Passion

To say that "Passion" is an unexpected and a stand out perfume is to say nothing, really. First sprays invoke a memory of bitter herbs and woods in a wise woman's house lost in the forest, a heady concentration hitting your nose and stopping you in your tracks. It is not unpleasant, but bewildering and peculiar, making you take several sniffs at it. Bergamot with aldehydes come through next, softening the initial "blast" and creating spicy-herbal note with artemisia. Ylang-ylang and LOTV are indistinct as singular notes, but lend themselves to sweetness slowly flowing in. The woods are most plentiful and beautifully done. They are on the dry and sunny side, deep and fragrant. Patchouli lends its bitter-green accord, reinforcing oriental spices feel. Heliotrope and orris maintain powdery facet, whilst jasmine and honey add a slightly drunken/alcoholic edge to the heart. Florals, despite their profiles, are neither too sweet, oily or cloying. Quite unusually, they play the secondary or even tertiary roles, supporting the oriental lusciousness of spiced woods. Incense comes into the heart with moss covered leather bringing composition to its crescendo all the while adding yet another coloured facet to those already at play. I can confidently say that until I tried the "Passion" I did not know that woods had so many different shades and notes. It made me feel like seeing a green titanite (sphene) gemstone for the first time - its incredible play of colours shifting from/between bright and intense green, yellow, orange, ochre and into the reddish brown. As the scent settles into the skin, woods and spices mellow, with vanilla and musk adding airy freshness and maintaining the delicate sweetness. The spices are piquant and golden, and perfectly in balance with all other notes. Civet and musk are unmistakably animalistic, however in an elegant and classic manner, neither overpowering nor creating any unpleasant associations. The "Passion" is a most ingeniously designed in a coherent, logical and seamlessly transitional manner, with depth and nuances so utterly captivating and unique. The scent is most certainly unisex and best suited for special occasions and events, although moderate application during the cooler months will be perfectly appropriate at the office or outside. I also found that this fragrance is a perfect layering companion for those who enjoy creating their own signatures. It goes amazingly well with white and yellow florals, red roses and fruity tobacco. It also anchors lighter notes very well and extends their projection and sillage. So one can compose its own character and passion for the world to see and admire with confidence and panache. "Passion" is a perfume about being true to one self, dedicated and in love with what one cares for and being able to stop the world in its tracks with admiration of fearless intensity of one's heart and mind.

I just bought this for the first time. I have it on today. I bought this because its very well priced and been around for years. I love strong heady spicy woody earthy perfumes. Either really sweet spicy orientals or powdery scents (clinique aromatics elixir has a similar offensive bitter flower opening notes but dries down into a heavenly soapy smell) l can smell such a similarity in clinique aromatics and this. l love em both and now see they have pretty much the same ingredients, thats why l took to this perfume, it was like coming home to a pair of well worn slippers that are familiar and comfortable. Im not a fan of fruity bubblegum scents or just floral scents although l love gardenia and lillies but l feel fruity bubblegum scents belong on 20 year olds not a woman nearing 50 like myself. I like the ingredients to this as they are in most of my other perfumes and reviews say good things about it. Sooo the first impressions: Omg it had a strong way too much lavender smell which isn't in this l guess it must have been the bitter bergamot (which l cant stand but it seems to be in almost everything,) coriander gardenia and lilly of the valley and ylang-ylang fighting for first place and l didnt love it, but should have. l thought oh no this was a mistake, but then the dry down happens and I'm vibing with it, it's turning sweeter and more powdery with the vanilla notes pushing through now as the flowers take a backseat. I'm getting that powdery soapy smell l crave for now. It is indeed a beast but a very nice perfume. I agree not for someone below l would say 35 or maybe a bit older and definitely not for someone new to fragrances it would horrify them. But I really like it. It now has the creamy soapy flowery clean but expensive smell you would imagine a socialite woman dressed in dior or chanel in a silk shirt with gorgeous jewelry perfectly groomed with long red nails and a mink coat who looks immaculate and insanely expensive would smell. I'm imagining Elizabeth Tailor in her 40s smelled of this. I think people are going to compliment me on this one when l wear it. Luckily no one will also be wearing it, as everyone around me always rushes to the latest YSL dior or gucci on the market so it will be unique to me. I don't adhere to times or places or seasons l should wear a perfume, I'm confident and wear whatever my mood desires, the stronger the better, office friendly doesn't exist in my world. I know my scents are gorgeous, strong, and have major personality so enjoy London. 😆 I'll wear it to work, shopping, out at night, l like to introduce people to different perfumes they have never worn, or thought they could wear, and people always ask me what im wearing. I give this perfume a 7.5/10. I wish l could smell the coconut in it though.

Very witchy! This perfume was a such a surprise in the best way! It's like Magie Noire, Opium, and Poison rolled into one but it WORKS! I bought a small sample vintage bottle and it's held up remarkably well. It starts off with a peppery cedar note like Opium and a strong civet scent like Magie Noire. The floral notes help keep the Pepper and Civet in check, though. Poison has that plum/grape soda note that Passion tones way down with just heliotrope and honey and no fruit. It's like Passion is Poison's older sister as Poison can be very childish, like a teenage girl found a black dress in an old trunk and is playing Goth for a day. Passion IS the witch, not just playing at it and ultimately running back to safety with the grape Koolaid note like Poison does. You can never take Poison that seriously because of that kiddie grape note that never goes away. So many perfumes go for youthfulness by packing in the candy and fruit notes, Passions goes easy. There's just a HINT of sweetness, like maybe if you get her alone and get her clothes off, you'll have an amazing time. If she doesn't kill you. Once the cedar and civet gas off, you get heavy, smoky incense, like Poison tries to do in its dry down but never really accomplishes because the grape soda note keeps killing it. You have to really search for that sweet honey note in Passion, but it's there, lingering in the background, urging you to stick around, have another drink. For a while I thought expensive perfumes were expensive mostly because they must have expensive, exotic ingredients, but Passion has all the same ingredients that expensive fashion houses have, yet Passion is a fraction of the price. So it must be that in the perfume world 90% of your dollar is paying for the use of the house name. Decant Passion into a bottle labelled Yves Saint Laurent or Dior or Chanel and people would fall all over themselves to throw down $200 for a bottle. I love this so much I immediately bought 2 more vintage samples. This is a nighttime perfume and probably will knock your socks off in the fall/winter. This is definitely going to be a signature for me for a while. At this price, you might as well snag yourself a bottle, even if it's new and not vintage and give it a try if you like Poison but are always put off by that grape soda note.

I don’t know what it is about this perfume, I’m probably far too young to be rocking this but I just can’t help it. I saw the notes and thought I’d be interested in this as it has white florals, civet, leather and oak moss all of which I love and I’m a fan of big 80s powerhouses and celebrity fragrances. This obviously ticks all those boxes... When I first smelt it the aldehydes literally knocked me out and the spices soon followed. I only had a the small tiny bottle that you dabbed onto your skin and literally one dab blew me away. This is so ethereal and dark, it makes me thing of Anjelica Houston playing The Grand High Witch or Cher when she won her Oscar in 88. A tall, dark haired powerful woman who men literally crawl on broken glass to be In the presence of came straight to my mind. After the aldehydes dry down it’s a warm gardenia peeking through, even though it’s drenched in all these exotic spices and earthy notes the gardenia and the tuberose still try to overcome them with their buttery creaminess. However that doesn’t last long as a Smokey veil of Incense soon seeps through and it makes me think of those little hippie shops they have in Camden market where they have incense sticks burning and you’re going inside to get away from the cold. The civet and oakmoss are beautifully blended with this Incense and it takes about 16 hours for this fragrance to reach this point on my skin. Elizabeth Taylor knew what she was doing when she created this perfume. Fur coats, dark lipstick and glamorous events with a twisted dark side to fame, I’d love to know some of the drama that has gone on at big parties when people have wore this perfume... For such a cheap fragrance this is an absolute classic and should be raves about more. I know it started the celebrity fragrance trend but this one really packs a punch and lasts on the skin (and in time) more that 90% of all other celebrity fragrances. Elizabeth cared about her perfumes and put an awful lot of time and money into them and it really shows. By today’s standards this is easily Unisex. If this was poured into a Tom Ford Private Blend perfume bottle so many people my age would absolutely die over this and pay the ridiculous £250+ prices for it. Either way I’m glad I can enjoy it for £15 for a large bottle lol

1988 Vintage Amber-Chypre/Amber-Spicy Scent with Purple Passion Vibes... This vintage beauty walks the line between being a variety of different styles, especially amber-spicy and chypre-floral scents. At the end of the day though, a few hours in it settles out into a vintage-y amber, and you will catch reminders of several different vintage ambers (Bal à Versailles Jean Despez, Ciara Revlon, Tabu Dana) although the coriander stands out with a lovely spiciness. The mood & tone of this scent matches the film Purple Rain (1984), and although the film was released 4 years earlier, I could imagine Prince or Apollonia Kotero wearing this for a purple passion vibe. Opens with a burst of aldehydes, coriander & gardenia accented by artemisia, but already the spicy incense & civet notes are swelling through. Coriander stands out nicely here in the opening. For me, civet here isn't as forward as the notes would suggest, either that or it's well disguised with spice. I find the civet here less forward than Bal à Versailles Jean Desprez & Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso. The overall effect here is spicy dark purple vintage amber. As it transitions to the heart, it gets sweeter, with honey & tuberose notes emerging, while oakmoss & patchouli are swelling through tilting this to nearly a chypre. The longer it's on the skin, the more it takes on a creamy sweetness from tuberose, sandalwood & coconut. This is unsigned, but it's not a dupe of anything, although I would put it firmly in the category of vintage ambers/chypres that includes Bal à Versailleds Jean Desprez, Paloma Picasso Paloma Picasso, Poison Dior, Youth Dew Estee Lauder & Diva Emanuel Ungaro. This has excellent performance for year round wear, but the dark purple and spicy amber profile is most appropriate in cooler weather. Contrast to Purple Patchouli Tom Ford: These are different, but there are similarities with a dark purple vibe as well as amber, woody, patchouli, earthy & warm-spicy tones. Passion is spicier with more forward incense & civet notes, while Purple Patchouli is more balsamic. Both have excellent performance. Overall: gorgeous vintage purple passion amber spicy scent, with excellent performance. It's a love for me. Enjoy!