Talisman

I don't know where to begin with this one. There are so many things I love about it! The box it comes in is rather elegant. It's matte and textured with dark purple and gold print. It will probably become dirty from me touching it and looking at it. And then there's the BOTTLE. True to its name it really looks like a magical object that will bring good fortune to its keeper. That frosted glass! That purple swirl cap! Swoon! The juice in mine is brown now but I don't mind. It just adds to its appeal for me. Very elegant flacon in my opinion. And finally how does it smell? That's the best part. In the olden days of Japan, royalty were carted around in these enclosed wood carriages with silk pillows inside. Imagine yourself inside sipping the finest rum money can buy...spilling it all over yourself...someone has offered a bouquet of exotic flowers to console you...the carriage is made from the most exquisite carved sandalwood. Hands down the best sandalwood I have ever smelled. Absolutely stunning. Edp version. Edit- ok so Santa Maria Novella's Sandalwood is the best but this is still a stunning sandalwood in a different way.

Gleaming and dazzling like a topaz, Talisman is pretty much the definition of a tropical perfume for me. Upbeat and cheery, but it still maintains that exotic, dusky warmth. It is a very balanced and great perfume in my opinion. Chemistry seems to be a big player here - it really blooms on my skin, whereas it fell apart on my friends. The opening is quite classic and fizzy; aldehydes are supported by the fruity notes. It doesn't smell like the hideous fruity florals that are occupying the store shelves today. They are more of the velvety, fleshy kind. It morphs into a soft, smooth floral bouquet - everything is perfectly balanced. The opening and middle stage don't last quite long on me, luckily enough, since the base notes are Talisman's selling points. The base is pretty much a very dense, but somehow airy combination of notes, which make it stand out from other gourmands/orientals. It pretty much translates to a slight animalic, powdery, skin like warmth on me. Very beautiful and unique. Sillage and longevity are enormous, but it hovers around me nicely. Recommended if you can find it.

I couldn't really put it much better than the reviewer below. I am so lucky I managed to find a full bottle of this stunning scent and yes I did pay extortionate price for it but I do not care. It is amazing and I love it. There are definitely simlarities between this and Rumba, the longevity and sillage are amazing. I find it particularly well suited for colder wintry weather as the boozy honeyed dried fruits come out and warm me up and can easily transport me somewhere tropical and sunny. Shame this is not in production any longer, wish Balenciaga would bring it back. If you can get hold of the scented shower gel from this range, it is almost identical to the perfume.

I always wondered where this perfume went, did I throw it away, or did I give it away? Sometimes I'm more studpid than a livingroom-fly looking for the way out ?? (Well, are they, or aren't they??) (Oh, so very blond we are today/night) (don't tell me you are in the army now..) But, than my best friend tells my by the phone this evening that she got the bottle ... And, I'm so very, very happy, because this is a very beautiful scent, and I have some few drops left in another småller dispenser, I have about 30 more differnt perfume bottles to give away to my best friends and family on my birthday coming up, they dont know anything yet, and I'm so excited!

Wow, I think I'm in love. Despite the numerous notes usually attributed to loud 80's frags, this one is well blended and delicious. For some reason, the caramel comes to the front right away on me with a muted softness of flowers and suede. It reminds me a little of Boucheron but has none of the "head shop" vibe. Unlike some other scents, I don't think I could ever tire of sniffing this one. It's perfect and goes to the top of my "buy a big bottle asap" list. (and since when is 1994 ancient history? "Very old"? Give me a break.) Update: Looks like it has to be layered...EDP only last 2-3 hours.

It's me again... with "the mothership can come and get me" and "I felled into the rabbit-hole"-theme - jup - l'm visiting my mum in Bergen - 6 hours drive - she is 93 - dying her hair and painting her nails - she had a lot of perfumes to give me... and... half a bottle of this holy water; An alcohol free deodorant, 200 ml / 666 fl. oz, and, it smells perfect on my skin, it's weak, but l can most defently smell the dried fruits, and l will use it as a perfume, and of cause l will spend every drop of it! And, thanks a lot to my beautiful mother!

one of the moste beautiful delicious classy and timeless modern fragrances ever... i m really impressed! Talisman is beautiful blendet, such a complex and rich blend of heavenly aromas. it sits on the skin like a layer of honey, spices, aromatic flowers and woods with a gourmand touch in a non sugary way, definitely worth to try and to buy! a real gem with this one you can never get wrong in any situation, sillage great, staying power great!

I am impressed! How did I miss this one, it has a great start and a wonderful dry down that had my nose firmly attached to my wrists all night. I love it when I go to bed, get up in the morning and the scent is still there, not as strong but like a wonderful memory of pleasure. This is just my first impression and I will wear it again today... what will the next 24 hours bring! Thank you for this recom mendation!

What it is about Balenciaga I do not know, but if you have not tried one of their fragrances you are really missing out on the wonderful creations they have to offer. And the great thing about them is, that some are very affordable too. Very very classy, all of them!! I wish they had'nt discontinued some of their masterpieces like Quadrille...

Exquisite! It smells like a great perfume should smell, concentrated, well blended, with a distinct personality and so feminine. This screams high class old school cocotte to me. Too bad it's discontinued. I find it similar to Vivienne Westwood's Boudoir 1998, but classier and less in your face.

The big bottle I had was a 50 ml splash, and I totally forgotten that I did put about 7 ml in a small dispenser, and, a few days ago I found these magic drops, yess, yess, yess :))

This perfume has the most gorgeous set of notes EVER!! It is such a wonderful combination of the most adorable scents in the whole world. GORGEOUS!

Lucky me had a big bottle of this beauty, but, I'm not sure I will buy it again,,, but, it's a very nice perfume =))

This is as good as fruit can get, imho: Dense, syrupy fruit. Like a mousse or marmelade, L'essence de fruit. Sweet and voluptous. With it's chypre heart it gives the smell class, next to it's teenage spirit. It is one of my most optimistic scents. Good mood, laughing, dancing, enjoying being on earth and living to the full. Gives me a smile the whole day long, when I wear it (which is not too often, as I really have to be in the mood to stand it's sweetness and the fruit and gourmand character). It is very close to Rumba, but twisted, even sweeter, more 90s, and totally gourmand. It is very well blended, so don't expect to pick one of those 35 notes of the pyramid on this side. This fruit is nowhere comparable to the watery one-fruit notes, that are often found in perfumes the recent years (e.g. all this newer Dior stuff). Those new fruity florals, or how they are called, I loathe. That stuff hasn't got class, it always goes the safe way, but Talisman is totally different. I guess, that it is for today standards not wearable for teenagers. They crave something different. It is for us middle 30s and above, who appreciate a funky, sweet, very classy fruit treat now and then.

Imagine you ask your friend for fruit, she serves you a dense Christmas fruit cake soaked in booze and then, out of her hyperbolic generosity, adds some fruit compote (canned in heavy syrup) on top, drizzle it with some raw honey, caramel sauce, a dash of vanilla and then sprinkle some coconut on top! She serves it on a sandalwood tray with handles wrapped in leather alongside a vase of every sort of flower she has in her garden! Gosh! How is Talisman this strong and sweet!? If you spray Talisman as you do your modern fruity florals you’ll probably suffer from a diabetic coma😂. This is old school fruity-floral to me, very syrupy and dense. Suitable more for autumn and winter. You only need 1-2 sprays at a time. I don’t get much chypre or aldehyde notes. After the initial olfactory overload, you are embraced by a very beautiful bouquet of powdery florals and later, by the most amazing Sandalwood note and a soft leather accord that doesn’t overpower the scent. It has amazing longevity. The sillage is very strong at first, but reduces to a closer scent bubble but still like an arm’s width. An amazing old school fruity floral that has to be sprayed with respect😉

Oh, now I see. I was wondering while wearing Balenciaga TALISMAN this afternoon and evening why I kept smelling wafts here of leather, there of honey, here again of caramel, there a touch of booziness, here--could it be coconut?... Yes, all of this and more: the list went on and on. TALISMAN is a beautiful light oriental fragrance with abiding slightly sweet vanilla patchouli and a modicum of just about everything else under the sun thrown in to induce these delightful tiny wafts of variety. Rather than having a well-defined development trajectory, TALISMAN, on my skin, seems to operate like a random note generator. Imagine those ping-pong tossing machines that mix the numbered balls using air, only here the notes are popping up instead. Yet the composition really is light and likeable and not at all overwhelming. I actually am a bit disappointed with the longevity, to be honest, but TALISMAN is appealing enough that I could see myself spraying it on over and over again just to be able to catch some more of these nice wafts. I'd like to try this creation at perfume strength, if available...

Its a really friendly not in your face little "vintage". I never had a chance to smell it before even though when it presumably was in the shops i already went and smelled things at least. Couldnt afford to buy much back then but the perfumista was already awakening. So anyhows, this opens quite spicy and fruity, i cant smell much of the middle notes but in the dry down it envelops me completely in this warm cinnamonny and dry sandalwoody sweet bubble. Somehow it reminds me both of a quieter Coco drydown (a little bit more sweet/tangy) and a louder Deci Dela drydown (heavier on the spices and amped up syrupy fruit). Also sour sweet candies come to mind. FBW? Nah, its good I have two miniatures and they will have to do, amps quite a sillage for me even from a ml or 2. Would for sure recommend to try since its a very cute and different little gourmand if you can get your hands on it for not too much money.

Oh, I know this scent... it's somewhere in my childhood memory. Perhaps someone close to me at the time was using this. Despite the slightly mysterious name Talisman, this perfume is very fruity and sweet. It is not the playful, childish fruitiness of modern perfumes. It has a rich sweetness that is made by soaking a lot of fruits in rum with plenty of syrup, caramel, and honey, and aging it for about five years. After a while, a thick bouquet will be added there. A very strong and powerful fragrance. A really small amount is enough. I find this scent to be a retro scent that is not modern as it is tied to memory. But as one of the more assertive and unique scents of an era when sheer wasn't required, I like this one.

On first application, warm, boozy, expensive feeling and potent. A little soapy, a little astringent, and a little incensy. The scent is an unchallenging and classic perfume- pleasant. On dry down the top notes become powdery; to me, quite reminiscent of wearing my mums scented powder makeup from the 90s. This, the sweet intensity of raisins, and a minimal harsh note of cheap mens aftershave. After a while, whafts of pachuili and musk sit close to the skin. The scent is sweet leaning but also sort of sweaty, like BO of someone you fancy. It lasts a good while, and only a small amount is needed before the scent becomes overwhelming.

80-s- and a bit of early 90-s was an era of a dominatrix-women with their unapologetic fruity chypres, high heels and big hair. Talisman is one of them, smoky-sweet-smouldering, alcoholic and dazzling, it offers just about everything and a little bit more. I keep thinking of young Melanie Griffith in Working Girl (1988) in her role of Tess McGill. The Real Deal of a perfume.