Emanuel Ungaro launched Diva in 1983: it was his house’s first fragrance, dedicated to women. Jacques Polge, of Chanel, signed the formula, with François Demachy according to critics. A chypre oriental for the house, it brings together aldehydes, citrus, spices and tuberose in the top, rose, iris, narcissus and ylang-ylang in the heart, and honey, patchouli, amber and sandalwood in the base.
For Jeanne Doré of Auparfum, Diva is a hidden treasure of the 1980s, a great cult chypre, sensual without aggression, complex and coherent.
Olfastory’s review
A lyrical chypre
On December 8, 2008, Jeanne Doré devoted a review to Diva for Auparfum. She sees it as a hidden treasure of 1980s perfumery, with the poise and stature of a great cult chypre, and it does not seem to her to have been disfigured by reformulation.
The very vintage opening plays an aldehydic, soapy mandarin, soon overtaken by a rich, velvety, spicy floral bouquet. Rose and tuberose are coated in waxy honey, lifted by cardamom, coriander and carnation.
What strikes her is a powdery smoothness, dense and airy at once, which she attributes to the iris notes, musks, moss and woods. She reads it as a femme fatale fragrance, sensual without being aggressive, complex and coherent, born in her view in the best creative conditions, at Chanel.