White Diamonds

A beautiful fragrance. I remember the black and white TV commercial for it, with Liz Taylor taking off a pair of white diamond earrings and giving them to a guy playing in a kind of gambling game, saying, "these have always brought me luck." Opens with aldehydes which for the early 90's was such a throwback to vintage aldehyde florals like Arpege, Chanel 5, 22, L'air du temps, White Shoulders, White Linen, and throwback to white florals like Fracas. The neroli and citrus top notes give it a fresh burst of sweetness. The soapy quality is immediately there. Bubbly and bathy, soapy. Very clean. The white floral heart settles in, made of lily, jasmine, tuberose and white rose. So this is definitely all about the white flowers. Gardenia was, according to herself, Liz Taylor's favorite flower. The scent begins fresh, cool and soapy but finishes off warm and musky. In between you get the clean white florals and a touch of cinnamon. This is somewhat spicy because of that cinnamon which you can't miss. The dry down is musk, amber, sandalwood. By the driest stage, it is much warmer with white musk. The scent is also powdery, most likely because of the iris or orris root note. The dab-on bottles in the egg shape with fake diamonds (rhinestones) has a sweet but strong oil of lilies and jasmine kind of vibe. The spray is a powder bomb. This scent is luxurious, sophisticated, glamorous and warm, suited to fall and winter in the evening for dressy formal events - weddings, wedding parties, gala dinner parties. People forget that the time of it's release in 1991, this was such a beloved and popular fragrance that transcended age and race. Fans of Elizabeth Taylor lined the streets in front of Macy's to hear her talk about this perfume. She wore it herself as she did all her other perfumes. White Diamonds won a FIFI award. This is truly a masterpiece of perfumery. But it's also quite simple despite it being heavy. If you spray just a little on your wrist or in a vertical spray on your neck, you're good to go. The perfume leans feminine and not unisex (even Arpege is more unisex). I don't care what some say about it calling it an old lady fragrance and young people have no business wearing it. Whatever. It is such a classy and beautiful aroma that it should be appreciated by all. It may not work on everyone's skin chemistry if you don't like aldehydes or white florals but if you do then go with it and rock it. To me though it is so elevated and glam that I can only wear it at wedding parties or very dressy formal affairs which don't come frequently in my life. And in winter time like now - January, February. A soothing scent, it can also work as an after your shower and before bed time scent. I happen to really like aldehyde white florals, soapy florals, powdery florals, so for me this is a treasure. Fragrance has the power to change itself to each and every individual so if it's coming off as old and ugly to you, remember to others it's beautiful. To me it will always be beautiful. I have the dab on bottles and the sprays. And the best part is that despite it being super expensive at one time it is now so cheap a child on an allowance can buy it! It's a drugstore cheapie and always easily found at CVS, Walmart, Walgreens etc. Elizabeth Taylor knew what she was doing because she's passed on (and lives only in her movies) but this fragrance is forever.

Esto es la joya señor perfume que Elizabeth Taylor mandó a realizar para inmortalizar a la Diva de Hollywood.. esto es clásico por donde se le mire! hoy en día hasta una mujer de 50 años podría decir que esto es para alguien "mayor", esto huele a dólares viejos!! qué elegante eres White Diamonds!! esto es a lo que olían las mujeres en los años de la época dorada de la Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios!! un atemporal elegante que pudo evocar a Elizabeth Taylor recibiendo múltiples flash de paparazzis, vestida de talla cero, un peinado cardado lleno de laca, maquillaje!, perfume clásico, talcos perfumados, un incienso a lo lejos que podría ser la combinación de humo de tabaco y perfumes vintage de la época.. eso evoca WHITE DIAMONDS! es un señor perfume que él te lleva a ti! no tú a él! grita alrededor de 12 horas que sigue ahí! es de una fijación y estela enorme! debes tener cuidado con los spray puesto que si no estás acostumbrado a una bomba clásica.. mejor ni te molestes en aprestar el spray por completo!, hasta con un poco alcanza para sentirlo y que los demás lo huelan. Elizabeth Taylor siempre nos cuenta una historia en cada perfume que lleva su nombre! esta elección de piedras preciosas no es casualidad que su primera fragancia lleve el nombre de WHITE DIAMONDS. Esta sin duda es la piedra preciosa preferida de LIZ TAYLOR, representa la abundancia, la fuerza y tiene una vibración alta para calmar las pasiones y tener claridad mental. Elizabeth Taylor decía que los DIAMANTES BLANCOS le daban suerte.. ella las usaba por su magnetismo y el color que sobresalía perfectamente en sus flash cuando le tomaban fotos. al ser su piedra favorita, su primer perfume de JOYAS, obviamente se llamaría WHITE DIAMONDS, y ese WHITE DIAMONDS llevaría un aroma clásico como olería una DIVA de Hollywood. Este perfume huele a baño de tina, champaña chispeante en una copa de oro, un incienso de fondo, sales de baño, jabón perfumado, una vela que huele a sándalo o musgo, a todo eso huele este perfume muy bien mezclado. Una Diva que se está preparando para ir a recibir un Oscar. Si tienes alma de Diva.. este es tu perfume! llamarás la atención.

I see the review below claiming that White Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, and Sapphires "smell pretty much exactly like each other" and that this absolute masterpiece smells "identical to White Shoulders." Clearly, the fentanyl crisis is worse than I thought. Anyway, those of us who were in jr. high or high school in the late 1990s were likely traumatized by this stuff for several years. It seemed that every mom, aunt, teacher, and random woman on the street bathed in it. For that reason, I sort of put it out of my mind, though I've always loved it in small doses. But never in a million years did I ever think I'd wear it. And then I hit 40 and found that I had no more F's to give. Now I wear it constantly, and any silly peasant that doesn't like it is free to leave. While the EDP remains my favorite because of its more indolic opening, slightly softer, more rounded edge and its "friendlier" projection, the EDT is good for when you want a sweeter and less floral overall, more aldehydic opening and more projection/sillage. Oh, that PROJECTION/SILLAGE. Frankly it can hit bystanders like a pimp slap if you over-apply it. Two sprays of this are more than enough, and any more would be considered chemical warfare. The compliments I get when I wear this never cease to amaze me, since this is the last thing you'd expect a 6'1", 165-pound man to be wearing. It seems that most young people who didn't grow up around this have no idea what it is and compliment me the most. To quote a mid-20-something bartender, "You smell like hella horny flowers, and I'm low-key into it." Thanks, honey bun. Funny how times change, and how much marketing and word of mouth hide the things we really do like. Stop letting your memory and word-of-mouth from 30 years ago steer you away from this absolute masterpiece. FYI: If, on occasion, you enjoy dialing up the projection to a level that qualifies as an act of aggression as I do, get BOTH the body powder and the lotion. You can thank me later.

Metamorphosing Tuberose... 1991 Tuberose, Aldehyde, & Lily Scent, that I imagine Julia Roberts wearing in Sleeping With the Enemy, which also came out in 1991. It starts out clean, prim, starchy, stuffy & oppressed, but morphs into a beautiful blossoming tropical tuberose, with a darkness underneath. This beauty opens with a vintage-y burst of clean & soapy aldehydic white-florals including neroli, but that's merely an opening number. As it transitions to the heart, a rich & creamy tuberose emerges at the centre of a floral bouquet. Ylang & jasmine tilt the tuberose into its tropical-citrus-fruity facets. Here in the heart I get reminders of other creamy tropical tuberose scents like Tubereuse de Madras Boucheron. The floral support base includes musk & oakmoss which fluff up the powdery facets of tuberose, while sandalwood & amber dial up the creamy richness. I just have a travel tester, and although I smelt this many years ago and passed it by, now I feel like I've never really smelt this before. Likely I sniffed the opening notes and assumed it was one thing, but it was really another. For me it starts out like a vintage white-floral aldehyde but turns into a tropical tuberose. Performance is well above average for year round wear, but I would be most likely to wear this in cooler months. Contrast to Boucheron Boucheron: These are different, but there are similarities with vintage white-florals. Boucheron takes its tuberose into a more maple-esque creamy sweetness, while White Diamonds has the aldehydes up top, and takes its tuberose into a more tropical creamy sweetness. Both have excellent performance. Overall: gorgeous vintage white-floral-aldehyde that morphs into a tropical tuberose, with excellent performance. It's a love for me. 10/10 for a vintage white-floral. Enjoy!

This is a surprise....not because I’ve never smelt it but because I’ve never worn it. For over a few years in my late teens/early twenties this was a very close friends signature. Not only that, but she was a chronic oversprayer and wore 10-12 sprays of this whatever the occassion, weather or season. She became anosmic quickly, whilst killing all around her. It came around the bend before her. Now, this fragrance can do that with only moderate spraying 😁. Needless to say this was off my try menu due to me being angry with the scent (all that suffering) and it being associated to someone else. Fast forward a number of years...and me not seeing this friend much (who no longer wears it) I yesterday picked up a bottle of Samsara EDT and noticed White Diamonds and Passion at ridiculously cheap prices. I decided what the heck and bought a 15ml of WD. Getting home I sprayed it and was taken back to all that time locked up in a car with my over sprayed friend... and then I smelt the magic. I think she wore the EDP as this never sparkled on her like this. I sat there bewildered. If I hadn’t known it was vintage I wouldn’t have thought so. The top is so sparkly the pops were almost crunchy. Just wonderful. The scent is deep and yet airy and fluffy. I quickly get the ylang which is beautiful - not banana but so clear, the jasmine moves in and reminds me of all the classic soaps I used to collect as a kid. It’s wonderous. I get more musks (white and clean) rather than heavy woods. There is a nod to Chanel with that opening which is wonderful if you like aldehydes, but is so her own scent. I think of that scene from The Great Gatsby where Leonardo raises his champagne slipper and smiles broadly at the camera during a toast. Here’s to you Liz and Carlos 🥂🍾