Red Door

** VINTAGE REVIEW ** This is for the vintage formula, which comes in the clear bottle with rounded red top, not the solid red bottle pictured. I have not tried the new formula and can only imagine that an unfortunate reformulation must be responsible for these shockingly negative reviews and overall low rating. Vintage bottles are still plentiful and inexpensively priced on eBay, and if you love glamorous "lipstick" fragrances, this one is not to be missed. Expertly blended with a dazzling array of notes, Red Door exudes elegance from a bygone era. Opulent and intense, the notoriously powerful and enchanting silage includes jammy rose, powdery violet, juicy peach, spicy carnation and anise. The result is unapologetically feminine... a cosmetic/lipstick/makeup fragrance that pays homage to the iconic Elizabeth Arden Red Door beauty salons. Red Door was an expensive fragrance back in the day and represents a ‘90s version of the elegant, independent, and trail-blazing woman who would have frequented The Red Door Salon. In order to fully appreciate this fragrance, let's take a look at the impressive origins of this brand... Born in 1878, Elizabeth Arden made history for revolutionizing the beauty industry and the way American women approached cosmetics and skincare. In a groundbreaking move, she opened a salon on Fifth Avenue in 1910, painting the door bright red with brass accents. At the time "nice girls" did not wear makeup, but Arden was a marketing genius who tapped into the burgeoning era of motion pictures, creating cosmetics commercials shown in movie houses and catering her products to upper class "respectable" ladies. She painted the door red to catch people's attention, but also as a symbol of female independence. Women marched for the right to vote wearing Elizabeth Arden red lipstick, and they wore her "Victory Red" lipstick when joining the war effort of World War II. In 1915, Arden introduced the concept of the “makeover” and began opening salons across the United States. By the 1930s she owned more than 100 salons internationally, and earned more money than any other businesswoman in the history of the United States, according to Fortune magazine. Elizabeth Arden was known as one of the most prestigious cosmetic brands, and her “Red Door” salons were revolutionary as luxurious, holistic-health havens for women. The Red Door served as inspiration for the salon in the 1939 movie "The Women" where Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, and Joan Fontaine go for “Jungle Red” manicures, daily calisthenics, and juicy gossip. Elizabeth Arden products were staples of the most famous women from Queen Elizabeth and Jackie Kennedy to Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. It was said, “There are only three American names that are known in every single corner of the globe: Singer sewing machines, Coca Cola, and Elizabeth Arden.” In 2010, Vanity Fair lauded the company's 100 year anniversary, reporting that Elizabeth Arden had become a $1.3 billion global empire with the signature Red Door fragrance selling an astonishing 50,000,000 bottles since its introduction in 1989. Sadly, today the Red Door Salons are but a memory after suffering unfortunate rebranding and officially closing during the 2020 pandemic. But Miss Arden's legacy remains! So do yourself a favor... Stop complaining about "old ladies" and scoop up an original bottle on eBay to enjoy this exquisitely beautiful and iconic masterpiece that represents an era of glamour that no longer exists today. IN SUMMARY: Red Door is an affordable, underrated gem! Scent 10/10 Longevity 10/10 Silage 10/10

Not for the faint of heart or nose! Once you open this red door fragrance and spray it on your skin (or a blotter) you are immediately transported into a realm of romance and glamour from another era. It's like a luxurious red velvet. The red rose is distinctive as it starts off with floral notes of rose, jasmine, freesia, lily, tuberose, heliotrope and violet. They are boozy-sweet, rich, deep. This is a powerful perfume so apply lightly because it's a bomb. I peg it as a formal dress perfume. Feels like a formal and beautiful vintage velvet red dress from like the 1950s. If you like Elizabeth Taylor perfume Diamonds and Rubies this is similar but with no strong peach. The plum and peach note is very minimal. I don't feel this is a fruity scent. It's a dark floral with wood, musk, amber. The florals are front and center but there is also a smokiness. It's incense (benzoin) and there is warm amber. There is a woodsy quality to it as well. Spicy and sultry. It's also musky. But it's all well blended and thrown in together so you have to really smell it to get the individual aspects. It's very grown up and a statement maker. Stays the same throughout it's life. It's not for everyone and some might say it best suits a mature woman past the age of 30 or 40 but it really has no age or gender to me. No fragrance at all is declaring it's own gender or age. That's just us humans that do that. For me this is a fancy dinner date perfume, an evening cologne to wear with your best clothes. There is a soapy quality at the end that dries down into a clean skin scent. But it is intoxicating and very heady and gets to your head. I love to get whiffs of it while it lasts. It is long lasting at over 4 to 5 hours and can really be detected by anyone around you. A beautiful rose-amber perfume. I also have a happy association with this fragrance. It is so perfect for Christmas time. It's warm enough for winter and has a 'come and smell my perfume as we kiss under the mistletoe' type of vibe. I love it. Best worn in winter and fall. Gorgeous gorgeous scent.

1989 Carlos Benaim "Amber Floral" Thank goodness for Fragrantica I use it exclusively TOP: Rose, Orange Blossom, Plum, Violet, Peach, Anise MIDDLE: Honey, Carnation, rose, Tuberose, Ylang-Ylang, Jasmine, Lily, Freesia, Lily of the Valley, Orchid BASE: Sandalwood, Benzoin, Amber, Musk, Heliotrope, Vetiver, Cedar This is from a mini bottle. The Jasmine is first detected and it really shows how great Carlos Benaim is at his work. BVLGARI Jasmine Noir is one creation. Calvin Klein Eternity(Wow, I just love this one) is another. These items show a deep understanding of quality Jasmine and a nice touch with the base notes with just a hint of animalic. Frankly, women's fragrance with animalic is really hot-- to me--at least. Check out Paris Hilton she is one of the best at using animalics without it being like a bad zoo. This fragrance is definitely a feminine one. However, Curly Fragrance Michelina says woman dig florals on guys. Still. . . in my opinion primarily feminine. I'm wearing it and I'm a guy. These days, I checked downstairs to make sure. Yep. Just kidding and about to get in trouble. The quality Jasmine makes the drydown maybe work for a guy that likes floral. This fragrance lasts incredibly well. It really asserts itself so get a sample. It has a sweetness at first that settles into a reasonable and delightful sweetness. Packaging is pure taste and I need to see a pretty bottle--always. I love the packaging aspect of fragrance. Not that much money you can do a blind buy if you got some extra.

I remember the ad campaign for this from the '90s. I had a tiny bottle as part of a gift-with-purchase back then, and it wasn't my favorite fragrance, but it was pleasant enough. I wanted to revisit it and see I felt about it now. I'm also in the process of acquiring some of the iconic powerhouse fragrances of the '80s and '90s, and this definitely deserves a place in my collection. Catherine Zeta-Jones was the perfect spokeswoman to represent Red Door. Like her, the fragrance is beautiful, lush, multi-faceted, and perhaps also a bit over-the-top and maybe intimidating for some. Tuberose is the first thing that slaps you in the face, then orange blossom, violet, and plum begin to kick in. Afterwards, the honey and amber develop, which gives the fragrance a syrupy golden flavor. Sweet rose and spicy carnation add additional richness. The fragrance has almost a 'purple-red' feel to it...maybe the anise? I think the heliotrope adds that old-school 'powdery' touch as well. It mellows out a bit into a beautiful honeyed, fruity-musky floral with a bit of spice and woods. Vanilla is not on the list of ingredients, but there's a sweetness at the end that makes me think of vanilla. It's very strong, so maybe not for everyday use. And I think it would be the perfect floral for the colder months...it could stand up to the chillier temps of fall and winter with ease. Red Door may not be for everybody, but it's a match made in heaven for a lucky few. Enjoy!

I currently have a couple of versions of Red Door. I have a 1 ounce of a previous reformulation in the completely deep red bottle with the red cap, and I have the newest version with the clear cap. Each of these bottles is eau de toilette strength. The first version is stronger with more of a honey-rose, white floral scent. I think it's truer to the original in the domed door-shaped bottle, which I've owned in the past. The second is brighter in the opening, more citrusy. The rose and white florals are still there but softer, and it's a lighter perfume overall. It's still a fairly strong perfume compared to what's generally offered, but compared to the original, it doesn't last as long. The Red Door DNA is there, but it feels fairly different. It's more modern to my nose. The former smells more vintage, like it's definitely a perfume from the past. Personally, I like both versions. I have no problem wearing perfumes others might consider dated. I love a beautiful vintage perfume, and in the past, I was very much against changing perfumes at all. When they made the first changes to Red Door, I was horrified. I've relaxed since then. I realize this is a business, and I would rather there be a little nip and tuck to keep up with the times versus the perfume being discontinued altogether, providing it's a respectful reformulation. I feel this was respectful. I'll wear older versions when I can find them, and I'll also wear the new version.