DIOR
HOMME PARFUM

2024

PERFUMER
Francis Kurkdjian

iris
orris
amber
patchouli
vetiver
coumarin
hay

This is a reformulation of Dior Homme Parfum (2014), with a strongly altered scent.

‘I pushed the logic of this dialogue between fragility and strength to the extreme. This is a Dior Homme that lies between the gentle caress of powdery softness and the firm grip of an ambery base.’ – Francis Kurkdjian

‘Introducing the new Dior Homme Parfum, the first interpretation of Dior Homme by Francis Kurkdjian (…) An overdose of iris, enveloped by rich warm woods. Iris: powderful, sensual, powdery, tender & luminous. Amber accord with patchouli & vetiver: rich, warm, seductive & addictive (…) The Fragrance: A modern and elegant masculine signature, recognizable amongst all. Sensual & addictive. A woody amber iris between strenght and tenderness. The Personality: Urban and cool. Tender masculinity. Seductive. The Bottle: Couture, masculine, architecutral. New metal cap. New logo signature. New gradient (…) IRIS NOTE: For the Dior Homme perfume, the iris unfolds from its root to its flower for a holistic sensation. The strong and expressive scents of the rhizome, almost like coffee and chocolate, blend with the delicate and soft accents of the petals. AMBER ACORD: A gourmand amber accord where the density of patchouli meets a powerful vetiver, mixed with a coumarin note with dry accents of cut hay.’ – Dior

Where to begin with reviewing this new formulation of Dior Homme Parfum… As someone who considers Dior Homme Parfum (either the 75ml from 2014, or 100ml from 2020, which are in fact the same formulation, despite numerous contrary claims online) one of the best designer fragrances ever created… a new take on it was never going to be satisfactory. And I have not been too excited about Kurkdjian’s recent output, especially not for Dior since he took over as creative director. So this experience started as an uphill battle. And after wearing it for 8 hours, I’m in two different minds about Dior Homme Parfum 2025: One is very negative and one is mildly positive all things considered.

Let’s get it out of the way: This should never have been released as Dior Homme Parfum. A beloved, cult-favorite, which because of accessibility problems, probably isn’t even a best-seller for Dior, is taken in a new direction that feels a bit like a blind man’s painting of the original vision. This is not a carefully crafted recreation, but a sibling or cousin of the fragrance I know and love.

I sensed trouble as soon as I saw a plethora of words like ‘gentle’, ‘fragility’, ‘softness’ and ‘tender’ in the marketing material leading up to this release. In all my years of talking to people in the fragrance community, not once have I heard words in the same vein being used to describe Dior Homme Parfum. So, why not make this new take, a new Dior Homme flanker? Or perhaps equally accurate: Why is this not a Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male fragrance, but I digress…

To my own surprise, from the first minutes, I was pleasantly surprised, factoring in my severely low expectations. I heard that this was a more generic, sweeter, more ‘designer’ fragrance than its predecessor, so I had braced myself to not get any Dior Homme Parfum vibes from… Dior Homme Parfum. But honestly, in the first 10-15 minutes, I can smell my reliable old DHP coming through in this composition here and there quite clearly. At least, much more than I figured based on initial reviews I’d read. It’s not the same; it’s definitely made more accessible scent-wise from the opening, but it has a similar powderiness and also, leathery tinge.

Given that leather was removed from the notes in the marketing, I expect a ton of people to mention and swear up and down that this no longer contains leather and that this will be a big theme surrounding this reformulation. Mind you that leather isn’t a note that actually exists and the leather scent can come directly from molecules related to iris / orris for example. To my nose, I get a somewhat similar rooty, vegetal dry leather or suede as in the original Dior Homme Parfum. The whole fragrance is less bold, less harsh and less loud this time around, and you definitely notice that in this leather quality, but I still find its touch prominent in this new version.

So I was almost relieved, that at least, I found some Dior Homme Parfum in this. Sadly, that’s where it starts, and that’s where it ends, as far as my enthusiasm goes. Following soon after, is more sweetness. And it’s not the same sweetness found in the Dior Homme line, although, Dior Homme Intense lovers for example may enjoy this new Dior Homme Parfum too. My issue lies within this sweetness though, which clearly mirrors Kurkdjian’s work for Jean Paul Gaultier. This smells overwhelmingly like a Le Male flanker as it starts to dry down. To the point that I find it surprising that Dior would green-light this blurring of brand identities so much within their signature men’s designer line-up. That strange type of almost minty-edged, herbal aquatic tinged bubblegummy sweetness with a lot of vanilla, that anyone can vividly conjure up in their mind if they’ve been in a Sephora or two in their lifetime. Amber is a big part, almost like a change of genre for this new Dior Homme Parfum, but this is not the amber accord that I pictured or hoped for.

And that’s the long and the short of it. This has more of a redeeming hint of Dior Homme Parfum than I expected, but I find that it completely merges with the Le Male DNA and once the opening has fully faded, I enjoy the experience less so.

So is it bad? I don’t think so. Personally, I don’t like this Le Male DNA, but Dior Homme Parfum 2025 has my preference over any of the Jean Paul Gaultiers, which I never could get along with. So objectively speaking, I think a lot of (younger) men and boys will find something to love here. It’s not remotely on the same level as the old Dior Homme Parfum, but I may end up preferring this over some of the other releases in the Dior Homme line-up. While more of an unsurprising, run-of-the-mill designer, it still feels a tad more mature and I prefer the way the powderiness comes through here over many others powdery designers. While it dries down more in a muddy ambery direction with that Le Male DNA mixed in, it’s not extremely sweet and as mentioned, it’s not void of the leathery facet at all to my nose. It’s also not sugary, overly thin or airy musky like many contemporary releases, so it could’ve been a lot worse.

Those two conflicting minds I’m in? 1. I think it’s an insult to fragrance lovers who lauded Dior Homme Parfum for many years, that this was released as a replacement. I’m not sure how that decision works on a marketing level, as Dior Homme Parfum lovers will likely be opposed to this release and outside of that cult fan-base, how much of an advantage can Dior get out of re-using this moniker? It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 2. I think as a fragrance, this is better than I expected and while clearly a more generic designer fragrance, it’s one of the better smelling and better constructed ones I’ve reviewed in recent years. It’s not as interesting or bold as Dior Homme Parfum used to be, but it’s a notch above average for what I expect from a big designer release anno 2024-2025 in general.