Knowing Legacy

Firstly, I strongly recommend exploring these fragrances as standalone creations and not as replacements or supposed improvements on the originals. Side-by-side comparisons will almost always lead to disappointment if you're deeply in love with the classic versions. So, I would recommend putting those aside and judging these Legacy versions as homages that stand on their own merits and characteristics. Ah, Knowing Legacy. She seems to be a bit challenging for some folks, but it may be my personal favorite. Knowing Legacy is the fragrance version of the hot goth girl with black or maybe red hair, red lipstick, and fancy metal case where she keeps her clove cigarettes. She doesn’t give a damn if you like her. Fortunately, liking her is easy to do, because she has a cool personality–even if unconventional. There’s nothing typically designer here. Indeed, Knowing Legacy is the most “niche” out of the series. It almost gives me hope seeing a designer house doing something unique and artistic–something they’ve done little of for years now. Admittedly, the opening is a bit abrasive. It’s pitch black rose and a cacophony of notes that assert themselves in a borderline impolite fashion. This phase is “Band-aid-y” according to some people. Niche fans know this sometimes punishing opening phase well and that patience is key! What comes next is still bold, but better balanced, singular, and irresistable. On me, it is rose, with dark earthiness, amber, and a hint of raspberry. I just love it. It makes me wish I still smoked clove cigarettes. The performance is moderate, with a scent cloud that doesn't stay heavy for long.

This perfume is STUNNING! You definitely can smell the Knowing but it’s much more voluptuous and complex and way sexier. I was never a huge fan of the original but this Legacy version, I’m obsessed!! To say this smells “nothing like” Knowing is an exaggeration. Does it smell exactly like it? No, it absolutely does not...and for me that is an improvement! This is Knowing gone niche, it feels retro and modern at the same time, smells much more luxurious, and it’s smokier and more full bodied. I know people get very attached to their fragrances and don’t like even the slightest bit of change but Knowing is probably no longer flying off the shelves and the company is looking at ways to reinvent some of their classics so they can keep producing them. All 5 of these fragrances are spectacular and the only real issue is the price. Going up $200 a bottle is significant and this will clearly not be welcomed by most people. If these had been $180 vs $280 I would have bought all of them. I think they have priced these WAY too high for most customers to even consider which is a pity. But the fragrances are glorious and Knowing is possibly my favorite of all of them.

I used to own a bottle of the original Knowing (parfum and EDP for each), a huge honeyed fluorescent rose on a woody Chypre base. Elie Roger created one of the spectaculars in the 1980s, a descendant of Sinan (Jean-Marc Sinan). But I didn't particularly like it, mainly because it was so overpowering sometimes that I felt shamefully suffocating (I'm definitely not a fan of strong silliage). So when I knew Frederic Malle was in charge of directing Knowing, I was very curious if he might draw inspiration from his own Portrait of a Lady? Turns out: yes, but just a bit. In my opinion, Knowing Legacy is a decent expression of the original idea, still retaining the honeyed rose-animalic-woody chypre structure. And Bruno Jovanovic did remove many of the baroque decorative details to achieve an overall more handsome, dry and crisp finish. If Portrait of a Lady leans towards ambery oriental, containing more dry spices; then Knowing Legacy is certainly a delicate rose Chypre, with an ancient resinous powder that beguiles the passengers. In a nutshell, I think Knowing Legacy might also be renamed as Knowing - Handsome fierce.

As someone who was already very familiar with Knowing, I was curious to smell the Legacy flanker. Original Knowing belongs to a very specific clade of aldehydic-like Chypres alongside Paloma Picasso, though Knowing is more of a rose Chypre while the PP is more yellow floral. Magie Noire is quite different but also has the same energy as these two. Original Knowing smells like the forest floor, with roses and red berries around, but also intensely soapy and perfumey. It has a marked 'clarity' to it despite its heavy patchouli base. Knowing Legacy smells very similar to original Knowing, but the berries are amped up, there's a hint of a little extra spice, and that sense of 'clarity' I mentioned is largely gone and replaced instead by a very earthy, slightly heavier patchouli note. It's nice (just as the original was) but I find it does little to improve on what was already a complete concept.

I have now given each of these in the Legacy Collection a proper wearing, and Knowing is far and away my favorite! I haven't smelled original Knowing in decades, so I don't have a basis for comparison like I did with the others, but I can say that Knowing Legacy does not smell vintage -- it smells new and cutting-edge. The patchouli/vetiver/sandalwood/amber combination gives a gorgeous accord, not quite like Byredo Accord Oud, but reminiscent of it. Any gender can wear this and smell wonderful. Like another reviewer said, I also am not detecting raspberry.