To me, kurkdijan is simply echoing the dior fashion sense of 2024. Artistically, i applaud him from moving away from “ingredient” inspired creations of demachy and reverting to creations truly inspired for those that love dior as a fashion house. Very similar to Renaud when he took creative direction with amouage.
Can’t wait to experience it. I just finished Christian Dior - The Man who made the world look new by Marie France Pochna. Very interesting and revealing of the man, his chracter and what he achieved. In 1973 I purchased the original and iconic Miss Dior at 30 Ave Montaigne Paris, being my very first foray into the world of French fragrance. All this said…. I do like M Kurkdjian’s work and admire his talent. It will be interesting to see how he interprets Tian Dior’s very specific tastes of post WW2 Paris & the world. As always thank you Dariush, it is wonderful to listen to your reviews. Blessings Mona
I don't understand the negativity around this perfume, as I have also fallen in love with this one. It is interesting and whenever I wear it, I get compliments too. I found it "sparkly" than "cold".
This actually sounds fascinating. I'm loving the sound of K moving in a 'bold' yet pared back direction. The coldness sounds wonderful. Thank you for the (second) review!
I have been wearing this for the last 90 minutes. I have to say I am really enjoying it. I am a declared aldehyde lover and adore pure natural incense oil. So that part helps I guess. I get amber right from the beginning, however it becomes more present as the scent develops. It should, as a well behaved basenote, do just that. I don't find this to be a church incense scent. The incense itself, of course, reminds of churches, however the total of the perfume does not smell of it to me. I have to give it to Mr. Kurkdjian that aldehydes and incense are a fascinating combination. The amber smoothes the composition out, and gives it a pleasant presence. It balances out the strogly felt coolness. This is a beautiful surprise. I also suspect that, like in other strongly aldehydic scents, the strength of its components will vary considerably under changing climatic conditions. This may be why opinions on this scent are that divisive too. I am reminded of one of the White Linen iterations (the aldehydes on top of a rather unsweet heart) One more thing and I will stop babbeling: I would have called it Gris Dior for how it smells. On the other hand I get where Dior is heading with this, and New Look as a name makes sense.
Thanks very much for this detailed comment. I think I'm leaning towards being disappointed by it. I love how it smells, but I think that, for the kind of scent it is, it needs to be a touch louder.
I just tested it. My feeling was this fragrance simply isn't complex enough to allow aldehydes the starring role. When isolated to this extent they become so abrasive.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this one. Aldehydes are super fascinating, but I feel like they can be so tricky to balance. I think I must be bit sensitive to them, as they'll often seem TOO bright/sharp or TOO sparkling/shiny. (And almost bring a headachy quality.). Too shouty, maybe? I feel like I tend to shy away from fragrances where aldehydes are too prominent, but I can appreciate the ways that aldehydes are used like those in some Comme des Garcons fragrances. Definintely appreciated your analysis and articulation! I learn so much from your descriptions.
I believe Kurkdjian's DNA is actually the note "sharp" which he has somehow alchemized w/o alerting IFRA, not fruits, florals, aldehydes, etc. . For me his brand is an expensive room spray.
From your description, I immediately thought of MFK's own line of work, especially the clean 'solar' offerings. Frankincense is an interesting choice for something called New Look. Looking forward to sampling this!
Just missed the live! I tried New Look and found is so cold and lifeless but maybe will work better in summer heat. It’s like No. 22 in black and white.
Yes! Thank you for mentioning 22. I was going to bring it up as well, but all the tech issues totally threw me off my train of thought. It can certainly be compared to 22.
Sought this out today and tried to keep an open mind due to my slightly anti aldehyde views…but…not one I will be lusting after, and I generally like sharp and also incense. It annoys me when I read people’s comparisons of perfumes to bathroom cleaners, but to me it’s very reminiscent of a strong limescale remover that I can’t stand either. I found the 1922 comparisons interesting but I love that! Thankfully I sprayed the other wrist with Eau Noir so not a wasted trip to the Dior counter.
Sorry for the technical mishap, but you pulled it off well after all! I recently smelled the new New Look, and the 1st thing that came to mind (not surprising given my profession) was nitrogen cryotherapy. Pretty bizarre I know! I liked it, but as it developed, it was increasingly woody, like dry cold wood, and that I was not fond of.
Love the video! I wanted to like this one. But what a letdown for me. It opened ( at least on my skin) like No5 fighting with Mitzah. And after about 20 min both got bored and what’s left was a smell of an old church on a cold day. I thought it would smell close to Mitzah when I was reading about it. I wish they would bring that one back. 😏
…even if its a FK release, its under the Dior umbrella… what i mean, there must have been a brief of what Dior wanted for this release and FK had to stay inside the those ideas. As much as they talk about "FK as Dior’s master perfumer" i don’t think he is 100% free to do what he wants, but what they want, to keep that "Dior Scent Profile": light and airy mostly..(i might be wrong, of course, but i get this idea)… i liked Dioriviera, and Cologne Blanch. Im going to Paris in a few months, and i certainly would like to take a sniff of this one… thanks Mr. P, …didn’t know much about aldehydes before, your insights are always welcome!!!! Greetings from Mexico…
I adore Francis Kurkdjian's work, but mainly his 'warmer' scents (Grand Soir, all of the Ouds, GFG...). I feel like all of his new releases are what people call "aldehydic, soapy, fresh, white floral" etc. I do think he does this style of perfumery so well, but understand why people might grow a bit tired of it. That being said, does anyone know if the newer batches of Eau Noire are worth buying? I have been thinking about buying a bottle of that but have no idea how it currently smells, thanks!
It’s certainly interesting to see where his style is taking him at the moment. I personally like the current Eau Noire, but I wasn’t over-familiar with the first batches.
There is a link with the incense, obviously. But New Look is much more aldehydic and much more frozen. Avignon really hums with the warmth of a church.
Aldehydes and incense sound good. I am looking forward to smelling this. Could the choice of the name have to do with Kurkdjan's introducing his style at Dior? I don't own a single perfume from this line but the old New Look was one I liked better than others.
I was first puzzled when I saw that New Look was a new launch since I've known the former New Look 1947 perfume. Dior loves to use old names and re-issue them for a complete different perfume. At least this one is their own. ;-) I'm still angry about the "Patou affair". And when I smelled the new New Look ;-), I blinked first and thought, "hmm, did I jump to the Chanel counter without noticing?!" I'm not a fan of this New Look though I adore the New Look Couture collection from 1947. I don't particularly like aldehydic perfumes for starters and this is really streamlined cold, « dead » aldehydic. Secondly, aldehydes are not Dior for me. Especially considering the New Look fashion collection which was too joyful, seductive, feminine and beautiful for the serious, austere, cold typed aldehydes. But then it is a New Look to change the direction completely, right?! ;-) They should have called the fragrance New Look 2.0.
I haven’t tried this one and most likely it is doubtful that I will as I know that particular Dior line is very expensive. However, I still enjoyed the video as I have been snow bound for quite a while. We haven’t had any snow for way over three years and then got hit by back to back by two major ones. Thanks for the diversion!
I think it is complicated because the perfumist is owner from MFK and it could be a conflict with the brand about creations. I don't like so much this fragance. I was waiting for am awesome parfum 🤷🏻♂️