Catalyst

Lucky for me strong sents works with my chemistry, the wimpy stuff just fades away on me, and my chemistry works well with most perfumes that make them selves heard, and not be too over ower powerful or stinky. Catalist has been one of my wite floral sents I go to in summer and spring. I'm tipicaly an oriental sent Chick, so I also love the complexity of this Sent as well, I still get my heady musks and spices and woods, with ever emergeing flowers and fruits that blend them selves into this heavely aroma, that gets me noticed with lots of compiments a and, the sent is interesting and It makes me interesting and well as lushious, sweet aluring and just downright Beautiful.

Spiced Amber Floral, This Fragrance Is All & Has it All, Bold But It's Sweet Alluring, But Not Surgery, It's A Head Turner, You Can Wear All Year Long, It's Winter and Fall By The Crackling Fire Place, It's Spring & Summer In The Sunshine & Flowers, It's Not A Day Time Demure Sent, Not an Office Sent It's A Date Night Sent! It's Womanly, Warm, & Elegant But It's Compex and Va Va Va Voom!

OMG! I have to be honest and say that I bought this because it is so cheap and I can't resist a bargain. It is fabulous. Reminds me of Scherrer which I can no longer afford. The first note for me is black pepper and the a green metalic smell which then goes very oriental and sexy...definately a scent for a confident sexy woman not a girly girl.

THis is a delicious fruity floral!The sweet,juicy fruit melds beautifully with the gardenia and orchid.YUM! I love this part but what I love most is the warm,smooth,velvety amber drydown.So cozy,like a warm cashmire shawl.U can almost hear the wind blowing outside and see the dry leaves scurry by.Anyone could wear.

Sorry to say the only strong sent that was also a floral sent that didn't work for me was Gergio, becase it came off way to sharp from beinging to end and didn't mellow out, becasue it didn't have enough or had no grounding ingredients in it like woods and musk or powery elements to mellow it out.

Floral green with a bit of stinky herb's and stuff. A cacophony,yes....but it's fabulous. Most definitely unisex. If you can find it, you must try it.

i was surprised not to find Giorgio Beverly hills listed on the ,this perfume reminds me of icons on the top,and i happily and confidently added it !...giorgio came in 81 and catalyst a decade later...so it is the impostor..i ve already reviewed giorio beverly hills and its imitation zozo by the British company Milton Lloyd(which makes some of the best and most realistic dupes ever)..so do i really have to write another review ..about the exact same perfume.. in a different bottle.. and with a different name..?! first of all don't get me wrong.. i respect the house of halston tremendously.. and i love many of their fragrances..and hunt them.. and i think they make some of the longest lasting opulent.. strong.. perfumes.. that can be smelled from miles away.. if this doesn't bother you..certenely doesnt bother me..i personally love many perfumes from halston and i did purchase 2 catalysts.. its a great perfume.. that has presence.. substance... ....charisma..(infinite charisma) .... and dignity.... a full.. power house.. of the 8oies made in 93 ..catalyst is the type of perfume you want to wear to a new years party.. with family and friends.. its easily a signature scent.. people will remember you with either this or giorgio.. they are more or less the same.. catalyst begins with a pungent strong blast of ..hmmm i dont know.. its an explosion.. of bright ..floraly.. explosive.. accords ..that shock your entire being..and core.. and shake every sinew.. and vain.. in your body.. with ecstatic cosmic perfume energy.. its a moving bomb.. exploding at every direction.. not waiting to explode.. its exploding ..the entire time ..you are wearing it.. yet enjoyable.. yet strangely giving a mesmerizing aurora.. of bright.. clean ..crisp ..green ..aromatic ..velvety.. crispness.. and opulancy.. bright ..full.. green.. musky ..sexy.. ingratiating.. moving ..shattering.. confident.. long lasting.. silage is monstrous.. people in the other rooms will smell you.. its yet not that crazy annoying.. with all that depth of character.. its still bearable.. beautiful.. and surprisingly sexy.. and classy.. oh all this explosiveness.. and classy..?! its not as vulgar.. not as tame.. not as deep ..it all sings in higher accords ..these type of perfumes are so hard to explain in words.. you just have to smell either giorgio beverly hills or catalyst halston to know what i am talking about.. in my mind these two resemebel parties social gatherings of the high and fluent in the 80ies 9oies and resembles strong.. confident ..beautiful.. rich.. want to be seen..and smelled non shy ..talkative characters..slightly ego centic persoanlities.. slightly for over 40 although i never give age to perfumes ..i had a giorgio added to my collection when i was turning 13 !..didnt use it as much.. still to this day.. i dont use it as much as i should.. i don't know why.. maybe it has something to do with tits explosive qualities.. but i still love it.. and hold a special place in my heart ..and olfactory memory ..for it and all the special days i ve used it and mesmerized the stars.. oh wait a minute i know know why i don't use it as much i feel a little light headed and naucious after reviewing it on an empty stomach maybe that's why i am very sensitive to harsh scents and have a fragile git .. catalyst is for the brave of heart the strongest of all who can use montana by montan and paloma picaso and knowing el who love yeasatis and can handel amirage givenchy although i ended up in an er using amirage ..girgio is not as potent but do be careful use with caution for the faint of heart and nose ps i had a candle from giorgio beverlly hilss when i was in boarding school in richmond college and i loved it so much more than the actual perfume every time i smell either catalyst or giorgio i smell candle wax in a good way though

I received a small bottle of the perfume with a purchase on E-bay. The little bottle looks like the small picture above but is frosted. Beautiful! I came immediately online to buy a bottle, just knowing that it would be too expensive or hard to find. NOT!..very inexpensive and readily found. I was shocked to come here and read the reviews on this fragrance. I smell only beautiful white florals and amber. No peppery or spicy notes,no herb, no green or oakmoss...just sweet and beautiful flowers...definitely no cooking odors! It truly seems as though some of us are smelling an entirely different product than others are. I thought it must be because I have the perfume and maybe others were describing the EDT, but after checking the reviews again I can see that isn't so. Many describing the EDT are smelling exactly what I smell in this little bottle of perfume. Maybe just body chemistry? Have to say it made me pause before buying as I don't care for green scents at all and have never fancied smelling like kidneys cooking on the stove! Going ahead with the purchase as it is so inexpensive. Will be back to update on this after testing the EDT against the perfume. Edit: Okay, received my bottle of EDT today and there is definitely a very different smell to this. I get the bitter, mossy smell...and I absolutely smell curry! Not horrible, but not what I smelled in the perfume and not something I would ever really want to wear. Edit: This just needed to settle down for a bit. That bitter, mossy smell is gone within 10 minutes and I am left with the same beautiful smell I got from the Parfum.

Wooo! Yeah, this one is defo for peculiar tastes.. The first spritz is literally everything but nice..I got celery, coriander, nutmeg, even chicken broth at one stage..:-D After about 12-20 minutes it`s starting to change slightly and becomes soapy - yes, maybe at some stage tad bit similar to Giorgio, but still not entirely as Giorgo is sweeter and more cheerful with plenty of tuberose and gardenia. There`s a lot of orris and oakmoss here,and hyacinth, tuberose and gardenia stay in the background. I get no woods, just powder, flowers and oakmoss..When it dries down from this odd `stench` it actually becomes an old-school but interesting scent. Not `sexy`, not `granny`, not `nice`not `spicy` - very particular. There`s something dark about it, even though it`s not spicy.. Personally I regret buying it - even though it was cheap as dirt - as it`s not my cup of tea..or else it just doesn`t smell as nice on me as many of my other perfumes do..maybe it`s the concoction of the notes..Hard to tell. I won`t repurchase but keep it for later and see if it grows on me. EDIT: It`s getting colder so I went through my perfs putting away summer scents and found this one and sprayed it on - and alas, it suddenly smells appealing and very much suitable for the weather! Very soapy, green, the narcissus and orris are prominent. It suddenly makes sense to me, I will defo wear it now during this colder time of year, I find it much nicer than some of my other winter scents!

Gardenia-Tuberose-Coriander-Carnation! If this combination appeals to you, what a delightful blind buy. If not, stay far away! On first sniff I felt I was smelling green celery overlaid with white florals. Very much an aromatic scent rather than a sweet floral and calculated to please chypre lovers more than floral admirers. That said, I ADORE a good. green chypre!!!! Catalyst is one of the best bargain green fragrances I own. My vintage bottle is powerful and expensive smelling (to me). I realize this is one polarizing note pyramid and not for the faint of heart. Not a blind buy for the timid, shall we say? But it made my day! Oh, and for those who love lilac, there is a charming hint here also, along with orris. <3 Five stars. Update: I should note that I'm beginning to better understand Catalyst. She smells like an Estee Lauder, classic release, though not a dupe of any. I have and LOVE vintage E. Lauder Knowing. This is a cousin! She is white floral with greens instead of rose based, but very much of the same blood line. Uncompromising, womanly, and seductive in an old school way entirely.

This is the CRAZIEST perfume I've ever had...or maybe I have the craziest chemistry. Thought I'd try this, as I found an amazing price for it. Put it on and...OH MY GOODNESS! Well, actually not,because to say it smelt loathsome is an understatement!!! Looked at the reviews, and agreed with michelle.p.stpie and Bettynoir. Chemistry, I decided. I've been busy, so didn't scrub that stinker off. And...guess what. Now, some 2 hours later, this is yummy!! A real flower, fruity bodied, singing, sweet, light fume. NOT girly...summer flowers and fruit in a real garden joyous. Wow!! Now, I just have to remember to put this on 2 hours before I go anywhere. So yes, my chemistry did play havoc, but I totally get how wonderful this must be for those with a normal reaction to the playful perfume. Lucky, lucky them to have this diamond in their arsenal!

Tuberose, green gardenia, perhaps lilac...so many notes, yet the overall impression is Grassy. Loud and in your face, but a small spritz will last forever. The strong coumarin or fennel note not listed here could be a deal breaker ( like for cocobean ), as it makes this scent into a polarizing aromatic floral. It took me some time to adjust to this, but used sparingly I have succumbed to it's unique qualities. Recently saw a reference made to this in an article. They had it paired with red lipstick and a one shouldered black velvet gown near a rocky beach. To me it is more like a chilly spring wind breezing in new growth of flowers. Perfect in February!

I too dont detect any vanilla at all but i really like this perfume. Its very very strong at first but i dont mind that because i know it will settle into a warm 'ambery' hue. It is very flowery but the amber makes it less girl & more womanly. I totally agree with Barbiot in that it does smell a great deal like first by van cleef & as its a fraction of the price of First i shall be popping back to the perfume counter to buy another one whilst they have it on offer of £4.99 in a clearance. Bargain or what. If anyone can find a perfume thats smells just like D&G BY please please please tell me, not that im begging or anything, Lol.

Like Betty Noir, I bought this blind as well. It is SO very sweet and very strong! I do not detect cumin in it, but rather Lilly of the Valley, and it is very strong Lilly of the Valley. My daughter told me, "Mom, you smell like an old lady, like Grandma". I wanted to send it right back, but the dry down is OK, I can live with it and if I wear just a tiny spritz and mix it with one of my "Clean or Water" parfums it works. That may sound a bit drastic, but it works for me. I've even gotten compliments on my mixture. I shall not buy Catalyst again. But I'm open to trying anything that the Halston noses create. Lara517

Much more of a GREEN floral than a fruity floral, and not very sweet either. I find this fragrance unnerving in the summer months, redolent of celery and oddly harsh gardenias. But in winter it can really bloom with a delirious spring freshness. In time I ignored the opening vibe of celery entirely and concentrated on that clear toned vibrancy of springtime. The cheapest end-of-winter treat! Verdict: Highly original, niche type scent. You must love strong, old fashioned divas and greens to qualify. :) Very much a love or hate fragrance.

I like this a lot but can see why others wouldn’t. It’s certainly not for everyone. It’s very potent and not something most people would wear nowadays. I think if I wore this in public I would get some pretty unflattering comments. I wear this to bed sometimes. It’s a very peculiar smell that’s for sure. It doesn’t remind me of chanel no 19 in the least. It kinda reminds me of Chloe narcissus mixed with Givenchy l’interdit vintage formula. It’s a keeper for me. 7.5/10

Just got this one in today 3/2/13 and it does contain tree moss and oak moss not stated here but on the box. It does smell dated, but you can smell the florals in the mid notes and drydown. A mere $7.49 for 3.4 oz. I've smelled worse. Not bad for the price. Notes according to Perfume Intelligence are top notes of jonquil, tuberose, rose, jasmine. Heart notes are muguet, cassias, and violet. Base notes are sandalwood, patchouli, musk, and oakmoss.

for the vintage EDT: on me, a warm and sensual scent, floral and woody, but not heavy handed (unless you overdo it!). This is great for day or evening and a little goes a long way so it's a great value. I don't get all the celeric notes that others mention, but rather a crispness that I find appealing, maybe the citrus. For a thrift store find, I kind a feel like I hit the jackpot! I'll keep this one and wear it in cooler weather.

Reminded me Fabourg 24 by Hermes. I have both. They are not dupes but relatives. Catalyst is softer. If you like Fabourg you probably will like Catalyst. Great cheapie! I paid $3.00 (three dollars USA) for 100 ml on eBay March 2019 LOL The two most prominent notes for me: wood and narcissus. I had ZERO vanilla in my bottle. P.S. Review is for modern EDT.

I forgot about Catalyst! I remember it being very sharp and biting. It reminded me of this cough medicine I used to have to take as a kid. Even with all that, I still kind of liked it. Could never stop sniffing it. Quite unique.