Dior Dune has been around since 1991, and it's quite beloved by the fragrance community, though less so by the general perfume-buying public. After trying it myself, I can see why: it's really, really weird, a boon for perfumistas and somewhat of a burden for those just wanting to smell pleasant.
For me, Dune is kind of sharp and acrid at first, and stays that way close to the skin, but over time and from further away becomes a pleasantly weird light fruity oriental that becomes progressively darker and heavier as time wears on. The Pacific coast in the Northwest is a mix of sandy beaches and rocky shorelines, and Dune to me smells like the rocks in the summer when the tide's out, with the moss and brine warmed by the sun, the breeze bringing in the smell of the ocean and some hints of flowers from the hills. It's completely lacking in the ozonic notes that characterize most ocean scents (see: Cool Water, L'Eau d'Issey, Acqua di Gio), focusing on the salt and bracing sharpness of brine and sand, making it a refreshingly different (though very arid) ocean scent.
Dune is beautiful, but it definitely requires intellectualization to really appreciate. I love it because it reminds me of some of the best of the Oregon coast (I haven't yet found a scent that captures the storming, howling insanity that is the coast during a winter storm, but by golly, I hope it's out there!), but many others love it for other reasons. In "Perfumes: The Guide", Luca Turin gives it 5 stars and says it is a "fresh oriental". He describes it as "disenchanted" and "a strong contender for Bleakest Beauty in all of perfumery," and deems it "marvelous" (147). Check out the reviews from Perfume Shrine, Perfume Posse, Bois de Jasmin, and Now Smell This for more professional, awesomer reviews, and Basenotes, Fragrantica, and MakeupAlley for a range of opinions.
Fragrance notes (taken from OsMoz): bergamot, mandarin, rosewood, aldehydes, jasmine, broom, rose, ylang-ylang, vanilla, patchouli, benzoin, sandalwood.
$53 for 1 oz, $69 for 1.7 oz, $90 for 3.4 oz, available from Dior, Macy's, and various online retailers
Have you tried Dune? What did you think?
image via Dior
Dune is a really complex, intelligent scent. Yeah, I know, "intelligent" applied to a scent? Puhlease. But it's true! It's the kind of fragrance you can't just smell and enjoy; its beauty is in its contradictions, weirdness, and complexity.For me, Dune is kind of sharp and acrid at first, and stays that way close to the skin, but over time and from further away becomes a pleasantly weird light fruity oriental that becomes progressively darker and heavier as time wears on. The Pacific coast in the Northwest is a mix of sandy beaches and rocky shorelines, and Dune to me smells like the rocks in the summer when the tide's out, with the moss and brine warmed by the sun, the breeze bringing in the smell of the ocean and some hints of flowers from the hills. It's completely lacking in the ozonic notes that characterize most ocean scents (see: Cool Water, L'Eau d'Issey, Acqua di Gio), focusing on the salt and bracing sharpness of brine and sand, making it a refreshingly different (though very arid) ocean scent.
Dune is beautiful, but it definitely requires intellectualization to really appreciate. I love it because it reminds me of some of the best of the Oregon coast (I haven't yet found a scent that captures the storming, howling insanity that is the coast during a winter storm, but by golly, I hope it's out there!), but many others love it for other reasons. In "Perfumes: The Guide", Luca Turin gives it 5 stars and says it is a "fresh oriental". He describes it as "disenchanted" and "a strong contender for Bleakest Beauty in all of perfumery," and deems it "marvelous" (147). Check out the reviews from Perfume Shrine, Perfume Posse, Bois de Jasmin, and Now Smell This for more professional, awesomer reviews, and Basenotes, Fragrantica, and MakeupAlley for a range of opinions.
Fragrance notes (taken from OsMoz): bergamot, mandarin, rosewood, aldehydes, jasmine, broom, rose, ylang-ylang, vanilla, patchouli, benzoin, sandalwood.
$53 for 1 oz, $69 for 1.7 oz, $90 for 3.4 oz, available from Dior, Macy's, and various online retailers
Have you tried Dune? What did you think?
