Fahrenheit by Dior

I absolutely love it. This fragrance has no middle ground: you either like it or you don’t. It smells like a MAN. It works for the office or going out at night, but not for hot climates.

A reference to Fahrenheit 451? (The protagonist says in the first chapter: ‘Petrol is my perfume’). It’s a rare fragrance, smelling of metallic sweet leather, perhaps reminiscent of petrol but more like incense. It’s very flat, evolving almost not at all because the leather dominates everything. The mandarin and lemon fade quickly, the bergamot a bit longer; what truly lasts are the sandalwood and violet (the leather isn’t even mentioned, it overpowers the rest). If you’ve made bread, it smells like the gas from dough fermented with commercial yeast. The base is very similar, almost identical to ‘Nautica’. The first time it tired me out. It doesn’t smell bad, but I can’t imagine wearing it, unless I were a rough motorcyclist or sporting a very dark outfit.

Intrusive leather that cancels out any other scent.

It’s fine if you want to smell like petrol.

A classic, very good fragrance.

Tested this yesterday to see if it really smelled like petrol. I understand it has been reformulated and no longer has the potency of before. The opening wasn’t bad, but then on the skin it picked up a motor oil scent, truly a mechanic’s garage smell. Later, as it dried and time passed, it developed a very pleasant leather scent. It projected for about three hours before starting to fade; I suppose earlier batches had better longevity. Definitely, this perfume isn’t for everyone.

Those of us who lived in Spain in the late eighties and early nineties remember watching TV in the afternoon, the news reports that smelled of lamps and debate, the music of the Movida digested and new groups between guitar and romantic despair. It was an era when buying a potent cologne was a ritual passport to escape provincial habits. In this landscape appeared Fahrenheit. It brought the idea of a modern man who wasn’t a model or rockstar, but someone with presence and the habit of smoking while reflecting during breaks in afternoon movies. Fahrenheit smells of meditated contradiction. On top there are citrus and a clarity that recalls dawn in the city, squeezed mandarins in a lost bar. Then there is what most remember and comment on before knowing how to call it: that green note, almost metallic and at the same time velvety, which people describe as violet leaf, petrol smell, mechanic’s garage, or car grease, depending on the skin and memory. When the floral and metallic appear, they settle on warm leather, dry woods, and a resin that holds everything together with discipline. Undoubtedly it is a polarising fragrance; you either love it or argue about it with passion. Those who try it for the first time usually live the moment of surprise, that gesture of bringing the hand to the nose and repeating because it didn’t smell like what they expected. Over the decades it has been maintained for a simple reason: it didn’t go out of fashion because it wasn’t designed to be fashion. Fahrenheit fits warm-light dinners, afternoon sessions that drag on, and night walks down streets that still smell of freshly baked bread. It’s perfect for autumn and winter and impossible for sweaty summer afternoons and terraces. If you’re looking to seduce with youthful sweetness, this isn’t for you. If you’re looking to project solvency without looking like valuable furniture, it is. Regarding age and audience, it has that charm of a fragrance that benefits those who have moved from the desire to please to the decision to impose style. Some might say it’s for over-forties. In the years it came out, it coexisted with Eau Sauvage and other colognes that aimed for absolute cleanliness. Fahrenheit brought something rougher, more human. Today, facing current launches that seek novelty for novelty’s sake, Fahrenheit remains a classic gesture with an edge. There are contemporary fragrances that take up its idea of contrast between green note and leather, but few do so with the same emotional solvency. A humorous note that always happens to me and I have to confess: the name obliges me to look at how it’s written every time. Fahrenheit or Fahrenheit, with a capital F out of respect. It’s a typographical curiosity that makes me smile at every label and which I solve in digital times with control+C and control+V. To finish, a kind warning: if you’re going to wear Fahrenheit in enclosed places, moderation. Not for simple manners, but because its personality is strong. One or two sprays are enough to say what you need to say, exposing yourself to an emotional trap: you might have them return a childhood anecdote or tell you the name of a guy who wore the same cologne. In both cases, you’ll lose track of time for an instant and gain an interesting conversation.

What more can be said about the best perfume in the history of humanity!! It’s the Muhammad Ali of men’s perfumery.

Forget petrol, this smells of pure motor oil. That’s the essence of this masterpiece, which is why it reminds many of a garage. It’s addictive, and although it doesn’t have that nuclear performance of the past, it’s better because it doesn’t overwhelm. Alongside Kouros and Cool Water, it’s an icon of the 80s. COLOSAL.

When one thinks of iconic leather fragrances, probably the first that comes to mind is Fahrenheit by Dior, an absolute classic that remains more than current within the world of designer perfumery. Is it a perfume for anyone? Absolutely not. Fahrenheit can be very complicated both to wear and to perceive. Here we find an intense leather, combined mainly with woods, a citrus touch, and certain green nuances that give it depth and character. It’s a composition that doesn’t seek to please: it seeks to impact. I’ve always been a staunch defender that there is no gender in perfumery, but I must admit that if they asked me to name a purely masculine fragrance, Fahrenheit would probably be the most accurate answer. It has that classic, robust, and secure air that very few fragrances manage to convey. I invite users to try it before buying it, and not just on a blotter: it must be experienced on skin, where its development is better understood and shows all its facets. Although it has been on the market for decades, its scent doesn’t go out of fashion. A true emblem of modern perfumery. Totally recommended.

I loved the scent at first, didn’t hesitate to add it to my collection, but it was when I started using it that it gave me a headache.

Totally masculine, versatile and attractive scent. Ideal for over 25s, cold or hot, day or night. Sexy and spectacular. Suitable for men only.

I find it a dangerous fragrance, nothing like my style. Very little versatility and it doesn’t go with all scents, including mine. I’m not an expert, but I recognise the good in Fahrenheit; for me, it lacks charm. If I describe it with a real-life situation, it smells like a brand-new leather jacket soaked in petrol.

I agree, it’s not what it used to be. I remember when I was a child that an uncle had it in the 99, and that thing filled a room, with that note of pickled chillies and a touch of petrol, before settling into a leather with green tones. Nowadays, only that very light opening remains to follow a floral violet phase which is the longest-lasting and projects for 2 hours and 30 minutes. After that, there’s a green accord with certain moss nuances close to the skin. Still, it’s one of my favourites.

Masterpiece of perfumery. Legendary icon of unbound masculinity. The one who wears this doesn’t care about anything. Tough leather and violet… smell of grease, of petrol. Abstain children and teenagers who like vanilla dessert scents. This is for men. As the famous song said: I like petrol… Give me more petrol!