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:)

The category gave me creeps at first but I decided to swap my Grain de Folie to madness and I don't regret it. (big thanks to a reliable member - ramonacpc :-) That perfume is best for cool, frosty winter mornings, it freshens up and keeps you awake, in a positive way :-) I cannot smell pink pepper, it is not as dominant as in ''Lola''. I know what I am about to say now is awkward but please, Ladies bear in mind that sense of smell is different to everyone and we all have different asosciations with perfumes. Madness notes remind me of freshly sharpened kajals (lovely wood notes) which have been put into the rosewood box along with a handful of fresh rose petals. And whoever put these into the box, had their hands mucky from munching cotton candy :-) The fragrance may be of particular interest to rose & rosewood lovers. I have not worn it on warm days but winter days work with that fragrance well :-) I could see some heads turning when I came into my office this morning:-)

I was rummaging through my box of vintage/discontinued frags and I stumbled on Madness. I had completely forgotten I had it. I tried it on my hand ... and I fell madly in love with it. It's hard to describe, but I'll give it a try. On me, this is sweet, but very far from the Yankee Candle, bakery, candy-floss type. It's a grown-up, creamy, delicious, rosey sweet. I think it's the pepper that tames the sweetness. And it's a good pepper, not a sneeze-inducing one. I don't get the burnt tyre that some people complain about. Nothing plastic, or anything like that. Yes, it's strong and I love it for that. And the sillage is excellent. A spritz or two is all you need. More and you'll overdo it and ruin the effect. If those around me get offended by this, well, they'll just have to move over to their olfactive safe space. This beautiful scent is worth being left on my own. Let me just add that on me, this is a gourmet sweet, not gourmand. Lucky me!

Well damn! This is one of my very favourites and it looks to have been reforumulated :( The last bottle I had lasted some time, and I see now by this visit to Fragrantica that it no longer contains the candy floss note (which made it smell good enough to eat), nor the Brazilian rosewood. I also don't see the red berries, either. The top notes used to be red berries, pink peppercorn and lichee. The kumquat note was never there before, either. It's a fragrance not made to wear to dinner. Not for everyone but the symphonic drydown is just exquisite. The middle notes that come out are just so delicious. I happen to like the initial blast of pink pepper and lychee. I have just ordered a new bottle from eBay ... we'll see if it's relatively the same. I hope so, I am in love with this perfume. A perfect casual scent for cold autumn days and also for dress-up. Why must they mess with everything?

The duality of this fragrance is amazing-sweet and hot-aggressive and sublime- this creation produces pleasureable condradictions and harmonious discords. The stinging, and at the same time, bright pepper- ignites the scent, and cotinues- the initial zing doesn't fade-it stays- and toys with the stable velvety middle notes and base for hours. The middle notes and base are a delicious and smooth combination, incessantly accentuated by the constant dance of the fruits and pepper. The middle notes and base can be appreciated separately, too, even with all the commotion. The Brazillian Rose Wood (Pao Rosa Wood as listed above) and nubuck are almost undecteble individually, and the cotton candy is strong, however not an isolated single scent-it is constantly mingling with the other personalities. This is an intense, untraditional, incongruent, and yet homogeneous scent!

EDIT: This perfume is my favorite. It reminds me of wooden pencil shavings. This perfume actually has a very woodsy vibe (which I failed to mention before) and I love that. I'm going to have to buy a bigger bottle now. I love Madness. The first spritz is pure pink pepper followed by a piercing sharp rose. Intense, or "really bad bengay" as somebody told me after I just put some on. Madness settles down (eventually) soft, sweet, and musky, but it is the pepper I smell on me the longest. I love pepper in perfume. I feel like I could use this perfume to spice up any other perfume in my wardrobe when it comes to layering scents. Strong at first, the scent settles and then come the compliments. If this appeals to you, I wouldn't worry to much about blind buying. I got this for a pretty good price on Amazon.

I blind bought Madness Chopard because of notes listed and good reviews. Well, it's not what I expected to be... I find this perfume to be very sharp and bold, more on a masculine side. I don't detect any roses notes, even less litchi or coton candy. Not sure if I will wear this perfume, so if anybody wants to SWAP pm me. UPDATE: Hmmm... I don't really like this perfume, buy I feel like I need this sharp, agressive scent in my collection. What a weard perfume!.. UPDATE #2: This perfume is growing on me. I like it more and more. But it's not an every day perfume for sure. It has its own personality and I have to be in a right mood to wear it. And once Madness is on me it makes me feel stronger, more secure and more confident!

I wasn't as impressed with this fragrance as I thought I would be. Based on reviews, I was really hoping for bold notes, but on my skin it was incredibly soft, right from the start. In terms of intensity, it was like the ghost of an atomic fireball. I did get to experience the pepper litchi top notes, but it almost immediately became a delicate, slightly sweet, rose-cinnamon scent. It would probably be a good work fragrance for me, but I look forward to trying it in warmer weather to see if there is a favorable difference. UPDATE: Warm weather improved this scent dramatically on my skin. The cinnamon note is more pronounced, and the base is sweet, woody, and powdery.

I really love this one!What a unique fragrance! To me it's woody bordering on gourmand.It's not as sweet as you would think looking at the notes, more woody-spicy, with a hint of sweetness. After about 10 minutes, it's just gorgeous, gorgeous! Especially I love the rosewood note. Literally makes me dizzy with its headiness.....but in a good way. Interstingly, too much spice has almost a minty fresh effect of your nose....never experienced anything like that before. Yes, it has very powerful sillage (I have EDP), so you do have to really like it to be able to wear it. Chopard perfumes definitely offer fantastic value for the price...very consistent with their quality.

As others have said, you will either love or hate this one,as it is loud and sexy. Sweet, woody, and there's a rose in there too. This is not a wedding day fragrance, wear it to an art gallery.It will make an impression of your individuality. Beware, the different notes conspire against you and hit you simultaneously from all angles. It is very different from anything else you have tried, or is it a little like Mania? Do not blind buy, even though it is cheap. Even though it has been around for quite a while, I stumbled upon it only a couple of weeks ago. I love the bottle, too! I'll give it 9/10 but I would never wear it to work, nor in the summer.

I love chillies and spicy food so having a perfume that assults you with it's scent is strangely appealing to me. The opening is like fireworks exploding with sparkling kumquat and peppery rose over sweet musky woods. I liked it when it came out but as a poor uni student, I wasn't brave enough to buy it. The opening scared me a little and I worried I wouldn't wear it enough. I've just added it to my collection and the opening isn't the same nose numbing, screacher it used to be. Maybe I've become less sensitive or the juice has mellowed with age. Either way I'm so happy to have this scent in my life again.

I have done an about-face with my opinion of this scent (since the last time I tested it over a year ago) so now I know my chemistry (or nose) must have changed! I have gone from Dislike to Like to Love! It's all about finding the right weather to wear it in, which for me, is warm weather. Madness used to fall flat on my skin...dusty, pale, and unimpressive. But now, I clearly get a pink pepper-litchi opening, with a powdery woody rose heart, and a soft woody atomic fireball base! I especially love the heart phase where the sillage was at its maximum, and the fragrance feels woody, powdery and fresh!

The olfactive group classification ALMOST scared me off trying this; floral woody musks and I don't usually get along. However, I think the classification is inaccurate :-) This is more of a spicy oriental floral, or maybe oriental woody. On my skin, this goes from pink pepper to rosewood in 60 seconds--I don't smell the lychee or floral notes at all. And that's a good thing. This is another one of those scents where it wasn't love at first sniff for me, but now... I'm wearing it to bed on these cold December nights and loving what's left of the scent on the sheets in the morning!

On me it is such a beauty a peppery rose with a floral (hibiscus) and woody (rosewood) background that give Madness a sexy, classy vibe. Well balanced and out of ordinary this must be tested before buying, because you need to be a sexy, self confident woman to wear this. Although it is sweet, it is the sweetness of the rose and hibiscus not common sugaryness or vanilla sugary-ness. Very potent, lasts for 8 to 9 hours with heavy to moderate sillage for 3 to 4 hours. Not adequate to people whose only love are very sugar-y and cloying perfumes and who have no time for flowers.

What an inspired combination of perfume notes. I love it. I love the rose scent but it is so easy to create a middle of the road perfume with it. This is sophisticated and classy. Definitely for the independent and go getting type of woman. Its for a confident woman. The sillage is average on me but it lasts for hours and hours. The pepper is stimulating and I think it heightens the other notes in the perfume. Its a bit like lightly sprinkling modena vinegar on fresh strawberries to intensify their taste. Its powerful and 'm amazed it doesnt trigger a migraine for me.

Was not love at first sniff, but i gave it a shot anyway, and now its love :) For me, this is a frag you'd def want to spray on 10mins before leaving the house. (i do have the EDP) Starts off very sharp and with a complete 'madness' of cringe worthy scents. But surprisingly has warmed down to something very winterly and alluring. I can definitely smell a hint of rose and like others say something spicy like cinnamon. I'm def thinking this could be pulled off on men and will be trying it on my boy later, its very strong and masculine. Perfect for winter!!!

Multi-layered, almost boozy, very warm & sexy - a red bottle suits it very, very well. There's a LOT going on here considering the few notes listed. Rosewood & cotton candy do make for an unusual base! There's something of a caramel note in the drydown that makes it quite different from other ambery scents. Lovely to spray on before bed, it reminds me more of fragrances from the 1940's than anything developed more recently. Christine Nagel is also the nose for Fendi's Theorema. Madness has become a "must have" for me, so it will likely be discontinued...

Madness is love or hate. I love it. Sweet, but smoky sweet. Peppered, burnt cotton candy (not cotton flower, see Chopard's website) over heady, creamy roses. Quite strong and warm. Very sharp opening, but dries down quickly. Sexy in an almost "vulgar" fashion. You have to be into this sort of thing. I would not blind buy if you are new to perfume. Update: This actually works as a unisex on some men. I sprayed some on my boyfriend and it smelled awesome. His chemistry really magnified the smokiness and it was sweet, but masculine. Very sexy.

very sharp at first.i smell the pink pepper and it is somewhat sweet,then a beautiful flower blooms that is paet hybiscus and part rose.equally beautiful and creamy sexy.very powerdy and smooth.after a while is mixes yet again,and a woody cotton flower scent waifs up to get my attention.i liver in the south and am very aware of the scent of cotton flowers,this is the first fume ive ever smelled vwith them.this would b beautiful for a starry night out with ur loved one.

I truly don't understand all the dislikes, which I honestly think as unjustified. This is pleasant and I often get compliments for it. It is indeed a "peppery rose" but very well done...and the pepper note is sharp maybe for only the first couple of minutes. Not overly sweet, not annoying or offensive in any way. It is actually kind of elegant and very feminine in its own very unique way. original...doesn't remind me of anything, and this is a quality.

Update ... well my new bottle has arrived from Israel (eBay) and I find that the candy floss is indeed missing from the middle notes and beginning of the drydown :( The red berry top note has been replaced by kumquat, I see, which gives it a briefly pleasantly bitter waft up front, interesting. I prefer the old formula, though. And the rosewood has been replaced as well. Still gorgeous and the drydown is beautiful, but I yearn for the old formula.

I bought my first bottle of this, unsmelled, at Big Lots for 5.00. 4 bottles later Im buying it online for 35.00, so maybe there was a method to Mr Chopards madness.;-) Im glad I bought it without smelling it because if I had I never would have spent the 5.00. This is one of those fragrances whos first impression isnt necessarily the best impression. My advice-try it on before you walk away. Its definately a jewel in the rough, so to speak.

I love it, love it, love it. It was a blind buy years ago when it was cheap. Not sure what it goes for now. It was released more than 20 years ago but reminds me a great deal of the high-end niche scents we've seen come out in the last 5 years. One spray is enough. Maybe just the body lotion is enough, if that is still even available. Loud rose, woods, pink pepper. Probably not for most offices unless you own the place

This intoxicating aroma with the blendings of Pink Pepper Brazilian Rosewood rose yummy cotten candy pink litchi and i pick a scent of raspberry in this perfume. deep sultry it wasn't what i expected i expected more pungent like with a cinnamon note but it a has a more deeper more laqcard woodsey scent i just love the bottle i love the Deep Red and the shape is a reminisence of a 1980's videogame Design i just love it.

I always have to have it in my collection. Chopard Madness cheers me up. To be honest I didn't like it at the very first time. I bought it unsniffed and I found it quite violent, but a few days later I smelt a very lovely soft powdery scent on my clothes and I realized that it was the Madness. I enjoy the red berries with pepper in the start-up and the cotton candy-ish drydown, where the fruits are still vivid.

On me this is a woodsy(rosewood and Patchouli)with spicy pepper and a fruity-berry sort of topnote that could remind someone of cough syrup . I also get some tobacco notes .Overall this could probably be very easily pulled off by a man as this reminds me of Chanel Egoiste,Marc Jacobs Bang and Gres Cabaret (feminine) with some added Lychee in the top-to-mid. I LOVE it and plan on backing up a few bottles!

Just another reason to try scents. After reading the reviews I was rather hesitant to try. On me, Maddness was gorgeous. I noted 30 seconds of peppery sharpness, with a drydown that morphed into whipped cream with a tart cherry on top, slightly sweet. Madness lasted over 8 hours, leaving me with the impression that it would be "mad" not too pass along my impressions

Madness is hot, with big temperament. In first phase smells roses and seasonings, first of all - pepper. Then, adjoins sweet, tender note of vanilla. For me Madness is oriental smell. Remember me a bit Rouge of Hermes, but Madness is more youthful and modern. Strong, original and very femine smell in the color red. Madness has very good energy for me. I like it.

In the 70's I used to wear a fragrance called Aqua Manda by Goya. I loved it. It was sadly discontinued. I bought 4 sample bottles blind off ebay and this was one of them. It smells very similar to Aqua Manda. It is ripe and juicy with pepper and a lovely spicy rosy woodyness. A little goes a long way. Just a dab on pulse points lasts all day. Yummy.

Sparkling, individual, definitely not for any lady and moment. I cannot see a woman wearing this if she is surrounded by other women, it just triggers lots of intrigue and envy, though it is perfect as a mysterious seduction tool, at a classy dinner. The perfume speaks loud about the self-confident, mature attitude of a queen.

This one is growing on me for sure! First I had a bit of trouble understanding it, but now I think it is a light gourmand with the cotton flower. I can see this being a child of Christine Nagel. It has a certain mystery that does not reveal itself right away, so it is a mature classy gourmand, without being too heavy.

heaven; reminds me of a peppery sharper Calligraphy Rose without the jam; goes on spicy amber but then the rose powers up; not a lot of projection, then I get some leather then as dries more I get some of that pencil shaving vibe people talk about ; love it and lots of pepper in the top

اخذت شوبارد منحى جريء جداً و غير اعتيادي عندما قدمت هذا العطر للمرأة الواثقة .. لم تلتفت لكلام جاراتها الاخرى من الدور الراقية .. دفعت تلك المرأة لأقصى مراحل الجنون لتخرج اسوء مافيها .. و بكل اصرار ، قد نجحت فهل انتِ يا سيدتي تملكين تلك الثقة ، هل تجرؤين !!

LOVE LOVE LOVE MADNESS.....one perfume that i am always asked what i'm wearing. Hard to get a hold of. This was first given to me by my best friend duty free. Said as soon as she smelt it, it reminded her of me.

try to mix this perfume with some of habit rouge and jicky of guerlain and you will get similar smell of coque d'or de guerlain or you will a totally new scent

I'm in love! This helped me realize that after oriental spicy, SPICY ROSE is my fav type of scent!

Maybe I'm mad but this perfume is AWESOME..

Enjoyable but not spectacular. Warning: if you're skeptical about pink pepper you will not like this perfume.) Madness opens with wood and lots of pink pepper. When I raised my hand for my first sniff it actually made me sneeze. For about 15 minutes the pepper drowned out everything else. This was about the point that I was going to give up. Finally some interesting sourness (green litchi,kumquat) started to open up and the hibiscus made an appearance. The litchi warmed and sweetened and I'm now enjoying ripe litchi, hibiscus and a discrete underlay of pepper. I believe the rose is there but only because I read it in the notes. As time has passed it's continued to sweeten without the roughness fading. If there were a perfume group of Pink spicy, this would be in it; I have no idea how it could have been classified as a floral. This is one of the nichier of niches. It's surprisingly sophisticated in the way that abstract modernist art is: it's not typical and it's not popular. This is very definitely for fans of pepper and hot spices. If that's a hole on your shelf pick this up. For that matter it's so inexpensive that you can pick some up for what a decant would normally cost. Sillage: 4-5 feet but not aggressive Durability: 3-4 hours Fabulosity: Special interest. Probably spectacular on a man. Price to value ratio: really high--a bargain even if you don't like it 6/10

What an interesting take on rose. Madness opens up very spicy, sharp pink pepper and to my nose I smell saffron as well. But as it develops it becomes an almost tropical rose, if such a thing is possible. Like you took a damask rose and planted it near litchi fruit trees and hibiscus and other tropical plants and fruits, ferns, I get a fern like quality here, the big giant ones that grow in hot climates. If those roses on that rose bush absorbed all of the smells from the other plants and joined it with the scent of the roses it grows. It also kind of reminds me of what an Arab Bazaar would smell like. Fruits, spices, roses, herbs, smoke and greens. This actually mades me think that Ormande Jayne Taif and Parfums de Marley's Delina had a baby but even the vintage of Madness goes for better prices then either of those. I'm going to pick up a bottle of this unique spicy, tropical rose. Love the name, the bottle and the scent. Upgrade emoji to love 😘. This is a great fragrance and super cheap! You don't have to spend a fortune to smell great. Edit the cotton flower clean musk and rosewood finish is stunning. I would take a bottle of just the dry down! I think this fragrance is back up worthy.

I feel incredibly lucky having been got 2 bottles of this discontinued gem some 3.5 years ago, for only 3.70 GBP for each. It was a blind buy impressed by the price, but wow, it did surprise me. Chopard Madness is quite a unique leather fragrance. It smells like a luxury leather sofa (to me the one I had in my living room then) + roses + cognac, and old books. This combination conjures a vivid, particular setting in my mind: The library of an old mansion with baroque style antique furniture, me reading as smoking cigars and sipping my red wine, rose petals around... When I smell Madness from a different level, concentrating mainly on the leather and rose part, then it conjures a different image: a dominatrix. Yes, that's what would a dominatrix wear, I can't think of anything else to fit better. Still from a third point of view this would resemble the smell of an old comfy leather jacket circa 1980s, or an old purse- of your grandmothers type. Smelling Chopard Madness is like looking at an object from different angles, but what you'll see will still be the same thing. Madness is one hell of a fragrance full of character to enjoy occasionally. Not your everyday stuff...

MAD ABOUT MADNESS _______________________________________________________ I had the opportunity to test this wonderful frangrance today, and waht can I say... I'm mad about Madness. It opens with an explosion of Hibiscus and right there you can see that 'Madness' is not for everybody. The explosion takes its time to calm down, and after an hour or so, you can sense the warm woody notes. The drydown occurs after approx. 2 hours, when one can feel the soft pepper and a hint of rose. Overall: I love when a frangrance is powerful. It is strong and in your face. That is why it can be somehow overwhelming to some people. That is why, you should be advised before purchase. Longetivity: - 5/10 Sillage: medium - 5/10 All in all: 7 out of 10 points.

A very atomic fireball candy scent , very hot , but I happen to like hot and spicy scents, food too , so that's working for me with this fragrance. The florals seem to take their time to appear on my skin, so I get mostly the hot candy effect. This is quite sweet in my opinion, it would of suited me just fine if it had more woods and rose , would be more complete somehow. Still though - Playful, unique , fun smell , like what a naughty little pixie would smell like... The bottle is pretty cool too. I want to add that its now a few weeks later; the weather has gotten a lot cooler and Madness seems to wear better on me in cool weather, not as sweet ( for me at least) Even better I can detect more of a rose with sharp woods now. Very nice !

I'm still undecided. I bought a miniature of this. On first whiff I was getting lots of woods and red berries, yummy! Then on my skin the pepper quickly takes over with some more woods and now I smell something very close to Anglomania. Yes, leathery rose, but without the annoying Maxi Pad effect. A few hours later it becomes a slightly softer woody-rose. I only get the ambery 'candy' warmth after 5 - 6 hours wear, I was hoping that it would be peeking out earlier, now it feels it's too little, too late. The phases don't seem to blend in with each other so the scent just falls apart. Plus it stays sharp for too long. I'll have to re-test it in winter, it may work better.

Paid $20 on Ebay for this and it's exceeded my expectations. It opens with a peppery burst of rose and dries down to a woody floral that stays on my clothes for days at a time. Not too dusty or powdery, just a beautiful spicy floral musk. Elegant and alluring, but not overly feminine. When I smell it, my head fills with a bright red color and I'm compelled to drink wine. Great for these winter months. Pair with: exposed collarbones, malbec, candlelight, snow piling up on a windowsill, dark pantyhose peeking out under a rabbit fur coat, sharing a cigarette on a balcony, a dimly lit hotel room.

I found a bottle of this gem in my parents' house recently. I guess this scent is responsible for my love of peppery roses, by the way. What is challenging about it is that it is both spicy and powdery. It is soft and full-bodied. Spice and flowers are so well blended that you never know which facet will take the upper hand over the other - it is unpredictable. Finally, the hibiscus and rose notes prevail after an hour, but the scent retains a smattering of its initial insolence. You never get ethereal flowers, but earthly ones - and their stems are thorny. So sad Madness was discontinued !

As mentioned by others, Madness starts out strong and fades to a very soft warm scent. I wasn't sure about the strong beginning but after fading to the softer dry down it began to grow on me. It has the sweetness of Lychee, a touch of rose and just the right amount of rosewood. Sweet, softly floral & woody. Madness reminds me of Queen without the strong Vicks cherry lozenge smell I pick up in Queen. It's in the style realm though. For me it's definitely a keeper. Thanks a.k.a warum for swapping this with me!