Knot Eau Absolue

Knot What I Expected (haha had to do it:) Ms. Andrier decided to flanker the original Knot with an oriental floral. I guess I was just expecting a boosted version of the original, with maybe a smidgen of resin instead of the musk, what with the "Absolue" monkier, but that's not the case. Actually this perfume is downright weirdly retro in a great way. I'll tell ya right now, KA has shades of Shalimar and Revlon's Ciara, of all things. For an hour or so there is a distinct note of motor oil, and the perfume is primarily a opopanox, incense stick, and handmade candle and soap scent. The orange blossom is still there, it surrounds the motor oil, resins, and incense...after it dries down the heliotrope and jasmine join the orange blossom and it's quite a sweet, heady bouquet. Really though this is mostly an opopanox perfume, thick and sweet and almost dirty opopanox, that reminds me greatly of Ciara. I only imagine that Ms. Andrier was wearing vintage Shalimar perfume one day and she went shopping at a hippie store to buy incense sticks and resins to burn at home. Her cloud of Shalimar mixes with the scented air, and BOOM inspired she goes to work and whips up Knot Absolue. I don't think this has anything in common with the original and could have been its own stand alone scent. I love this--it took a few tries but I ended up falling for this--but it's definitely a weird perfume that I'm not sure would appeal to most. Oh, and a user note: This is very strong and lasts forever. I only need at most 2 sprays at a time, this will last 8+ hours...any more than that is overwhelming.

Ive been searching for the "perfect scent" for eons, and unexpectedly, this might very well be it. Ive always been drawn to incense and Ive collected a few incense heavy scents (most recently Rien Intense Incense by Etat Libre d'Orange) but always wished I could tweek the notes a bit to my liking. Being a fan of the original Knot, I sampled this and was instantly intrigued. It's very different from the the original and I feel this should be the signature and the original should have been the flanker (L'eau Knot maybe). Knot Absolue reminds me of how a head shop on a rainy day in Seattle would smell. Full of Nag Champa sticks, Tarot cards and lavender soaps. This is so mysterious yet inviting, clean but complex. Maybe its the opoponax, but this isn't really flowery, woody or sweet, its more like a glowing resin with a hint of soapiness. I always felt the original was more masculine than feminine, and Absolue is even more so to my nose and chemistry (both get me tons of compliments). However, everyone should give them a try, they are absolutely beautiful creations, but Absolue is in my top 5 scents ever created. I am completely smitten.

This is absolutely gorgeous and such a shame it was discontinued. The base reminds me of Delhi (can't remember the brand sorry) but the top, and heart are different. Instead of tropical champaca this has the freshness of neroli and lavender mingling with jasmine. Makes it a fresher and more unisex style without the very tropical and feminine champaca. This is a myrrh bomb in the dry down. Ancient, churches, mushroomy, overgrown mossy, gravesites. The sweet almost deathly smells of places of worship or Holy sites. The smell of life mingling with death. A cleanly animalic aroma. A fragrance filled with reverence, contemplation. For those that feel a bit tied up in knots if you will. For a person searching for answers in a world so full of information but little truth. If you are seeking something very vintage but something dark and a bit melancholy. Something with some soul give it a try. I find it quite darkly captivating.

My first fragrance from Bottega Veneta and my favourite neroli fragrance in my collection. Smells so expensive and refined. Done different than other neroli on market these days. Old money luxury that doesn’t scream. Knot Eau Absolue is a wonderful, thick and luxurious floral: neroli, jasmine, heliotrope and lavender layered on a sweet, warm, resinous base consisting of opoponax and myrhh. The contrasting composition makes this underrated gem very versatile. I think that the base notes makes Knot Absolue great for fall but not too thick for summer. The florals from top and middle notes gives it freshness and make it perfect for spring and summer wear. A floral amber scent that can be worn all year round! The performance is great. Lingers for hours and hours on skin with a strong sillage. Hope this beauty never gets discontinued!

This smells like vintage (1980s not 1920s) Emeraude. My mom wore it as her going out perfume, just a spritz or two, and I remember the entire house smelling like it as she and my dad went out the door, leaving me with the babysitter. Emeraude was an absolute balsamic powerhouse in those days and I loved it beyond reason. It’s basically a skeleton of itself now, and I’ve mourning it since, God, 1993? So when I blind-bought Knot Eau Absolue based on my love of the airy, pretty Knot and got...1980s Emeraude?!?!? I was both surprised and delighted. The Knot DNA is there, but everyone saying this smelled like their grandma in the 80s? Yes and yes. 😂 I would say it’s not a safe blind buy unless, you know, you’re trying to create your 1980s perfume memories. I love, love, love this and am so excited it got made.

Got this because I LOVE the OG Knot, but more out of curiosity than anything because resinous incense fragrances don't tend to work for me - I want to like them but they usually just don't sit right on my skin. But Knot Absolue is unexpectedly gorgeous. The florals offset any harshness from the incense and it's beautifully deep and smooth. It's reminding me of something vintage and I couldn't figure out what until I saw the review below referencing Emeraude - that's probably it. This doesn't necessarily smell exactly like things like Emeraude and Shalimar, but it's that kind of scent and if you enjoy those, you'll love this. Go figure that this would be my ideal incense fragrance - OG Knot is my ideal neroli. I guess now I have to try the Florale version...

SAUDADE is a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one cares for and/or loves. This is what this fragrance means for me because of my lola (grandmother) who smells of neroli and lavender. Everyone has mentioned about the beauty of this fragrance, unpretentious yet distinct. Special but also familiar. Well blended floral notes with resin and incense. For me this smells of my lola's embrace and I am lucky to have found a fragrance that brings back memories of someone I loved and inspired me deeply. She was a quiet woman who was not afraid to love and who had character. Personally, this fragrance is extremely special. Love in a bottle.

Perfection! This is the Scent I‘ve been looking for: calm, full of character, multidimensional, warm and chill at the same time, mysterious and sensual, yin&yang... Complete. It starts with a burst of fresh white flowers, heliotrope and lavender embraced by myrrh and opoponax vapours with a nice touch of leather (yes, it had to be there, it‘s a Bottega). Then lavender takes over really strong almost as a soliflore for about an hour. Heliotrope appears again shily in a tender dance with neroli for another hour or so. In drydown jasmine with myrrh and maybe a hint of sweet amber play the main role for 2-3 hours. Lavender is still noticeable but faint. Transcendental beauty... to colder seasons

I own 200+ fragrances. If I was ever forced to choose and use only 5 of them for the rest of my life, this would be one of the first picks. It's rich, but not stuffy, powerful and long-lasting, but never unpleasant, pretentious or over-the-top. It's masterfully done, top to base, using great quality ingredients, every single one singing beautifully and in perfect harmony with the others. Everything, the scent, the bottle, the cap and the box, is an object lesson on what a luxury item should be like, be it main-stream or niche. A masterpiece and imho the best oriental take on neroli one can get their hands on nowadays. Get it! Something tells me it's just too good to stay with us for long.

According to a reviewer below (@Bee-young-ka), Knot Eau Absolue is "mothballs" in the best way possible and I completely agree. This is one of the most unique perfumes I've come across in a while and I have to steel myself to not get backups. Knot Absolue cannot really be compared to any other perfume that I've come across. It is signature worthy and so very elegant but aloof. Knot is a little bit of a "snob" actually. She smells expensive and is not really interested in you. Wearable in all seasons and conditions. Not resinuous but balsamic and spicy. Dry, in the way that Cartier Baiser du Dragon does that "dry" accord. Just gorgeous. Not sweet and could fit in any time period really.

So, I bought a sample of this online, only I thought I was getting Knot. When I smelled this I was like, "What?" because it was so distinctly an incense smell, and the notes for Knot were all wrong. So... then I realized there in the fine print it said "Eau Absolute" and everything made sense. I loved this. It reminded me of shopping in Toronto's "Little India," where the smell of myrrh and spices is everywhere. Very pleasant associations. To me the dominant scent in this is the incense-like myrrh, but beautifully blended in with the other notes to create a warm, musky, and slightly feminine fragrance. Probably not good for a blind buy though. You'd be safer to sample first.

I suspected I would love this. Oppopanax and I have a bit of a love/hate thing going on. I can just find it cloying if not handled well. This oppopanax has been lifted and brightened by the neroli. A little magical smokiness from the myrrh. It's warm and enveloping like a velvet clock. A teeny nudge from the lavender and a lovely little bit of sweetness from heliotrope. There is something about it that makes me think of Christmas. A holy oil to anoint the baby Jesus with. Perfect for cold weather wear. It's a fragrance and yet it's not. It's more like a magical invisible cloak of warm golden light around you. I get good longevity and at the most average sillage.

Super elegant and sophisticated! My husband said wow what is that, this is the first time he has mentioned that I smell good in a while. This is an interesting fragrance and very unisex to boot. I really get the heliotrope and myrrh in this, not getting any neroli on me at all. Longevity is beast mode and sillage yes it’s there if my husband mentioned it! Drydown is beautiful and soft not as sharp as the opening and when I say sharp not in a bad way. I’m glad I purchased this. You don’t need the OG and this one. One of them will do. Not sure how this will work for summer but it sure is beautiful for spring! Recommended 8/10

This is one of my favorite scents of all time and I have been wearing perfume for well over 50 years. Bottega Veneta is a vastly underrated house, I have also had their Knot OG, this is their flanker Knot Absolue, that deserves to be in a class by itself. It is a lush, full blown scent full of the resinous mystery of myrrh, balanced by floral hues of neroli and lavender, effused with balsamic and incense notes. Warm, spicy, opulent and luxurious, it has moderate sillage and longevity. Bottega Veneta Knot Absolue is a fragrance that I will always wear, it is elegance bottled in a work of art.

A heavily perfumed resinous old fashioned soap bar- I love it! This will be nostalgic for those with older loved ones I agree. It reminds me of a well put together, wise, patient, loving human being who was young in the 40’s. Unpretentious but deep. It also reminds me of a Sophisticated elegant modern women. This smells of clean just out the shower but amber/ resin sprinkled all over. The bottle is 10/10 - my second favourite bottle ever after the private lancome line. It looks like a extremely expensive work of art and the cap is solid

I totally agree with Tillywave in terms of similarity to the original, this one’s longevity and also a nod to Shalimar! To me, the original is buttery tuberose, whereas this is a mildly oriental warm and spicy beauty...my husband wanted to know if I was wearing an Oud tonight, as this does verge into that territory without going full blast Arabian. This is a mature and elegant composition with a resinous depth, I have to admit I really love it to the point that I may need to buy a back up! Blind buy for me and it’s a 9.5 out of 10!

Blind buy based on reviews on YT. I loved this fragrance so much at first whiff I immediately got a back up bottle. Many of the other reviewers have already said what I get from this fragrance--a sensual, rich amber in the same family as Prada Amber but with a slight mothball like quality that I find quite familiar and comforting. Classy, sophisticated and cozy that is probably best for the fall winter but I love it so much I will wear it in spring and summer too.

I could swear is a cinnamon note in there but as I see isn't.Well crafted perfume,really different,lovely for winter time,is in my want list from this minute! (a swap pal heared my wish and we arranged to have this beauty on my hands now.Thank you,N.so much!) I insist about cinammon and to me,according to the performance on my skin,turns more on the resinous side than floral. If you search for that aspect,give it a try,is a special pefume in any case.

Lucky blind buy. I adore this fragrance. The resinous, balsamic and incense notes envelop you in a warm, cosy yet mysterious, serious and sophisticated aura. A 'mature', classy, nostalgic and sensual fragrance, better suited to cold weather and remains for ages on clothes...so, maybe, spray sparingly! It has instantly become one of my top 3 favourites in my collection.

At first sniff I thought this was a little bit too mature for me (and I tend to wear pretty hefty scents for a 29-year old). At second sniff, I was sold. This is so luxuriously, velvety smooth. The myrhh is delightfully gentle and makes this such a comforting fragrance. I'm very happy to have this in my collection and I can see this becoming a colder weather fave!

this opens with neroli, opoponax and a hint of lavender. dry, smoky, floral. church incense, kind of dark and musty, so a bit gothic. in a nutshell it's a dusky incensy neroli. gorgeous! ps. the reviews about the imagined 'old money/old lady' who wears this made me chuckle.

Love at first spray! Deep, resinous, opulent, elegant, original, with great longevity and projection. I'm really happy to add it to my collection. BV is an extremely underrated house, but that might be for the best, I'm sure not many people around me will have this gem. 😍

Stunning! Classy, warm and balsamic but with a slightly fresh touch brought by the neroli and lavender. For me truly a hidden gem. Every time I wear this it makes me happy, and other people too, based on all the compliments I get, from both men and women.

fell in love with this instantly! less sweet than Alien Absolue but the same Feeling about it. I can smell honey in it, too. vanilla, amber, opponax, levandel nicely taking out the sweetness...perfection!

This perfume makes me think of standing in front of my grandmother's dressing table in the eighties. It smells warm, cosey, luxurious and sensual. I love it and hope it's not being discontinued.

So glad I scoop it! Such a cozy, deep, but somehow elegant. I feel it could be too balsamic and kind of resinous for not frag enthusiasts, but I wish for another bottle.

This is my go-to scent for special occasions! It's warm, floral, and just a touch spicy. I get so many compliments whenever I wear it.

I ordered a sample of OG Knot, but they sent me this instead. I was bummed at first, but now I am happy about this lucky mistake because this is divine. This is incredibly deep and dense scent. Very thick, gooey fragrance. The myrrh here is drop dead gorgeous. Just a hint of white flowers. Long lasting but not exactly loud. Definitely mature. Unconcerned with modern trends. I love this.

I like his one way more than the original Knot. Very oriental and smoky. It reminds me the smell of Arabian/Hindi/esoteric stores... OK that does not sound very sophisticated, but it brings to my mind nice memories.

Aromatic, balsamic, well blended, very nice scent. Lavender, myrhh and opoponax dominate this composition and make it very elegant. Oriental scents aren't usually in my style, but I really like this one.

purchased two bottle at TK Max, half the price. Smokey, sexy, I love heavy scents and this is perfect. I smell divine at 2am in bed , online shopping.

This is a more refined, less citrus, and powdery version of YSL Libre EDP. Very elegant and mature.

Very much a mature ladies' scent. And I do mean VERY mature. This is the kind of scent a very wealthy matron wears to church to match her very expensive and very well-tailored sunday best. In her social circle, she is the grandest of grand dames. In her household, she is doyenne. Immediately after spraying you get a big dose of white flowers from that one-two punch of neroli and jasmine. Very church-y white flowers at that. Based on the perfume pyramid, the notes are relatively simple and sparse but in execution it smells like there is entire bouquet of them - as if Daniela Andrier packed this frag with every white flower known to man then simply forgot to include most of them in the press release. Drying down. Still lots of church flowers. After 20 mins, the white florals are still present but have softened. Apparently, once the white flowers have blossomed that is it for the fragrance. Development is linear or feels linear. There are probably other things going on in the background but the white flowers are so powerful you never notice. It stayed on my skin for around 4-5 hrs. Initial projection is STRONG. It becomes a skin scent after an hour and gradually fades smelling how it started. I find the regular Knot to be longer lasting with a lifespan of 6-7 hrs. PS. I'm starting to think 'Absolu/Absolue' is frag industry marketing speak for 'pensioner's perfume/for retirees only'.

In the dead of summer, opening is pure mothballs but not in a good way for me. Very reminiscent of my Grandma's wardrobe with old coats. I will sure give it a chance in colder weather but I have my doubts. It's not revolting, I don't have the urge to wash it off, it's just too weird to wear. Gaphor with lavender and furniture polish. Ointment for bad knees or furniture, sure. A perfume? I don't get it. I wish I would smell what other reviewers are smelling. Maybe it will grow on me and if not, in a year when it wont be possible to find anywhere I'll make someone in my country very happy. Test before buying if possible.

Weak Mothballs So this was another blind buy of mine. When will I ever learn? From the below reviews I was so certain I would love this. Like, I had imagined it would enter my top 5-10 of all time. WRONG! I honestly don't know what the others are smelling because this has very little neroli on me and the spices/woods are also super minimal. Knot Eau Absolue turned out to be a very soft, almost nothing, kind of scent. I guess there might have been a mothball quality but even that was so subtle and muted. I sprayed myself at least 2-3 times to start. Then I sprayed more. Then an hour later I sprayed even more. I just barely could smell anything. I tried for several days in a row in different sorts of weather. And I definitely wasn't catching much in the way of a neroli/petit grain type of scent. I do smell the neroli in all the other "Knots," but not in this one. It was a major fail on me. The bottle is the most beautiful thing about it. I had Guerlain Neroli Outrenoir in mind (which is STUNNING) and maybe a little L'Artisan Seville a L'Aube (which is another STUNNER), and Bottega Knot Eau Absolue is literally nothing like these. This turned out to be a muted little slightly woody mothball of nothingness. Sad.

One of my all-time favourite notes in perfumery and in real life is orange blossom. Almost every mainstream release that features this stunning floral accord will more than likely be on my 'test list' or already in my collection. I had always wanted to fall in love with the original Knot by Bottega Veneta, but I found it a little watery and nondescript on my skin. Thankfully Knot Eau Absolue is more rounded and is everything I wanted the original to be. Bottega Veneta Knot Eau Absolue was a difficult fragrance to find. Apparently it is a duty-free exclusive, and sure enough, I found it in a duty-free store in the city. I look forward to re-testing Knot Eau Absolue in the cooler months. Smelling it now during the midst of a Summer heatwave doesn't quite do this fragrance justice. Knot Eau Absolue has a niche quality as opposed to designer. It explores the white floral meets oriental territory which is more common amongst niche brands. Admittedly, adding notes of myrrh, opoponax and lavender is a bit of a risk, but I think they work extremely well in this flanker. This flanker is quite sweet, so be prepared for a rich, oozy orange blossom and opoponax scent. It astounds me actually that this is a limited release, as I strongly believe that a wider release would have seen this fragrance become more popular. That's the funny thing with Bottega Veneta fragrances, I tend to enjoy the flankers far better than the originals.

This takes me back to a tarot cards store I used to go to a long time ago, scents of candles, dark rooms..definitely an air of mystery to it..and I am not sure I am liking the smell so far...now, it is rather warm here, and I think this would work better in colder weather...I expected less smoky, and more rounded maybe...this is like a first impression, so I will give it time...the myrrh definitely dominates, and the lavender gives it a certain freshness...still, I can't get the metaphysical vibes out of the smell...challenging for my nose to say the least...not too eager to ask my husband what he thinks of it, as I don't think he will like it...it lacks something for me, femininity maybe..this is too much a indie scent so far for me..I much prefer the original, which was more classy, more floral..I don't detect the neroli, or the jasmine, which would have softened the church encens vibe for me..not sure with that one ..the lavender gets soapy in the base, which is very different from the top notes..like it is warm in the top notes, and aromatic fresh in the base...definitely not a boring and crowd pleasing scent...it smells more to me like an aromatic candle than a perfume in a way...I love balsamic, but this is a high dose of balsamic...different is the word here.

I adore my bottles of Bottega Veneta and BV Velours. When I blind-ordered Knot Eau Absolue I was expecting more of the Bottega Veneta leather DNA. Instead, I got a floral-forward (lots of Neroli!) candied resin that is downright serene...except in its overall impact. I adore my resins deep and syrupy...as if they are dripping straight from the tree. Knot Eau Absolue goes in the other direction, offering a honeyed and sensuous take on resin. Knot EA taught me that when executed well, a gentle facade can still demand attention. And Knot Eau Absolue does it well. Longevity- ten hours and counting. For women.

Knot Absolue 🌟 Deep- eloquent and cozy The myrrh sets this one way apart from the original Knot. It is a very rich and luxurious scent. The neroli and lavender are perfectly blended together with the myrrh. As others have said, it smells very familiar. Classy and very comfortable. Unique and definitely unisex. Last forever. For me, I would not classify this as an amber scent. But a very high quality myrrh with a bit of smokiness to it. The bottle is stunning just like the juice inside. Great for cooler weather. Sophisticated and sexy. 😍🔥

What a quick but exciting ride! Quickly moves from neroli and heliotrope to jasmine and lavender, then immediately drops you down to just heavy myrrh and opoponax. The base notes lift and the entire composition comes together. Taking the scent back up to the top notes. The final scene is the jasmine and lavender softening the myrrh and opoponax. Beautiful myrrh fragrance! Side note: this myrrh is not smokey, burning incense, it is dark resin, super musky and animalic.

I found a big bottle of this for a steal in TKMaxx. All I can say is that this is glorious honeyed lavender with a sprinkling of jasmine and orange blossoms. Almost walked away from it because I have too much perfume. However so glad I didn't since it has gone straight in at number one on my perfume hit parade. Will be lugging this around in my bag for touch ups its that good.

I have to mention the presentation because this is the most elegant, sleek perfume bottle I own. It screams luxury without being in your face. The rich amber color of the liquid...*chef’s kiss.* Very aesthetically pleasing on my tray. That being said, this smells like luxe moth balls! It smells really good, but it smells like moth balls. Good longevity.

When I wrote about one of my true love perfumes, Hot Conture by Givenchy it was an awkward start: how do you say ashtray in the best possible way? well Knot Ab is Mothballs in the best possible way. Lavender and old cupboard, incense and neroli. I love it. Bottle 10/10 Scent 8.5/10 great, fantastic. but not for everyone.

This is gorgeous! Very, very similar to Contessa and 1888. That same powdery resinous root beer thing going on. I’d say it’s almost redundant to own all three of those. So if you’re wanting to try this but can’t find it I’d definitely go for one of those. Also this unfortunately doesnt last long at all.

Ooooooooooooooooooo......majestic myrrh. If you are a myrrh fan, highly recommended. The lavender is faint and soft. It's a beautiful myrrh incense perfume....I'm in love...🥰

This is more soapy than warm and ambery. I am disappointed. Definitely for lovers of fresh perfumes with a spicy kick.

Absolutely gorgeous amber fragrance that is unisex.

Opened on m skin like a daughter of Red Moscow!

I want this. Correction: I need this.