Diorissimo is a floral

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

released by fashion brand Christian Dior and created by French master perfumier

Edmond Roudnitska Edmond Roudnitska (1905–1996) was a French master perfumer and author. He is known for creating perfumes such as Dior's Eau Sauvage and Diorissimo, and Rochas's Femme. Many of his creations are still in production. He was the father of perfu ...

. Originally introduced in 1956, Diorissimo is an attempt to simulate

lily of the valley Lily of the valley (''Convallaria majalis'' (), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate No ...

. The flower was designer Dior's favorite, decorating his stationery, his garden, and often his lapel, as well as serving as the inspiration for his 1954 spring collection, but the flower's scent is difficult to recreate in perfume since no essential oils can be obtained from the actual flowers. Consequently Diorissimo's lily scent largely used lab-created molecules to evoke the flower and is often considered the most successful effort in the history of perfumery. Diorissimo also has notes of

ylang-ylang ''Cananga odorata'', known as ylang-ylang ( ) or cananga tree, is a tropical tree that is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. It is also native to parts of Thailand and Viet ...

amaryllis ''Amaryllis'' () is the only genus in the subtribe Amaryllidinae (tribe Amaryllideae). It is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, ''Amaryllis belladonna'', is a native of the Western Cape region of ...

boronia ''Boronia'' is a genus of about 160 species of flowering plants in the citrus family Rutaceae. Most are endemic to Australia with a few species in New Caledonia, which were previously placed in the genus ''Boronella''. They occur in all Austral ...

and jasmine. The scent was reportedly a favorite of Diana, Princess of Wales. Over time, Diorissimo has been reformulated to comply with the regulations of

International Fragrance Association The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) is the global representative body of the fragrance industry. It seeks to represent the collective interests of the industry and promote the safe use of fragrances through regulation. The Association wa ...

(IFRA), in particular to remove two key components identified as potential allergens. Nevertheless, in the 21st century, Diorissimo has continued to be named to lists of the greatest fragrances of all time.

References

Dior Perfumes Products introduced in 1956 History of cosmetics Designer perfumes 20th-century perfumes {{france-stub