Fahrenheit by Christian Dior

Christian Dior has released a number of fantastic fragrances for both men and women over the years. Among  them, is the appropriately named, Fahrenheit.

This scent was released by the design house in 1988 and still retains its reputation as one of the most unique as well as one of the best smelling colognes of the market (for some people).

This cologne has many admirers as well as detractors who detest its smell. Fahrenheit can be rather pricey for many people but it is one fragrance that will definitely help a man stand out. In this post, I want to give my review of Fahrenheit and take a closer look at what makes it so either or.

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What does Fahrenheit by Dior Smell Like?

Notes include: honeysuckle, leather, nutmeg, violet leaf, vetiver, cedar, mandarin, jasmine, tonka bean, patchouli, sandalwood and balsam.

Click here to try: Fahrenheit By Christian Dior For Men. Eau De Toilette Spray 6.8 Oz.

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My Full Review of Fahrenheit

The opening of Fahrenheit is notorious. One common critique of this cologne is that its opening smells like a petroleum product (gasoline, kerosene, take your pick). It does settle down a bit after that but the description of the scent is pretty dead on.

The violet and the honeysuckle can tend to cause that reaction. The leather is also present but not yet at its strongest point.

It is interesting how all of the notes, sort of combine to give off that aroma, out of all the potential things that a cologne could smell like. There is an accord of white floral notes, along with dry woods, and hint of citrus.

When brought together, it’s like a perfect storm of competing notes, and that gasoline smell is the product of that.

Fahrenheit is also quite a strong cologne and as such needs to be used lightly in order for it to be enjoyable. As I said, it does settle down  but can often be too much for some guys to handle from their fragrance.

The best part of Fahrenheit, to me, is the sweet and leathery notes that emerge which is quite remarkable.

The leather is probably the most noticeable note in this one but also the violet leaf. This, is either a good or bad thing, depending on your tastes.

Fahrenheit is quite a masculine scent that does give off a really manly vibe to it, which limits its versatility somewhat. It’s definitely too strong for every occasion.

As it dries down, I get some spice within a composition that is heavily weighted toward leather and violet leaf. Yes, there are some sweet white floral notes, such as jasmine in there.

However, this Dior cologne is laden with leather and that violet leaf. Everything else is a role player and pretty much blends together, for me.

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Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage of Fahrenheit still packs a punch, even after reformulations and whatnot. It is strong and doesn’t require many sprays to be effective.

It does mellow out, still quite noticeable, but fairly moderate for the rest of the way.

It is such a different scent, I wore this the day after I wore my usual Dior Homme, and they are opposites in the vibe they give off.

The longevity is also top notch, it lasted all day on my skin.

The fact that this used to be stronger back in the day, is pretty hilarious. Is it the strongest men’s perfume, I’ve come across? No, but it is a tier or two below, and that’s after it’s lost a step or two. The performance is still great and it will hit double digit hours of wear.

Update: The last batch that I tried seemed to get around 8 hours of wear. Not sure if that was an aberration or what.

Seasonally, I’d put Fahrenheit as anything other than the middle of the summer. Colder to moderate temperatures. Even though, this has been a popular designer fragrance since the late 1980s, it is still pretty niche in many ways.

Does it have versatility? For the right guy, yes. It can go casual or office wear, but really feels like a t-shirt and/or motorcycle jacket fragrance. It’s really not a universally appealing cologne.

I can wear it, but it isn’t something that I am dying to reach for. There are plenty of guys, who have raving about the stuff for over 3 decades now. So, it has its base.

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Overall Impressions of Fahrenheit

Most people seem to either love or hate this scent from Christian Dior. It honestly doesn’t smell bad to me and I quite like it at times, but Fahrenheit just doesn’t fit my style, at all.

However, this does have the potential to be many people’s favorite cologne. When I wear it, it doesn’t bring me a lot of enjoyment, it’s more of a curiosity as someone who goes through a lot of different scents for this site.

Like, ‘Wow. That’s something totally different’, and it actually is from everything that is released nowadays. Fahrenheit is one that you need to try out before committing to fully, but it will be an absolute gem for some percentage of guys.

A lot of people seem to like Fahrenheit Parfum more than this original. I would agree with that, but even that didn’t quite meet expectations. I liked it, just never loved it. And you can always try to track down other Fahrenheit flankers like, Cologne.

If you like the smell, the performance is great. So, it won’t disappoint, if you fall in this particular niche.