Diorissimo Eau de Parfum

A reconstructed lily of the valley

Lily of the valley yields no essential oil: its note is rebuilt from other materials, hydroxycitronellal first among them, a synthetic molecule that smells of lily of the valley. Diorissimo’s ingredient list declares it right after the fragrance, ahead of citronellol, linalool and geraniol.

The lily of the valley line

Osmoz places bergamot and green notes at the top, lily of the valley, jasmine, lily and amaryllis in the heart, sandalwood and civet in the base. Bois de Jasmin names the same materials for Diorissimo, and Michel Roudnitska evokes an undergrowth at dawn in spring, crossed by jasmine, lilac and rose.

For the eau de parfum, the house describes a rich, intense floral bouquet in which jasmine and rose absolutes fill out the lily of the valley of the original. Victoria Frolova, of Bois de Jasmin, hears above all a pronounced jasmine, in a version denser than the eau de toilette.

What stays out

The rosewood, orange blossom and ylang-ylang that other descriptions attribute to Diorissimo appear neither at Osmoz, nor at Bois de Jasmin, nor in the house’s description.