J'Adore L'Or (original)
Christian Dior (2010)

I'm not sure what made me test this fragrance, seeming that I'm not a fan of the original, however since having experienced this fragrance on the skin, J'Adore L'Or (or Essence de Parfum), is hardly anything like the original, and therefore far more pleasing to my nose.

This fragrance is quite a rich, syrupy white floral. It is golden and bold in its nature, and it seems to be far more elegant than the EDP version of J'Adore, at least in my opinion. It focuses primarily upon jasmine and rose, distilled directly from Dior's fields in Grasse. This fragrance isn't however your typical, soft white floral, because it is in fact quite complex and strong.

Smelling this fragrance actually reminds me of those big, loud and classic fragrances of the 70's and 80's. The richness is rather shocking and sensual at the same time. The fruity nuances usually found in J'Adore are missing in this particular composition, and in its place are thick and heady vanilla notes and resinous amber.

J'Adore L'Or of course demands your attention as a powerful scent and one that speaks of sophistication and elegance. Apparently it is an exclusive fragrance, yet I have managed to find it in quite a few small stores in my area.

The lasting strength is very impressive, however this is a fragrance that relies upon skin chemistry to work. Unfortunately towards the heart, J'Adore L'Or turned sour and rather chemical on my skin which was a huge let-down.

All in all, this fragrance doesn't feel like a flanker to me. I think it deserves another name entirely because I doubt that J'Adore lovers will appreciate this new release.

I adore the original J'adore from '1999' especially in the pure parfum concentration, high quality florals counter balanced with exotic woods & vegetal muscs, Calice Becker's now classic masterpiece. Only natural that I should sample this latest offering from Dior and I'm so very glad to report that "YES" it does contain beautiful flowers having bloomed in Grasse along with vanilla from Tahitian orchids, Tonka bean extract, labdanum and oil of Patchouli.
The opening in L'Or is unusually aldehydic for a brief period of time, this is followed by a tooth achingly, volatile, protracted dry down and with a force I have seldom experienced in modern perfumery. After the initial stage of what seems like a pink cotton-candy on steroids effect the wearer is rewarded with a slightly less sweet solidly beating heart of the Mai Rose, Jasmine & Vanilla. The essence de parfum is contained within a variation of the classic J'adore flacon, an enduring design of superb crystalline elegance, all aspects regarding the precious parfum and it's presentation exhibit absolute sheer luxury. Moderate to high silage with a tenacious and relatively linear dry down that is totally awesome lasting between 12-18 hours on skin. The Grasse jasmine seemed to predominate for me more than the Mai rose and both absolutes are of exceptional quality as expected, truly exquisite !
I still prefer the original with it's touches of subtle verdancy due to the inclusion of Chinese magnolia, violet leaves & ylang ylang from the Comoros Isles.
J'adore L'Or is a definite for those 'GLAM' nights out & special/formal occasions.
The zenith of 'Haute Parfumerie'
Merci, Monsieur Demachy.....

A nearly completely different scent from the original . This flanker deserves to stand alone in terms of quality ,elegance and artistry . Beautifully made with the best jasmine and rose de mai from Grasse=from Dior's own fields . For me this scent is all about the jasmine and rose duo which reminds me of Joy but a modern take and sweeter in character .
The effort put into the juice is great and you should read Octavian Coifan's review of this on his blog. I cannot describe it better than he .
The packaging is exclusive with an inner and outer box, a small card stating that the rose and jasmine comes from Grasse and that the perfume was hand packaged .
This all takes me by surpise as Dior is making an effort to put some exclusivity back into their 'mass' perfumes ,it seems.
Tenacity is excellent - 2 sprays will last the next morning and then some . The depth of the fragrance is outstanding - oily with natural essences ,soft and rich.

Over the course of the next few years, Dior may well release many more J'Adore flankers, which could invalidate what I'm about to type, but as things stand today, this latest version is the most classical of the range. As you'd expect, the heart still displays the familiar jasmine-rose-ylang accord, but the top surprises you with a burst of aldehydes - akin to hundreds of champagne bubbles bursting under your nose - whereas the base is composed of an almost-too-sweet, powdery vanilla. My favourite of the collection is still L'Absolu, but this new Chanel-meets-Guerlain hybrid is pretty charming too.