Smells like Dior Sauvage: Savanna body butter

Dior Sauvage smells of bergamot, pepper and ambroxan. Savanna is our take on that profile, with those three notes, in a pheromone-infused body butter at $34 a jar.

Which Sauvage is it?

Dior launched Sauvage in 2015, and François Demachy is the perfumer. It now comes in four versions: Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum, Parfum and Elixir. They are different formulas, so a note list belongs to the Sauvage family and not to one bottle. If you have a favourite version, Savanna follows the profile of the family, and we would not claim it matches the Eau de Toilette over the Elixir, or the other way round.

What happens when a three-note scent goes into a butter?

With only three notes, there is nowhere to hide. Bergamot is the bright citrus, pepper is the dry bite, and ambroxan is the clean, woody base that keeps the first two from thinning out. Savanna uses all three.

The formula is our own, in a shea butter and cocoa butter base, so it follows the profile and is not identical to any version of Sauvage. In a butter the bergamot and pepper stay close to the skin and do not carry across a room, which we think suits them for daytime.

Where does Savanna fit in your week?

On warm days and in the daytime: an afternoon outside, a gym bag, a casual dinner, a shirt with the sleeves rolled. It is the freshest of our six in our view, and it is not one of the two louder scents. That is the opposite of a formal winter evening, where Rogue 540 or Oud Timber is the better choice.

Savanna for the day and Rogue 540 for the evening is a straightforward pair that covers both ends of a weekend.

If you have worn Sauvage for years, you know how it smells on you. Savanna lists the same three notes, so it is the easiest of our six to judge: wear it for a day and you will know whether it works for you.

How do you wear it?

If you wear a spray cologne, put Savanna down first on damp skin after your shower, let it settle, and keep the spray for later. If you do not, apply it to the chest, neck and forearms on its own. Most skin holds it for 12+ hours, longest when damp. With only three notes, a small amount shows.

If you own Sauvage, the butter-first order works there too. We have no controlled test showing the spray lasts longer, so try it and decide.

What does it cost next to a bottle?

A bottle of Sauvage costs about $175. A jar of Savanna is $34, about $141 less, or 2 for $59 and 3 for $78.99. The free scent swap within 14 days applies if it is not the scent you wanted.

Bale is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Dior.

Quick answers

• Is Savanna identical to Sauvage? No. It uses the profile's three notes in our own formula and base.
• Is Savanna good for work? We think so. A butter stays close to the skin, and Savanna is not one of our two louder scents.
• What does it pair with? We pair it with Rogue 540: Savanna for the day, Rogue 540 for the evening.
• Does it work in winter? We would choose Oud Timber or Rogue 540 for a cold evening, but Savanna is fine under a coat in the daytime.
• Which is fresher, Savanna or Bleu Hour? Both are fresh. Savanna has pepper and bergamot and is the brighter one. Bleu Hour has incense and woods and is calmer.

See Savanna body butter, or take the scent quiz if you are choosing between all six.