Everything
Dior’s Sauvage changed the game when it first launched in 2015 and it looks set to do it again with the launch of the latest edition to the fragrance line-up, Sauvage Elixir. Australian fans of the scent will be the first to experience it, with the new edition launching on August 15.
When Sauvage first dropped in 2015 it became an instant success, thanks to its mixing of familiar citrus notes with a spicy amber backdrop. It was a cleverly done balancing act by the brilliant nose behind it, François Demachy. Demachy’s formula for the modern man involved an intriguing blend of bergamot, peppers (including Szechuan pepper, a delightfully complex aroma in and of itself) and ladbanum. The result – a fragrance for men that was sensual, yet masculine, had all the upfront zing of a cologne but the long-haul of a darker parfum.
Today, Demachy again changes the game for Dior with the new Sauvage Elixir. A more potent, richer iteration that pays tribute to the fresh spiciness that is the signature of Sauvage. Only this time, rather than incorporating traditional citruses that have historically made the top notes of men’s fragrances, the freshness comes from a powerful, custom blend of lavender made exclusively for Dior.
This lavender essence, made-to-measure for the House of Dior, is the cornerstone of the Elixir experience. Prized for its “clean freshness”, in high dosages lavender takes on a rich, almost vanilla-like booziness that in Sauvage Elixir is boosted by the roasted sweetness of liquorice and the fizzy effervescence of grapefruit. Beneath all this is the warmth of amber and patchouli, which gives Elixir its most familiar notes to the original Sauvage.
The campaign, still featuring the full megawatt force of Hollywood star Johnny Depp, with a guitar and back-up band of coyotes, goes deeper into the mythology of Sauvage, much like the scent does with the extremities of what lavender can achieve.
Dior’s definition of Elixir positions this at a potency the brand says is an “unprecedented concentration, previously unseen”. In other words, it’s a beast-mode scent and you should probably go easy on the sprays.
But what makes the Elixir so interesting is not its similarities but its differences to the original. Gone is the bergamot and pink pepper that gave Sauvage it’s cologne-like freshness at the beginning. What fills in the gap, the lavenders, while still fresh, instead turns opulent. Elixir is as much a stand-alone fragrance as it is a luxe sibling in the Sauvage range.
Because we’re all staying safe during lockdown, you can find your bottle online at the Dior boutiques here.
