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Marichka – :
Quintessence Dare was a really elegant and beautiful drugstore brand. At times in the 1980s and 1990s, when I was especially short on disposable income, I would buy Dare as a cheapo substitute or for Ysatis by Givenchy. On my skin, Dare has almost the same top notes (mainly tuberose) and middle notes as Ysatis. The only thing missing in Dare is the deeper, musky dry-down of Ysatis. I’m surprised that nobody else has mentioned the similarity between the two fragrances, unless I’ve missed a post that notes it. Dare was available in drugstores and was a great product for its price. I wish it still was!
SergioBargio – :
I believe the experts have all the “review” points covered, I just wanted to add: I have ordered this from several different places and each time it arrives leaking with about 1/2 inch gone. It’s so cheap it isnt really a big deal but if you order you may want to ask them to tape the lid or something or have a VERY perfumy mailbox =D
Muz05 – :
Purchased this one after 20+ years. It’s almost exactly as I remembered. Big 80’s white florals – neroli, tuberose, gardenia. Fruity peach. A fantastic little cheapie!
sadist122 – :
This summer/winter (2016/17) have made neroli a demon for my chemistry/nose. The very bottom of the drydown here……….neroli is one of the flowers…..it HAS to be. However, before it gets to this point…..this is a DIVINE fragrance! Love, love, LOVE it! I am praying that neroli and I can come together again :o(
7411400 – :
After searching all over the web for a descriptive review of Dare,i realized i must try it for myself.Afterall,two people agree that Dare reminds them of S&S and i’m not gathering any specific other details from this mysterious classic.
I recieved my bottle in the mail leaking a bit. I can’t blame too much on the sender for this because the “so called” stopper doesn’t do a good job at stopping lol. The few ounces that leaked were quite strong and all i could smell was carnation and oakmoss. I’m having doubts already. So i quarentined the bottle to try again later after gaining my olfactory senses back.
You see,i grew up in the 80’s & 90’s while having a perfume collecting grandmother who would send some of the 80’s very best power house frags for each birthday & Xmas. By the way,i already had Poison,Nina Ricci L Air Du Temps,Gucci,Anais Anais,Emeraude,etc by the age of 9. I never enjoyed the heavy chypres,blinding powders and smokey plums anywhere near that tender age and still haven’t desired the sort unless for nostalgic reasons. The fruity candy blends that have become the norm of today would have probably been more desirable back then but it’s too late for the super fruit candy fluff for me now.
I sprayed Dare on before bed tonight. What a pleasant suprise! There is a sweet honeysuckle type top note that i love. This must be sweet fruit. Could be peach,could be citrus. I’m not sure. This is the part that reminds me of Sand n Sable. If there is any white floral than it coincides with this sweet note equally to where i can’t yet discern which white flowers are here. I can feel the rich oakmoss and woods underneath like a timebomb ready to protrude out any moment but they stay tamed. I wonder if this oakmoss is the green note highlighted at the top of this page. At first they give me the impression that patchouli is in the mix but i’m not so sure. I could be wrong.
Half an hour later,an iris,violet & carnation type of powder emerges out of nowhere. It is soft but sharp and now hindering the sweet honeysuckle type note that has been making my mouth water.
I’m too tired to stay awake for the remaining ride that Dare wants to take me on tonight but i will follow up on a day i can commit to Dare. I have a feeling this will be a great layering go-to bottle for me. So far it has that vintage feel but to me this is a cream of the crop find from the 80’s era. I’m not regretting this buy one bit right now. To be continued….
Update: This is a very appropriate work fragrance when spraying lightly. Definately a unique chypre that i adore.
Sillage: Moderate to heavy
Longevity: 8-12 hours
Overall i give this classic a 9/10
stiffceappids – :
In the late 80’s I worked at a fragrance store. Dare was one of those drugstore cheapies that I quite liked. It has been a couple of decades so my memory may not be perfect but I remember this as an 80’s white floral with fruit and a touch of spice.
immiscusbaf – :
I believe that there is quite a bit of gardenia and/or tuberose here.