Dior
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The citrus notes flash and fade almost apologetically, more suggestion than statement, while lavender arrives already dusted with nutmeg and pepper. Within minutes, the ambroxan begins its steady thrum, creating that familiar Sauvage signature—part ocean mineral, part laboratory—but noticeably softer than its EDT predecessor.
Sandalwood emerges as the true protagonist, creamy and almost lactonic, braided tightly with vanilla absolute that brings an oily, resinous sweetness rather than buttercream fluff. The spice accord—pepper, nutmeg, lavender—hovers above like aromatic steam, preventing the base from becoming too soporific whilst the patchouli adds earthy ballast.
What remains is a woody-sweet skin scent with surprising tenacity: sandalwood and cedar forming a dry scaffolding for lingering vanilla and Tonka bean, the ambroxan now a subtle mineral glow rather than a shout. It's recognisably Sauvage but compressed into something denser, warmer, closer to the body.
Sauvage Parfum is François Demachy's concentrated redux of the aromatic beast, dialling down the brutishness in favour of something more syrup-thick and deliberately composed. The opening citrus notes—mandarin and Calabrian bergamot—feel almost ornamental here, a brief flicker before the fragrance reveals its true architecture: a lavender-sandalwood axis drenched in ambroxan and sweetened with Tonka bean and Papua New Guinean vanilla absolute. This is Sauvage wearing velvet rather than denim, the Sichuan pepper and nutmeg providing just enough aromatic grit to prevent the composition from collapsing into pure confection. The synthetic accord hums throughout like an electrical current, that unmistakable ambroxan signature creating a mineral, almost metallic aura around the warmer base materials.
Where the original Eau de Toilette lunges at you with pepper spray aggression, the Parfum version operates with considerably more restraint, letting Ceylonese sandalwood and patchouli build a woody foundation that actually feels substantive rather than projected. The Virginia cedar adds a dry, pencil-shaving quality that keeps the vanilla from going gourmand. This is for the Sauvage devotee who's grown tired of explaining their fragrance choice to every fragrance forum member, seeking something within the DNA but with an oilier texture and deeper register. It reads expensive in a way that smells deliberate—a nighttime scent for those who've never met a compliment they didn't half-expect, worn by people who appreciate that sometimes more concentrated doesn't mean subtler, just richer.
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3.5/5 (173)