Sauvage (Eau de Toilette)

Powdered orange juice concentrate, neutral synthetic plasticy filler, an intense metallic tang, fugitive red peppery note, sweetness, powder, a woody amber undertone and a black plastic 'bergamot' resin that smells more like it came from a hydrocarbon cracking plant than Calabria. Sauvage follows in the vein of Boss In Motion and 1 Million with a distinctly uninspired coarse and lumpen orange profile. The metal note becomes so overblown that it is really unpleasant, and there isn't a heart accord to provide any relief, it goes in a straight line from metallic orange to woody amber and sticks around longer than an African dictator. While I was testing it, a friend asked me to never wear it in her company again. Appropriately, as well as wild and savage, the French word sauvage also means unsociable. I can understand the lack of creativity and artistic judgement, just the sight of the box is enough to set the alarm bells ringing, but what is inexplicable is why LVMH chose to debase the reputation of a great classic by plagiarising its name for this derivative dross.

My expectations for Sauvage weren’t extremely low, but neither that high for sure. I was convinced it was probably better than the undeserved skepticism it seems getting here and there from fragrance snobs, but nothing groundbreaking for sure. Now that I’ve finally snatched a sample, I must say it quite reflects the idea I had about it – and actually, it is slightly better than I expected. First of all, in broad terms, it is probably right to consider this the first “Dior’s Bleu de Chanel” (or name another fragrance like that), as the league is more or less the same; but contrary to Bleu de Chanel (and most of similar scents), besides showing a clearly better quality, Sauvage avoids any boring, pretentious, preppy middle-class mannerism and adds a subtle touch of pungent vibrancy, of “rawness” as the name suggests. It is in fact a compelling contemporary take on a classic green fougère theme, opening with a bracing, peppery, crisp green-bergamot accord with a peculiar sort of “cedrat” heart, something bitter and earthy that provides a really nice sort of musky-sour shade to the crisp, fresh leafiness of the main accord. And then there’s a subtle, yet deep base of synthetic ambergris enhanced by some generic woods – “generic” means here nothing smelling overly cheap, but surely not the greatest woody notes around. So imagine a quite classic and apparently mannered green masculine scent centered on pepper, citrus notes and dry ambery woods with some mossy patchouli lingering below, and give it a modern shape with an exotic, and slightly sombre touch halfway “organic” and “futuristic” (thanks to the cleverly-fitting warm and “grey” note of ambroxan). I must note that Sauvage feels quite much dry throughout its evolution, which I guess may be taken as a “masculine” added value, and also shows a pleasantly nondescript sort of dark, bitter-fizzy feel with a Mediterranean vibe, which reminds me of the balmy smell of air on a cloudy day in some woodland by the sea. Quite some interesting contrasts, overall: dryness, bitterness, warmth. So, again: an office-safe scent for sure, but in no way cheap or uncreative. Nothing exciting, but nothing bad to say the least. It just offers the right tiny amount of creativity within a “pop”, crowdpleasing frame. I think Demachy did quite a nice job in creating a deceptively generic fragrance with some sparkles of dark rawness. And I also appreciate the fact Sauvage smells really simple overall, almost minimalistic composition-wise, and with no overly cheap nuances. Simply put, it smells nice and it isn’t boring at all. As hours pass the ambroxan-woody-patchouli base takes the main stage, making Sauvage smell darker, warmer, dustier, more (again, “generically” ) classy and less bitter, with also some (good!) vetiver popping out. Still quite dry but at the same time quite comforting and sophisticated. To cut it short, I think this is a good fragrance, quite more peculiar than it may seem at a first rushed test, and I think it is fully justified for Dior to have something like this among their range. Not everything has to be creative, or flashy, or (more or less faithfully) luxury or make some “statement”. Sauvage is a quality, discreet everyday scent with a seducing dark-organic twist and a nice evolution, smooth enough to appeal classic wearers but quality enough to be worthy a sniff for everybody else, including niche-heads. And it would surely be a mistake to dismiss this too early labelling it mediocre or cheap, since it isn’t either of the two. I probably wouldn’t buy this, but I’m glad Dior introduced it. 7-7,5/10

Despite the many negative reviews, i find Dior Sauvage is really really good scent, i use it on a daily basis i guess, my colleagues at work love it, and it gets me compliments, it's very versatile scent, it easily lasts 8 hours on my skin, it's not overpowering scent yet people will detect its presence, i don't care if it's synthetic or whatsoever, it's all about if you find it good, then buy it, don't follow the hype whether it's good or bad, because at the end of the day it's a matter of taste.

Dior Sauvage is one of the best fragrances that money can buy, damn your haters I will continue to buy you with my hard earned cash for as long as you are available my love, nothing compares to you. This perfume is my favourite among almost 130 collection of niche and designer fragrances that I have, it's an excellent aroma, very masculine and attractive. To hate something because it's popular is immature. You can't pretend this isn't a nice fragrance. Sure, it's extremely popular because it is very nice. BMW and Mercedes Benz cars are popular and we still buy them because they are reliable, prayer of every good business person is to have a product that is very successful and popular. Men like this. Women like this. It projects. It's arguably the longest-lasting blue fragrance ever made, go and make your own if you have a problem with popular products and stop hating. 10/10 fragrance ️. Updated on 06/12/2022

So I finally got a small sample of this yesterday after surprisingly never having smelled it before and all i can say is…this stuff is absolutely repulsive. Within 15 minutes of wearing only three sprays i had a splitting migraine (im guessing from the overload of ambroxen). I don’t know how anybody could possibly enjoy this fragrance. Smells like a dirty, musky old man that hasn’t showered in weeks with some spices sprinkled on top. Smells like a cheap, synthetic, chemically mess. Want to smell cheap and like every college frathouse d-bag? Wear this The fact that this is as popular as it is truly shocks me Updated on 01/22/2023