Diva by Emanuel Ungaro

Watch out for this perfume; it’s a gem! It’s not for those who love bubblegum or overly sweet scents. If you like La Panthère de Cartier, you’ll adore Diva. Its sillage and longevity are incredible—it’s sexy, strong, and full of character, nothing sappy. It clings to your skin for hours and hours; even after a shower, you can still smell it. One or two sprays and you’re set for the entire day with zero reapplications. I first encountered it in the 90s and didn’t give it the credit it deserves; a young friend used it and I loved it, but I didn’t dare try it myself. It’s never too late. I love remembering when we wore classy perfumes without being called old; back then, perfumery was appreciated for what it was, now if you don’t smell like a candy store, people tell you you’re nobody. These gems need to return with strong marketing so new generations can rediscover this lost art. I enjoy this beauty and I’m leaving silently…🤫

I bought it blind, and at first, it scared me, but little by little, I’ve learned to love and cherish it. When I first wear it, I notice powerful aldehydes and mature neroli, as if an orchestra starts without warning. In the heart, there’s an endless array of flowers hard to distinguish due to the blended composition. For me, the note that stands out most is a tremendously sensual and carnal rose, paired with an opulent and elegant sweet honey accord, with civet adding animalic sensuality. I have the 2024 reformulation, and while I can’t judge the exact longevity, it’s powerful in every way. The dry down leaves fine talc with roses and a slight sweet touch. This perfume couldn’t have another name: it’s for those with strong personalities, because if you don’t, Diva will give it to you. I see it for people who aren’t afraid of a vintage scent and overwhelm with sublime, mature elegance.

Describing it is impossible. It comes from that perfumed generation where a ridiculous number of notes were combined to create a unique and indefinable aroma. That’s what creating a perfume meant. Undeniable is its retro vibe with so many clean aldehydes and very 80s, even 70s, carnations. It’s a classic, elegant without fuss, long-lasting, and simple without actually being simple. It knows how to fit any situation, everything without blinking. For some, a decadent horror; for others, Div-ine. It amuses me that wearing a well-made Chypre has become a challenge.

I bought it because it’s similar to Coco Chanel, made by the same perfumer, though this one is stronger and lasts much longer on the skin, about 10 hours or more, and even longer on hair and clothes. It’s the powerful sister of Coco Chanel; Coco is a shy sister who doesn’t want to draw attention, elegant but perhaps the reformulations made her discreet and easy to wear. I highly recommend this perfume: it’s wild, untamable, captivating, and sensual. Unlike Coco, this is very accessible; with the price of a 100 ml Coco ($170), you can buy 4 or 5 Divas that go for around $30 on Fragrancenet.

Diva has excellent performance, both in cold and heat. Although I was never a Chypre fan, it took a little more time to win my heart <3. It's a fantastic fragrance that adapted very well to my personality; I see it for daily use, both day and night. On hot days, the aldehydes, moss, and flowers shine, and on cold days, the honey wraps you in a warm embrace, completing the beautiful composition. It lasts 6 hours and has great sillage, so just a few drops are enough.

I agree it’s one of the most imposing Chypres in perfume history and a masterpiece by Monsieur Polge. Spectacular.

I see it as a more complex Animale, but not necessarily better. Animale is perceived and allowed to be, as if you don’t want to touch it to alter it, with the same respect you’d have for a lion if you found one. I’m an Animale woman; it defines and represents me aromatically. I picked up Diva because of its resemblance to it, hoping to get an Animale in another form, and while they’re very similar, I prefer the other; I feel more comfortable with it. Animale suits me better, settles better, without the major fuss that comes with saying so much about such a complicated scent. Diva complicates me, while Animale feels more natural. I use Diva with great care; I still haven’t found the occasion that clicks with it.

It was my first perfume, 30 years ago, and I loved it. It was to close my eyes and enjoy. Today, at 53, I have it again as a self-gift; I turn 54 in a few days. Again, I closed my eyes and enjoyed it just as before. I love it.

Diva is an exceptional perfume that manages to shake me up without overwhelming me. It’s so incredibly elegant that unleashing all its power from the start doesn’t scare me. Nothing scares me; I know this feeling of unleashed force, a force released with total control but without setting limits or labels on anything. It’s a panther, and I don’t mean a trained or wild one, but a cuddly, pampered panther that knows its power but doesn’t use it to execute victims; instead, it uses it to enchant you and leave you lost in a languid, yet not ethereal, spell. It’s one of those beings that drains your batteries in a prodigious way because it’s made to seduce. True seduction never has claws or is murderous; true seduction is an enchantment that plunges you into a delirious yet soothed state filled with pleasures from which you don’t want to escape, because your mind is truly disturbed. That’s a Diva. Its lust from the opening with honey has me bewitched. Its darkness with oakmoss bordering precious flowers is so spectacular that I have to say it’s been a long time since I hallucinated like this with a perfume. But I must be honest: if my nose doesn’t grow to pierce through doors, it’s because Diva, Diva is a mirage of Magie Noire. Yet, at the same time, this perfume has its own little beast inside, giving it that erotic side that makes you want to hit the road at night, dress in black, put on heels, do your makeup without overdoing it, and drive wherever your twilight takes you. Its honey, its rose, those slight aldehydes, and those flowers assembling into a perfect perfume give it a glamour that isn’t executed these days, because the reality is that this kind of glamour isn’t worn anymore. Times change, and even the ways we love, feel, get emotional, desire, and escape evolve… evolve or die, that’s what they call progress, the passage of time, the years that go by… But Diva gives us that night, that personal escape into our inner selves. It brings out that panther with its unmistakable shine in the impenetrable solitude of the darkness of our deepest dreams and memories. It tells us that each of us has a diva inside, a carnally elegant woman who doesn’t lose her dignity for anyone and lets nothing confuse her violin music. She knows she’s in charge, and she’s the mistress of her own destiny. Her fame doesn’t lie in what people love about her, but in what she loves about herself, as her creator demonstrated. Ungaro left Balenciaga for three years to meet others and soon after created his own house. Solitary beasts don’t want a diamond collar; solitary beasts want their moon and their dreams for themselves. That’s this perfume: it gifts you a little but doesn’t give you everything, because its beauty lies in that: feeling it, wearing it, but never possessing it. I don’t recommend it without trying it, unless you like dark, not sinful but incredibly sensual perfumes to feel impenetrable yet irresistibly attractive to the very last inch.

OH MY GOD… I just received it and what a delight… It’s love at first sniff, I had an almost religious experience with this gem. It smells like those expensive perfumes from the 80s I remember from when I was a girl… I rolled my eyes! MAMMA MIA!

A real 80s masterpiece, a work of art that didn’t fade into oblivion. Its scent is so enveloping and powerful that it grabs you instantly, an elixir made for worship. It reminds me of and surpasses Paloma Picasso and Magic Noire, a true diva of good taste.

I saw it in my aunt’s vanity, with that bottle so simple yet complicated at the same time, featuring those incredible pleated reliefs. She gifted me this perfume for Christmas, and when I opened it, I don’t know what happened to me; at 19, it made me feel like a woman with all the glamour. Diva is for a diva from A to Z: sweet honey, velvety roses, exotic sandalwood, tender ylang-ylang, and wild civet, all in one. It makes me nostalgic for the great creations of the 80s and 90s.

Unmatched! There are no other words. It portrays me perfectly: a 60-year-old lady, intelligent, who knows what suits her and wears her wrinkles and gray hair with style and spirit, without asking anyone’s permission to speak her mind. Vintage taste with aldehydes. Rich, warm, enigmatic, like the actress Anouk Aimée. It’s not ‘chic’, it’s ‘chien’—a French word for something more than sexy without going overboard. Amber, musk, patchouli, moss, and vetiver in the perfect balance. The bottle is timeless beauty. I hope they don’t reformulate it; I’d lose that adorable ‘chien’.

DIVA CONTINUES TO RECEIVE APPLAUSE. ‘I needed a little cry. But now I smile. I will be right by these flowers. Always by your side. Always. Love me Alfredo, love me as I have loved you. Goodbye.’ Second act of La Traviata, Verdi’s romantic opera. This fragrance makes me feel like an opera soprano. I’m at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, in a luxurious pink dress, with a diamond necklace. Diva by Emanuel Ungaro is perfect for the woman who has beauty and talent, admired by the whole world. Her age doesn’t matter; she will always be a diva. It starts with aldehydes, a bit strong, but don’t fear them; that’s how expensive perfumes like Chanel begin. Then they fade, and a soft mandarin scent arrives, along with a spicy and aromatic cardamom. In the heart, there are luxurious flowers: carnation, iris, roses, ylang-ylang, narcissus, and jasmine, like a bouquet received by the diva for singing well. The roses are the strongest, but not vulgar or offensive; they are soft and turn into a soft powder for the body and face. I feel like the diva returning to the dressing room before going out. They say it’s very strong and outdated, but never! If you are a classy woman, you like roses and luxuries, you will love Diva. At the diva’s feet is rich honey, as if someone put a rose in honey and changed its color to gold. There is also amber, sandalwood, and vanilla. In the new formula, vanilla replaces the animal musk of the mid-20th century, giving it warmth. Now Diva is modern and loves vanilla. With musk, it also feels warm, and that sweet honey. I have so much love for this fragrance. I hope it is never discontinued.

Diva is an elegant perfume. Very animal too, but in a contained way. The notes that seem excessive, the exuberant notes of civet, carnation, rose, oakmoss, and citrus, are sweetened by honey and ylang-ylang, and to a lesser extent, as it dries down, by amber and sandalwood. Perhaps that’s why I notice it as somewhat gourmand, but with much more class than modern gourmands. It’s another of the great opulent classics of the 80s. As usual, many will comment on the appropriate age to wear it or mock whoever wears it. But above all, you must try it without prejudice, with the intention of appreciating the olfactive art, which is abundant here. The bottle is as beautiful as the elixir it contains. Bravo to Jacques Polge, to his assistant the young François Demachy, and also to Jacques Helleu, the person responsible for this elegant glass poem!