percentage.  I find that I fall in that middle crowd.

When I first put this perfume on, it opens extremely strong.  I am talking bowl-you-over heavy! The scent is sharp and thick with jasmine. I am very glad I read a ton of reviews before I ever wore this perfume because I knew to apply lightly.  I put one little dab onto my wrist and then rubbed them together.  That was more than enough.  I could smell this even when my arms were down at my sides.  That should give you an idea of just how strong this perfume is.  I didn't enjoy the deep inhale of it as it was just too much.  However, a light whiff of it was okay from afar.

After about 30 minutes it does soften up, but it is still quite strong.  I wouldn't say that it has become very mild like some perfumes will have done after a half hour.  This is still rather fresh and pungent.  However, at this point it takes on something of a soapy quality.  It starts to remind me of that fresh from the shower kind of smell.  It seems artificial...the scents I pick up on are definitely not natural-found ones.

After an hour, it is finally working its way into something I can start to enjoy. I am able to breathe it in more deeply to pick up on more notes besides strong, harsh jasmine. The smell of jasmine is still there, don't get me wrong, but it is more tame and settled in.  I can now pick up on the amber note, which makes it a tiny bit more welcoming. Initially, it is rather stand-offish but the amber brings a bit of coziness.  Don't let that fool you, though.  This is most definitely NOT a cozy scent, over all.   It is more sweet and sexy, though, at this point.

Somehow this is a complex perfume, yet only contains three notes! So many perfumes are a hodge-podge of three dozen scents fighting for their shining moment yet you'll never detect them all.

This is another fragrance that a lot of men will wear, too.  I smell a very womanly fragrance from this one.  I don't remotely pick up on anything that hints at a masculine fragrance.  I have tried and tried to figure out how a man would wear this one, but I just can't.  And a lot of male reviews are out there about this perfume. To me, it is a bomb of femininity!


This isn't at all a "warm" fragrance.  It is quite "cold", in fact. I like scents that meld with the skin and have that cozy kind of feel when you smell them.  This doesn't at all do that for me. It seems to be a perfume that sits on top of the skin.

I also find this to be a perfume for the more mature crowd.  I really cannot see a young girl pulling this one off.   I'd say mid to late 20's and beyond is the age range for Alien (and part of me feels that is even pushing it).

Over all, I will say it again.  I am of the minority who fall in that middle ground.  I don't absolutely hate this perfume, though I definitely don't adore it.  I don't enjoy the opening, as it reminds me of a funeral home.  After it has calmed down and the hints of warmth have crept in, I do think it is more pleasant to wear.  It still isn't enough to push me to reach for this bottle over others, though. I feel it is worth the scent experience for everyone to try.  I do believe it is worthy of that much.