Dorin
Dorin
82 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Eucalyptus and lavender assault immediately with bracing clarity, like walking into a nineteenth-century apothecary. Bergamot cuts through with sharp citrus brilliance, whilst rosemary adds a peppery snap that prevents the opening from feeling purely herbal.
Clary sage emerges to amplify the green, spicy character, whilst geranium adds a dry, rose-like structure without floral softness. Cedarwood begins its slow burn beneath, creating a woody-herbaceous tension that feels genuinely complex and botanical.
The base settles into something genuinely unusual—earthy moss and skin-like musk create intimacy, but tonka bean's vanilla warmth turns distinctly sour, creating an almost fermented quality that lingers uncomfortably on the skin, neither fully pleasant nor entirely off-putting.
d'Or pour Monsieur Dorin presents itself as a fragrance caught between two centuries—a 19th-century formula that refuses the decorative sweetness of its era. The composition is aggressively herbal from the outset, with lavender and eucalyptus creating a medicinal freshness that borders on austere, tempered only by bergamot's citrus brightness and a whisper of rosemary that leans toward the herbaceous rather than culinary. What makes this particularly arresting is the clary sage in the heart, which amplifies the green, slightly peppery character rather than softening it with floral prettiness. The geranium adds a subtle rose-like structure without capitulating to romance; instead, it grounds the composition in something closer to botanical accuracy.
The base reveals the fragrance's true cunning. Cedarwood provides dry, pencil-shaving warmth whilst moss and musk create an earthy, almost animalic undertone that feels genuinely old-fashioned—a touch of skin-scent intimacy rather than projection. Then comes that peculiar note: tonka bean paired with sour milk. It's this discord that commands attention. Where tonka typically offers vanilla's creamy comfort, here it's undermined by souring lactones, creating something unsettling, almost fermented. This is not a comfortable fragrance.
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3.8/5 (89)