Star rating: 5 stars--outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars--very good, 3 stars--adequate, 2 stars--disappointing, 1 star--poor.
Dune… I love everything about this fragrance Christian Dior: its unusual fresh oriental scent; its mellifluous name; and its winged bottle that fits so comfortably into the palm of my hand. One could easily write an academic thesis on this gem, first launched in 1991, and still available today in a great form. I will, however, resist this temptation. I simply would like to highlight this underrated fragrance, share why I find it breathtaking and encourage you to smell it.
Dune is vibrant and delicate, almost shockingly so given its rich notes. The difficult goal of creating a “big, softspoken” fragrance was set by Dior’s fragrance development team as it considered its next big launch in the early 1990s. Competing with Dior Poison would be hard because it became much more than a trendy idea; Poison was the quintessential smell of the 1980s. Dune had to be different, not just from Poison, but from anything else available on them market. Three perfumers—Dominique Ropion, Jean-Louis Sieuzac and Nejla Bsiri-Barbir—worked on Dune, and they succeeded. Dune is indeed a tenacious, sumptuous fragrance, but with an unusual softness.
It contains all the elements of a voluptuous oriental—creamy layers of vanilla, sandalwood, amber and musk as well as the smoky accents of incense. Nevertheless, Dune is more like a sip of lemonade, rather than a mouthful of hot chocolate. Its modern structure also defies the fragrance pyramid—Dune reveals its heart on first inhale, while the changing accents during the course of its development lend it an enchanting and interesting aura. First, it is salty and metallic, with the pronounced verdancy of green leaves, briny seaweed and mandarin peel. Then, the layer of jasmine and rose colors it softly, throwing a sweet fruity shadow over the brightness of the initial accords. The drydown is enveloping and comforting, with the dryness of moss and patchouli offsetting the warmth of amber and musk.
While Dune did not make the same splash as Poison, its legacy lives on both in fragrances that are directly inspired by it (Chanel Allure) and in compositions that rely on its technical innovations. Dune itself, however, is hardly advertised. It is available only in the Eau de Toilette concentration, minus the inevitable coterie of flankers that crowd around other Dior fragrances. Nevertheless, Dune undoubtedly deserves its place among perfume legends for its ability to speak soft and touch deeply.
Christian Dior Dune includes notes of broom, bergamot, wallflower, mandarin, lily, peony, rose, jasmine, amber, moss, musk, sandalwood, and vanilla. Available from major retailers and Dior boutiques. Today, it is sold only as Eau de Toilette.
Sample: my own 1993 bottle and a sample of current EDT from Saks.
I enjoy Dune but can't really wear it; still, back when I was a child and collected perfume adverts, Dune was one of my favorites (remember the closeup of the face looking like a dune? so simple, so beautiful).
Posted by: patuxxa | January 05, 2012 at 06:08
Can you tell us how the 1993 and the current verions compare? I remember loving Dune in the 90s but am afraid to try the current version for fear of disappointment!
Posted by: Bora | January 05, 2012 at 08:44
Thanks for this review.
I've always been an admirer of Dune, from the moment my Mum let me smell the bottle she was given at the original Dubai launch.
I wonder if you could expand on your comment about its non-pyramidal structure: on the one hand, you state that it reveals its heart straight away, but then you suggest that it brings out certain aspects one by one.
Posted by: Persolaise | January 05, 2012 at 09:05
Their older ads were fantastic! The most recent ones are not as striking, but I still like them.
Posted by: Victoria | January 05, 2012 at 09:20
It is perhaps thinner in the drydown, but overall the current version compares really well. The facets of the original Dune are still there. The only thing is that you cannot buy anything other than the EDT today...
Posted by: Victoria | January 05, 2012 at 09:22
Dune is a love or hate fragrance, and I almost always love it. Still, sometimes I can't stand it. I don't know why, but my guess is my reaction is influenced by the other perfumes I've been wearing recently and the vanilla and amber then puts me off. So I always sniff the bottle before putting it on. I've worn it since college and now it is often my traveling companion. The loss of the little 30 ml bottle won't cause me to weep if my bags get lost - don't trust the airlines - since I paid so little for it at the drugstore in Germany. And it works in almost all seasons and weather. Plus, it's distinctive and has a history for me, two things I look for in a perfume when wandering far from home. In enjoyed reading your review!
Posted by: Carla | January 05, 2012 at 09:25
Dune, Tresor and Paris are often used as text book examples for monolithic perfumes that completely broke with the pyramid structure of fragrances like L'Air du Temps and others. Monolithic does not mean that the fragrance smells the same way from top to bottom, but that there is a big core that stays up front from the very beginning. In L'Air du Temps you smell this bitter green, spicy note up front, and nothing will lead you to expect that lush, sandalwood inflected drydown. In Dune or Tresor the warm oriental notes are clear even under the sparkling top notes. And they stay there.
Sophia Grojsman uses another analogy that is easy to understand. A classical pyramidal perfume is like a woman covered in several veils--as you remove the veils, you start seeing glimpses of her. The fragrances like the ones she created are like seeing a woman and then noticing her accessories--she turns one way, and you see her earrings; she turns the other, and you notice her scarf. But she herself is seen from the very beginning.
I hope that it makes sense!
Posted by: Victoria | January 05, 2012 at 09:30
Carla, you describe exactly what I feel about this fragrance! But Victoria's article inspired me to try it again and... who knows? I may just love it (forget about hating it).
Posted by: Yulya | January 05, 2012 at 09:35
Dear V, such a spot on review. I really love the narrative quality of your reviews!
I was still young when I first smelled it. The notes were novel and dissonant, which make this an oddball perfume for me. Some years later, I'm still fascinated how such perfume isn't a product from a niche house. However I'd like to add that Dune also comes in an extrait version. The parfum is contained in an elegant, matted-gold, lipstick-tube like container. And compared to other rare extraits (such as Yvresse extrait, which nowadays sells at $200ish on Ebay), this one could still be acquired at a reasonable price (around $70 for 7.5 ml refill parfum).
Posted by: King | January 05, 2012 at 09:58
Hi, Victoria. Wonderful review! I'm a fan of Dune and am always taken by its haunting yet not strange quality. It always makes me take notice (even today it's singular) but there's nothing disturbing. Like hearing a minor key when you were expecting a major key. Your review really captures that comfortable dissonance. Yes, a thesis could be written. Maybe you'd consider? Thank you.
Posted by: jtd | January 05, 2012 at 11:37
how interesting....i bought Dune after reading LT's review and although I liked it in a way; I found it depressing, very sad in a way. I assume it also had to do with somebody wearing this when it came out whom I dislike...but in the end, I gave it away and will not buy it again...
It reminds me of Sables, well, the name alone, and also as both use Immortelle flowers but while Sables is warm and comforting, Dune seems to be more dusty, more depressed in a sense.
Posted by: Nikki | January 05, 2012 at 11:43
I can see that, and I also would agree that it is not a crowd pleaser. There is a very penetrating, clinging side to Dune. And its sillage is quite strong.
Posted by: Victoria | January 05, 2012 at 12:43
It happens to me occasionally that when I approach a fragrance after some time, I form a completely new opinion on it. So, it is always interesting to revisit.
Posted by: Victoria | January 05, 2012 at 12:44
I am glad to hear from someone who has been wearing Dune faithfully, because I meet few people today who are familiar with it.
Thank you for your parfum recommendation. Maybe, it was discontinued in the US? It is not listed on Dior website and Saks did not have it either. At any rate, good to know that it is still being made. The parfum was fantastic!
Posted by: Victoria | January 05, 2012 at 12:47
Like hearing a minor key when you were expecting a major key--such a great analogy. And I agree that the dissonance is comfortable, not at all strange or unsettling.
As for a thesis, maybe at some point down the line... There are so many fragrances that inspire me to do that!
Posted by: Victoria | January 05, 2012 at 12:52
Mmmm, Sables is such a suave (and as you say, warm and comforting) creature. Another favorite from Annick Goutal!
Posted by: Victoria | January 05, 2012 at 12:55
Hi, another great review... and Dune is my fav Dior fragance...together with Eau Sauvage... I admire Poison but I stay aways from it... ;-)
Dune is just a pleasure to wear... I only find the current formulation a bit thin... on me disappear quite fast.... I think it makes a better impact on humid warm weather...
Guido
Posted by: guido | January 05, 2012 at 14:29
Thank you, Guido. I also admire Poison, but I cannot wear it anymore. It is also associated with another time of my life, so it just does not feel quite right, if you know what I mean.
Posted by: Victoria | January 05, 2012 at 15:15
Great review, thanks! I have been thinking about revisiting Dune for quite a while. It was my first fragrance after I came to the US. When I bought it, Dune has been on a market for a few years, but I did not find it too popular. I purchased a small bottle of EDT and loved it ..for a few weeks. Then something strange happened and Dune did not put me in a good mood (I experienced sth similar to the state of mind Nikki describes.) So I gave it to someone who liked it.
I need to smell it again. I am so curious what was that "depressing " thing in Dune...
Posted by: behemot | January 05, 2012 at 15:19
Love that metaphor! So useful.
Posted by: sweetlife | January 05, 2012 at 16:07
Thank you for this. I have owned bottle of Dune for over 10 years, and don't wear it very often. I do like it though, but it's an odd sort of fragrance. I would love to smell it in extrait, but have never seen that.
Thank you for your very clear explanation of monolithic fragrances. I remember at the time that Dune was described as linear.
Roma by Biagiotti seems to be related to it as well. It's not as polished, and therefore sometimes more likeable to me.
Posted by: Austenfan | January 05, 2012 at 16:50
How interesting! Wish I still had my early 90s bottle of Dune! I wore it a lot back then. Apparently it is what Kate Duchess of Cambridge usually wears - shame she didn't choose it for the Royal Wedding! I will spray the sample next time I pass. I wonder if I will be able to love it quite so much as I did back then.
Posted by: sunsetsong | January 05, 2012 at 20:02
I admit I have never smelled any Dior. Don't expel me from The Perfume Club! But, this review made me want to run out as soon as I can and smell Dune and Poison. I promise, I will, I realize my membership is pending...
Posted by: Sujaan | January 06, 2012 at 08:08
I think you're both correct: I believe that Dune is no longer being made in extrait but that it is still available relatively inexpensively on eBay. Indeed, I was fortunate to purchase 30ml of Dune extrait within the last few months - sealed in the original oval box - at a reasonable price. It's absolutely one of my favorites, though I must admit I'm puzzled by reviews that call it "bleak" or "weird"; I don't find it to be either of those. Just my own experience, of course.
Posted by: Faylene | January 06, 2012 at 09:25
Sophia is a great teacher!
Posted by: Victoria | January 06, 2012 at 10:34
I am curious too, and it is interesting to read comments that call it sad and bleak. Dune is so serene and warm to me. However, everyone sees these things differently, which is why I love writing in the blog format--you get all sorts of viewpoints, and it makes exploring fragrance more fun.
Posted by: Victoria | January 06, 2012 at 10:35
I checked on Ebay, and yes, the price for extrait was surprisingly reasonable. Dior boutique has almost all of their fragrances in the parfum form, but I do not remember seeing Dune among the lineup.
Posted by: Victoria | January 06, 2012 at 10:37
Roma is another Dune sibling, and I used to like it as well. I also enjoy Allure, but it is much louder, so I find it tiresome after a while. Still, whenever I catch a whiff of it on someone, it is so pleasant.
The biggest excitement so far for me is the relaunch of Venezia by Laura Biagiotti!
Posted by: Victoria | January 06, 2012 at 10:39
Oh, interesting! I didn't know that, but I am a Kate fan, so it is a nice tidbit. Too bad she did not select Dune, but perhaps she did so deliberately to favor a British brand.
Posted by: Victoria | January 06, 2012 at 10:41
Sujaan, do not worry! No such membership rules, and there is no Club really; it is more of PJ party--anything goes. :)
As for Diors, I like the line very much, but many of their classics just do not smell the same way anymore, so it seems pointless to recommend them. I used to hunt much more for vintage perfume, so I wrote more about it, but these days I do not have either time or money (vintage perfume prices went through the roof.) Plus, a trip to Sephora can usually yield more great perfumes (Aromatics Elixir, No 5, Hermes collection, Angel, Kenzos, Dior Homme, etc.) than rummaging through the antique shops.
Posted by: Victoria | January 06, 2012 at 10:47
It's odd that having always liked and admired Dune, I have never even remotely liked Allure.
It was such a "relief" to find out that it wasn't liked in The Guide.
Posted by: Austenfan | January 06, 2012 at 18:35
A pity Kate didn't pick Ormonde Jayne.
Posted by: sunsetsong | January 06, 2012 at 19:22
Not really odd, I can totally see why someone would love Dune and not care for Allure. I appreciate Allure, but I can't wear it. It is so sharp and loud to me.
Posted by: Victoria | January 06, 2012 at 20:16
I was thinking that too! Frangipani would be so much better. Too bad she didn't ask us. :)
Posted by: Victoria | January 06, 2012 at 20:19
Some years back, after the failed attempt to resurrect some of the classic Coty fragrances, someone at Neiman Marcus told my husband that Dune was a copy of Ambre Antique (we had purchased the reissued AA from NM, and he had gone back looking for more). Don't know if this is true or not, just throwing it out there.
Posted by: Mezzodiva54 | January 11, 2012 at 20:37
Thank you so much for this review. I have been a most faithful Dune wearer since it was launched in 1991 (?) and must have used up quite a number of bottles. I remember smelling it on me for the first time, walking across a rather bleak German market square after a visit to the local drugstore - and do you know, the picture of that square is forever fixed in my mind together with this scent ;-)
Dune has been carrying me through wonderful and less wonderful times and it always, always rose to the occasion. Never grew tired of that strange, insisting fragrance. I'd even go so far as to say that who disagrees with Dune, disagrees with me. Isn't that an astonishing thing to say?
Posted by: philomena | February 14, 2012 at 09:34
The first time I tried Dune I was stunned by its beauty and have loved in ever since. I was in Paris visiting a friend, and she game me a sample. As far as I can tell, it has not changed its composition, but I suspect that some of the bottles that are available in department stores are not fresh and just seem sort of "off". I'm going to try to find the extrait that several of you mention. Wish me luck.
Posted by: Anita Monroe | February 17, 2012 at 12:52
I've seen mini bottles of extract de parfum on Ebay. Of course, no one can guarantee their freshness, but they were not expensive.
Posted by: Victoria | February 17, 2012 at 12:55