“My lips are sealed.” These are the words that came out of my mouth out of shock earlier this month when one of the perfume industry veterans asked about my perfume. Although it’s usually a compliment, this was the worst scenario that played out in real time the day I forgot to wrap my neck in one of his creations. He caught my breath, took a deep breath, declared that he liked my perfume and asked those three dreaded words: What’s going on?!
In this type of situation, I have two options. First, I speak the truth and risk upsetting him. Either way, the option I chose, keep things complicated. He just laughed it off and didn’t dare question it again—a gentle way to spare both of us any embarrassment. However, if I were to tell him the truth about this award-winning perfume, I would have revealed the perfume that stopped him, which was actually a then-unreleased perfume—Diptyque Orphéon Eau de Toilette.
Since its release in 2021, Diptyque Orphéon Eau de Parfum has not only been a part of my life, but a part of me. Although my unfiltered mouth, eccentric movements and (somewhat infamous as a beauty director) laissez-faire approach to self-care often make me feel otherwise, Orphéon has been my trusty wardrobe for the past five years. And now, there’s a new Orphéon Eau de Toilette on the block.
Before we get into this new perfume, I want to give some background on the original Orphéon Eau de Parfum for those who are not au fait. In fact, it’s impossible to walk into Orphéon’s place and not be the coolest person in the room. Orphéon epitomizes decadent Parisian chic. She’s the sultry French girl you see sitting at the bar with a cigarette in one hand and a gin martini in the other—the cool girl I aspire to be. With just one spritz, it transforms me into her, even if it’s just for a day. And that what’s good, no, the better perfumes do.
And I’ll be honest, Diptyque’s 2026 retelling of the Orphéon story in eau de toilette form is not what I thought the world needed. The late, master perfumer behind Orphéon Eau de Parfum, Olivier Pescheux, created something so unique that I wasn’t sure how it could exist in a toilet. Orphéon, as I knew it, is soft and powerful—it has a lingering quality like powdery smoke. It has both the lightness of an eau de toilette and the strength of an eau de parfum—so, what could I ask, was it necessary?
But I was intrigued, and I obliged when Diptyque asked me to be the first editor to review it before launch. That’s why I predict that Diptyque Orphéon Eau de Toilette will be on every cool girl’s neck this year…
Diptyque Orphéon Eau de Toilette, Reviewed
Diptyque
Orphéon Eau de Toilette
Important notes: Mandarin green, yuzu, juniper berries, pink peppercorn, ginger, rose, magnolia, cedar, musk
If it was a song: Quelqu’un m’a dit, Carla Bruni
If it was a drink: A sparkling, citrus-infused gin and tonic
If it were a person: Françoise Hardy
If Orphéon Eau de Parfum is the powder room of a smoky Parisian jazz bar in the 1960s (the scent was inspired by the very bar that the founders of Diptyque used to frequent), Orphéon Eau de Toilette is a sparkling cocktail, garnished with citrus, the hostess pours herself on her lid. in the evening, before the darkness of night falls. It shines, shines, shines and is full of promise. And yet, that powdery, smoky, basic Orphéon place still beckons, ushering you in through its doors.
I often say that I imagine Orphéon Eau de Parfum as a Moulin Rouge dancer touching up her make-up after a night show in her dressing room, before going to a nightcap, when the smell of face powder, cigarette smoke and gin fills the air. Orphéon Eau de Toilette, on the other hand, is the same dancer, in that dressing room, but this time he is in front of the show. A silk robe covers her freshly showered skin. She moisturizes with a powder, a floral-scented lotion. He lights a cigarette. He pours himself a gin and tonic, squeezed from oranges, and relaxes into a state of carelessness that a Parisian can only seem to master.
However, in the real world, Diptyque Orphéon Eau de Toilette can be described almost unanimously with just one word: it’s cool. Yes, it’s shiny, fun and no doubt a crowd pleaser (and the beauty of eau de parfum, in my opinion, is its uniqueness that sparks interest), but it still retains that scattered, imperfect character. It’s not just a citrusy scent, and it’s not just a floral scent—it’s in its own place of cool, laid-back bliss with a subtle sweetness that you can’t help but enjoy.
It doesn’t scream too much like a strong perfume, but it doesn’t drown you out either. True to its Orphéon name, it lingers—this time it doesn’t go down like smoke, but clicks and dances across the skin in light pitter-patters. The perfume that everyone seems to want in 2026—the cool girl look that doesn’t cause anything and doesn’t turn anyone off. It is the antithesis of the energy seeking scent and instead acts as a daily dose of metamorphosis, transforming you into the coolest, carefree, and most optimistic version of yourself.
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