— fragrance —

Divine by Divine EDP Perfume Review

November 9, 2011

Divine Perfume by Divine

Divine Divine is a perfume that wears you. This is perfume. It smells like perfume. It wasn’t created to smell like a Mediterranean holiday or exotic trade spice routes. Divine was meant to smell  like perfume. Old-fashioned and glamorous French perfume for fabulous grown-up and glamorous ladies. Unfortunately, this style of perfumery is no longer in vogue and these types of “larger than life” women’s perfume are viewed as dated. Dated or not, I find Divine very beautiful and borderline obnoxious. Obnoxious-fantastic-elegant like excessive 1950’s French haute couture fashion.

Divine opens as big with sparlking aldehydes reminiscent of Estee Lauder White Linen, but Divine is much fruitier. Old school fruitier. These combustible fruits mix with larger than life florals. The white florals are huge with a soapy rose that smells like 1950’s Avon guest soaps. The florals are “sweet”. The dry-down is mossy vanilla, slightly powdery heliotrope with enough pepper to keep it from being a big ‘ole powder puff. Divine is incredibly feminine, has an exaggerated small corseted waist and wears tiny white gloves.

Suzy Parker in fur

Divine is big. It’s a huge retro chypre (heavy on florals). It is long-wearing and has major sillage. It’s like an elegant satin gown with a royal train. It follows you by 4 feet. And it scents everyone you hug. It’s an evening wear fragrance. There’s nothing casual about it. When you wear a fragrance like Divine, you realize just how casual our world has become. Like Dior’s “New Look”, there’s no place for Divine in most of our lives. I suppose when most people wear Divine they feel like they are in costume. Or like they are playing dress-up with mommy’s jewelry and high heels. This means your life is too casual 😉 Put on some red lipstick, spray some Divine, bring back elegance…even if it is for only 1 day a year…live luxuriously.

Notes listed include peach, coriander, gardenia, Indian tuberose, May rose, oakmoss, musk, vanilla, and spice. PERFUMER – Yann Vasnier

Give Divine a try if you want a huge, stuffy perfume or if you like perfumes like Givenchy Ysatis, Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds, Dior Miss Dior, and/or the original Chloé. Divine is the dream fragrance of my great aunts. I can hear them all saying “this smells sooo expensive”. They also match their lipstick to their nail polish.

The 1.7 oz bottle of Divine retails for $125 and is available at Luscious Cargo.

Victoria’s Final EauPINION – 1950’s haute couture in a bottle. A very French sweet floral-chypre. It’s larger and bigger than what most people feel comfortable wearing these days. Divine has a Suzy Parker elegance and wouldn’t be caught dead in Ugg boots. And that is why I admire it so.

Want more reviews? Try…

Fragrantica (member reviews)

Basenotes (member reviews)

I Smell Therefore I Am

Savvy Thinker

Product pic from Luscious Cargo. Suzy Parker in fur from the Nifty Fifties. Sample from Brian 😉

19 thoughts on “Divine by Divine EDP Perfume Review”

    1. Obviously, Miss Dior and Divine aren’t exactly alike but they are competing models 😉
      I don’t think any of us are as glam as Suzy Parker but we can pretend! I’m wearing Divine right now with a hoodie and it works! It’s just me and the puppies, I don’t care, I smell Divine!

  2. so remember how I said TF Black Orchid was obnoxious?

    I don’t think Divine is obnoxious in the least – HUGE and possibly oppressive (in the Best. Possible. Way.) but not obnoxious.

    Divine Divine is an amazing fragrance that I have a huge amount of respect for though I probably couldn’t stand to be anywhere near someone wearing this for more than a few minutes. 😉

    1. Divine is obnoxious in the way that being around a great aunt is. I almost feel like Divine is judging me. It’s the type of fragrance that if it was a person, it would always be uncomfortable with the temperature, etc. The restaurant you took it to wouldn’t be good enough. When I say “obnoxious”, it ever so gently and subtly grates my nerves…like a good matriarch should.

  3. Yes this is big, but my impression of this is that it isn’t really stuffy. I love the old style/ old couture vibe. It brought Tubereuse Criminelle to my mind, it’s eccentricity being its classical feminine vibe. I love the entire Divine line, especially L’Inspiratrice, and their sample pack is a very good bargain. You have to search for this a bit in their site but it’s there.
    MemoryOfScent recently posted..Mandarine Mandarin: You say Mandarin, I say Chutney

    1. I find it “stuffy” for the thickness of it. I’m American and I’m the CK 1 generation. Perfumes like this wear like tulle or fur. Not cotton. And I really enjoy the fragrance for it’s coutureness. It has a powdered white face, red lipstick and a “New Look” figure.
      I didn’t realize that the site has a sample pack. Thanks for sharing that!

  4. I love Divine. And I hate to think “real” perfume is dated and over. Maybe someday the good stuff will be in vogue again. (fingers crossed)

    1. I feel like it will be. I’m seeing signs. There have been a few launches recently that seem “vintage”. One day the young-uns will think Cool Water and CK One smell like “old people”.

  5. I love your observations on how casual today is. I would love to have some beautiful, elegant fragrance, but realistically, I’ll never use it. Such grand fragrances have no place in my stressed-out university student life.

    1. I understand that but sometimes it helps to pretend. This perfume will make you feel more elegant. It’s actually one that I like to just wear around the house!

  6. I want to try this one! (please, don’t offer me a scented strip 😉 ). It sounds like a perfume I might like (I love Miss Dior). And if I like it, I’ll find where to wear it.

    I’ll save it to my “to try” list. Thanks for the review!
    Undina recently posted..Great Expectations

    1. Rats. I was going to send you a postcard sprayed with this sample. Memory of Scent says that samples are actually available on Divine Parfum’s website.
      This is one of those grand perfumes. Slightly sweet florals, clean roses, powder and moss. I highly recommend it. Actually, I highly recommend the entire Divine line. It’s a niche line that won’t let you down.

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