Madness

I still have a diary from when I was 14 (2002) in which I wrote a wish list that contained a bottle of Chopard Madness. Last year I finally got it in a giveaway on here. I remember I linked it to Mugler‘s Angel back then, but maybe just because I was 14 and hadn‘t smelled that many perfumes yet, I don‘t really see a resemblance nowadays. So, this is a rose fragrance that is dark, sweet and spicy. I don‘t get quite as much pink pepper as the voted notes suggest, but it‘s definitely there. This note can often turn a little too dry on me, especially with woody notes next to it, but in Madness, the thick jammy rose and lychee save it from that. The bottle color really is a perfect match for the scent. Fragrantica lists cotton flower as a note, most other sides list cotton candy and I think when it was new it was marketed as cotton candy, too. Because it‘s long discontinued official sources from Chopard are hard to find though. Anyways, I don‘t really get either note! But there is definitely a deep sweetness in this, and also a sultry warm powdery floralcy like in some 90s perfumes. Madness is strong and very long-lasting, more of a nighttime kind of fragrance. But carefully applied I think it‘s also wonderfully warming on cold days. I don‘t know why this is so polarizing, to me it‘s not more intense or unusual than Wish or Casmir.

madly in love with madness! madness isn t a scent for everyone. you have to be selfconfident and very feminine and sexual. a true get-attention scent but in a good way. men love it! reminds me to ultrared from paco rabanne because of the marshmellow note anf the redish sweet-hot vibe - let's call it madness' very little sister ;) madness is of course thicker, complexer, louder and edgier, rather suitable for nights out than for daywear. sometimes i wear it as well for a shopping-afternoon when i feel in the mood to style me up right :) it let's you feel vampy and it underlines the sexiness of a selfconfident woman dressed elegant and stylish, red lips, red heels, little black dress and black opaque tights. perfect >!< now i m suprised to learn the nose behind is christine nagel... she's usually composing of course beautiful, but shy and soft scents as i know! madness is a true gem in the perfumeworld, a unfortunately discontinued one. luckily you need to applie just a bit and a bottle goes along far. nb. madness has also this poison-vibe in the bottom-note because of the complexity of the blend and the precious rose/rosewood-combo which you can find in all poison perfumes from dior (less pure poison). with closed eyes just smelling you could easely think of a new version of the poison range from dior.

This perfume is very sentimental to me - I've worn it almost exclusively during a small 3-day trip to Milan and Lake Como. Rose is one of my favorite notes, and it can have many facets. I find it incredibly versatile because it can be fresh, light, dark, velvety, even masculine; it all depends on how you pair it with. The rose in Madness is very vivid and noticeable. In this case, it is enhanced with a very spicy kick, that hits your nostrills right away and stays in your until the very last notes. You can defeinitely sense the litchi in the first seconds. The base is woody and suave. It lasts during the whole day, even though it has a discreet presence once the spicy notes start to vanish. I find it a marvellous perfume. It feels comforting, but bold. It is different than what is on the market today. Its apparent lack of sweetness feels refreshing and I love its masculine character. I can compare it to Femme Individuelle by Mont Blanc, Aura by Swarovsky or even Miracle by Lancôme. They are all spicy pink florals - a sub-category I seem to enjoy. The biggest difference is that Madness is fuller, darker and woodier - and that is precisely why it is my favorite of the group.

I am continually maddened by this perfume. (I suppose it's been named well!) I blind-bought it because I love pink pepper. At least, I *thought* I loved pink pepper. But Madness uses its pink pepper as a weapon of assault. At the first spray, I was thrown off completely. This perfume was listed as woody and rose-y. I smelled no such thing. Instead, I was immersed in an earthy, biting bubble. There was pepper, yes, but none of the sprightliness I associate with pink pepper. There was overripe kumquat. There was a nutty quality, like expensive walnuts. And, as it developed, I smelled this smoky, balsamic presence, which gave the composition a sense of seduction. This is the perfume of a woman who isn't afraid of boldness or ugliness. This woman embraces the asymmetry of life. "Madness" is the scent of a Baroness, one who has lost her fortune and reputation and gained worldly perspective. It was powerful and unyielding, but also a bit sorrowful. I'd never smelled a sorrowful perfume before. Madness is not a perfume I *like*, per se. But I find myself obsessed with it. I need to figure it out.

I bought it without testing.. In perfume shop, where young perfume sales man, who knows me very well, said that is not for me. And I asked him: "Why?" -You are too young for it (kind of him:). I took a risk and now I am very happy about that. I understood, that salesman judged perfume only from its top notes, which really a bit reminded me of smell of wardrobe in old houses, but only some half of an hour.. After that it is nothing old, but warm and nice, not too sweet, not aggressive.. I feel it like nice aura around my skin.. Staying power also very good - few sprays survived from morning till dust.. Packing and bottle are quite tricky. You can open box from several different sides and it makes your life more complicated if won't find right one -it took me few times to discover, that:)) And bottle itself has sprayer which you have to turn before you spray - so I managed first spray to do into my eyes:) I saw in the shop sprayer broken at all, that only proves - I am not alone to have problems with it;) All I could think after all this experience is, that this stuff is not for a mads:)