I’m decidedly pro-fragrance for Father’s Day, since every man I know likes to smell nice but few dads feel wholly justified in treating themselves to something lovely for the job. A beautiful scent is a thoughtful gift, simultaneously decadent and useful, and (deliberately in the case of these that follow) pretty accessible via department stores if you’ve left it to the last minute.
Let’s kick off with Dior Homme Original, £59 for 50ml (distinct from the 2020 reformulation, confusingly named Dior Homme, which – lovely and wearable though it is – is less remarkable). Here we have one of my favourite notes – iris – powdery and soft but rooty and earthy rather than “floral” in the pedestrian sense, with plenty of woody notes and a dollop of apple sauce. If that sounds off-message for a men’s fragrance, it’s because it is, and very deliberately so; its launch came with the ambitious agenda of redefining olfactory masculinity. In reality, however, Dior Homme was less a spearhead, more a lone wolf. It remains interesting, warm, unobnoxious and appropriate in any setting.
