Ungaro • Diva • Fragrances

Where To Buy?

*TOP REVIEWER* violette on 4/21/2013 9:31:00 AM more reviews by violette

Age: 30-35   Skin: Very Oily, Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Okay, first things first: this has GOT to be one of the most beautiful perfume bottles ever created. When I first took it out of its white box, I was like: *gasp!* It’s even more stunning in person & the fan-shaped cap is SOLID GLASS, not plastic as is the norm these days. But my heart sank the moment I sprayed the perfume. Oh God… WHY did I buy this without sampling first?! It smelled like cheap men’s cologne/aftershave & was REALLY unpleasant, to say the least. I never understood what people meant when they say a perfume “smells like the ‘80s”… until I smelled Diva for the first time. Unlike Coco (another Jacques Polge masterpiece which came out in 1984 – a year after Diva – but whose Old World opulence makes it timeless), Diva, to me, embodied everything bad about the Decade of Excess – big permed hair, giant shoulder pads, garish make-up… the works. It put me off so much, I didn’t even attempt to wear it again until last year. I don’t know whether it’s because my taste has matured or my body chemistry has suddenly changed or my nose was out of whack the first time or what, but this time, Diva smelled GLORIOUS on my skin. I thoroughly enjoyed every stage of its development – from the grand, spicy floral opening tinged with green to the delectable Turkish Delight base, which made me want to devour my wrists. Diva is, I think, the perfect example of a Gourmand Rose Chypre, if such a category even existed.

Many Diva enthusiasts seem to be up-in-arms about how the re-launched version is not quite the same as the original. Mine is the new EDP bought in 2011 (but probably 2010 stock) & I say it’s PERFECT. And it still has a fair amount of oakmoss in it (not sure about the latest batches, though… with the IFRA restriction/ban in full effect now, I imagine the current bottles have very little to no oakmoss at all… so sad as I feel that oakmoss is a vital component of this majestic chypre). As for comparisons with the EDT, from what I’ve read on Fragrantica, the EDT seems to be a pale shadow – not as lush & with a screeching green note that never goes away. So, make sure you don’t buy the EDT by mistake, unless you actually like that amplified green note.


*From Michael Edwards:

Fragrance Family: Rich Mossy Woods

Notes:
Top: Cardamom, Mandarin, Tuberose
Heart: Ylang-ylang, Narcissus, Jasmine, Turkish/Ottoman Rose
Base: Patchouli, Amber, Sandalwood, Oakmoss, Florentine Iris, Vanilla

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Loretta130 on 1/19/2012 10:18:00 PM more reviews by Loretta130

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Other    

Love Diva since I discovered it. always smells great from first spray to drydown. Everyone who gives me a hug, says You smell so good! Try layering it with Avon Natural Vanilla. Mmm. Wearing it now.

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*TOP REVIEWER* highrise on 1/19/2012 9:55:00 PM more reviews by highrise

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other, Fair, Cool   Hair: Other   Eyes: Brown    

I'm in love with this again after wearing it as a teen in the late 80s. Probably THE reference rose chypre, stunning and multifaceted. I think Agent Provocateur owes a lot to Diva, and I love both, but Diva has more depth and complexity while remaining incredibly cohesive. Gorgeous.

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gingersnap250 on 12/17/2011 10:02:00 AM more reviews by gingersnap250

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool   Hair: Red, Curly   Eyes: Blue    

I first smelled Diva on a friend, when we went out for the evening together. It was strong, intoxicating, and yet lovely. Decadent. Rich. As one review said, you wouldn't wear this with jeans! Although it smells distinctly of the 80s -- heavier, more floral than the current celebrity perfumes we seem to like today (not my thing)....it is not at all cloying. It's sexy in an "I'm wearing a red cocktail dress" kinda way. If you wear Diva, you want to be noticed. And, you will be. Indeed.

What's great is that you can find this scent in places like T.J. Maxx or Loehmann's on the cheap.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Olfactoria on 9/12/2011 9:09:00 AM more reviews by Olfactoria

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Brown    

A rich, voluptuous, honeyed chypre, this nonetheless manages not to overpower the wearer. It's an example of how to use honey notes in a fragrance without veering into gourmand territory at all. (Probably because the fragrance was developed in the '80s, before the proliferation of gourmands and fruity florals.) Diva seamlessly blends just a smidge of honey with velvety rose, cool oakmoss, leather, and some other notes I can't pick out, but which give an overall feel of fabulous luxury, like a fine deerskin jacket worn over a red velvet bustier.


One of my favorites of all time, Diva is in the same vein as Giorgio Red, Samsara, etc., but much more well-constructed, with no jarring notes whatsoever. Terrific for fall and winter. Yum!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* cocorocha on 8/30/2011 2:58:00 AM more reviews by cocorocha

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

The Mother of the chypre olfactive family...alongside with P.Picasso , Jil Sander No 4,Soir de Lune, L'Arte di Gucci, the most perfect dry honey-rose there is....
this is strictly for the LADIES!it is not needy and doesn't acquire a special occasion or special wardrobe, but when you put Diva on, you just could't seem to see yourself in jeans or something casual..
like a fantastic piece of jewelery, it perfectly describes the woman wearing it..
I bow to thee mr. Ungaro..
pure excellence..

great sillage, fantastic aura and amazing longievity!!

(p.s. and has absolutely nothing to do with Angel...Angel is a gourmand-oriental,caramel-sweet heavy mf.,while Diva is dry, aethereal,airy and luscious chypre...)

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*TOP REVIEWER* Shanplum on 7/21/2011 9:54:00 PM more reviews by Shanplum

Age: 25-29   Skin: Sensitive, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

I really tried to like this (bought it based on notes which match my other faves) however its just not me (and I am a fan of older scents), too green, slightly sweaty and too sharp. Bottle is terrible -looks like a 1980's cut crystal whisky decanter.

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*TOP REVIEWER* mmarrs on 5/31/2011 4:08:00 PM more reviews by mmarrs

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

Just not for me .... It reminds me of youth dew yuck Its like a strong over powering sharpness and then a note of soap After wearing it a while I do like the dry down so maybe it will grow on me

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Morganna777 on 2/19/2011 6:48:00 PM more reviews by Morganna777

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight   Eyes: Other    

Great Fragrance ! I needed a replacement for my turnover of fragrances because I although I will always love chance and coco Chanel I need to switch it up a bit and this one is it ! Not to mention you can get a huge bottle at a low price, I am so glad I checked MUA before I purchased a few perfumes !

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*TOP REVIEWER* BigEars on 2/4/2011 1:49:00 PM more reviews by BigEars

Age: 44-55   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Lovely chypre which reminds me of Revlon's old Intimate fragrance. nice fruity top notes. I see no resemblance to Angel at all as one reviewer said. This is a very feminine perfume and sophisticated but, it has been done before so a bit same old same old. Still with the lack of decent chypres on the market, I would purchase again.

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beaglebaileysmom on 11/29/2010 10:54:00 PM more reviews by beaglebaileysmom

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

4/24/12: Okay, I'm moving my Angel comment to the bottom of this because people are STILL disagreeing with what I said (read on to see why it's irrelevant). EDIT!!!! I get it now! I am the only one who thinks this is Angel because I am reviewing a different fragance! I ordered a sample of Diva from Scentmonkey, and they sent me "DIVAS" with an S, not Diva with no S (they are both by Ungaro, but are not remotely similar!). Divas is very hard to find, and I'm glad I've had a chance to try it, but now I'm super curious to try Diva! EDIT 2: YUUUUUUUCCCKK!!!!! Tried the actual Diva...horrible. I can't pick out the various notes in a fragrance, so I can't explain exactly what is so bad about it...I think it is green? And definitely from an era gone by...and not in a good way. One of these days it will sink in that I never, but never, like the high-rated fragrances. But at least it's not the slightest bit like Angel! EDIT again: Came back many months later to add a few lippies. I've worn a few times, and it certainly doesn't deserve a 1. Not a fave by any stretch, but I haven't given it away, so that says something. Sorry about the "Divas" rambling, BTW. I was finally able to buy the last bottle of Divas on Earth. That one is all about patchoulli. I promise I'll wear it lightly. :)

ORIGINAL COMMENT, please read above FIRST: Am I the only one who thinks this smells almost exactly like Angel? I must be, because most people seem to hate Angel, yet the reviews are almost all raves about this! But I can barely tell the difference, except that Diva may be a little lighter (and by "lighter" I mean very strong rather than very very very strong like Angel--this is still powerful). Personally I like it/them, but so many others are offended by Angel that I am very hesitant to get a full bottle of this. Sniffing it right now...this is totally Angel.

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*TOP REVIEWER* allegro_barbaro on 5/28/2010 5:07:00 AM more reviews by allegro_barbaro

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

Being a fan of Paloma Picasso and chypres in general this was suggested to me by the wonderful ladies on the fragrance board. I got it online (because it is impossible to find in Ireland) for half nothing and I must, say I am completely won over. On first sptitz my initial reaction was 'so far, so 80's' with it's aldehydes and oakmoss but within half an hour it had dried down to a honeyed rose that reminded me of expensive turkish delight. When I wear it I cannot stop sniffing my wrist. It is warm, cosy and incredibly sexy. I would venture so far as to say that this would be devastating on a man. Yum

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mai1978 on 3/24/2010 5:16:00 PM more reviews by mai1978

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I bought a tester of the EDP because I read that this is Sophia Loren's perfume. It has sweet honeyed roses with green notes, and is beautiful on skin and on my nightgown. This has piqued my interest in rose perfumes. Just lovely, and very cheap.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

Mary8 on 2/11/2010 12:01:00 AM more reviews by Mary8

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I discovered Diva a few months ago in a little cosmetics shop which carries older, hard to find fragrances. The bottle is gorgeous and I just sniffed a little--lovely. I then tracked down a bottle of the EDP, very reasonably priced. This is a beautiful, sophisticated woody floral. I find I can wear it for day or evening. I don't really get the powdery thing, it's a little sharp on me. Really just a well done, top notch fragrance. I don't consider it old lady at all, but I tend to like the fragraces others dismiss as "old lady". It's interesting to me that Diva and Coco were created by the same person. Coco was my favorite perfume in college.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

suelll on 1/12/2010 5:17:00 AM more reviews by suelll

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

For some reason this smells exactly like The Body Shop's Oceanus and that is not good. I couldn't detect the rose or anything fantastic about this classic unlike just about everyone who has reviewed this. I was dissappointed the say the least and would have given it 1 lippie but I gave this 3 just so that it would not ruin the wonderful rating this fragrance is getting. Nice bottle though. Would not repurchase or resample it's just that bad on me.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* hesterC on 7/30/2009 7:56:00 AM more reviews by hesterC

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Green    

The love child of Knowing and Beautiful. Stunning deeply rosey chypre, too too lovely. Very eighties in aesthetic, not for girlies, probably. Stunningly lovely, STRONG fragrance for a self-aware woman.

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*TOP REVIEWER* tessture on 7/15/2009 5:48:00 PM more reviews by tessture

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Jammy rose with oriental markings. Mostly rose first off, but faint face powder notes creep in and make it fairly gorgeous, like a scented woman in black lace decolletage. I expected to dislike this, but it's neither heavy nor screaming and I like it rather a lot. I have to say it's a favorite rose.

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*TOP REVIEWER* tijanarm on 6/26/2009 11:52:00 AM more reviews by tijanarm

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Brown    

Many, many years ago I used this fragrance and along with Ungaro's Senso it was my HG. Since then, I have moved onto other fragrances and for a while completely forgot about this one... Just a few days ago my mom, who works for Winners in Canada, ran across this fragrance in her beauty dept. for super cheap (100 ml below $40 CAD) and decided to surprise me. Well, what a great surprise!!!! I completely forgot how much I used to love this fragrance! As some have pointed out, this fragrance does have the 80's feel to it, but it's the nice 80's feel, not a dated 80's feel. The bottle is gorgeous, truly DIVA-like and it is proudly sitting on my vanity table.
Reviewers have compared it to Coco and Paloma, I would say I understand where the comparison comes from, but it is a different fragrance. That said, if you like Coco, there is a chance you will like this (even though on me Coco is a lot softer and I like it just a tad better than Diva). I do not like Paloma, nor I ever liked it, but I do like Diva.
Great, classic fragrance that you can make your own as not too many women wear it these days. EDT is very soft, on first spritz it does seem a bit strong but if fades into a a very subtle sexy fragrance very quickly.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

hapababy on 3/7/2009 2:35:00 AM more reviews by hapababy

Age: Unknown   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I love this fragrance, one spray lasts the whole day. It's hard to find, which is actually good since you don't smell it coming and going.

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*TOP REVIEWER* peggy1234 on 2/24/2009 7:35:00 PM more reviews by peggy1234

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Blond, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

I thought I would like this because of the great MA comments. This one was not a winner for me. Smelled like an old lady in church. I asked my husband what he thought to see if I was missing something unique--he wrinkled up his nose and said no.

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