SpellBound

Spellbound by Estée Lauder was first introduced in 1991 and is categorised as an oriental floral fragrance. How is the current formulation doing, and does it stand the test of time? The first spray has a very oily, waxy, dusty, flowery quality that feels slightly suffocating—almost like flowers that are beginning to decay. I pick up floral notes and perhaps some orange blossom, but I can’t tell them apart; it’s so well blended. This first spritz takes me right back to the 90s, when I was about 12 and smelled my aunts' perfumes. Is it a bad or a good thing? It could be either, depending on your perception. If you’re over 35 and you smell it, you’ll probably recognise this familiar 90s perfume DNA: classic, heavy, mature women’s perfumes. But to my nose, it dries down with a twist. The initial phase lasts about 2 hours on my skin and is challenging for me—but I don’t dislike it. I know the top notes typically last for only about 30 minutes, but they linger much longer on me. After around 2 hours, the fragrance changes. On my skin, the dusty note finally disappears (finally! ;-)) and it settles into a slightly spicy, very delicate cardamom that adds a touch of freshness, along with a flowery, fruity (peach, perhaps) sweetness. This is the point where I start enjoying it the most. After that, it turns into the most beautiful, sweet, warm, ambery drydown—very luxurious in my opinion. The drydown itself (and only the drydown) reminds me a lot of the drydown of Grand Soir: sweet, warm, ambery, elegant, and just stunning. I tested Grand Soir from MFK recently, and of course, the openings are completely different (so don’t go buying Spellbound just because you want Grand Soir on a budget—you could end up being really disappointed), but the drydown is very, very similar. I was genuinely surprised by this quality in Spellbound. I wonder if anyone else gets the same impression. The performance of this fragrance is amazing. For me, one spray is enough to smell it on myself all day, and it lasts on clothes forever—which is impressive compared to modern fragrances that often don’t perform as well. On clothes, it keeps a hint of those dusty notes, but mostly stays a sweet amber, so it’s a win for me. What I really like about it is that it’s a very complex fragrance that truly develops on my skin. I can clearly tell the difference between the top (oily, waxy, dusty, flowery), the middle (a hint of cardamom), and the ambery, sweet, warm, rich base that I really love. I bought it blindly—but don’t copy me, because the first 2 hours are truly challenging. Upon the first spray, I thought... Why did I do this?! But with time, curiosity, and patience for this olfactory experience, I grew to love it. A few final words: Spellbound is classified as an oriental floral, but to my nose, I don’t get many oriental notes (not like, for example, Kenzo Jungle Elephant). I mostly get a flowery, dusty, fruity fragrance with a warm, sweet, ambery drydown, initially very 90s powerhouse, with a very elegant and current drydown. More mature rather than youthful, but oddly present despite being such an old formulation. Suitable for colder weather, with gentle application, could be worn daily in my opinion. P.S. There is a very good review of this fragrance that helped me understand it and name some of its qualities—on YouTube, by Luke Parfums—if you want even more information about this scent, go check it out.

ve the reformulation. I originally posted this under the original When I first smelled this, years ago, it smelled like a spicier Tresor. I love Tresor and I loved this but was not in a position to buy it. I bought my first bottle from an Estee Lauder counter sometime in 2019. I had sprayed the tester and it smelled similar enough to my scent memory that I was satisfied buying it. When I opened it, however, it smelled (like another reviewer said) flat. I wore it for a week straight, lost the cap somewhere, and set it aside. It was still pretty but nowhere near the spiced infused scent I wanted. Fast forward to today (Sept, 2020) and time has done the trick. Beautifully spiced peaches. Rich like velvet. Sparkling with energy. I have one very light spritz on each arm and it’s lovely and warm. On this wearing, peach and amber are dominant but uplifted by cardamom and cinnamon. A little further into the drydown and I sense carnation. It’s so well-blended, though, that I’m only getting the notes if I focus. Will certainly be returning to this throughout the fall and winter. One last thought - it smells like fall colors.

This was a blind online purchase...I have never smelled the original. But the notes sounded gorgeous, and I love powerhouse '80s and '90s fragrances, so I had to have it. At first spray, it was all peaches and orange blossom, which was lovely. But after a while....oh, my. Wow. Here comes a rich, golden, honey-and-cardomom spiced deliciousness, along with carnation, vanilla, and woods. The apricot, orange blossom, and amber are still there...just made richer and deeper, yet also more subtle, by the supporting players. This is a beauty, for sure. I'm really looking forward to it in the autumn and winter, where I think it will shine. I also love Oscar de la Renta's Volupte, another Sophia Grojsman creation, and Spellbound has some similarities to Volupte - without the melon accord, of course. But I have to say that I like Spellbound even better. It kind of reminds me of a cross (sort of) between Elizabeth Arden Red Door and Volupte....a honeyed, ambered, lightly-spiced floral with a touch of fruit preserves and vanilla. It's really lovely.

I don't care what anyone says: it smells like a cozy cup of tea in a witch’s home on an autumn/winter evening. 🧙🏼♀️🍵 It’s not “sexy” in a seductive way — it’s extraordinary, different, confident, and wild, and all of that together is what makes it so appealing. This has instantly become my new favorite stay-at-home scent. It’s very strong and definitely strange — not your typical cozy spicy fragrance, because it carries this untamed magic. 🔮 This scent doesn’t adapt to you — you either have the character to match it, or it rejects you. 🤷🏻♀️ A truly non-negotiable kind of fragrance. And be careful with the number of sprays! Other than that, enjoy! Edit: my body rejects this perfume even though I really enjoy the scent. So we will part our ways because the sore throat it gave me was one of the worst in my entire life.

Such a romantic and nostalgic fragrance for me. It’s addictive and has been my signature fragrance for a long time. My mom used to wear this a ton when she was younger so the scent has always been in my life. I can remember my dad spraying it on me before we’d leave for evening church service. It’ll never get old. Although I no longer have the old bottle, this new one has been a good substitute, even though I wish it had all the notes the old one had. It reminds me of visiting your grandmother who barely speaks English, you can smell the candies she has in her purse and the drifting spring flowers outside. It’s sour and sweet and utterly delicious.

1st Sep Spellbound is back on my tray ☺️ Lush for autumnal weather. I find it to be a spicy amber with hints of floral. It's very deep and satisfying to wear - lasts a good 6 - 8hrs with a lovely progression into the sandalwood & dark vanilla base. The carnation (wet, red carnations to my mind 😅) note in this is lovely and quite natural as opposed to sickly synthetic smelling - keeps the whole experience grounded. A really easy to wear, cosy scent that holds its own for individuality.

Sophia Grojsman's Spellbound, current formulation, is similar to Sophia Grojsman's Vanderbilt, current formulation. I suppose these are miles away from what they once were but no matter. Vanderbilt can be had in my neck of Europe for 10-15 bucks and Spellbound for double that. Spellbound has the hoary stock spicy sweet flower fragrance I love, mixed with apricot preserves that pop the flowers (there are a few) in the projection. It's unusual, not complex, and delightfully dime store.

Here it is 2026 and I can’t believe this is My First Time to have Spellbound! As an Estée Lauder since the “bath oil” days, I had many of her frags. Private Collection, Aliage (the original one), Cinnabar , Azuree were my faves but I’ve owned others and still wear them. Anyway, Spellbound is so Lovely! It reminds me of how much I loved Tresor by Lancome. I can smell that soft peach first...then it evolves into light grasses and white florals. Ooh, it’s wonderful!

This is a very complex and polarizing scent, not for the girl next door. I could not stop smelling myself on the first day of wearing it. It truly puts a spell on you. Its spicy and i can pick up a note of cinnamon even though its not listed. It developes into a sweet amber-honey-vanilla base. Not perceived as a particularly sexy scent (to my great disappointment) but beautiful for the right person nonetheless. Its going in my fall/winter rotation for sure.

Absolutely love this fragrance! It smells like wet grass to me, earthy, green and spicy. It's what a dark mysterious woman, living in an Amazon jungle set-up would smell like, lol! No other way for me to describe it. It was love for me 20 years ago and it's a love from me now. Not for the faint hearted or lovers of soft florals. This one is deep and dark, like a heart that holds many secrets. Definitely a mature woman scent.

One of my favorites. I love the carnation scent, combined with some moderate spiciness. I don't know of anything else like it. It makes me smile every time I put it on, but I'd consider it more of a niche scent today. It's not a youthful scent and leans more unisex than overtly feminine. Probably not a safe blind buy.

Having both doesn't hurt, there is little difference, the "old Spellbound" is fuller, the new perhaps less complex, and a little too loud, this is true, vanilla is screaming... but being Estee Lauder fan, I can’t complain.

Halloween Candy, Peach Syrup, and Sweaty Pantyhose. This is "The Witches of Eastwick" as a fragrance. Masterpiece. Sophia Grosjman the mother that you are.....

Çok sevdiğim bir parfüm Türkiye’de yok satılmıyor

It is a bit more reserved than the original version but it is and was a good perfume.But let's face it, it's a boudoir scent, not a street scent It is indeed the boudoir scent of a strong woman, not a housewife, not a "luxury pleasure lady", but it is still a perfume of negligee. To give you an idea,imagine a feminist woman from the 90's coming from work, where she held a leadership position, late at night, she is dress in a dark power suite, with her hair caught sober, she enter her house, only a few lights are on in the house and it's a grave silence. She closed the door slowly behind her, and set her bag and work files on the floor, she takes off her oxford shoes and her black long velvet coat, she releases her hair and runs her fingers through it, she opens her lapel shirt close to her bust and takes off her pants belt, she advances to the marble stairs in the middle of the hall, from the small wardrobe next to the first step of the stair take out a bottle of Spellbound or of it relative Cinnabar, she sprayed with it and go upstairs. She enters the matrimonial room, sees her partner in bed reading wrapped with a duvet up to the neck, the partener see her, fix her with the eyes and wait, the woman moves lightly and felinistically to the bed, grabs the book and throws it down,she tangles her fingers in the consort hair and fix the eyes. They start kissing and she throws the blanket away and then....you know exactly what happened then 😏, anyway this arr the Spellbound or Cinnabar, two perfumes created for boudoir pleasure for powerful women. In my opinion, with the risk of putting the crazy fans in my head again, both are much better than Shalimar, or the classic Opium or Bal a versailles or others, at least for a powerful woman and that because yes it's sensual, and tumultuous, deep but in the same time is elegant, sober, strong and has something cold-mysterious in it, like a velvet back suit with a dark red satin blouse with long neck on which you put a vintage gold brooch with a big red ruby.

I am lucky to own both the vintage and the new version. I got to know the current version first, and had no idea how it was, compared to the vintage. I gave a review of the new one under the listing for vintage, as the new version didn’t have its’ own listing yet. Review for the new version. A bit too weak for an eau de parfum. Likable and soft. Reminds me a bit of Exclamation and vintage Tresor, but lighter and more herbal and green. Pleasent and easy wearable. It has actually grown on me since my first review, and I really like it now. I see that it is being sold for really high price on Ebay already. Does it mean that it has been dicontinued already? I bought it in november 2019 at Charles de Gaulle airport. Now the comparison to the vintage: once the vintage settles, they actually are about 95% identical. I guess this is good news, right? While the vintage starts off as a deep and really spicy 90’s powerhouse, the new one goes straight to the middle fase of the vintages’ development, and stays like that all the way. The vintage has a blast of clove and a bit cumin (hello, Dolce Vita by Dior!) in the beginning, but that calms down. After hours of sweet lingering, the vintage softens down to something close to warm vintage Tresor, with a bit extra vanilla. You can bury your nose close to the skin by then. So I guess while the vintage goes through several different stages, the new is true to its’ character all the way. To vintage lovers who really morn the loss, you could actually buy the new as a replacement. It is not a bad remake at all. I love them both.

Thanks heavens I like this blind buy offering from Estee Lauder, I was not impressed w/ Cinnabar, it smelled like Christmas orange/clove candles. This is sweet, fruity apricot jam w/ cinnamon, clove and a dry zesty spicy carnation. I do not see this as a seductive fragrance though and that was what I was hoping for. It is hard to find truly seductive fragrances today and I am glad I have a vintage bottle of Opium. And have found Henry Rose's Dark is Night and The all natural house Gather's Shakti. Every woman needs a few different seductive fragrances in her collection. That being said this is a lovely perfume for fall and wintertime daytime or evening events such as an office party, family gathering etc... While Spellbound wasn't what I was hoping for it is still a nice offering and I will wear it in cooler weather. Edit 10/21/21 This is now bathroom air freshener. Upon further inspection of the this perfume it ends up doing the same damn thing Cinnabar does, goes into candle territory. For the price of these scents that is a huge letdown. I expect better from Estee Lauder since I have quite a few of their perfumes but it always seem like the fragrances I like get discontinued, all except Youth Dew and Sensuous (although I think that is soon on the chopping block) These reformulations are not a good value for your money. You don't want spend $60 for air freshener. If you want a good sweet apricot, spicy, vanilla and woody perfume that won't break the bank hurry and buy Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamond Nights before that is gone as well.

This review is for the newer version of Spellbound, available in a rectangular bottle with clear rectangular cap. I have both this version and the vintage version. The new formula is similar to the vintage, but not a true copy. It smells to me, like a blend of Vanderbilt and vintage Spellbound. The sweet and spicy notes are more subtle while the floral notes are more pronounced. It's still very much in the early 90s floral-Oriental with some fruity notes category of fragrances. It still has some of the original Spellbound composition in it. I would consider it an updated version or maybe a flanker. When I first sprayed it, I recognized the vintage Spellbound, but as it dried down, the differences became more apparent. So I guess, if you're looking for a true version of the original Spellbound fragrance, you'll be disappointed. But if you're fine with a flanker type fragrance that has some of the original formula blended into something new, you'll enjoy it.

Questa nuova edizione è molto candida, si piccante, ma per la maggiore incentrata sulla tuberosa. Sembra più cremoso rispetto all'originale,la nota piccante e pungente di garofano e chiodi di garofano è più leggera ma c'è. Un profumo molto buono, evocativo,conserva la classe dei profumi vintage e l'originalità. Dovendo proprio scegliere tra questa versione 2014 e quella originale, scelgo quella vecchia perchè molto più buia e notturna, misteriosa,la piccantezza è molto più forte e pungente e per me è stupenda. Anche questa non è male però, molto più chiara e luminosa ma sempre sensuale.

I love carnation scents and own a few different ones, but this is a little too simplistic. It has plenty of carnation, no apricot, and a nice amount of cardamom on me. I feel like I'm lacking any freshness or woody base note or really anything that would add depth and dimension to this fragrance. Overall, it's just okay. I'm sure I'd feel differently if the apricot, amber, and sandalwood were discernable on my skin. Not a safe blind buy, even for carnation lovers, unless you are fine with ONLY spicy carnation being present.