Photo Credit: Mohamed Mostafa Photography
Back in the earliest days of my fragrance collecting hobby, dating to the first part of the 1990s, Christian Dior's Fahrenheit was one of my first ten purchases. I think I first picked it up in 1993 or 1994, when the formula was still in vintage form. But before that happened, I bought a cheap knock-off version from a dollar store, one of those ultra-low quality clones that gives you a hint of the original scent for a few seconds before it vanishes in a cloud of alcohol and dissipates into the air.
That initial brush with the clone was enough to make me interested in getting the real thing, though, so I'm grateful for the experience.
Fast forward some 25 years later, and we've come full circle: the original, vintage formula of Fahrenheit is long gone, unless you pick up this anything-but-cheap clone version of the scent from Alexandria Fragrances.
This is a jaw-dropping recreation of the vintage formula. Everything is here: the brilliant violet leaf, the bits of citrus, the strange floral mixture that -- on balance and in full blended mode -- produces that famous and elusive "petrol note" that everyone who owned the vintage remembers.
In short, sniffing this recreation is an instant trip down memory lane. I suddenly feel like pegging my jeans, watching some early Seinfeld, and listening to a few Ace of Base tunes.
The drydown is a lot of fun as well, once the cedar, musk, and spicy patchouli start to add their voices to the conversation.
Quite the experience, this scent is. It may not appeal to those who sit outside the Nostalgia Circle (or maybe it will?), but for those of us who remember the original Fahrenheit, this fragrance is an absolute delight.
Oh, and the projection and sillage are every bit as good as the 1988 original.
Notes: Leather, Violet Leaf, Nutmeg, Vetiver, Lavender, Cedar, Musk, Sandalwood, Chamomile, Mandarin Orange, Amber, Patchouli, Honeysuckle, Carnation, Hawthorn, Tonka Bean, Bergamot, Jasmine, Lemon, Lily-of-the-Valley
8/10 stars.
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