Diorella by Dior c1972

Diorella by Christian Dior: created by Edmond Roudnitska and Art et Parfum, was launched in 1972. The name combining Dior's name was most probably inspired by Cinderella.

For the launch of Diorella in 1972, Christian Dior hired a train to take guests to dinner at a chateau two hours from Paris. During the trip, organizers were told a bomb had been planted on the train. It was a hoax but it sure made a spectacular launch.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? This perfume is classified as a fresh, green floral chypre for women. It starts off with a light, cool, fresh top, followed by a radiant, cool floral heart, resting o a mossy base.

• Top notes: aldehydes, melon, green note, estragon, lavender, Sicilian lime, Sicilian citron, verbena, Italian bergamot, basil
• Middle notes: orange blossom,  lily, carnation, cyclamen, hyacinth, honeysuckle, peach, European rose, Moroccan jasmine
• Base notes: fern, sandalwood, tonka bean, amber, vetiver, oakmoss, patchouli, musk

Perfumery: Practice and Principles, 1994:

"Many of these materials were again used in the creation of Diorella (Dior 1972), a unique and brilliantly conceived perfume, built around the accord between patchouli, Hedione, Helional, and eugenol. The top note of Diorella is again dominated by lemon, verbena, bergamot, linalool, and linalyl acetate, with lavender and estragon. Apart from a small amount of rose, the floral side of the perfume consists mainly of an intense jasmin note including Hedione (10%), cis-Jasmone (2%), hexyl cinnamic aldehyde, benzyl acetate, and indol, with aldehyde C14 providing the fruity aspect. As in Eau  Sauvage, Helional (5%) and eugenol make an accord with the Hedione, carrying the essential character into the heart of the perfume in combination with the patchouli (6%), methyl ionone, vetiver, and a colorless oakmoss.. The richness of the perfume comes from the use of jasmin absolute and trace amounts of other natural products. Petitgrain citronnier and cardamom both work well in an olfactory reconstruction of the perfume. The “watery” character of Helional which plays an important part in the character of both au Sauvage and Diorella has subsequently been used in both the creation of cool fruity notes such as Calyx, and in modern “marine” notes based on Calone, such as New West and Escape."

It was available in parfum an eau de toilette.

Soap, 1973:

"Described as a "sparkling green" fragrance, newly introduced "Diorella," Christian Dior Perfumes Corp., New York, is being made available both as perfume and eau de toilette. In either concentration, it is blended from vetiver, Sicilian bergamot, oak musk, fern, honeysuckle, jasmine, patchouli, and others. Touted as "a true modern perfume", Diorella is expected to appeal to both traditional users of concentrated scents and those desiring "the fresh clean smells of nature."

Vogue, 1973:

"A great new dazzler now is Diorella from Christian Dior, their latest fragrance that gets right to the heart of the modern woman. Breezy. Unaffected. Elegant, but relaxed about it. Deliciously feminine, but not shouting the obvious... However you take it, it's light, sparkling, dashed with the woodsiness of vetiver, fern, patchouli "

Mademoiselle, 1973:

"Scent Scene ON THE AIR: GOOD NEWS Does the idea of drifting about in cool shady forests scented with vetiver, jasmine and patchouli appeal to you? Then dip into a fresh, brand new perfume called Diorella Perfume Classic from Christian Dior."

Bottles:

The bottle used for the extrait (parfum) was designed by sculptor Serge Mansau in 1972 and produced by both Pochet et du Courval and Saint Gobain Desjonqueres.

 

Happyhome, 1976:

"Diorella — the new one from Dior. Expensive smelling, lighting and very good dressing table fodder. "

To open the classic Dior crystal flacon, use the following tip provided by Parfums Christian Dior themselves in 1963:

Should warm water on the bottle neck fail, tap the stopper gently with a knife handle; or try rubbing face cream or vaseline around neck of stopper.

Fate of the Fragrance:

In the Windsor Star newspaper from Oct 1995, it reads: "Also from Christian Dior, the return of old favorite Diorella. This light floral with lemon and peach minor keys is on the shelves in two sizes f eau de toilette spray priced at $44 and $66."

To the dismay of many loyal wearers of Diorella, the perfume was reformulated with modern ingredients and relaunched as a fruity floral fragrance for women in 2009 as part of Dior’s collection Les Creations de Monsieur Dior. It is still available at Dior's website (2023).

The new version's composition:

• Top notes: melon, bergamot, Sicilian lemon, basil, and green leaves
• Heart notes: orange, peach, honeysuckle, rose, cyclamen, jasmine, carnation
• Base notes: moss, patchouli, musk and Bourbon vetiver

Les Creations de Monsieur Dior Diorella is available as:

• 50ml eau de toilette
• 100ml eau de toilette