Miss Dior Esprit de Parfum Original

Dior now reduces the Original to three materials. Galbanum, at the top, brings its freshness to a floral heart of jasmine; patchouli essence, in the base, gives it what the house calls its impertinence.

Three declared materials

The house describes each of them. Galbanum gum, harvested in Iran and Afghanistan by incising the roots, is distilled into an essence that blends with green, chypre and herbaceous tones. Patchouli, native to Indonesia and Malaysia, is obtained by steam distillation of the dried leaves.

Jasmine, one of the most widely used flowers in perfumery, carries the heart. Dior names no other material and sets out no further tiers: galbanum opens, jasmine blooms, patchouli anchors the base.

Yesterday’s lists

Older descriptions were longer. In 2007, Elena Vosnaki noted the official notes of the time: galbanum, bergamot, clary sage, gardenia, jasmine, narcissus, neroli, rose, patchouli, oakmoss, labdanum and sandalwood.

Robin, of Now Smell This, cited an even longer list in 2005, with aldehydes, iris, carnation, lily of the valley, ambergris, vetiver and a leather note. These lists describe the perfume before 2011; they remain here in prose, outside the three materials declared today.

What the label declares

The ingredient list Dior publishes for the 100 ml names patchouli oil, lavender oil, linalyl acetate, bergamot peel oil, oakmoss and treemoss extracts, ylang-ylang, geranium, orange flower and jasmine oils, as well as Peru balsam.

The patchouli and jasmine of the declared trio appear by name, and the two mosses sign the chypre base. The declared allergens include linalool, hydroxycitronellal, cinnamyl alcohol, limonene, coumarin, citronellol, geraniol, citral, eugenol, isoeugenol, farnesol and benzyl salicylate.