Miss Dior is a classic chypre (see the Fragrance Facts page if that confuses you). Top notes are bergamot, aldehydes, clary sage, gardenia and galbanum, lush heart notes of rose, lily of the valley, carnation, orris and jasmine, and a gorgeous base of patchouli, oakmoss, amber, vetiver,leather and sandalwood.

Miss Dior actually caused quite a sensation when it was released in 1947. It was quite different from the other fragrances that were popular then, all soft, soapy, oh-so-genteel florals, for the most part. Miss Dior is spunky, and a little bit cheeky, and pleasantly chic. It was a sensation in it's day; it's still sensational.

I became re-acquainted with this beautiful chypre a few months ago, when I was at the Dior counter in a big department store. I deliberately went out without any fragrance for the purpose of testing a few (not that I ever buy fragrances from big department stores). I don't like Miss Dior Cherie (too fruity for my taste), I actually quite liked Dior Homme on me (quite nicely floral for a fragrance marketed to men), but when I picked up the Miss Dior and put a bit on my wrist I was immediately transported....

My grandmother wore it. She was a lover of perfume, and she wore many great fragrances. The scent memory took me back to the age of five or six, and to the rich, soft, black satin lining of her leather purse, of all things. She must have carried a bottle of the perfume with her enough that it permanently scented the purse, which I know she'd had for years (it was extremely good quality). Then, as the fragrance developed, I remembered something else. She had a small pot of the scent, a rich, oily balm, and you could only use the tiniest bit of it (too much and you'd smell "like a French whorehouse", as she always said; I have no idea how she knew what the inside of a whorehouse, French or otherwise, smelled like, but it's a picturesque phrase, anyway). I believe it was some form of solid parfum (pure parfum is usually a teeny bottle of precious liquid, as far as I know).

I wear Miss Dior now on occasion. It does remind me of my grandmother, but I wear it because it's a gorgeous, rich, chic, classic fragrance. That it also reminds me of Grammy is just a happy side effect.

If you're looking for a slightly cheeky, utterly classic chypre, please look into picking up some Miss Dior. Sensational. Seriously.