Launched by Dior in 1988, Fahrenheit shook up men’s perfumery with an unprecedented accord of violet leaf, wood and leather, opened by the freshness of Sicilian mandarin. Signed by Jean-Louis Sieuzac, it was an immediate success and divided as much as it seduced. Its bottle with a fiery gradient was born, according to the house, from a flaw in the cooling of the glass.
Kevin, at Now Smell This, finds it more modern than most recent men’s fragrances; Persolaise, who wore it, recalls that it divided the public almost as much as Poison.
Olfastory’s review
Kevin, Now Smell This
Kevin revisited Fahrenheit in June 2007, some fifteen years after his only bottle, and speaks of a happy reunion. He praises a house that wanted to do something other than what the market already offered.
The floral opening of honeysuckle, bergamot and softened hawthorn strikes him as sparkling but brief. Then comes a strange, tenacious nutmeg and violet accord that reminds him of an old telephone pole coated with dried tar.
The base of cedar, sandalwood and patchouli reminds him of a land of rocks and chaparral baked by the sun. He finds every stage a pleasure and the fragrance fresher and better than most men’s scents of the time, niche included.
Persolaise
Persolaise, in April 2014, describes Jean-Louis Sieuzac’s original as a study in brazen intensity: a hyper-green violet leaf, resolute woods and a leather as if soaked in gasoline.
He recalls that the fragrance divided the public almost as much as Poison: many adopted it, himself included, while others turned away in disgust. He considers today’s eau de toilette different from the original.