Cashmere Mist Gold Essence

Smelled this a few weeks back from an perfume tester in a Bloomingdale's mailer. I don't recall too much about it now, but I do remember liking it so much so that I attempted to research its notes online.

DKNY Gold Essence... I don't know if I'm an optimist or a masochist. You'd figure I'd learn from the first Cashmere but alas, here I am again, pretty much a decade later....sampling this perfume, being drawn in with the promises of amber and balsamic notes to boot (two of my favorite scents). I was bold enough to try it on my skin, already disliking it in the bottle but I know how body chemistry can sometimes surprise you. So I took a deep breath and let the perfume meld into my body heat and gave it a few moments. Yep, still convinced that I'm being duped with false advertising. Where is that rich warmth I've come to love with amber? Where was that seductive balsamic note that has maintained a long and steady love affair with my body chemistry? DKNY...WHAT are you really putting in your fragrances that suck the life out of such carnal notes that always seem to work out for the better with me? Then, it finally answered me...this wasn't a perfume, it was a funeral. The amber and balsamic notes were buried underneath wreaths of flowers from many hypocritical mourners. I'm convinced more than ever that DKNY's fragrances and I will not get along, ever. Believe that I've tried 80% of them but I shall only review a handful. With the exception of Be Delicious, I've encountered no enjoyment from this particular designer's fragrance lines. Farewell DKNY, I still love your sunglasses tho!

So I got a sample of this from Macy's, with my order of Katy Perry's Killer Queen. And it's definitely nice. It has nothing on the original Cashmere Mist, because they took away the nice, unique fluffy notes and replaced them with been-there-done-that white florals. Jasmine and gardenia dominate this scent, with an edge of bergamot. There's not much of a greenness to it, and the sandalwood and amber are hardly recognizable, aside from sweetening the floral mixtures. In all honesty, it smells almost exactly like a gardenia blossom. Heavy, sweet, narcotic, creamy, intoxicating, and slightly indolic. But definitely not great enough to warrant paying that price. If you want a true-to-life gardenia fragrance, go for Demeter or Hothouse Flower.

I'm a collector of DK Cashmere Mist & Liquid Cashmere scents, and I usually find them duplicable, but still worth buying. Gold Essence is no exception. It is much different from any of the others in either line due to the strong jasmine & gardenia dry down. Most CM/LCs don't have much in the way of a distinguishable floral, but in this, the gardenia holds down the heart, while jasmine lifts up the head. I was able to come close to a dupe by mixing Bath & Body Works Love & Sunshine with the original Cashmere Mist. Gold Essence is warmer and deeper, with clear florals, whereas the B&BW concoction is more cold & synthetic (like all their new scents).

Somewhat unusual, green, but warm, sunny. In the beginning, just after few minutes, smells like 5th Avenue After Five, soon calms down and it is quite different. The dry down is very pleasant, clean and feminine, but quite strong, don't overdo it, it's perfect for colder weather. Really is unusual, transformed from green to oriental floral, playing on your skin, quite different from what you would expect. edit/ after few hours, it's more floral-woody-musk vibe.