Chaos 1996

Chaos (1996) by Donna Karan is one of the biggest unicorns in perfumery, I would even say that it is the "shooting star" of perfumery. You rarely see it, and if you ever do, you can consider yourself lucky. Its scent is not only original, but precursor. Saffron, incense and sandalwood are the soul, spirit and body of this perfume, playing the main roles throughout its development. Its opening is essentially spicy. A profusion of spices, flowers and herbs, whose aspect is not fresh or bright, but voluptuous. The saffron and coriander rise, to maintain their spicy path, almost fresh, if it were not for the cinnamon, which gives its heat to the composition. As the fragrance develops, the labdanum joins the spices - further enriching the incense/balsamic/resinous aspect of the perfume. This moment is simply a delight. In the drydown, the coriander and saffron slowly disappear, while the cinnamon remains, very soft, joining the base of sandalwood, incense and musk - maintaining all the incense, woody, and now musky aura of the perfume. Chaos is an intriguing incense. It is not smoky and dry, but moist, like a vapor of spices and woods... it envelops you in a resinous but soft mist... spicy but cozy. The result is a beautifully balanced, elegant and mature oriental. A fragrance that evokes the ancient world. I remember when I used it for the first time, and when my mother felt it she said:: "It feels like I'm on top of a pyramid". Labdanum is a very interesting note; in Ancient Egypt this aromatic resin was widely used and associated with the strength, power and spirituality of the pharaohs. Created by perfumer Jean-Claude Delville, this perfume was a gift, a declaration of love, from artist Stephan Weiss to his then wife Donna Karan. Just like the brand's first perfume, Stephan Weiss was also responsible for the design of the bottle: an exquisite postmodernist work, where he rejects symmetry to create a kind of pointed crystal. Different, daring, and beautiful. Black Cashmere (2002), also by Donna Karan, is undoubtedly inspired by Chaos, with some different accords, but essentially the same. I believe that Donna Karan paid tribute to her husband, as it was released the year after his death, right after Chaos was discontinued. To keep the essence of this love alive, and to overcome her loss, she sealed it in a black oval bottle, inspired by the onyx stone - powerful and full of meaning. The complexity and originality of Chaos in its year of launch, 1996, only reinforces how its creation was a milestone in perfumery, even if little recognized. There was nothing like it before its creation, and being marketed as a designer, its essence is predominantly niche. Although it is not exactly a challenging perfume, it requires a certain maturity to appreciate and wear it. They say that stars are born from chaos, but also the best ideas, change, and innovation. Chaos reflects all of this, from the bottle to the fragrance in yet another liquid work of art that I am passionate about.

I won’t get this beautiful scent if I didn’t see other member’s wardrobe who luckily enough for me... lives in the same country as me. She has Donna Karan Chaos on her wardrobe, so I called her to ask where she bought the original version and hope that she would help me find one. There’s a time when she thought that I’m not too serious to buy the scent, but one day she really called me & said that the store still have 2 bottles of Chaos. So I asked her to buy one for me . The Internet has done a wonderful job for some people to search & buy “hard to find” perfume but sometimes I see a lot of ridiculous price for Donna Karan vintage on evilbay. So why did Donna Karan gave Chaos‘ label for her fourth perfume? It’s not the scent but the original flacon that represent the CHAOS’ label. Stephan Weiss (her husband) has done a wonderful job to make this Post Modernism flacon. He refused the symmetry design & choose the disharmonious concept to create a shaped like a tall stalactite’s crystal. I know that the reissued chaos which was released in 2008 has the same smell as the 1996 edition, but the 2008’s flacon that use the same chaos’ label is meaningless now. A “niche wannabe” flacon that is sold only in selected store & labeled it as exclusive essences. Well, let’s stop about this architectural design non sense & talks about the scent... Chaos’ notes are all about spice, spice & spices. Coriander has the main role for the opening blast of the scent and its smell just like Comme Des Garcons with a half power of projection. While CDG is a linier scent with overdose coriander mixed with other spices on my skin, on the other hand chaos still used the classical three-phase perfume structures. I can smell the smooth transition from the top notes to the heart notes, the coriander enter the heart note accompanied by the main note saffron. Both of them play a good role for the scent development, when the coriander fade away slowly, then comes cinnamon to give extra vibe to the saffron note. After half an hour finally I could not detect anymore the coriander note on my skin. The heart note is the best part of Chaos. The king of all spices: Saffron , this one put a smile on my face. You may call me freak... but my nose is 0,3mm from my arm, I take a deep breath to feel this smoothness’ note and breath it out slowly . More than 10 times I did this “abnormal” activity :). And again, the warmth of musk covered the saffron (which become so light) on the transition from the heart to the base. For about 5 hours, the saffron & a hint of musk still lingering on my skin. The Longevity & sillage of this scent are moderate but the scent development is marvellous & the original flacon is masterpiece.

I may finally have found the ultimate saffron perfume! This vintage sample of Donna Karan CHAOS offers a hefty core of saffron which is buttressed by a variety of dark oriental elements to produce a gorgeous tapestry of scents. The saffron dominates from start to finish on my skin, but there is so much more going on than just that note, which swirls together with wood, incense, and herbs in an enticing and magical way. I have been dissatisfied with some other saffron perfumes, including AP SAFRAN TROUBLANT, which strikes me as a Demeter-like culinary facsimile of saffron rice. I really do love the inviting aroma of saffron rice—but in the kitchen, not on my skin! Other compositions I've tried have been more complex but unbalanced or incoherent. Still others boast saffron as a note though it remains hidden from my nose. CHAOS manages to avoid all of these mistakes. The only real complaint I could even begin to make would be that the perfume seems to me to be misnamed, as this composition is not at all chaotic. That's no criticism of this beautiful perfume, though, which has fairly big sillage and excellent longevity on top of everything else. If it is true, as some have suggested, that the recent re-launch is of the original CHAOS formula, I'll definitely be adding this splendid creation to my collection!

With the complexity of woods and spices what would to be described as? what comes to your mind? for me it makes me think of a warm cup of chamomile and cinnamon tea that's what would i describe it. Cinnamon is the base of the perfume for top middle and base notes which it's dominates also dries a bit to allow saffron with it's velvet and spice and woods scent to drift though don't underestimate the delicate chamomile flower it may be withe but stands on it's own with it's strong herbal note. Carnation with powdery nuances starts the middle heart of the fragrance dries to the bottom of the notes with dry unsweetened sandalwood powdery vanilla and musk. i would compare chaos and issey's Le feu d,issey the dry bread scents because they lack the oily texture that is used in most perfumes and give it a more natural aroma healthier a bit more outdoorsy feel then most designer perfumes one of the unique pieces in my collection.

As I mentioned before, saffron is traditionally a Christams spice in Sweden. The saffron note in Chaos dosn ́t really remind so much of Christmas tough. I think the name is really suitable for this fragrance because it is rather much going on in it. I got a very clean soapy smell from it, but on the other hand it is warm and spicy and just a little dirty. It changes a lot and I get very excited waiting on what to come next. I have a small sample of the new formulation, so I have no idea how the original smells, but I guess it isn ́t that big different? It is intriguing, original and pleasant. Another of them kind of glowing fragrances that I like so much. The basenotes are smoky, kind of rich smelling incense, woods and musk. I would very much like to get my hands on a big bottle of it. I do recommend it and it is a must try, lovely, fresh and very exciting.