Mitzah is another sample the generous and lovely Dee sent me.
I comes at an opportune time, since I am into exploring amber fragrances right now, since my fortunate reconciliation with THE amber, Ambre Fétiche.
I am not enchanted with the Dior exclusive line for several reasons. First, there is no Dior boutique in Vienna. Second, the huge 250ml bottles make me cranky. There is no need to elaborate, I think you all get my drift.
Mitzah was named after Mitzah Bricard, a stylish Grand Dame who acted as Christian Dior’s muse throughout his career.
When I first applied Mitzah I thought – I know this. It has an instant familiarity about it, as if it is an old aquaintance. It smells like every amber fragrance I ever smelled. There is L’Eau d’Ambre, there is Ambre Fétiche, a little Alahine, there is even a little Ambre Sultan and a pinch of Epic, all served with Chanel-esque elegance with a nice Guerlinade-like softness.
Dior cannot re-invent the wheel of course, but there is too little of an independent soul in Mitzah to make it unique, too many references come to mind, too much instant recognizability for elements the credits of which must finally go to other perfumes.
Don’t get me wrong, I really like Mitzah, it is beautiful, wearable, has good sillage and lasts for a good while. I would be happy with a bottle, but I would not buy that big vat Dior offers. So many perfumes are so very similar.
It might be a great choice if your collection lacks that type of perfume totally, then you have it all in one (big) bottle. For better sorted collections, Mitzah just turns out to be a bit redundant.
On the other hand, Mitzah has really grown on me, I have drained my decant in record time. It is exactly that familiarity that is both detrimental AND at the same time what makes it so alluring.
Lovely, no doubt, but not only a little unoriginal. I somehow doubt Madame Bricard would have approved.
I, for one, cannot make up my mind about Mitzah. What do you think?
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I didn’t realise this was such a straightforward amber before reading your review and seeing as Ambre Narguile is my ideal amber I won’t be rushing to try this. Just as well considering the ginormous 250ml bottle! Interesting that you drained your sample so quickly despite it not wowing you. I guess like you say it’s the familiarity but also the amber “comfort factor”. Thanks for the pics of Mitzah herself, tres chic!
It is really interesting, Mitzah has a way of growing on you, maybe because it is so versatile and covers so much ground?
Mitzah Bricard was really trés chic, which is what is bothering me most, to name such a good, but definitely not unique perfume after such an eccentric and flamboyant woman just grates on me. It does not do her justice.
Oh, the trouble with Mitzah!
B., I felt exactly the same way about it—it smells like the inside of my perfume cabinet when I open it, nice but familiar.
BUT.
For all it’s familiarity, and redundancy, the dwindling level of my decant tells another tale… “Swoonworthy” and wearability aren’t always the same thing, and while Mitzah causes a swoon with reservations (see above), it is so eminently wearable that I’m seriously considering replacing my decant with a bottle. Caveat on the bottle—there is a 125mL, it just doesn’t seem to be available anywhere (the Dior website is not helpful).
I just find myself constantly wanting to wear it, and every time I do wear it, Mr. H tells me that I smell good. One day at a time, right? 🙂
You say perfectly what I mean. And like you I am contemplating a bottle and if there is indeed a 125ml size, all the better. There is something to be said for wearability after all… 🙂
With all due respect – and it it is most profound! – to the venerable house of Dior, this whole ‘exclusivity’ business grates on my nerves. Certainly, if you’re one shop/business/concept in London, Paris, Vienna, Zürich, New York or wherever, that’s one thing. But a global brand like Dior should know better.
I haven’t tried any of these exclusives, and I haven’t tried Mitzah. I’m still a bit wary of amber. (I blame Ambre Narguile for that one!), and I say this as an Ambre Sultan fanatic. But I rather wonder about Madame Bricard. Her unique style is not in question. But given her time and her rather audacious sense of style, wouldn’t she be likely to choose something a tad…daring and as audacious as herself? 😉
I understand your frustration and I did not intend to seek these out, but sometimes thesethings find you… 😉
About M. Bricard? My point exactly – daring and audacious this perfume is not.
Thanks for this.
I’ll be posting my own review of some of the exclusive Dior’s soon, but I will just say that I think Mitzah’s redeeming feature appears at the very end, when its drydown takes a slightly unexpected route.
And deeHowe’s right: there is a smaller bottle… which you should be able to find in Selfridges when you come to London…
Thank you for your input, I am looking forward to your upcoming reviews.
I will make sure to take a trip to the Selfridge’s Dior boutique, thank you for the tip! 🙂
Oh my goodness, smack me round the face with a handful of paper blotters and send me to the naughty corner! I’ve just noticed that I included an apostrophe in the word Diors. I’m always the first person to have a temper tantrum when I see punctuation being misused, so I must express heartfelt apologies to the Gods Of Linguistic Decorum.
My shame knows no bounds.
Come back out of the naughty corner, dear Persolaise, it happens to the best of us!
I am sure the Gods gladly accept your apology, it is so seldom they get one. 🙂
Oooh, Selfridges…the site of my first serious perfume encounter. The martinis are nice, too.
Mitzah looks like the sort of woman who’d wear an amber, but it’d be hers and no on else’s…as in private collection!
I will have a Martini in your honor then! 😉
You are absolutely right, Mitzah would have gone for something a lot more unique.
To me, reaching out to wear it and draining a decant is an important factor.
Did you start keeping wish list? Or is a FB embargo indefinite?
I have discussed this issue a lot with Dee recently, wearability is a big factor!
Therefore Mitzah made it onto my list. There is one of course, and it is astoundingly short.
The embargo is for the entire year of 2011, although my visits in London and New York this year are exceptions to the no-buy rule. 🙂
Ah, good to know! — What? — All of it: that you have a list, that it’s short, that the embargo is only for a year. I did remember that there will be purchases planned.
Interestingly, my wish list right now is quite physical. It contains of decants ranging from 3 to 8 mls I plan to wear in Spring and Summer. By the end of this period I will look at what got used and what makes me feel heartbroken when I say to myself, “Well, that was enough, I am not getting any more of this.” Then we’ll see how short my wish list will become.
I hope that my buying pattern has changed after the year is out and I will continue on the path of restraint. 😉
Thought-provoking post, thanks. As others have said, I reckon if you decant has disappeared so quickly, you’d better replace it.
But the perfume community seems to have been underwhelmed, on the whole, by the exclusive Diors. I thought New Look was very ordinary. Loved Granville, but am willing to admit that I probably have not smelled much of that genre (dry, herbaceous masculines). Fleetingly I thought of exploring more of them, but in the end thought ‘nah, I’m happy with this one.’
Underwhelmed is right! I may explore the line when I stand in front of it in London, but have not sought it out. Mitzah fell into my lap and I am glad it did, after all. 🙂
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I love Mitzah and am disappointed that it’s had such a lukewarm reception by many. I find it quite a woody amber, that’s been smoothed and polished, while Ambre Sultan is richer but rougher! The only ‘wow’ fragrance in the exclusives for me was Eau Noire, as I’d never smelt anything like it, and I should hate it from the notes, but I was bewitched by it. Mitzah is a subtle beauty in whose company I feel comfortable and cosseted, and that is hopefully a nice tribute to Mitzah Bricard? And And I will certainly use Mitzah up before I do the idiosyncratic Eau Noire. X
Hi Emma,
Mitzah has grown a lot on me since I wrote that review, maybe I should update it a bit. I actually have a full bottle now and I wear it regularly. I find it to be a great balanced amber, that is neither too smoky, too spicy, too dark, too light… it occupies the geographical center of all that is amber.
And I agree, Mitzah is a lot more wearable than Eau Noire, interesting as it may be.
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