Timeless

Timeless is an incredible scent for the few dollars it costs. There is a current version available through Avon's catalogs and vintages are available. There are discernable differences between the two that should be noted. While the vintage Timeless plays the aldehydes strongly, the newer version is a creamier mix of honeyed vanilla that hits right away. The honeyed vanilla mix takes time in the vintage to arrive, but the wait is well worth it. The vintage version lasts much, much longer, is deeper in tone and reminiscent of Shalimar. Gardenia brings greenness, iris brings a rich earthiness, while jasmine carries this scent strongly to wonderful heights. There are so many notes in this perfume that mix together wonderfully to make it a blend that is pleasantly aromatic, elegant and one that belies its' own price tag. Timeless is a perfume that could be worn anywhere-to dinner, to an event, to a gallery or with jeans. It is a perfume that wears the person, the person doesn't wear it. It is a mature fragrance, one that reminds you of notes found in many other remembered classics, like Shalimar or Emeraude or one of the Chanels. Its' rich warmth is its' own elegance. This is a fragrance that is wearable year-round and since Avon offers shower gels, body creams and deodorants at a ridiculously low price, you can pamper yourself with a complete set. Timeless wraps itself around you with a graceful quality reminiscent of older perfumes. You can wrap yourself in its luxuriousness easily just as you would an over-sized cable-knit sweater or a tuxedo jacket. It just fits quality, whatever you're wearing, whatever you're doing. It ripens into a mature scent that fully explores its many faceted notes as the hours go by. For its price, it absolutely cannot be beat. It fools many when they attempt to guess what perfume it is that you're wearing, and there is a reason why. The tonka bean, the opoponax, the vanilla, the patchouli and the amber are all similar ingredients to a few heavyweights in the classic perfume market and Timeless incorporates them excellently. Vintage Timeless takes longer to develop on your skin, works longer to develop through its notes and stages and is more full-bodied. With today's version of Timeless, its end is its beginning. It packs a punch, yes, but you miss the soapy aldehydes in the beginning. The older bottle is amber glass, silverish-gold cap, cognac-colored liquid splash and 2 oz. The new is in a clear spray bottle with a rose hued cap, a light golden liquid and 1.7 oz. Longevity is about four hours for the new and much longer for the vintage. Both versions are wonderful. The choice to make is whether you want to explore a more vintage feel for aldehydes and a soapy feel, a journey through a perfumes character when you choose the older version or if you'd rather go for the gusto with the newest version which gives you the immediate sense of scent. There is no wait, you arrive at your final destination immediately. Either way, Timeless should be a perfume every woman should try.

So, today's vintage Avon will be...Timeless! I do recall this one from my childhood, but I know it still wasn't allowed in my house. Ok, drops applied to pits, wrists, and neck, here we go! So, right off the bat I know that the bottle I chose to go with has gone slightly off. There's a mustiness that shouldn't be there. No big deal to me, I wipe it off, I rub on some mineral oil, pour a little of the 1980 Timeless into a different bottle, add just a bit of fresh moonshine to it and let it sit for a couple of hours. I then reapply with the "freshened" bottle. Oh, ok, she is nice. Very woody opening, not too "pencil shaving" though. The amber and opoponax definitely benefited from the fresh alcohol. The aldehydes warm up quickly and the woodyness begins to calm down. Into hours 2-3 and she's a very pleasant floral. Not super powdery like some Avon scents. The "Avonade" is much calmer in this one. Some might call this another "grandma" smell, but like always I prefer the term "eternal classic" or some might even say timeless? 😄 So, Timeless actually lasts pleasantly until my normal Noon reapplication time. The fresh splash warms up the first application and she smells very calming. This is a very nice scent for Fall and Winter evenings, I can just tell. She does smell very similar to Revlon's Intimate. I still think MoonWind is closer to Miss Dior though. Now, I haven't smelled Guerlain's Vol de Nuit for many years, but if I had to guess I'd say Timeless and Intimate are her more affordable sister scents. I reapply after dinnertime and relax with a good book. I mean it, it is a calming scent, and Avon still made this one up until just a couple of years ago. If you're looking for a gentle, calming, relaxing amber fragrance you can't go wrong with this Timeless. Vintage bottles are still readily available for under $20, so even if you try it and find it's not for you you're not breaking the bank. I find Timeless mixes well with modern sweeter scents too, which is always a bonus. She also passed the hubby sniff test as well, so you know that's always appreciated. 🥰 Timeless is true to its name and I think it's definitely a keeper.

Review of Timeless Update: I just received my 4-piece set of Timeless today. With the very first spray I knew this was gonna be the perfume for me.......but I felt conflicted. I could not figure out what this perfume was all about upon first blast of spray, due to the combination of notes emerging at the onset. I knew it was old-fashioned; just the kind I love...but oh so sophisticated and gorgeous! Something you don't find in fragrances anymore, but long for. Since it was produced back in 1974, you pretty much get a snapshot of the types of fragrances made in that decade...classy & unique. Anyway, in a short while it transitioned into notes reminiscent of "Intimate" by Revlon, a vintage and discontinued fragrance from the '50's. After it settled down, it evolved into a nice woody, vanilla, & amber boquet while still retaining the integrity of the top notes. What an interesting journey of so many different notes, from the first spray until the drydown...and let me tell you...that first spray is just INCREDIBLE. Can't completely decipher exactly what I'm sensing in the top notes but they were glorious. I definitely smell the woodiness, amber & vanilla at the end...but most certainly do not detect cedar; not at all. I also notice with this fragrance that even tho there's top, middle, and base notes in the description, it seems to come on pretty fierce with the top notes, but then simmer down fairly quickly to the base notes, not really revealing itself very strongly with the middle notes. The shimmering body powder is a nice compliment to the perfume, and carries a very nice soft; subtle scent of Timeless. I spent so little and now have a new fragrance that is a throw-back to the '70's. I'm all about the vintage fragrances because they have a very special quality all of their own. Thank you all for providing informative and detailed reviews that helped me in my decision to purchase this fragrance. So happy Avon is still producing this little treasure of a perfume. This is NOT your typical Avon; you MUST give it a try. I will definitely be ordering more of this in the future! Love it!!

The ladies on the forums told me Timeless is one of the best releases from Avon. I blindly purchased the vintage "prism" bottle on Mercari for some ridiculously low price, in the ballpark of $5. ...They are absolutely correct. This perfume is a captivating treat. I feel as though I won a game of bingo and my reward is getting to listen to a live orchestra while dining at a ritzy seafood restaurant. Dainty aldehydic opening. Some comments are saying peach lactone, but I don't detect peach, I'll search for it. It has sweet, powdery florals in the heart, I want to say mimosa, but the florals are layered and hard to distinguish among the more assertive notes. This perfume is dense with a powerful base. It unfolds slowly and has discernible progression. Spices, orris, leather, powdery woods, tonka, and the deep, heady amber notes. The texture is dry, dusty, and smoky. I was not expecting it, but this perfume is intensely animalic, with a lot of emphasis on civet and castoreum below the aforementioned layers. My vintage bottle of Timeless has a chypre base with authentic oakmoss and patchouli. This one is hard to put my finger on, and the comparisons section is all over the place. I certainly don't think of CK Obsession. There's not much in common with Miss Dior aside from the presence of yellow florals and a chypre base, and I haven't yet tested Revlon Intimate. If you can imagine Vol de Nuit spliced with Revlon Ciara/Bal a Versailles, that's my best approximation of what this perfume smells like. It's quite a monumental undertaking. Even if it does nothing for you, this perfume demonstrates that people my age are being robbed by LVMH et al. Timeless is a phenomenal composition. It has only grown on me with time, ba-dum-tss. It's difficult to believe Avon was capable of making perfumes that smell this good. If you haven't tried it, please do. It has some serious heft and good progression, it smells a lot more expensive than it is. If you love classic animalic ambers and chypres, I can't recommend it enough.

This is a seriously gorgeous perfume. I keep reading about it, and I've been wanting to try it for a while, so when I stumbled across two vintage bottles at an estate sale, for $1 each, I grabbed them. I normally like to take notes when I wear a perfume for the first time, but I put this on this morning, and then the zipper on my daughter's coat broke and I spent the day shopping for a new one so she'd have something to wear to school tomorrow. It was nice when I put it on, but not stunning. I remember thinking "Oh, I hope it doesn't go funky on me while I am out." After a few hours though? Oh my. So beautiful. I keep seeing this compared to Vol de Nuit, which I am not familiar with, though I do see a resemblance to L'Heure Bleue, which I have. At any rate, if you handed me an unmarked vial of Timeless and told me it was Guerlain, I'd totally believe you. Longevity is good too. I can still smell this after ten hours. The drydown is musky, but not the "Avonade" that I get from so many Avon perfumes. This is a great floral chypre--certainly one of the best budget ones I have come across, and maybe my favorite Avon scent. I see that not everybody loves it, but if you come across a bottle, it's worth a try. I know that some have compared it to Shalimar and Emeraude, but I just don't see the resemblance. Timeless is much more floral to me. Shalimar and Emeraude have a lot of vanilla, and Timeless has just a hint. I love Emeraude and wear it often, it's more powdery vanilla on me. In Timeless, I get only hints of powder and vanilla, with more soft, cool green floral notes.

Why is this fragrance so underrated? I saw too many people say it's too overpowering (even lovers of Giorgio Beverly Hills Giorgio!), and, above all, terribly musty, too "old-lady-like". I know Timeless can be related to classics like Youth Dew, but as a lover of vintages I am beginning to get tired of the "old lady" thing in perfume reviews. When we say this, we simply say that we don't like a particular perfume because we are more "sophisticated" than that, but I don't see why we should identify the perfumes we hate with poor old ladies. Most of the old ladies I know are more into soft florals, by the way, and would react quite negatively to the intensity of Timeless. This is really the smell of passion for me, one of the old masterpieces Avon created back in their glorious days, together with Topaze and Rare Rubies. It's very oriental and balsamic, not the usual kind of Chypre for me. It reminds me of my beloved Opium, and in fact they share many notes: peach, patchouli, amber, orris, opoponax, musk, cedar, vanilla... Indeed, they have the same wonderful depth, maybe because of their incensey opoponax, their ambery warmth, that combination of sensuality and sublimity that I think is so hard to find in (affordable) perfume nowadays. It also has the wonderful lasting power and sillage of the great Avon classics. I really love it. Too bad it's not sold as an edp in my country any more!

Review for the current US formulation in the glass bottle as shown: This gorgeous, affordable elixir was created before I was even born, yet when I first smelled it I felt like I was at home with myself and the world. Comforting, calming, grounding, and wonderfully 'timeless'. Well named indeed! It is softer than formerly, but still quite close to the formulation of the past - rather like an edt version of a fragrance in contrast to the edp. Interestingly enough, I find that men are drawn to the womanly warmth that is Timeless. On the right chemistry it can be alluring and comforting at one and the same time. Not surprisingly, if you consider the notes! We have a near recipe for aphrodisiac brews, an amber-balsamic-gardenia-civet-musk quality that is effectively seductive, and not just to the older generation... If this is your first experience with Timeless, might I suggest the matching Scented Skin Softener? It will give you the warmth and charm of this classic's dry down without the sharper aldehydic opening. I consider the perfume's top notes to be sparkling and invigorating, though a little surprising to those not accustomed to pre-1990's era fragrances. The skin softener has all of the base notes in gentle proportions in an excellent cream style lotion. It was my introduction to this brilliant little gem, and I've never looked back. Rating - Top Hole, Five stars!

I think I'm going to have to revisit Timeless, which was my favorite AVON fragrance in the 1970s and 1980s. I had the spray, the cream, and the powder at one time or another, in various glass containers. Looking at the notes now, I see a lot of common ones that turn up in many of my favorite fragrances (but no tuberose?!!? I guess the gardenia is a good stand-in.) I'm happy to read that the reformulated version isn't that different from the original one. Now I need to ask around work if there are any "Avon Ladies" / pushers! Update: I just bought a vintage bottle of Timeless on eBay - according to the description, it probably dates from the same time when I first started wearing it (early 1980s). I'll let you all know what I think when I receive it. To be honest, I don't like most Avon fragrances; there is a slightly sour background note in most of them that turns me off. Well, TURNED me off - I haven't bought any for years, so perhaps the brand has changed. Also, in response to golden's comment below, the original Timeless launched in 1974, predating Obsession by 11 years. Perhaps the reformulation was tweaked to smell more like Obsession, but the original Timeless (if I remember correctly) didn't.

True to it's moniker a timeless fragrance. My mother still wears this and I love how it smells on her. Because it wears so much like Emeraude and Shalimar I too wear it. This is an Oriental floral with aldehydes and smells as perfumy as perfume can get. The fragrance opens with citrus notes of bergamot and lemon very much the same way that Shalimar opens except more aldehydic and also a lot fruitier with additional notes of peach and something like an apricot. The floral heart contains iris rose and jasmine (again like the flowers in Shalimar and Emeraude). The iris stands out as does the jasmine but the rose is very distant. The smoky aromatic patchouli creates a smoky veil of incense over the flowers anyways so that this is more a patchouli than a floral. It develops into a base of strong heavy hitting opoponax and musk. It's musky and unisex. The amber note however keeps everything together and makes the fragrance last a long long time. Beautiful, romantic, and womanly. An evening cologne for romantic dinners and special affairs. This fragrance was made when perfumery was still an art form and even the Avon fragrances were as incredible as Chanel. Love this stuff.

Timeless has a spectacular sparkle of aldehydes and bergamot in its opening that puts in the same league as its more "upscale" counterparts, sustaining as a rosy blush and greenish jasmine descends, then its nucleus of cedar and opoponax comes to the fore. Bitter and sweet coalesce, and Timeless feels simultaneously quenching and powdery (patchouli+orris), a stimulating astringency that makes my nose transfixed, marveling at all the layers. While some Avon fragrances seem to have a more rapid timeline of development, Timeless is paced and "cinematic." To be clear, it's really quite impressive. In a cynical modern fragrance landscape where there's a dizzying assortment of niche offerings all claiming to be luxurious and of premium quality, I must say that after smelling many of these they have come nowhere near stealing my heart like the noble Timeless. It feels so much more earnest and authentic, and the knowledge that it was such a hit for Avon attests to that. This ranks up there with Vol de Nuit and Miss Dior in its mystique and beauty. It's the ultimate ambery chypre, unequivocally unisex, and deserves a fountain of praise.

I love how this has been going since the era of Avon Tasha and Topaze......how i wish they would bring them back ! The comfort of that 70s 'Avonny' smell,coming in novelty minatures at christmas time with the bottles moulded to novelty shapes.The Avon lady in our village had her whole front room stuffed with boxes and boxes of Avon stuff,like her own shop ! And great aunts would give me and my sister those novelty minatures for Christmas.Anyway,back to this perfume.it has such an intense aldehydic sherbetiness,the old formulation used to PROJECT ! It got into your food and make folks eyes water on the bus ! So the new dilution is just right for me.i love it.it is a greeny orange perfume and it reminds me of green unripe oranges straight off the tree,saltmarsh grasses,and homemade elderflower cordial with loads and loads of cirtic acid put in it.it gives nostalgia to the wearer too,and is classy and elegant.i sincerely hope Avon never send this to the Tasha and Topaze graveyard.also,it would be wonderful if they brought back the matching skin-softener in an orange jar,and the roll-on deo ! I am wearing it now !

Thank you, naheed and krissycat! I'm so glad you share my views. Yes, we sometimes seem to lack this perspective. We never seem to think we are the old ladies of the future, and never think maybe the old ladies from the past had a more daring approach to perfume than we do now. For example, nowadays not everybody can feel at ease wearing creations from the 1940s like Bandit by Germaine Cellier, or even Daltroff's Tabac Blond, from 1919! And about the role of Avon classics, they were essential to my olfactory education. Maybe I wouldn't be the perfume freak I am now if I hadn't started paying attention to those old romantic scents, and yes, those delightful decanters my mother was so proud to treasure in her perfume wardrobe, those vintage beauties me and my sisters continue to treasure now. Avon helped democratize the culture of perfume, and many of us were able to develop a passion for fragrances we would hardly have had access to otherwise (in spite of the frequent discontinuations and the house's current lack of understanding in many aspects, which are now beside the point).

I wore Timeless in the newer version just the other day and it was fantastic smelling. I have many different versions of it from vintage to new and they all smell pretty much the same. I bring this one out in the fall and winter. It's very autumnal to me. The first time I really remember smelling it and loving it was over 40 years ago in a high school classroom! It was so beautiful. I still keep one of the obelisk shaped bottles from around 2000-ish because that was my favorite version and bottle. My older vintage continuous spray obelisk bottle is nice but a bit more funky smelling. It may have been from a smoking household as it was an Ebay purchase. Not sure. It doesn't smell like cigarettes but just smells MATURE! LOL! If you like chypre frags and you like amber types you really should try to get some Timeless. It's just huggably wonderful. A great fall fragrance. Edit Aug 2021: I am really loving my oldest bottle of Timeless. I actually discovered a little card in the box that was stuck at the bottom. It is dated 1974! This stuff is simply gorgeous.

I just ordered my vintage (1982! pre-dates me!) 0.33oz shimmering "ultra fragrance jewel" from ebay. Based on so many good reviews, I cannot wait to test it out. AND be shimmery! Update: This is a pretty scent, sweet, dry fruity, and a little spicy. The powdery resins and fruit remind me very much of Revlon Ciara, which I see others have also voted as being similar. So similar that you probably don't need both in your collection, but both are very affordable and easy to find in drugstores (Ciara) or online (Timeless.) I can't imagine a teenager WANTING to wear this, as there's so much out there appealing to that age group and their sensibilities, but I think it would be appropriate for any woman of any age. I would call this fragrance "retro" but definitely not "dated." There's nothing challenging or unusual in this fragrance, yet it still has a quality worthy of its name; a bit serious, noticably feminine, well balanced between florals and sweetness, and special enough to wear for the important moments of your life.

I couldn't quite believe it when I looked at an Avon catalogue after what must be around 30 years and they are still making this perfume!!! This fragrance has the ability to cross time as all of my friends that smell it on are stopped in their tracks as they all recognise it but can't quite remember where from! To me this is the smell of Avon catalogues and aunties from the 70s and I love it unashamedly. I'd agree with some of the other reviewers that it's best suited to a more mature woman, and given I turn 40 next year it's now a firm favourite of mine. The initial notes are a little sharp as with a lot of chypre florals, however, they are soon sunk in heavenly warm sweetness that lingers and lingers. For me it's the cedar and amber that make this scent so wonderful and those are the notes I can smell hours and hours after application. This is a little treasure of a fragrance that has battled it's way through more than 3 decades (she's almost as old as me) and is still going strong. An underrated little gem!

Timeless was my first scent. My mother bought the Foaming Bath soon after it was introduced. While she never used it, she encouraged me to. 'The house smells so good after you bathe,' she always said. This set my preference in fragrance for chypres and orientals. When I first spray Timeless, I am entranced by it's powdery nature that stays throughout. The peach is not 'fresh and juicy' but sharp and slightly bitter, like peach schnapps. The florals are subtle and subdued. The drydown is my joy, amber, tonka bean and vanilla. Warm and soothing, like my skin after a warm bath. The drydown is truly a second skin fragrance on me. Lasting power is several hours, though I can always pick up a powdery scent on my clothes on the second day. Timeless is a peach colored satin evening purse with a cracked compact in one corner and a flask of peach schnapps, leaking a tiny bit, in the other. Somewhat messy, slightly overblown, very grown up and possibly dangerous in the wrong hands.

Being a lover of vintage perfumes, and after seeing so many rave reviews for Timeless by Avon not only on this website but 3 others, I had to order a bottle and see for myself. I was curious and am always looking for a new fragrance to add to my collection. I got it for an amazingly inexpensive price so if it does not work out, no big loss. I don't really care for most of the newer Avon fragrances (or even some of the vintage), but did order way back in the 70's when the bath oils, talcum powders, perfumes, and lotions were so much lovlier and you would actually get a quality product (Sweet Honesty being one of my favorites in High School). But I absolutely love the warm woodsy, amber, vanilla, and musk combination in fragrances, so perhaps Timeless could work, especially since many reviews state that its not typical Avon. Don't know yet, but when I receive my bottle in a few days, I'll come back to give my honest review of this fragrance. :o)

I love Avon timeless. Don’t be fooled by the notes —this is not a sweet, warm fragrance. All the notes are at their driest, leading to an almost suede-y impression, though of course more balsamic. On my skin the stars are mushroomy gardenia and patchouli at its starkest rounded out by a deep unctuous opoponax. I also get a hint of oakmoss, though that’s not listed, just barely glazed by aldehydes. Think halfway between Charlie and Emeraude. The result is an earthy brew that perfectly encapsulates is early 70s vintage — when counterculture had fully seeped into middle America— that also feels genuinely “Timeless”. It also smells much more luxurious than its budget price point. This would work equally well on a contemporary man or woman, but definitely requires possession of a natural sensuality. A deeply intriguing scent —as if one were trying to render an old school chypre in floriental materials. The result definitely works!

I have a real love for cheap classy gems like this, I'm so glad Avon still does them and they do smell like the vintage bottle I've got too (although I'm sure side by side the vintage is better etc). I wore this when I was learning to drive at 24, I needed something that made me feel calm, mature and sensible but it also reminded of why I way spending all my money doing that, it was because this reminded me of a glorious autumnal walk outside. It just feels a bit mossy, golden and breazy from the patchouli, amber and aldehydes, with the oppopanax adding a warm cozy wool jumper. Lasting power and sillage isn't bad for the price and beats Vol de Nuit EDT actually for me (although I love it too in its own way). With gems like this, Tabu and L'aimant I'm comforted to know that even if the worst happened and I had to sell my collection and live off very little, I'd always smell classy with these without breaking the bank.

Vous ne m'empecherez pas de penser que ce petit Chef d'Oeuvre est une petite soeur de Miss Dior. Le jasmin est travaillé de la même façon, c'est à dire opulent, rond, ce même gardénia (pour avoir du gardénia soit l'on associe plusieurs fleurs entre elle soit on utilise l’acétate de styrallyle), ce même patchouli, ces mêmes épices. Chez Timeless l'assemblage est plus poudré, plus rond, plus chaud. Chez Miss Dior c'est plus floral, plus solaire avec ses fleurs d'été. En tout cas j'aime les deux car ils ont leur propre personnalité. Miss Dior c'est la jeune fille sage des années 50 bien qu'il fut créé en 1947. Chez Avon c'est la new yorkaise très BCBG, fréquentant les Hamptons, un peu working girl d'avant les années 80 puisque Timeless a été créé en 1974. Quand au prix ! Alors là ! Timeless est vraiment "ravish".. hahahaha. Un grand parfum pour moins de 15 €, il faut aller chercher loin les filles !