Bois d'Argent - full bottle different than sample 😰

Hello, 

I have been wearing one fragrance or another for a long time, but am new to perfume as a "hobby." Really enjoying myself so far though! 

My problem: I purchased an expensive 250ml bottle of Bois d'Argent today, and feel it is different (worse) than my trial run sample. 

I bought (on eBay) a new, boxed 7.5ml sample of Bois d'Argent from the Maison Christian Dior (or Privee) Collection. It was love at first sniff. I wore it for a week straight, reapplying in the afternoons. Though I got the sample on eBay, I am confident of its authenticity - especially after comparing side by side with a 7.5ml sample I received with my purchase today. 

When I got home from buying this very large (and very expensive) bottle, I gave myself a few good sprays. It's different. My sample smelled effervescent at the opening, with lots of Juniper. My full bottle smells much less bright at the opening, and MUCH more amber-y throughout. Sweeter. 

Can anyone offer guidance? Does my bottle just need some time to "oxidize"? Is it possible I got a bad batch? I purchased my big bottle from the Dior counter at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. Thanks in advance!

Hi there,

I am so sorry to hear that. My thoughts:

1. Bois d'Argent has apparently been reformulated many times. There was even an eau de cologne version at the beginning (google it) and they say it was amazing. The later eau de parfum formulations were also apparently much better than the current version.

2. Yes, it often happens that a newly purchased bottle needs to catch some oxygen. If this is the case here, from my experience, in 95% of the cases, the fragrance will be better after a week than it initially was.

Anyway, I know only the current version from about 2 years ago and I still like it very much. Yes, it is slightly ambery, it is slightly sweet. The main players seem to be iris, honey, frankincense. There's also some patchouli, it seems, and woods.

Anyway, that's why I have my trusted brands. Chanel, for example, reformulate their fragrances very little. The current Égoïste Eau de Toilette is just as good as it was 16 years ago and I really respect that. Boy is the same as it was when it was launched. I also doubt they will water down Le Lion etc. Dior's gonna play with their fragrances every two years, cut down on costs, find cheaper materials, water it down etc. I don't like that.

Hi, old batches are indeed spectacular. Not nuclear in therms of sillage and projection, but much complex and different than actual edition. It s been reformulated in 2019/2020 and some notes has been removed, other replaced with chemical substitutes. Many other complains, but this is nothing new on Dior, Chanel or Guerlain - there are many others beautiful fragrances that now are destroyied, while the prices increased as hell. This is the sad truth, tour bottle is good, but the new reformulation is to blame. You have nothing to do just to deal with this sad situation or maybe to return the bottle if it s still posible...

Thanks both, for your replies. I didn't get notified about them - sorry to respond late. 

The good news is I kept wearing it and, after a little more than a week, the fragrance smells much more well rounded. I wore it to the office today, and couldn't stop sniffing myself. I am back to loving it. 

And it's a good thing I bought the 250ML - I can get all day longevity out of this... with about 7-8 sprays

So I just heard that this will be reformulated with MFK at Dior to make it more similar to the original. 

I'm wondering if I should let my bottle go now, and repurchase after the change. 

This bottle is very thin, wears weak on me. Smells great. Just not sure if I should let it go with the upcoming change. 
Usually reformulation is bad, but I'm thinking this time it could be GOOD.

The new Kurkdjian Bois D'Argent has already hit the market, available as a set of three, 40ML bottles with new Eau Noire and new Cologne Blanche. 

Maybe wait for reviews?