hugo_oud September 7, 2026

I tried this perfume to continue exploring aldehydes, which bother me so much in Chanel 5 and Jovan Musk, following the wise guidance of @La DameDeNoir. Well, neither in Estée nor in Knowing do they bother me at all, and I liked both perfumes very, very much. Now, is Estée a masterpiece? It must have been. The problem is that I only got to the reformulation. And that, even without having tried the original with its pineapple bottle (beautiful), is noticeable. As I already said, I am totally ignorant about perfumery. However, it seems to me that my current little bottle is… watered down. One thing is for a perfume to be subtle, and another is to have to search for its scent to find it (maybe I’m exaggerating). Despite everything, what you can perceive is, yes, marvelous. I (from my immense ignorance) would say it equals classicism in perfumery. Nothing in excess, everything in its place. Even someone who leans toward baroque and decadence (I’m dying to try Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood after the atrocities I’ve read) surrenders to the harmony of Estée (which I can’t find in Chanel 5). I don’t single out a single note because everything seems perfectly blended to me. And that, as I say, from a version that is (I have the impression) watered down. If I’m wrong, please tell me, we’re here to learn… Later I’ll write about Knowing, Private Collection and Spellbound (the latter two thrilled me, despite being in the same new format, which I suspect is much weaker than the originals).

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hugo_oud September 7, 2026

I tried this perfume to continue exploring aldehydes, which bother me so much in Chanel 5 and Jovan Musk, following the wise guidance of @La DameDeNoir. Well, neither in Estée nor in Knowing do they bother me at all, and I liked both perfumes very, very much. Now, is Estée a masterpiece? It must have been. The problem is that I only got to the reformulation. And that, even without having tried the original with its pineapple bottle (beautiful), is noticeable. As I already said, I am totally ignorant about perfumery. However, it seems to me that my current little bottle is… watered down. One thing is for a perfume to be subtle, and another is to have to search for its scent to find it (maybe I’m exaggerating). Despite everything, what you can perceive is, yes, marvelous. I (from my immense ignorance) would say it equals classicism in perfumery. Nothing in excess, everything in its place. Even someone who leans toward baroque and decadence (I’m dying to try Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood after the atrocities I’ve read) surrenders to the harmony of Estée (which I can’t find in Chanel 5). I don’t single out a single note because everything seems perfectly blended to me. And that, as I say, from a version that is (I have the impression) watered down. If I’m wrong, please tell me, we’re here to learn… Later I’ll write about Knowing, Private Collection and Spellbound (the latter two thrilled me, despite being in the same new format, which I suspect is much weaker than the originals).

Ramona December 27, 2020

I tried this to keep investigating aldehydes, which give me trouble in Chanel No. 5 and Jovan Musk, following @LaDameDeNoir’s advice. Turns out they don’t bother me at all in Estée and Knowing, and I absolutely love both. Now, is Estée a masterpiece? It should be. The problem is I only have the reformulation, and even though I haven’t tried the original with its beautiful pineapple bottle, the difference is noticeable. As I said, I’m a total novice in perfumery, but this current bottle seems… watery. One thing is being subtle, another is having to hunt for the scent (maybe I’m exaggerating). Despite that, what you perceive is wonderful. From my ignorance, I’d say it’s classicism in perfumery: nothing excessive, everything in its place. Even someone seeking baroque decadence (I’m dying to try Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood after reading the atrocities I’ve encountered) is won over by Estée’s harmony, which I simply don’t find in Chanel No. 5. I won’t highlight any specific note because everything is perfectly integrated. And that, as I said, from a version I feel is watery. If I’m wrong, let me know, because we’re here to learn… I’ll write about Knowing, Private Collection, and Spellbound next (these two thrilled me, despite being in the new format, which I suspect is much weaker than the originals).

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