Donna Karan Gold

Character, quality, versatility and a very reasonable cost: it's all here and then some. Donna Karan's "Gold" (EdP) was one I almost didn't buy for fear of it being too heady and possibly headache-inducing. Initially, I hesitated making this blind buy due to the relatively short list of notes: three of which are Lily, Jasmine, and Amber. I tend to prefer almost anything but a purely Floral (i.e. sweet) fragrance for most occasions, and I was pleasantly surprised that this does not altogether fit that category. It is a true Floriental. The florals are indeed lavish here, but are spared from being overtly garish with a masterful addition and blending of balsamic and earthy notes. What an incredibly good mix of "grounded femininity" the perfumers have struck with this fragrance! No one note or specific mood prevails, and the drydown is a prolonged, exquisite journey that arouses my senses in a most captivating way. The Amber is of a moderate temper, one which refrains from being too thick or syrupy. It's a somewhat dry one which serves to enhance the overall bouquet. The Lily and Jasmine notes are amazingly realistic but remain well-mannered, gentle and with a sparkle that keeps this from ever becoming too garish or weighty. I do not detect any banana (nor any gourmand) notes on my skin as other reviewers have mentioned. As for being a fresh-from-the-bath kind of clean scent? Not on my skin. I'd call it more of a fresh, ripe scent that is invigorating yet has enough complexity to keep it sensual and even a bit sexy. This is a female fragrance all the way. No screaming of the fact necessary here: it's attraction is all about being ladylike in it's pursuit to seduce. It delivers on that promise in such a way that the clothes may be on the floor without anyone the wiser on how, when...(indeed she's a cunning temptress!) I highly recommend this fragrance to any female who wants a scent that is sensual, complex, and a bit on the mischevious side...with excellent sillage and longevity. Enjoy!

I'm far from an expert on lilies, and the only lily fragrance I own is Baiser Vole, but I REALLY love this!! Perhaps there are others that are better, especially in the niche world, and I will hopefully have a chance to try them at some point, but I still think that this is something quite special. The lily is smooth and clean, but the cloves definitely accentuate it's spiciness! I have no idea what black locust smells like, so I can't speak to what it adds to the composition, but the amber warms things up a bit. This is not a cold, sterile lily at all. It makes me think of a nectar! Mind you, I just received my bottle today, so I haven't allowed my bottle to sit and rest. I don't know if it will make a difference, but if this is as good as it gets, then I will be very happy. It projects nicely, and the longevity is decent - I'm at 4 hours and it's still going strong. EDIT - This is so much better than the first time I tried it. I had been recovering from COVID and my sense of smell wasn't completely back, but this is oeerful stuff so I was still able to catch the vibe and smell it for quite a while. Well today I put this on about 10 hours ago and stiff get whiffs!! Amazing! I was originally able to detect the lily and spice, but now I can tell how expertly they play off of each other. Reviewers mentioned the Stargazer Lily, and if I recall correctly, that has a natural spiciness. The cloves amp that up, and I now see how this can easily qualify as a floral oriental. One thing I know for sure is that I love it, and given the fact that I picked up a nearly full bottle in perfect condition for a steal, I have to say that all things considered this, this is my best blind buy of the year so far!

This is a keeper. I bought it because I love lilies---and this was mentioned somewhere as having a true lily note, rather than the "lily-ish" note which often occurs in perfumes. It does! It really reminds me of a fresh bouquet of lilies, and the note holds true throughout the wearing. It's not a linear perfume, either; there are layers of other notes that weave a quite seductive harmony around the lily. I get a hint of honey, probably from the locust flower; I get amber; I get only a subtle sense of patchouli; I get spice that doesn't shout any one thing---if they didn't specify cloves I would have been pressed to tease it out; and I get a slight orris note. This is a very fine fragrance---it's rich, sophisticated in the best sense, and well-crafted. Not at all "old", but with a sensuality that makes it best for women rather than young girls. (Much as I personally loathe all the fruity stuff out there, they do serve a purpose of introducing girls to womanly arts & delights without making them smell overtly sensual and thus inappropriately over-mature. Gold is sensual, no mistake!) It lasts quite well, even on my scent-eating skin, though it's never overwhelming or strong. Makes an amazing scent for the hair, by the way. Although I love my rich, heavy, opulent Oriental perfumes, I choose this one often, especially for daytime or when I want to feel pretty in my own skin. I think it's both classic, in the sense that it's not trendy or obviously datable, and modern, in the sense that it is completely free of "old lady" undertones and because the florals are heady yet fresh. An under-rated scent that I'm happy to have around and wear often.

Today, in SE Essex, it feels as if spring may finally have arrived. The sun's out, the sky is blue, there's not a cloud to spoil the view... Oh, wait. Yes there are. But at least it's not overcast, misty or bloody raining. And it's warm. To celebrate the fact that the sun is finally shining, I thought I'd break out a spring perfume and nothing - to me - smells more like spring, than lilies; I adore the smell of lilies, but can't have them in the house any more as they are highly toxic to cats (and I have three). I scored a part-used bottle of DK Gold on eBay for under £11.00; reading previous reviews, it seems that this may be an older bottle, as it is partially enclosed in a metallic gold jacket. Gold smells predominantly of lilies when first sprayed. Within 30 minutes or so, other flowers come into play; I am not picking up on jasmine, so this must be black locust/acacia that I can smell. A slight spiciness from cloves arrives with black locust and - further on drydown - a little greenness creeps out. I am a patchouli and amber lover and I can't smell patchouli at all. If there is any amber, I think is somewhere underneath the flowers and may be contributing warmth and depth to the composition, but it doesn't smell like the amber I am used to in my beloved orientals. I liked Gold when I bought and tried it in cool, damp weather - today however, I love it. This is another example of the importance of climatic conditions on how I perceive and enjoy a perfume. ETA Sillage is heavy (beyond arms-length) and longevity is over 12 hours on my dry skin (although it is a skin-scent by then), probably lasting far longer on clothing.

I used to own this perfume many years ago and I repurchased it this week (on the internet as it's been discontinued). The inspiration for my repurchase was walking into the hall to collect the post and inhaling the intoxicating aroma of a vase of white lillies that permeated the air. I then went upstairs to watch the Olympics to find Team GB had won yet more gold medals! It made me think of this perfume because of the name and smell and I missed it so I decided I needed another bottle. It's both a warm, woody and lightly spicy perfume as well as a cool white lily floral. The warm and cool aspects are equally as strong from beginning to end. I read on the internet somewhere that someone described this as a totally natural smell that reminded her of walking through damp woods and fields of flowers. You can really imagine the smell that comes off bark in the rain and the contrast of then arriving on your journey in a field of fresh lillies still wet with dew. Imagine all this with the sun shining on them to warm and intensify their smell and you pretty much have the scent of Gold! I would say it's worth a blind buy if you *love* lillies and love amber and patchouli just as much. It's super long lasting too so a couple of spritzes is all you'll need for several hours. Pure, beautiful sophistication. :D Great bottle too - it reminds me of the luxurious but minimalist interiors of those designer hotels in Europe, therefore it reminds me of short city breaks, too! I read that it's supposed to be an urban scent, yet it smells very natural and pure. Love this kind of antithesis in modern perfumery!

In this monolith flanked with hammered metal lies a liquid that immediately recalls the smell of Casablanca lilies. These gleaming white blooms with their protuberant stamens and pronounced anthers emanate a narcotic, ripe, honeyed aroma. It is the archetypal heady, sensual lily aroma, similar to other Asiatic lilies, but even spicier and fleshier, with notes of banana and tuberose. Gold is the ultimate "gilded lily," profoundly voluptuous and vivid. This is one of the best lily accords I've smelled, but it's also worth noting that there is also another accord here that supports it: that of the black locust. This flower, with its pendulous tresses of sweet-pea shaped blossoms, which is characteristic of many plants in the Fabaceae (pea) family (think wisteria, laburnum), emits a honey sweet fragrance with notes of orange blossom and concord grape. It is one of my favorite tree blossoms, although the trees grow aggressively here in the states. For just a couple weeks, their balm fills the air, and it is delicious. The combination of lily and black locust here makes Gold a knockout, and the amber/patchouli base that fortifies the sensuality is most remarkable as well. It fuses it all seamlessly into the dry down, almost suggesting the fermented, over-ripened, inevitable decline of blooms, which has a beauty unto itself. Some other impressions I felt through Gold is the scent of fully mature honeysuckle, autumn olive flowers, and carnation in the mid-development. Out of the many lily-centric fragrances I've sampled, this one turns out to be the true knockout.

Received it today, the initial blast is banana lily white floral, powdery, reminiscent of Truth or dare, very waxy floral, banana for sure, then it turns green, fresh indeed with the violet leaf and patchouli. The spice does come about, and so do the cloves, I do not like cloves apparently. The idea that comes to mind if lilies themselves, very natural, everything that they are suited and used for, a serious scent, with maturity, wedding bouquets, funeral bouquets, hotel lobby bouquets, all these feelings, auras come to mine, a green fresh lily, with spicy notes. It is not too sweet, it is mature and suited for such events described. Banana white floral from which you get sweetness, with clove, spices and green notes of violet leaf and patch. It is a grown up and mature scent but also holds a slightly sweet and tender feel. A very fresh lily, with stems and leaves, very true to life. It does seem elegant, feminine and sexy, although a bit of a masculine feel comes off due to the very strong clove and spices, perhaps lending it a strong masculine base to the sweet, floral amber feminine top. I feel a man can wear this too, the clove, patch and violet leaf lend it a masculine aura. It reminds me of another sort of masculine white floral, Calvin Klein Beauty with its musk and strong cedar jasmine accord. I think the clove and pollen spices are the breakpoint, to like it or not, the clove takes this floral in a direction not many will like.

Wow. This perfume is for lovers of the stargazer/oriental lily only! Just like a stargazer lily, either you love it and find it intoxicating, or it's obnoxious and gaudy. It makes some people pick up their noses in amazement or complain about a sudden headache. On the hunt for a perfume that comes closest to a bouquet of pink freckled lilies I found myself an EDT of DK gold. My first impression was 80's drugstore perfume like other reviewers mentioned–is this what my favorite flowers smell like? So the next time I had a real bouquet in my house, I compared it to a spray on my wrist----it came as close as one could to an orientalis, Except it was a bit more spicy, where a real lily was green and dewy, this had a spice and patchouli that lingered. Wearing DK gold I realized that I might not want to smell like a bouquet of stargazers regularly, it's a special occasion type of perfume–or something I wear in the house when wearing a long silky robe, it's luxurious and strong. You would think that a white floral scent would feel feminine, but it's pretty masculine with it's spice and lack of sweetness. The lack of sweetness and notes of brine and green actually attract me to it because it feels like the stem of a fresh flower. All in all, I love this–I just couldn't wear it to an office type setting, it projects! and it lingers for hours!

EDIT: The following review is for the EDP. The EDT is all woody amber, little or no lily. EDT performance is disappointing as well. ********************************************** I'm enjoying this perfume very much, in spite of the fact that I generally don't care for woody scents, and this one starts out VERY woody. The first spray is cedar and amber, with maybe some cloves, and not a lot else going on. But for all that the wood is dominant, it's rather nice, so instead of scrubbing it off, I sat back to enjoy the ride. The trip was just lovely. The wood never becomes overwhelming, and it never disappears entirely... but it softens to a whisper when the florals begin to speak. There's lily, wafting in and out, interwoven with jasmine and a honeyed note that must be the locust flower. There are green leaves and honeysuckle, and a faint hint of salt that might be me? ... Or it might be the Gold. I'm a big fan of Lys Mediterranee, too, like the previous reviewer, but I'm not at all disappointed in Gold because I didn't expect it to be anything similar. In fact I was hoping that it would be very different, and my wishes have been granted! I love the complexity of this scent. I'm enjoying it so much that I'm going to layer it with Alkemia's Pheromone 28 just to make sure my husband enjoys it, too!

Interesting tid-bit!!! I only wear this perfume and Fendi Furiosa. Since Furiosa only arrived late 2014 and is already pulled from production, I don't worry about the age of whatever bottle I find. After all, the oldest it can be is just over a year. With Gold..... you really cannot be certain, it arrived in 2006. WELL..... my batch codes are A86 and A89. A86 on the batch code check reads, "2016-08." Impossible, since it is only February of 2016, not yet August. WELL....Donna Karan codes REPEAT every 10 years! So, my bottles are from the original year of production, from 2006. How do they all smell? PERFECT! Ten years old and still smell exactly as they should and just as potent. So, if you are considering grabbing up a bottle you see tucked in some dark corner of some danky fragrance store, just DO IT! Also....did anyone ever notice there are instructions on the bottom of the box for REMOVING the gold metal shell? You push in the black plastic center piece and can pop off the metal part. WHY anyone would want to do this.....is beyond my guess. Maybe to display it when the bottle is empty? A fancy napkin ring, perhaps? My bottles are the EDP.

At another home I grew trumpet lilies in a much bigger garden than what I own now. Trumpet lilies are back of the border plants because they can reach heights of 4' to 6'. Their height made them perfect for me to walk right up to their nodding trumpets and bury my nose into their sweet, nectar filled blossoms. The eau de toilette of this scent smells just like the creamy scent of Regal Album lilies to me. As soon as I spray it on, I am right back in that garden, competing with the pollinators for a chance to inhale their intoxicating scent once more. I also own and love the edp of this fragrance and think it is gorgeous, but I reserve it for cooler weather since it is much heavier on the amber, and it is also a little spicier being heavier on the clove. The lily in that is more like the Stargazer lily others mentioned because of the spice. The perfume also has a different, more dramatic feel, whereas the edt is soft and angelic.

EDT version. I've just sprayed some on a piece of white paper and noticed the spray has dyed it slightly orange. This might not be good for your clothes. As for the scent, a nice slightly sharp floral to my nose, with an undercurrent of something that reminds me of watery fruits? I think I'm going to like it, but I won't be spraying it on my top which is how I normally wear perfume, and I don't think it's going to be a favourite. I had been hoping for a thick heady scent, with all this talk of lillies in the reviews I've bought a small bottle of the EDP. I like the bottle, the EDT version doesn.t have the gold metal on it. It does seem to be different, its as though there's an ingredient added, or brought forward a bit more. The EDT is lighter, the EDP darker. The green scent is just as apparent, but is submerged in something darker. Could be clove and amber are stronger in the EDP?

Ohh! Lovely fragrance! Thanks a lot Darlingbuds for the sample! The first impression is of a creamy, fluid and fresh lily, with hints of banana-the real thing, not ripe, but right out of the fridge(not similar to Sicily at all). I think there's some patchouli too. As the time passes, I can smell a bit of warm jasmine, but near the same big, sap-filled lily. At this point I notice some similarities with "Life Circle Sap" from Oriflame, which is said to smell like linden. The base consists of waves of more freshness, gravitating around the white flower in the center. Some time ago I received a white lily bath foam and, eager to try it, it smelled like...nothing, just some powdery neutral chemicals; it made me think that this flower is used in perfumes just to add up to the quantity. Silly me! I really like "Gold" because DK managed to turn the anonymous lily into a star!

I haven't worn it long enough to decide how it changes over time, but my impression is of heady stargazer lilies, the flower I love most in my own garden. On a summer's night, the scent of those gorgeous pink and white spotted treasures waft over to me on my porch and fill me with happiness. This is a love, though very strong indeed and one need not bathe in it to get longevity or sillage! So, lily with some support from amber and very faint other floral - not jasmine to my nose, must be the black locust. Maybe some spice, but not much. Patchouli really not coming through and that's just fine. This is LILY all the way. Not sure which season I'd like it best; warm enough (though, gold? name is odd) to wear in cold weather and yet realistic enough to wear in warmer weather as though you were truly in a garden of lilies. It's a keeper for me.

What a pleasant surprise! I have never owned a lily heavy scent before, but this was inexpensive on ebay so I gave it a go. First spray made me think I'd made a mistake. It was big, loud LILY! Lily bomb,, lily in my face--a little much. In a few minutes though the big cold floral falls back and warming amber steps forward with a light green freshness and something pepper-spicey. The lily is still dominant, but now recalls a lovely Easter Sunday, warm sunshine after a cold winter, beautiful ladies in pastel dresses, fragile flowers promising new beginnings. I wore this to work and received compliments from busy co-workers, some even asked me what i was wearing and where to purchase. BTW, I also have the body lotion and it is fab! Many body lotions disappoint me, but this one is lovely. *My review is for the EDP--the pictured bottle.

I love Donna Karan Gold, it's my favorite Gold of any line of perfume, and currently my favorite lily-predominant perfume. It's a beautiful rich spicy-ambery lily. It reminds me of what a "night" more grown up version of another lily scent I enjoy wearing, Jessica McClintock, would smell like. It's an interesting lily without the citrusy/aquatic/fresh stuff going on in most of the other lilies I have, inexpensive and highly underrated in my opinion when compared with others like it. To me this is a fall and winter lily, very different than the lilies I like to wear in spring such as Baiser Vole. I have the EDT version and the drydown is soft but long-lasting. It has been easy for me to overlook until I finally bought it based on several positive reviews, and it turned out to be one of my best blind buys of all time.

A molten & gilded lily. Fabulous and unmistakable without being eccentric. There is a real “mother of the bride” quality here and I don’t mean in an “old lady perfume” way (though I can picture simpering ingenues fleeing in terror at one spray of this stuff). Rather, she’ll leave room for something sharper, brighter, fruitier, sweeter to be the star but she will fill the room with a humid butteriness that reminds you persistently but gently of her presence, but with just enough of an edge to remind you not to get on her bad side. There is an interesting contrast between the heady waxy spicy floral facets and the sharpness of the violet leaf and patchouli, which play nicely with the buzzy fruitiness of black locust. An unfussy and yet unrelenting dose of full-bodied glamour!

The last reviewer is probably right about body chemistry being a major factor in whether or not DK Gold smells good on you. Also, maybe the perfume goes bad quickly when exposed to light? On me, Gold is a beautiful lily fragrance, no other notes stand out on their own to draw attention away from the enormous bouquet of lilies. So many floral perfumes smell realistic enough, but are a bit strange and artificial at the same time, and make me think of the Coco Chanel quote about how a woman shouldn't smell like flowers. This perfume never gives that impression though, and manages to be absolutely perfect. Also, it is very straightforward and no-nonsense for a realistic floral, and it never gives out an impression of being the perfume for an ingénue or a soppy romantic type.

Lilies are quite polorising and underrepresented as a center piece in compositions. My small research sifted out 2 solid options in Gold from DKNY - I guess it was Luka Turin, who praised it - and Baiser Vole from Cartier, which popped up numerous times in community threads (hopefully, I'll get my hands on it as well *insert greedy laughter sounds*). I blind bought a 50 ml bottle for starters. Silly, silly me: I should have bought 100 ml, of cource! As it's not just Gold, it's pure gold. It's impossible to compete with adorable and intoxicating odor of the real white lily, yet Gold might contest latter statement and prove me wrong for someone. Fresh, dewy, deep and oppulant white floral concoction. It's bold and beautiful, without being screamy and sweet. Great work :)

My review is for the EDP version. Maybe the Edt is different . I bought this blind and it's very different from what I was expecting. I love it non the less. Its not anamalic, not heavy, not sweaty. This is what I get... A clean slightly sweet, slightly green Lily. Its fresh and starts to become more fleshy along with a soapy clean feel to it. I swear I smell cucumbers, loads of them. It smells like a Lily cucumber perfume. Its not strong but has a presence. As the wind blows or air circulates with movement, the scent becomes noticeable and it wafts around with a clean airy aura. Its very beautiful and longevity seems very impressive, so far I've been wearing it for 3 hours and it still has the same strength as it did since I sprayed it on.