Dior Homme Cologne (2013) 
Christian Dior (2013)

Simple fragrance of citruses and musk that smells fantastic. Lasts a good 6+ hours on my skin, which suggests there's an aroma chemical in play but it isn't detected to my nose. The top is lemonade with a tart citric middle. The musk base is very clean and perhaps includes a light floral. Easily unisex and perfect for hot and humid weather. Could be redundant in a larger collection. I like it.

Dior Iced Lemon

It smells alright. In the realm of white floral musk mens cologne type frags it is pretty darn good. Its got some judicious ambrox underneath to give it some undue legs. Just citrisy and clean enough to be neither and both at the same time. Actually would make a pretty good hot and humid vacation scent. No rough edges, and blended well. Demachy is in his wheelhouse here, IMO.

If you've ever eaten the Italian Ices that come with the little wooden spoons, this smells like those taste. It is a bit creamy and lemony. Its got some sparkle to it, that is Diors signature now I think. Looking back, I feel like this was the house deciding that they wanted to move away from iris, and finding something that they wanted to move toward. Sparkle. Clean. Inoffensive.

Dior Homme (2005) became a very unlikely hero for the label that had weathered no real success in the men's segment since Fahrenheit (1988). The leather accord over petrol violet made that venerable scent a controversial staple for daring men, while those wishing to cast a shorter shadow stuck with their bottles of Dior Eau Sauvage (1966). Scents like Jules (1980) and Dune Pour Homme (1997) had an impact with die-hard Dior guys, but the majority of the male market lay mostly unconvinced of their value, and Dior Higher (2002) failed as a pillar since it was a youth-marketed scent the youth couldn't afford, while more mature guys who had passed on most of the above were still waiting for their next Fahrenheit. Dior Homme with it's iris and cocoa over leather was that successor, thanks to a young Olivier Polge not yet absorbed into Chanel like his now-retired father, and was controversial in its own right just like Fahrenheit before it. A richer intense version coupled with a lighter cologne version were both released in 2007, and by that time François Demachy had taken over as house perfumer for Dior, ridding them of the need to search out talent on a per-release basis. These iterations have their fans (especially the intense version), but didn't stray far from the iris/cocoa/leather theme, making them increasingly inadequate as the gourmand style slinked into the background whilee synthetic woods fragrances became the new norm. Dior quietly began updating the scent profile with flankers, including Dior Homme Sport, which was released 3 times with 3 different formulations in 2008, 2012, and 2017, containing less and less of what tied it to the original Dior Homme with each revision. Likewise, Dior Homme Cologne was re-orchestrated in 2013 into what I am reviewing now, while Dior Homme Eau (2014) and Dior Homme Parfum (2014) represent a schism of sorts: two fragrances made from the combined profile of Dior Homme, with no gourmand tones in either and leather elements saved just for the parfum but a hint of the trademark Iris in the Eau to tie it into the main Dior Homme line.

Dior Homme Cologne (2013) is likely the best of the technically unrelated flankers to the original Dior Homme. This stuff doesn't have a single lick of what made the original Dior Homme so good but doesn't need to, since it waltzes onto the scene as a modern take on the eau de cologne sans neroli in an effort to offer an alternative to aquatics. The opening is bergamot, pure and simple. There isn't much going on here besides citrus and a few trace aromatic herbs to keep it on skin, so outside little peek-a-boos of sage, all you get in the opening is lovely lush and dry bergamot until the slightly-sweeter grapefruit arrives in the heart. From there, I get a tiny looksie of basil too, but like with the top, all this is just for skin retention and barely detectable, as the white musk molecule and minuscule puff of cedar do the rest for the scent. It's a bare-minimum eau de cologne experience with Dior Homme Cologne 2013, but the skin retention is miraculous with hours of longevity even if sillage isn't amazing. Fresh as fresh can be in an appreciable way for fans of traditional fragrances not obviously stuffed full of ambroxan, norlimbanol, or Iso E Super, although I'm sure all the usual suspects like linalool are here because if they weren't, this stuff would fade faster than 4711 (1799). Dior Homme cologne is at its core a citrus over musk with sparse aromatics, and feels both modern and timeless at the same time, but strictly meant for athletic, after-shower, or warm weather use as a naturalist option for a fresh masculine scent, so I'd use it accordingly. Wear time is about 8 hours but sillage is naturally on the low side, although it is such an enjoyable fundamentalist vibe that I not only don't mind over-applying or reapplying, but also don't really miss the "Dior Homme Lite" that was the original version of this juice back in 2007.

Dior Homme Cologne 2013 falls in line as an early entry in what appears to be a new segment for the 2010's emerging in the men's fragrance market of "back to basics" eau de cologne-inspired fresh fragrances. These scents have the fundamental style of a traditional cologne splash, updated just enough to be palatable to a younger male nose not well-acclimated to tons of neroli or florals present in older iterations, and lasting long enough to really be considered an eau de toilette in strength rather than a cologne. This whole designer "nouveau cologne" movement was presaged in a manner of speaking by Versace Man Eau Fraîche (2006), but that creation still clung to some aquatic elements in its top, although Terre d'Hermès Eau Très Fraîche (2014), L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme Fraîche (2016), and Chanel Allure Homme Sport Cologne (2016) go full-bore in this direction even harder than Dior Homme Cologne does with it's simple citrus and musk pairing. Perhaps the proliferation of scents like these is a good sign that guys are finally tired of the same dihydromyrcenol-powered crap that has been dished out without change or reprieve since Davidoff Cool Water (1988) first hit the scene decades earlier. In any case, if you are a huge die-hard fan of the Dior Homme line as had originated, this may not interest you, since it bears no resemblance whatsoever to neither Dior Homme nor any other flanker in the line. However, guys looking for a really honest-to-goodness alternative to massive neroli bombs like Penhaligon's Castile (1998) or vintage cologne-style EdT's like Eau de Guerlain (1974) or Cerruti 1881 Pour Homme (1990) will find a lot to love in Dior Homme Cologne 2013. Dior Homme itself is in no danger of going away, because like the ever-divisive Fahrenheit, it draws attention to itself merely by existing as a scent challenging to mainstream sensibilities for contrast against the by-the-numbers mega-hit Dior Sauvage (2015), but Dior Homme Cologne 2013 offers a nice contrasting summertime alternative in familiar sexy bottle as the original. Thumbs up!