Christian Dior Miss Dior (Cherie) : Perfume Review

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I was a late convert to Miss Dior Chérie (2005), the Coco Mademoiselle sibling-scent that expanded a green patchouli note with sticky carnival accords like strawberries and caramel popcorn.  Miss Dior Chérie is aimed at the young; I was converted to it by a nineteen-year-old girl who owned her own makeup store.  She considered it the height of elegance and at first I scoffed, and then I tried.  It was too much fun to pass up, with its neon fun-fair atmosphere bopping around underneath the nose in a major chord of teenage pleasure.  Why didn’t they have stuff like this around when I was fourteen?

With the mechanisms of the perfume industry being what they are, Miss Dior Chérie was recently reformulated and renamed  Miss Dior (the “real” Miss Dior is now called Miss Dior Originale).  Sometimes the reformulations means that a “bad” ingredient was removed and replaced by a “good” (and often inferior) one, and other times it means that something that is no longer available is replaced with something that is.  The truth is, perfumes are reformulated all the time for a variety of reasons, and the differences can be subtle or striking.

Poor Miss Dior Chérie has taken a hit with reformulation, a change that took place as a re-launch featuring the actress Natalie Portman.  For this 2011 re-launch, a new scent was developed along the lines of the old, but taking away the county fair and replacing it with one of those ubiquitous sheer florals.

Making a teen scent into an adult one in this case means removing both the carnival notes and Natalie Portman’s top. Gone are the strawberries, the pineapple, the buttered popcorn and the caramel.  In their place are intensified rose and jasmine, the core fundamentals of so many “adult” perfumes.  Miss Dior Chérie is no longer a gourmand.  It is now a proper neo-chypre with the addition of vetiver and moss to the base.  The original played around with being a modern chypre, but the candy notes told otherwise; it was the least of the chypres.  Dior loves its ladylike, carriage-trade chypres (Miss Dior, Diorella, Diorling, Diorama), so why not make a baby version of same?

The new Miss Dior Chérie is faceless.  Say what you will about the sticky vat of sugar present in the first, but this new Miss Dior Chérie needs the face of Portman to communicate anything at all about it.  Somewhere in there is a hint of the original, but don’t look too hard for it.  I’m afraid the new Miss Dior Chérie is just something tossed into the wind of modern mall fragrances that say nothing at all about the person who wears them.

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49 Comments

  • BlinkyTheFish: That’s quite sad – I, too laughed at it but the popcorn note was so much fun I ended up buying a bottle. Are Dior actually turning anything interesting out anymore bar the Escale range? They seem to have reformulated everything beyond recognition. I used to love to sniff Poison – now it’s grape kool-aid more rather than the dangerous, mysterious scent it used to be. December 18, 2012 at 8:12am Reply

    • Suzanna: I keep trying the new one, but I can’t summon enough interest to take it seriously. I certainly would like to know more about the Dior reformulations–the inner workings and the whys. December 18, 2012 at 8:46am Reply

  • ChrisinNY: I had not known about the switch (Cherie for the original) when I smelled it earlier this year and was so disappointed, having loved the original Miss Dior. Both scents (originale and Cherie) are not worth the price in my book. December 18, 2012 at 9:05am Reply

    • Suzanna: Thanks for your thoughts, Chris! I am sure many share this opinion. December 18, 2012 at 9:37pm Reply

  • Mirianv: This perfume is such a disappointment now. i only recently got into fragrance so when i read how people really enjoyed this I got confused because it is just LACKING. Now your review makes total sense to me. This perfume has no identity to it and I couldn’t pick it out of a line if I had to. It’s so sad. December 18, 2012 at 9:12am Reply

    • Suzanna: That is exactly how I feel. It has been so distanced from itself that it is unrecognizable, or what remains is so diluted that it is there merely as a minor reference to the original. December 18, 2012 at 9:38pm Reply

  • L.: Harsh review (but accurate)! I feel like maybe your one star rating has to do with the fact that it used to be so much better? Maybe on it’s own terms it would get two? LOL

    I do like the mandarin note in the opening of the new version. :/ To be fair, I would take this neo-chypre over some of the present version of Dior retro-chypres (Miss Dior), but the state of this brand’s whole line is disturbing. A case of a brand not caring at all about the quality of the materials used in their perfumes. December 18, 2012 at 10:28am Reply

    • Suzanna: I really do not care for this scent, and am reviewing it on its own merit. It has nothing going for it that I would like. The star ratings are subjective; the new MDC isn’t something that I like or like to smell on myself or others. December 18, 2012 at 9:39pm Reply

  • Absolute Scentualist: Your review sums up my feelings about the “new” Miss Dior. I absolutely loved the fun fruitiness of the original Miss Dior Cherie and wish I’d been able to stock up on it and the bath/body products. It didn’t take life too seriously and had personality, whether it was a personality people loved or hated. I don’t understand what Dior is doing with their fragrances, either, but I find the newer releases mostly uninspired and uninteresting. Nothing has grabbed me since Midnight Poison, regretably, because there was a time some years back when I was excited about their new releases. Now, they’re right up there with Givenchy as far as houses I think have a lot of potential in fragrance, but have sadly fail to deliver lately. December 18, 2012 at 11:12am Reply

    • Colleen: Did you every try Givenchy Very Irrésistible? That thing made me run to the sink so fast. I liked the bottle though, but got rather sick of all the flankers.

      By the way, I have two miniature Dior Cherie’s cira 2006 sitting around here unloved because I have no one to gift them to. They’re yours if you’d like them.

      Shoot me an email at c grasher at gmail dot com December 18, 2012 at 3:55pm Reply

      • Suzanna: Colleen, I don’t care for the Givenchy at all, nor its flanker! December 19, 2012 at 9:05am Reply

      • Colleen: Just an update, those minis are gone for those who were looking. I’d say your best bet now is ebay January 2, 2014 at 6:33pm Reply

    • Suzanna: I agree that Midnight was the last interesting scent. And I still wear Hypnotic, and the original MDC and Miss Dior. December 18, 2012 at 9:40pm Reply

  • behemot: The new one is nothing like the original version of MDCh from 2006. Sad. December 18, 2012 at 12:13pm Reply

    • Suzanna: I’d not have liked this one if it were the original, either. December 18, 2012 at 9:43pm Reply

  • Daisy: I’m glad to see that I am not the only one who was wondering what happened to poor Ms. Portman’s top!

    I have been seeing the commercial on television frequently. But everytime I see if, I can only think about how confusing and bizarre it was to take the name switch the names. What was wrong with just leaving it Miss Dior Cherie? Or just coming up with another variation on Miss Dior?

    In Dior’s defense, I do have to say that there are quite a few fragrances in the Collection Privée that are very nice. Shame that they are not in wider release. December 18, 2012 at 1:36pm Reply

    • Suzanna: The name thing is terrible and confusing.

      Agree about Collection Prive. And I did love that Slimane set of men’s colognes. December 18, 2012 at 9:44pm Reply

  • Cam: Wow. Dimissive and harsh. December 18, 2012 at 2:50pm Reply

    • Suzanna: I’m not trying to be harsh, cam. I do not care for this scent and I’ve said so, avoiding the overly negative vernacular that I’ve seen in other comments or reviews elsewhere. This system of rating, as I said above, is simply my opinion, and I do not care for this scent. Obviously, others will and do differ, and that adds to the dialogue. December 18, 2012 at 9:42pm Reply

      • Cam: I understand. What do you think of the “Le Parfum” flanker? December 19, 2012 at 10:39am Reply

        • Suzanna: They don’t sell that here! December 19, 2012 at 8:05pm Reply

  • Undina: Suzanna, you said it all. Amen. December 18, 2012 at 3:10pm Reply

    • Suzanna: Undina, backatcha! December 18, 2012 at 9:51pm Reply

  • annemariec: Ouch! One star. I love it!

    I never liked the first Miss Dior Cherie but I loved the ads. Remember how funny and light-hearted they were? Girl with balloons and ribbons floating over Paris? They really captured a sense of Joie de Vivre, now lost in Ms Portman’s sullen stare. December 18, 2012 at 5:10pm Reply

    • Suzanna: I’m glad you brought up the original ads and commented on their lighthearted whimsy. They were joyful, and I agree it’s too bad that spirit is displaced in this new campaign. It is a new scent, however. December 18, 2012 at 9:52pm Reply

  • Sherry: I do really miss the original Miss Dior Cherie. The tart strawberry really hooked me. I’m not warming up to the new one at all. I got a deluxe sample of it from Sephora, but really don’t wear it that often. It’s just not very special or inspiring, I am sad to say. I keep thinking I will start to like it, but it’s not happening. I was looking at Miss Dior Le Parfum at a Dior counter recently, and was liking that one more. The sales associate kept insisting that Miss Dior (Cherie) would be be better for me. I hope with all my heart, that they bring back the original!! December 18, 2012 at 6:06pm Reply

    • Suzanna: I’m with you on that, and while they are at it, they can bring back the body products as well!

      I always preferred MDC to Coco Mademoiselle, too. December 18, 2012 at 9:53pm Reply

    • Linda Boyer: when you got a good smelling purfume leave it alone….Miss Dior inside the cap it’s a bronze…what happened.??? December 12, 2017 at 6:38am Reply

      • Linda Boyer: Really sad my Christmas isad thank yo. December 12, 2017 at 6:44am Reply

  • Jessica: I would pay anything for another cherie bottle. I loved it so much and it fit me perfectly. I would get compliments all the time.I don’t think I’ve ever liked a fragrance as much.
    I bought a new bottle as soon as i realized i was running low…. then went out of town and silly me gave away my cherie to a cousin thinking I was going back home to a new bottle… to my surprise, my cherie was no longer and reformulated.
    I keep hoping that Dior reads enough of these reviews that they would bring it back but im sure it is wishful thinking on my part. 🙁 December 19, 2012 at 12:12am Reply

    • Suzanna: Oh, Jessica, I hope you can find some of the original! If not, I am sure you will find some new scent that enchants you, and that the adventure of finding it will be a rewarding one. December 19, 2012 at 9:07am Reply

  • Claire: Suzanna, I enjoyed reading your review! I don’t understand why major houses such as Dior sometimes have to produce something that seems only geared towards the teen population. As if they can’t do anything better with their current target population anyway. Well, speaking of teen perfumes, I remembered my first teen perfume was Electric Youth by Revlon; *love* the neon pink liquid & the spirally, telephone-cable-y thing inside the bottle. December 19, 2012 at 2:10am Reply

    • Suzanna: Electric Youth was a huge smash in the teen market!

      Dior does produce “adult” scents in their quiet, private reserve collection. December 19, 2012 at 9:09am Reply

  • Ruta: to me, this new version just repeats the line of the song “nothing, nothing, nothing…” It definitely does not add any glory to the face of this prestigious house of Dior December 19, 2012 at 5:28am Reply

    • Suzanna: Ruta, I agree. It’s so frustrating to see this change affect a popular scent so negatively. Coco Mademoiselle is an alternative choice, but it is far “greener” and the patch more herbal, and it doesn’t have the billowy fruit of the MDC. December 19, 2012 at 9:08am Reply

      • Ruta: Suzanna, to me Mademoiselle is totally different scent, both in notes and character. I really love old version Miss Dior, it is a scent hard to beat. Yesterday I tested Dolce Vita (older version), it bumped into me that what makes this house “Dior” for me is sultry, inensity of its scents (used to be)- those new reformulations dismiss this feature totally and to my non- bending mind this not “Dior” anymore, but faceless LVMH December 21, 2012 at 4:26am Reply

        • Suzanna: Ruta, it is a different scent, but it has some basic similarity that might make it an option for people who aren’t able to find the original MDC any longer. Sometimes we have to stretch creatively and recommend something in the same family (here, a patchouli-based neo-chypre) when a duplicate doesn’t exist! December 21, 2012 at 8:49am Reply

  • marcia alford: I feel so sad, because Miss Dior Cherie was part of my “fragrance wardrobe.” I take my perfumes very serious. This scent would be a part of me forever. It made me feel pretty. Awww poo poo… Life is like that. Things change. March 20, 2013 at 9:31am Reply

    • Suzanna: It’s really irritating, I concur. March 20, 2013 at 11:33am Reply

  • Barbara: Suzanna, u explained so well the entire story. I was lucky enough to receive a Miss Dior Cherie in 2006 and i felt i found a new classic for me..so gourmand! i bought the entire bath line, sweet and very different from most of the frangraces out there. Then the dream came to an end for the sake of marketing, money, models to be paid and stupid desire to be part of the mass market in selling perfumes! Dior shoud have sticked to the MDC with the original 2005 formulation which was original and uncommon(most new perfumes are exactly horribly the same to my nose). And on top of it they should not change names as so confusing. Plus here in a Madrid Dior counter they told me the new 2013 eau de toilette has been reformulated again!! why? oh why? it smells dry and watery..getting even worse! Poor Monsieur Christian Dior, if he only knew what this unprofessioanl people are doing of his masterpiece perfumes, of his precious and worldwide known tradition and heritage, he would turn into his grave. Hope they read all our disappointment and bring things back as they were when Miss Dior Cherie first appeared.ciao April 30, 2013 at 9:53am Reply

    • Suzanna: Well, I certainly am in complete agreement and dismay about the changes to Miss Dior Cherie. What had been an uncommonly good fruity patchouli has been completely ruined to my nose. Some frustrating traces of the original remain in the reformulation; just enough to irritate admirers of the 2005 version.

      I do not want to smell this 2013 eau de toilette!

      Thanks for stopping by! April 30, 2013 at 1:03pm Reply

      • Barbara: I’ve just found a sampler they gave me of the new 2013 EdT: they describe it as Luminous Floral Chypre made of Orange Essence, Neroli and rose Essence, Indonesian Patchouly Essence. As you can see the formulation has been changed once again…There seems to be a LUMINOUS new wave going on ( think the just released Jour d’Hermes..) to which everybody wants to conform to. No good! Different perfume equals different name, just as simple as that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, ciao from a 44 yrs old Italian girl (?) living in Madrid. May 2, 2013 at 6:13am Reply

        • Suzanna: Luminous equals ominous in my book. A new trend like that will be around for a while! Or perhaps it’s an extension of an Essence trend. Or something. May 2, 2013 at 7:51am Reply

  • Victoria: When I couldn’t find Miss Dior Cherie, I was so sad and I had a whiff of Miss Dior, the reformulated version, I was utterly disappointed. =( There is Miss Dior Blooming version that I did like but I don’t know if they’re still selling them now. I found the Blooming version during the summer of 2013. January 10, 2014 at 11:46pm Reply

    • Victoria: I don’t think that it’s in the permanent line, but you might find it on Ebay still. January 12, 2014 at 4:51am Reply

    • Nati: They sell this blooming over here and I was looking here for a review of it! I liked it and wanted to buy it. Also, I dont quite like Miss Dior, any version except the blooming one, and I dont see any difference to Chanel Mademoiselle, which is another one I dont like. October 29, 2014 at 9:04pm Reply

  • Truehollywood: First time poster, long term reader. I just bought a bottle of Miss Dior- Le Parfum. I tried it for several weeks before my splurge. It’s really lovely in my opinion. It’s true that it’s different than Miss Dior Cherie, but it’s really nice. I’ve gotten compliments from strangers which never happens to me. January 16, 2014 at 10:12am Reply

  • Jayne: I still have just a small amount of my Miss Dior Cherie 2005. Although the bottle is 11 years old, the scent has not gone rancid or turned to alcohol. The new reformulation “Miss Dior” is a very weak juice as an eau de parfum. I applied liberally, and this expensive skin scent faded in about 20 minutes. On the other hand, the EDT has a close resemble to MDC 20005. Unfortunately, it has very little depth though and fades quite quickly too. I own Coco Mademoiselle EDP, but find it less intriguing though similar. As far as the Miss Dior Le Parfum I purchased blindly: quite a scrubber. very plastic, cloying, super-sweet smell of a baby’s head. (no chypre, all modern oriental.) Excellent silage and longevity – as are all the ones that we spray on and can’t wait to scrub off. June 17, 2016 at 12:43am Reply

  • Jayne: One final note: if you are a fan of the original Miss Dior from years gone by, please try “Timeless” by Avon. The fragrance still has a cult following and is offered at least every third brochure. I do not sell Avon, but last bottle I purchased was at Christmas time. It is VERY affordable and smells identical to the original Miss Dior. The bottle is beautiful too. Younger perfume fans may find it too “old-lady like.” To me, it is a beautifully classic TRUE chypre. June 17, 2016 at 12:54am Reply

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