Donna Karan

Imagine a black swan, with opulent wings with golden feathers. The same exotic bird from which your bottle was inspired. A wild, free and dreamlike creature, born in a lustful fantasy. With each breath of its wings, it emanates a gold dust... whose essence is powdery, but above all animalic. Donna Karan opens on my skin with an incensy suede, somewhat different, a chord between rustic classic leather and soft suede, along with a good dose of blackcurrant, which gives a green sweetness to this unusual combination. Following with an obscure nectar, of substantial weight in fruity aromas, with apricot, pineapple and peach, accompanied by floral touches of orange blossom, osmanthus and ylang-ylang. The heart emerges, other flowers bloom in a spicy and carnal floral accord, with carnation, orchid, jasmine and lily. The fruity sweetness significantly decreases, exalting the incense and musk base. Heliotrope and tonka bean present themselves, especially in the middle of the performance, adhering to the fragrance a subtle powdery aspect... a modern, unisex makeup scent, with an incense base slightly sweetened by benzoin. Little by little, this swan swims towards the end of this show: a lot of amber, combined with wood, especially sandalwood, on a white musk. The incense and suede remain, the latter now much smoother. There are still some light florals around. The evolution of this fragrance is simply fantastic. A ballet full of contrasts, like in Swan Lake. Floral and balsamic notes give femininity and life to the more masculine and rough leather. It gains an oriental air, but never enters into a solid orientalism... Donna Karan keeps this fragrance in the empire of modern NY. From fragrance to bottle, Donna Karan's debut perfume is a work of art. Launched in 1992, it exquisitely captures the sophisticated charm of an early 1990s Manhattan. When I feel this fragrance I think of crowds of fashionistas, boho-chic groups, artists, models, photographers, backstage... all of fashion week, including the parties. It has an air of the future and the past... in a fashion underworld. At the time, Donna Karan was a big name in fashion, creating for the modern and stylish NY audience. It is regrettable to see how the brand lost relevance in fashion and perfumery... after being sold to the Estée Lauder group, nothing compares to singular works like the one I describe to you, DK Men, Chaos and Black Cashmere. Donna Karan Signature also reflects a non-mass, authorial perfumery style that came before the 1990s. The bottle itself is already unusual; a postmodern art sculpture, unlike any other, signed by the stylist's then husband, Stephen Weiss. One of the rarest discontinued vintages to be found, it has a magnificent sillage and fixation, being a respectable Eau de Parfum. A modern oriental, incensed, balsamic, sweet, spicy, floral, musky, powdery. It has all the notes you would find in male and female fragrances, in a shareable composition, opulent, but incredibly clean and soft, which presents the best of both genres in harmonic and thoughtful structures, like a seam, which joins parts of a fabric, to create a piece of clothing. Donna Karan Signature is just like Donna Karan's fashion was. Elegant, intellectually sexy, hybrid, versatile and modern, in a poetically obscure way... like a black swan.

Shalimar PI, move aside, my true signature fragrance has arrived. It seems the perfume gods have bestowed me with this ambrosia like fragrance; it smells so divine and wonderful to me, almost out of this world. I happened to stumble upon half full 1.3 and full 3.4 oz bottles for only 50 dollars on my local auction site. I didn't think twice and contacted the seller immediately. Since it contains an army of notes I have great difficulty picking out the individual notes, but I'll try anyway. It opens up like some heavy, boozy nectar; it's sweet and dark and has a substantial heft to it. The most noticeable opening notes are the green notes, pineapple and osmanthus, swirling in a tornado of booze. The suede, incense and tonkabean are noticeable right from the start and they give DK it's fascinating, static smokiness that I adore. The boozy and smoky quality never fades away, but it comes less intense as the floral middle notes start to show up. Lily and orchid steal the spotlight, whilst the other florals create more of a floral low frequency humming. From this point on the smoke and booziness start to clear. This is the moment when the other basenotes start to show up. As dark and smoky as it started, DK dries up surprisingly clean. The musk is quite clean, but fluffy, but it is texturized by the amber, benzoin., vanilla and sandalwood. The incense has faded away, but suede feeling has remained. It dries up, at least on my skin, as a musky lily, wrapped in suede and sprinkled with vanilla powder. The evolution of this fragrance is simply wonderful. Longevity is about 10 hours. Sillage is extremely heavy the first hour, but it fades away to a skin scent in about 3 hours. Even though I'd like it to be a bit stronger I'm still very happy I got the chance to buy this perfume. Oh, and I agree with the other reviewer who mentioned it has similarities to Antaeus (I don't know about the vintage version, though). Antaeus is pretty much the smoky, suede aspect, only much darker and more stern.

This review is for the 1992 release of the Swan Bottle. It opens with the leathery bite of an old cracked bikers jacket. It reminds me of the leather that is used in Whips and Roses by Kerosene. The leather is touched with a bit of Frankincense. There is also a good sized dose of cassis that adds an almost phenolic green sweetness. It's not often that I find a scent that showcases cassis as well as this one does. It really gives that leathery incense combo the "something" that it needs. After a few moments a sweetness pops out with a loud "pop". It's a beautiful pineapple/peachy zing with a floral tail (ylang-ylang and rose). This new combination punches it's way over the leather brightening everything up and breathing some life and youth into the old, cracked leather. The soft floral accord is almost a whisper. It's really beautiful. The heart is more floral than the opening and the cassis has faded. There is a sharp ylang-ylang bite with a spicy (carnation?) rose touched lily. It's a really nice, girly contrast that breathes life into the weathered and more masculine leather. There is also a touch of sweetness on the skin (benzoin perhaps?). The dry down is mostly a sweetish amber and tonka with a clean musky zing. There are still some light florals (rose, lily, ylang-ylang) lazing around. The leather is also much softer, almost a memory. This is a really beautiful dry down. The florals blend so beautifully with the amber/musk/Tonka cpombo that it all becomes one lazy and lovely song. Overall this is a fantastic scent. The longevity isn't the best but You'll get a good 7-9 hours out of it and it doesn't become a skin scent until well after 4-5 hours. There is something just so wonderful about the play of the very feminine florals and the heavily masculine leather. She's a tough girl that loves butterflies but takes no crap from anyone.

I just opened my last bottle of Donna Karen. Yes, I'm old enough to have purchased this when it came out in the early 1990s. I have been storing this perfume for maybe 20 years after I found out it was discontinued and stocked up. I loved, and still love this scent but have been looking for a few new scent to broaden my palette. Often men would stop me and ask what I was wearing so they could buy it for their wives/girlfriends. They loved it enough to courageously ask a stranger what perfume they wore. I don't have the nose to describe all the notes in this perfume as others on this site have. I just like it. A lot. I wear it very sparingly because I saw it was selling on ebay for over $800.00. For perfume? Come on. I will say that the sprayer was the worst. One has to press this flap that then engages the sprayer. The little flap can moves about so you can't be certain exactly where the spray is going to come out. Or it is is coming out. Poor functional design but guess they had to keep the "swan's" head covered for the design to look nice. I always thought it a spicy Oriental scent, although the above describes it as a floral. IMO it is for a confident, experienced woman - of any age - that has been there and done that. Again, and again.

My Mother and I used to wear this. It is absolutely gorgeous! I was a young girl, just loving this! Many years ago, my Mother and I went to repurchase it, and the gentleman told us it had been discontinued. We were so disappointed! The gentleman, then let us sample Donna Karen Cashmere Mist—an instant love for the both of us! I always keep Cashmere Mist in my collection today, love it! The dry down of Donna Karan is insatiable. The amber and musky notes are slightly animalic. The performance is excellent, also. Donna Karan is classy, professional, adventurous, and alluring. I would love to wear it again!

The ultimate bold and sexy evening perfume , please please please bring it back and let it travel to Europe stores too ! I have finally got the chance to buy 10 ml from a domestic parfumista friend - but I want the beautiful bottle too ! Please Donna Karan, make us wait no longer !!! Update my secret domestic distributer...is letting me have one of her bottles! It is insane !!! I am finally getting the half of a 50ml bottle that I have been wanting since 1995 - I have to pinch my arm .is this for real ??? Good start of 2015 - indeed ! Almost fainting...

What a beauty! I have never tried Donna Karan's cashmere perfumes but this perfume right here smells to me like my black cashmere sweater from Donna Karan! It's elegant and classy. Warm! The projection is not the best on me (maybe becuase the bottle is old or it's just my skin) so this is a skin scent. But what a nice one! I don't mind at all! It is bitter sweet though, finding such a nice perfume that is discontinued.

This is one of my all time favorites. It is a rich,subtle scent that is (for me) an oriental that dries down to a musky, slightly leathery and sweetly spicy scent with a touch of incense that had always garnered compliments until it was discontinued. If anyone knows of any company that knows how to make this based on assay of what can be taken from my last original, 1992 edition of this is, please let me know! Thanks!

I have always adored this fragrance. Bought it on first release when I could not afford it, but HAD to have it - and still have the flacon. It's too beautiful to discard and brings back many memories. Such a sexy fragrance. How sad that today's youth only wish to smell fruit. Eat the real thing, but smell of a sassy personality with depth of character by wearing something akin to this gorgeous masterpiece.

Have had a few bottles. Such a great combo. What a way to begin your perfume collection. Need to get another bottle

Very beautiful sexy and classic the same time. Wonderful sillage and good longevity plus it doesn't smell as a floral fragrance on my skin. Smoky suede which gets softer (amber, benzoin and patchouli) after the opening. Best for fall or winter. Superb!

I bought this years ago and I thought I liked it, but I never wore it(I still have over half a bottle.)I love the bottle though,very artistic. The fragrance was OK but I liked others better. It smells very heavy on me, very much like incense.

My aunt bought this, & it came with a beautiful body lotion; this was very spicy, very full on - the body lotion was creamier, lighter & v different from it - she liked this for evenings but didn't wear it often. She gave me the body lotion, which was a beautiful perfume all of its own (all the layering products, the body lotion, shower gel & others, had a different scent - to enhance the perfume, & wear layered with the perfume in the black & gold bottle) - but it turned out, that people loved the scent of the body lotion best - so they wanted an eau de parfum & eau de toilette version of that - & of course, that became DKNY Cashmere Mist - which I prefer, & still love to this day - & which was an absolutely massive hit in the 90s. (Eventually, though, my aunt tired of this one - which is a little full on, & a little bit "kitchen sink" - there's lots of different notes, in it - & I think it had an aldehyde note which she wasn't particularly keen on. (I see that it says "osmanthus" in the top notes, but I never sensed that at all) - normally neither of us can bear osmanthus! All the notes in this were/are homonious though - & it was nothing "unwearable" in the evenings, I thought. (& it was nowhere near as heavy as some of today's niche offerings, either.) I lost this bottle when I moved house, when it must have been twenty years old; & I cannot think where it went, but it was about three quarters full & I am sorry it's gone. If you wore the original Calvin Klein Obsession or anything along the lines, of say, Aromatics Elixir, original - you would have no problem with this - though this was slightly sweeter & smoother than Aromatics & far nicer to my nose. Not quite unisex either but almost, but to anybody who wore those kind of spicy perfumes like Obsession & even the 70s Opium, it was still feminine, I thought - some of my Aunt's friends still wore YSL Opium & not just the 80s Christian Dior Poison & earlier YSL Paris, a lot a lot. I am glad they made Cashmere Mist eventually though - because to me, that really is exactly what Donna Karen was talking about, when she described the scent of the body lotion; & it really is, the scent of pure luxury - if it suits your skin, it's gorgeous, gorgeous. If it doesn't well it can smell a bit sharp, apparently - but I really love it in edt & edp. This was certainly v popular for a relatively short while, though, at first, when I was tiny - until Cashmere Mist took over - & this one was largely relegated to obscurity (& quickly went out of production.) We never had any of the other body products that were to be worn to enhance this - all different scents; but I remember Donna Karen being interviewed when I was little - & describing her ideas for this & speaking so eloquently of her vision for this, & how they'd achieved what she'd wanted for this - she was very determined that it shouldn't be "just another mainstream perfume" put out on behalf of a Designer, she wanted it to be v much her own style - & I think her former Husband was an artist; who designed everything to do with the perfume & body products; but she'd known exactly what she wanted for this, & stayed true to her vision, whatever the marketing types had said & tried to make her to put out! This came out about right after Christian Lacroix Cest La Vie - in 1992, I think - & just after Christian Dior Dune, which had been the year before - Dune, which I've always thought was a masterpiece, in it's original form of Eau de Toilette was so very different to what came before in the 1980s, & barely a (wall) flower in sight (now sadly ruined by monster of a reformulation, & a mere shadow of itself, with no partial savoury vanilla but more tonka + oakmoss base - it is literally just top notes now - & quickly dries down to nothing more than a strange, semi-gourmande, sweet/"icing sugar vanilla" & little else, after less than 3hrs, I couldn't believe it - more than that & you'd think there was nothing where you had sprayed it, at all!) - & no doubt this would definitely never have survived a reformulation; bc the mids & base are very very complex, indeed & this one, even rivals the amounts of different notes in such as Christian Lacroix C'est La Vie (which I liked) & others of this brief time period from early 1992 onwards, including Dior's Champs Elysee - these were all right before all of those "Minimalist" perfumes came out in the early-mid nineties & stayed for quite a while - but none of these were the same as the 1980s heavy hitters, like Christian Dior Poison & YSL Paris etc - not at all - these were distinctly different, & are recognisable as early 1990s perfumes (even Champs Elysee, which is the closest to a 1980s perfume had a floral simplicity that meant it couldn't have been an 80s perfume - even with the relatively large amount of notes to now - & the persistent, you'll be able to wash it off in the evening, performance. Honestly, though, I never, never see those "green apples" - as her brand; she wanted silk, cashmere, pure luxury - a minimalist's palate; & a very chic one at that - & though she designed for "professional women" I don't think those green apples were ever anything that she would have worn; I think the marketing types who took over her brand, insisted on those - but she made this, for women like her, like my Aunt, who was actually my Godmother, & surrogate Grandmother - not actually a blood relative, who was extremely glamorous, & a woman of a certain age & very well read, very cultured & who believed in quality - & my Aunt bought this blind, (which was unusual then) the v second it came out. I remember she said it was extremely expensive & I doubt doubt it, it was extremely high quality, far more so than some of TF's current offerings for example. This was nothing to be worn in warm weather or high summer though, this was a spicy & many layered winter parfum; & I did rlly like this on my aunt - yet I don't like anything like Aromatics Elixir or similar. A woman who wears this probably has a bottle of the original Mitsouko, that she saves for special occasions I think, it has that kind of definite & very oriental air, about it - & if it had turned out to be a Guerlain you wouldn't have been particularly surprised, it doesn't swem very "American" to me, at all this - although in it's way, it's more like Jicky, that Mitsouko, actually. Soon after this came out, I began reading, seceral times over, a brilliant, very glamorous novel (as I often did even though I was tiny, I was a v precocious & well read little girl, fascinated by all things fashion etc) - & in this novel, the young heroine who married a much older man, only ever wore Guerlain's Jicky - & so I really wanted to tty out that one - my aunt took me to test Jicky, at the nearest Debenhams - & I thought this particular perfume was v much in that vein - dense, spicy, warm, not exactly pretty - & almost unisex, like Jicky - but just not; & very much the kind of perfume that the heroine of that novel would wear I thought - though the story went from pre 2nd World War, up to the very late 1980s - & the heroine was a very 1980s woman; right on the cusp of the new 90s (I think that the stunning Phaedria would have loved a bottle, of this, to use sparingly, I think, from about 1992, onwards - when she decided to not devote herself to her 1980s formulation Jicky, any longer - & looked for something new. (The novel was "Old Sins" by the brilliant & much missed Penny Vincenzi; & is still one of my favourites of it's kind) - but I was only a very little girl when I first read it, & it seemed hugely exciting & glamorous to me! Certainly it was the best of those 6 novels she wrote about a dynasty of people spanning various decades as she did later. This one was full of detail about the Fashion & Magazine industry, & was something that could probably only have been written by PV who had worked in those industries for years, & lived through at least some of the times she mentions in the novel. I only have to smell this eau de parfum, & I remember that novel & allsorts of specific details about it, it's funny how a perfume can remind of such definite & complicated events so clearly.)

scent : 6/10 sillage : 8/10 longevity :8/10 100% night fragrance too feminine for me floral scent

This fragrance is.... Me at my first New York Fashion Week. Donna Karan I don't know how you did it but you're describing me, my life, my work, my Manhattan all in the course of time the fragrance wears on my skin. It's like Donna made it just for me. This perfume has every ingredient I love in a perfume. From the top notes: pineapple, osmanthus, orange blossom, and peach. From the heart: orchid, jasmine, heliotrope and rose. From the base: amber, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, incense, cedar and suede. This scent embodies the best of the best from New York designers who work hard to create a work of art. Before Tom Ford's Black Orchid, there was Donna Karan's debut fragrance. It's such a crying shame you can't find this anymore other than if you hear about a friend who still keeps it. This fragrance has everything: fruits, flowers, patchouli, amber, sandalwood, musk, leather, incense, woods, and vanilla. It's an epic fragrance that smells like every note is a model on the runway showing off the beautiful designs of Donna Karan's genius. I got aldehydes (not listed) scented with green notes and osmanthus right off the bat. It smells green but not terribly herbal or vegetal. It helps that the peach pineapple and apricot notes are keeping it sweet. It does start off sweet with fruits and flowers. The flowers include carnation, lily, orchid, jasmine, heliotrope, ylang-ylang and rose. Like I said I love the flowers in this fragrance. It's too bad they're not really huge players and I would not call this a floral fragrance. It's got mostly carnation heliotrope and orchid serving as the heavy hitters. They are there for a while but they make an exit and serve as ladies who are hosting an event in which the men take over not too long after the floral show is over. The men in this scent are very masculine, but yet they are fashionistas and extremely formal, well dressed, elegant and as good looking as the women. There are animalic accords of musk leather and suede. A lot of it. It smelled like Donna Karan's walk in closet where she keeps all her fur coats, leather jackets, leather trench coats, leather boots, leather gloves, scarves, leather hats (think biker hat), and all her shoes and that's a lot of shoes. The suede scent really evokes shoes. God how I love that. The dry down is pure wood. It's like she put on a fashion show wearing all kinds of outfits and then put them back in the closet/wardrobe - which is made of wood. There's also patchouli and incense doing their thing and releasing a lot of smoke and cathedral style incense. All of these final phase notes are totally masculine so this fragrance (like Tom Ford's Black Orchid) is completely unisex. Guys can wear this and rock it. Women too but I feel that it's for women who have experience wearing all kinds of perfumes and colognes, even men's colognes, and has developed a refined and specific taste for perfume. This really does feel like Donna Karan made it for other designers to wear for their own pleasure. It smells so good, so elegant, so sexy, so incredible and it has the same bones as TF Black Orchid so if you liked that you'll love this one. I would have to say that to my nose DK is more feminine (even with the unisex quality) than Tom Ford which to me really does smell more masculine. If it wasn't for the fruit notes, the flowers and the vanilla, this would have become a man's cologne. O my God but is this a perfume or what? It's aromatic, it's spicy, it's floral, it's musky, it's citric, it's feminine, it's masculine, it's smoky, it's sweet. It has every ingredient that you'd find in both men and women's fragrances. Donna outdid herself with this one. Did this win a FIFI award? It's too bad that it doesn't get as much praise as Black Orchid. This is a unique one of a kind scent that stands tall on it's own. It's so beautiful. So perfect. I have nothing but love for this perfume. One last thing I'd like to add: it's strong and heavy so it's a one spritz and you're done type of perfume. It's an evening formal fragrance to wear at night to go to the theater, to Broadway musicals, the symphony, the opera, the ballet, or any black tie gala event at night. It's Oscar Night on the Red Carpet. It's Fashion Week Fashion Show After Party. It's glamorous, sexy, modern, and it has Manhattan New York written all over it. Donna Karan wore this herself because it's quite obvious she made this perfume for herself to wear and she put a lot of her own personality in it in the same manner Elizabeth Taylor did for her fragrance Passion. DK is a winter fragrance because it's got so much musk and leather which gives it a warmth and balsamic aromatic quality typical of winter fragrances. This scent can also be classified as belonging to every fragrance family: fruity-floral, incense, Oriental, musky and gourmand. While not as gourmand as Black Orchid which has chocolate, this has vanilla which does stand out if you're paying enough attention to what your nose is smelling. This is a masterpiece. Absolutely perfect perfume. I am wearing it for Fashion Week this week.

Purchased on Ebay Donna Karan 1992 Vintage Perfume Donna Karan's debut fragrance is an underrated masterpiece. This is such an absolutely gorgeous fragrance and like so many vintage classics from the 80s-90s one that got lost in the shuffle of discontinued frags. Before DKNY became the logo the house of Donna Karan, in the 1990's, was creating fashions for modern young hip urban professionals in Manhattan NYC. When I smell this fragrance I do think of the fashionista crowds, the boho-chic groups, and artists, models, photographers, the whole Fashion Week thing. However this fragrance also seems to capture the early 90s in the fragrance industry. Fruity-florals were in vogue, heightened feminine scents, powdery florals, stuff like Tresor by Lancôme and Chloe Narcisse. The opening to this fragrance and the top notes reflect this period. Heavy on sweet fruity scents of citrus, apricot, pineapple, peach, orange blossom, ylang ylang. The bergamot orange apricot peach and pineapple are delicious. They're fresh and sweet with flowery touches of the orange blossom and ylang not to mention further notes of cassia or cassis/currant. In the heart the florals come through without the fruity sweetness because they are over a base of incense and musk. I detect spicy-florals with carnation, a patchouli-rose, indolic jasmine and powdery heliotrope. The heliotrope is like the high note in the floral chorus especially in the middle of the performance. A powdery feminine very 80s and 90's woman's boudoir type of smell. After the flowers fade, the unisex and modern make-up emerges. The warm incense/benzoin, some green notes, the suede/leather and the woods (sandal and cedar) and amber. I like the dry down and the base notes in this perfume. They come off as a little Oriental because of the patchouli and incense but it never goes into solid hardcore Orientalism. This is no Shalimar. Donna Karan keeps this fragrance in the realm of modern New York. The suede note makes my head swim. This is like a handbag or leather shoe wardrobe scent, lots of leather, musk, enough to make it unisex/masculine but also feminine in the body of flowers and fruit. The amber and vanilla plus woods provide a praiseworthy dry down. Finally I want to add that I love the bottle. Reminds me of artsy modern 'furniture art' you know like an objet d'art you put in your apartment living room or right by the doorway so that arriving guests can admire it. Lots to love about this perfume. I think it's great for autumn and winter so now that we're in September this fragrance would be perfect to wear with like a scarf, gloves, pea coat, trench coat, cashmere sweater, and vests, suits, business formal or evening wear. This is good for September through February. A fruity top, floral heart and musk/Oriental sandalwood base makes this a kind of amazing hybrid of all the different types of fragrances. Good job Donna on your first perfume. Can they reformulate this or bring it back?

this was such unique and mysterious perfume. I acquired it then and there (1992). what perhaps struck the most was that Supple Suede Accord that Donna Karan later would still wanted to be incorporated in her perfumes. (and successfully, but none had evermore the Extravagance and Exquisiteness of this first perfume of hers.) I always watched out for her fashions too. inmidst Calvin Klein (whom I also adored) and Ralph lauren (not) she certainly made her stance in being 'one of the Big Three'. while then you also had Izaac Mizrahi, Marc Jacobs, (later) Alexander Wong, Louis Dell'Olio, (earlier) Geoffrey Beene, Bill Blass, Adolfo, (the confections of whom Nancy Reagan wore). Donna Karan had first revitalised the Fashion Brand Anne Klein. I searched it up and in 1984 she founded her eponymus Fashion Label. this perfume made quite the impression on me ! it was utterly Chic and Sophisticated. the elaborated perfume bottle was designed by her husband, artist Stephan Weiss. (later it would get the name 'the Swan'.) 'beachedsiren' beneath (2023) invigorated a memory about the bottle. there was indeed a flap for the Vaporiser. and that was not so 'handy'. but Art needs Ache and Despair. however there was nothing to despair over once you had this perfume. as it was so Opulently Flowered and Fruited, its main 'goal' laid in the Basenotes. Resinous, Leathery, Smoky, Musky and Woody. this was a fabulous perfume. of the perfume there are several iterations, even one in a Silvertoned Chain with a Tiny and elegant 'Cage' for a microbottle of perfume. just to not forget about this memorable and avantgardistic perfume.

Swan bottle 3.4oz edp reviewed Secondary market on the black swan is going to make your bank account groan. Great thing about being old is you remember when these classics were launched, the times we found ourselves in. The 1990s was famous for the big peachy rose/ Sophia Grojsman accord. Lancome Tresor, Diamond and Rubies and also its nestled into DK . Donna Karan simmered in the 70s-80s in the background at Anne Klein while Halson, Calvin, and Ysl ruled the late 70s-80s. The dawn of the 90s saw Karan rise to prominence with her capsule basic wardrobe bringing back clean minimalism from the big 1980s. The black swan is done in the heavy style of Boucheron. Its not minimal like 1994 CK1 revolution but still a full figured kitchen sink type fragrance. It opens with lily, maybe an aldehyde, the osmanthus, peach and pineapple creates a thick fruit compote upon the suede leather. The leather, amber tones and woods make this a heavy scent for winter or nights. Just Me from Montana in 1994 lightened up this idea considerably. 1990s fragrances were all about heavy fruit and this is no exception. I am glad Donna added the suede and musk for a lived in texture to balance them and the rich florals. This is a maximalists dream.

I do not have this black and gold bottle, instead I have a mini of the parfum concentration. This bottle has something of a sci-fi/ pornographic shape that it's difficult to say whether it was intentional (it does not seem to fit the Donna Karan early 90's identity. Tom Ford, perhaps). If you haven't seen it, a quick search will show you what I mean. In any case, the design doesn't reach the level of vulgar (imo), but immediately brings a scandalous feel to the subtext of the whole experience. However the scent is a slightly cool leathery affair with detectable carnation and lily and maybe some tonka that isn't scandalous at all. As it progresses it warms up slightly, perhaps with some clean musk and vetiver for balance. I find it very classically unisex, rather grown up and serious, without being cold and unapproachable. Not literally in notes, but it brings to mind the highest quality fabrics and the tactile experience of them. When today's fashion slaves talk about "quiet luxury", I doubt they can imagine what that really meant when no one was looking and when there was no such thing as weekly "aesthetics", but just personal style. This captures the best of that. It's confident, serene, and personal. Love it.

One of the most remarkable scents of the 20th century hands down. This scent capture the sophisticated glam of Manhattan. Think to yourself Madison Ave at night light up by all the boutique windows along that avenue as you look out from tinted car window being whisks off to exclusive evening gallery opening party in trendy So Ho. No scent capture that then Donna Karen New York. For the life of me I could never understand why Estee Lauder when the took over the DK fragrance portfolio canceled this fragrance along with the male counter part. The original bottles themselves where works of sculptured art from Donna husband. Think beautiful rich suede against white orchid with a mist of smoky tobacco and amber vanilla. Everything else from Lauder under the DKNY name has been trash.

Oh God!!!!! Its a masterpiece! At first , its a bit strong suede , but it drys down very very wonderful . If you smell from very near the skin you sprayed the suede feels strong but if you smell it from the distance it is so light and modern . I usually spray the curtains of my room to see how a perfume develops and to check its sillage . This filled my entire home with its heavenly aroma . I have more than 700 perfumes and my nose is really a mess , but this aroma is unike !!! Plus , Its rare and this fact double values it . No one can wear it except you in your city ! I feel unike today <3

Another of my mother's fave, mostly reserved for a night out and full makeup and high heels attitiude. I always admired it although personally i find it a bit too much too fully enjoy it. Still is a good one.It satrts some how with a green juicy rush then it weirdly warms up in a cinnamony sweet, heady ,unusual thing like a deep bronze iridescent peacock feather. A creature delivered from the most fertile fantasy!As for the end of the show a well judged vanilla-cedar combo with a green narcotic fume and the texture of a taupe bias- cut suede dress. A classic although not for me!

This came to me in the way of a romantic gift for Valentine's Day from a great love of my life which was never going to work, (the love, not such an issue the perfume). Its great. I do see it as a more autumnal/winterish scent though that doesn't have to be limited to that. It always struck me as 'suede-ish' or 'leather-ish', very class, warm. I did miss it when the bottle ran out. Years later when I worked for a company that rep'd it I got a bottle to have for memories. I rarely wear it but from time to time when its cold I'll wear it. It is unique and special.

Amazing oriental that reminds me of classics like Chanel Antaeus and Jacomo de Jacomo. Notice that both of the fragrances I mentioned are masculines. This is perfectly unisex, with dark fruits and incense/leather notes. It also proves a suitable replacement for vintage Antaeus, in case you're a fan of Antaeus but don't like the reformulation. I happen to have a vintage bottle. It's good stuff.

I need this, it reminds me if my youth , dark smoky clubs and a sense of wild freedom , wintry nights and warm seduction, but then the cosy comforts and safety of a blankie, bring it back , even if its just for the bottle with its aesthetic curvaceous shape, unlike many of todays round pebble styles, which unfortunatley like seems to be the change from my youth to womanhood .

Okay, after reading and reading about this one, I'm going to try it. However, it's difficult to find a bottle that is not sky high in price. So, what I'm doing is trying a bottle of the "type" body oil from worldwideoils. I have had GREAT success in finding my well-loved discontinued scents there. They do a wonderful job. I'll let you know what I think.

i found a 3.4 EDP of this today at my local red white and blue for $13.95 i could've screamed to the Fragrance Fairies... Thanku when i was young n dumb i hated and abused this fragrance and now the my perfume senses have matured i longed for this and now i own it once again... thanks Red White & Blue

Interesting that all good stuff gets discontinued! Not fruity enough for those of naive nostril to keep it in production perhaps...

I have this but I don't really like it that much, so I will be happy to give it away. If interested, PM me.

why is this fragrance categorised as a floral?....am a tad lost

Wonderfully sexy, a beautiful fragrance but impossible to find.