Diesel
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Lavender and bergamot assert themselves with synthetic clarity, immediately accompanied by a curious mineral sharpness from the violet leaf and cardamom spice. This is crisp, slightly soapy, and aggressively fresh—clean rather than compelling.
The salty, caviar-forward heart emerges tentatively, creating an unsettling marine-creamy contrast with lingering cardamom warmth and sage's herbal whisper. This unexpected seasoned creaminess should intrigue but feels diluted, the orris root's powder settling quietly beneath rather than enriching the accord.
Ambroxan and patchouli arrive too softly to command attention, leaving primarily the tonka-tobacco sweetness as a gentle, forgettable whisper. Within hours, the fragrance becomes a faint, generic sweetness with barely perceptible woody undertones—a scent that's already departed before you realise it's gone.
Diesel Bad arrives as a calculated provocation—a fragrance that mistakes edginess for substance. The composition reads like someone deconstructed a classical aromatic and reassembled it with deliberate rough edges, yet the execution feels oddly sterile, a pristine rebellion that's been workshopped into safety.
Anne Flipo's formula opens with a crisp lavender-bergamot pairing that promises freshness, but there's an immediate plasticity to it, a synthetic varnish that prevents any genuine green appeal. The violet leaf attempts earthiness but lands closer to fabric softener. What should distinguish Bad is its peculiar heart—those salty notes coupled with caviar and sage create a conceptually intriguing collision of mineral and creamy elegance. In theory, this convergence of umami-adjacent accords with orris root's powdery iris should yield something deliberately unsettling, a salty-sweet duality that challenges comfort. Instead, these elements feel atomised, never quite cohering into a convincing dialogue.
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2.5/5 (277)