Grand Bal by DIOR 2012 Review

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Hey All,

Grand Bal by Christian Dior from La Collection Couturier Perfumeur range opens bright and cool, like a room lit with only LED light. As the juice warms on your skin so too does the scent. I was expecting it to be a very quiet and unassuming fragrance from the reviews I’ve read but no, it is cool bergamot, sexy, musky, white flowers, buttery ylang-ylang and sandalwood that are set in a perfume harking back to days of Grand Balls and the enormous gowns they wore that were made with the lightest and most expensive materials, enormous amounts of them. It doesn’t have the deep skank factor of days gone by, nor does it have the modern clean feel, the fleshiness here is not OCD clean but really living and breathing.

Photo Stolen DIOR

As you expect from Dior the fragrance is timeless and modern, giving a delicious and obvious nod to history, using the same materials available to everyone else and then doing it better, classier, more luxuriously, yet without pandering to the lowest common denominator. It is the same but more than the rest, a perfect scent accompaniment to all those delicious Dior gowns I always fantasized about but will never own except in my head.

Photo Stolen FashionBombDaily

From the DIOR website:
Literally fascinated by the excess of the imposing balls that he would not miss for anything, Christian Dior used his fashion to celebrate a certain luxurious and timeless celebratory spirit…”Grand Bal is an echo of Christian Dior’s great ball gowns, whose full skirts and beauty evoked the petals of a flower in full bloom,” François Demachy.

Photo Stolen piroskawolf

1000 Fragrances says in his review
The fresh sambac jasmine with its sensual sparkling green touch dominates the perfume while a small exotic vibe is brought by ylang-ylang Mayotte. The drydown is very sensual and alluring because it uses a new quality of natural sandalwood from Nouvelle Calédonie.

Photo Stolen shinystyle

Just by whacky chance Undina’sLookingGlass has also reviewed Dior’s Grand Bal today. She has done a very different review and it smells different on her skin, go see.

Fragrantica gives the notes in one line as
Musk, jasmine, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, bergamot

My only down side with this lovely fragrance is that my skin has eaten most of it in 4 hours, there is the vaguest musk and wood hint left that is not a skin-ish scent.

I was lucky enough to grab 5ml at SurrenderToChance in a Daily Chance Special, still they have Grand Bal decants starting at $3 for 1ml.
DIOR counters everywhere will probably have it too but I’m not sure. It’s fun to go seeking though,

Have you tried any of La Collection Couturier Perfumeur range? Do you have a favourite? What did you think? If not, are you avoiding them?
Thanks for dropping by,

Portia xx

14 thoughts on “Grand Bal by DIOR 2012 Review”

  1. Enjoyed your take on this, Portia. WANT! Too bad it doesn’t last long on you.

    I am a fan of Dior’s La Collection Privee but only own a full bottle of Bois d’Argent so far. I’d happily own Ambre Nuit too if it came in a smaller bottle but I’m mulling it over till winter.

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    • It’s so good though. This is how I would love more perfume to smell. Elegant and delicious without being terribly discreet or too sweet.
      I think i need to get some decants of the whole set now.
      Thanks for dropping by, see you soon,
      Portia xx

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  2. I bought samples of most of the La Collection line, but not all. The only one I’ve tried so far was Ambre Nuit. I must get on it and try the others, especially after this review. It sounds too wonderful!

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  4. I like this collection. Not counting Oud Ispahan, I smelled the whole range and tried most (not all yet) on the skin. I own only one bottle so far – New Look 1947 and a mini bottle of Milly-la-Floret, but I will definitely buy Mitzah and I like Ambre Nuit but I’m not sure yet if I need it in my collection.

    It is serendipitous that we both decided to write about the same perfume on the same day. I take it as a good sign 🙂

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    • SMILE!! Me too. I went to work last night and tole them the story of how 2 people that are friends wrote about the same fragrance, out of thousands, on the same day. Uncanny. It is my excuse to buy a bottle, even the psycho-universe agrees. I will send you a hefty decant so you don’t have to purchase yourself. Sound good?
      Portia xx

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  5. I actually think that both you and Undina have similar takes on this fragrance … both of you describe it in very elegant terms (and confirm that it’s not a sensual, indolic jasmine), and both of you allude to the lightness (the movement) of the fragrance. Seems like you’re pretty much in agreement! 🙂

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  6. Hi Portia,

    I adore Diors La Collection Privee and treasure my bottle of Cologne Blanche that I believe is now discontinued. I recently got into a split for Oud ispahan and was impressed with the quality and longevity of the fragrance. I enjoy reading your review on Grand Bal and I’ll be searching high and low to get myself a sample or even better join a split 🙂

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