Fahrenheit Dior
It was 2005 when I first gave this Fahrenheit Dior perfume as a present to my old friend Mark. He turned 40 that day, and now that I think about it, giving him a perfume, THIS Fahrenheit Christian Dior perfume, was a risky move. We know how critical that age can be for men. When they turn 40 they will have a whole decade to get used to the idea of being 50, but they tend to rush through their thirties hoping that the twenties are still there and when the day comes and they’re completely unprepared.
Ok, where was I? Oh yes, Fahrenheit by Dior: every perfume an age, and every age a perfume. In this case the age range it was created for, goes from 35 to 40. By giving this perfume as a present I was actually reminding my friend that something was definitely going on. But Mark, wiser than I thought (the maturity that comes with age I suppose), took it well and, needless to say, Fahrenheit Dior became his favorite perfume and it still is to this day.
Another reason why Fahrenheit by Christian Dior was perfect for my friend, is that it belongs to the Nineties, which is when it came out. And people between 35 and 40, even if they love to remember the long gone Eighties, they were actually young (I mean, teenagers) during the less cool transition to the Nineties.
Back then, this Dior perfume was pretty popular between sophisticated males and people in their fifties who hadn’t overcome the shock of leaving the decade behind. In particular, I remember, and not with pleasure, a professor at my university guilty of over using Fahrenheit by Dior (a friend of mine even caught him spraying it on himself in the toilet right before class), which is after all a perfume to be used wisely.
The opening notes have something woody and metallic, plus a hint of citrus, like bergamot and mandarins, mixed with sandalwood. The middle notes have a trace of honeysuckle, which is not too sweet and with a touch of nutmeg. However, the dominant middle note is a soft vetiver and patchouli and a hint of leather.
If you have the presence, it can be used daily also in a work environment, but it’s out of the office, on informal or semi-formal occasions that this Fahrenheit Dior gives its best.
Like all successful perfumes, Fahrenheit also started a line of fragrances under the same name (think of Angel or Opium). 2009 was the year of Fahrenheit Absolute. Dior showed they didn’t want to milk the cow as much as possible, as this version of Fahrenheit perfume was only the third one in 21 years. The bottle is very similar to the original of 1988, but similarities end here.
Except some violet and leather notes, the fragrance is a completely different one, as it’s based on a not very common type of resin. The name “Absolute” is probably related to the Absolute zero. After all, the first Fahrenheit perfume spin off was Fahrenheit 32, which equals to 0°C.
The ads for the different versions of Fahrehenheit perhaps give an idea of how this perfume has changed in the mind of its creator. The first Fahrenheit placed a man on a pier before a sea, made red by sunset. In Fahrenheit 32, the same man was on the peak of a mountain, almost touching the clouds. In Fahrenheit Absolute our guy is on a volcano surrounded by incandescent lava, which makes the sea waves boil. I’m not sure what I should read in all this, maybe it means something, maybe it’s all marketing BS, so I’ll leave it up to you.
According to the Christian Dior website, these are the notes: violet, leather, resin di myrrh and agar (or aquilaria) wood, a type of resinous wood used to make incense.
What does the nose say? The opening notes are indeed dominated by violet. In the background there are some notes of sweet resin, and a growing hint of animal and slightly spicy notes. After 15 minutes, there’s cumin, or a spicy note to that effect.
After a few minutes, the violet stands out again, together with something else which is musky and spicy at the same time, probably the result of this mystery called resin (which to me, it’s mainly something that comes out of the bark of the trees, or a material used to make canoes).
Towards the third hour, the main notes of Fahrenheit Absolute are powdery amber, together with incense and oriental woods.
After three days (yes, it was a test paper), the perfume is still there, with the same notes of sweet amber and spicy resins.
In my head Fahrenheit Absolute is the perfect example of a well balanced fragrance. It’s an elegant perfume for an everyday use, strong enough to stand a walk on the open air, but flexible enough to be suitable for work, much more than its Uncle, the original Fahrenheit by Christian Dior.
Tags: dior perfume, fahrenheit by christian dior, fahrenheit by dior, fahrenheit christian dior, fahrenheit dior