boba1979 – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

Okay, after reading and reading about this one, I’m going to try it. However, it’s difficult to find a bottle that is not sky high in price. So, what I’m doing is trying a bottle of the “type” body oil from worldwideoils. I have had GREAT success in finding my well-loved discontinued scents there. They do a wonderful job.
I’ll let you know what I think.

ctz077speagoessenda – 2022-06-07:

3 out of 5

Donna Karan’s first fragrance! So hard to find and forgotten by today’s DKNY perfumes which I don’t like. This came out in 1992 when I was in my 20s and was living an independent pre-marital life without the responsibility of motherhood and indulging in my attempts at being a famous artist in New York City. At the time Donna Karan was a big name in fashion, much bigger than today’s DKNY label. I could never dream of owning Donna Karan clothing. I remember that even First Lady Hillary Clinton wore a Donna Karan bare shoulder black gown one time. I finally found a bottle on eBay.
Love the bottle! As an artist turned mother I can’t tell you how much I adore that the bottle looks so weird and post-modern unlike any of today’s perfume bottles. It has more in common with the vintage artsy bottle of the Salvador Dali fragrance with the lips. This has a long life for a perfume so it’s best to wear it hours before you go to the event you’re going to so that it can be detected but has turned into a more powdery and more easily appreciated suede and leather musk, while the fruity floral notes can still be detected as well in the background. Opens with sweet pineapple, peach, citruses, osmanthus (apricot scented flower) orange blossom and ylang ylang (banana scented flower). The fresh fruit give it a boozy cocktail flavor with a very feminine body. The flowers are rose, jasmine, heliotrope, orchid, lily, carnation and iris. The floral notes are not in a major key and in fact they are subdued not to the point of being irrelevant but more like soft whispers in a room. It’s like an art gallery where you see a few purple flowers in small vases – orchids, heliotropes, lavenders, irises, lilies. The biggest floral note here is heliotrope which is a powdery vanilla flower and the orchid.
The unisex aspects are revealed as the dry down stage commences. This has one of the most gorgeous suede notes and leathers I’ve ever experienced in my life. This is a divine leather scent, like leather couches in a fabulous expensive Park Avenue Pent House. This is a warm comfortable leather you can fall asleep on. There’s also woodsy notes, patchouli, sandalwood, incense and ambers. All these notes come off as unisex/masculine with an inviting and sexy allure. This is really sexy but not in the slutty way. It’s sexy in the most mature ‘cougar’ intellectual way. As such and because it is so out of touch with today’s perfumes this is for me! I’m a mother with a daughter already in college experiencing empty nest syndrome and I rely on my fragrances to elevate my mood throughout my days. This perfume does more than that.
Donna Karan just makes me want to put on a sexy little black dress and convince my husband to take me on a trip to New York where we can watch Broadway shows, go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and stare at art for hours or to have fancy dinners at high priced restaurants in Manhattan or to make married love in a fancy famous hotel like the Plaza or the Waldorf. My hubby Scott loves this perfume though he tells me from time to time that it smells like a guy cologne. I’m so grateful for the reviewers who took the time to talk about this perfume and to capture my interest and fascination compelling me to seek out the fragrance and buy it. It’s such a beautiful perfume and one of the most sexy modern Orientals. I am also pretty aware that this is not going to be for everyone. Not a gourmand not a sweet candy fruity floral or celebrity scent. It’s strictly a mature sophisticated woman’s perfume. She knows she will stand out wearing this and even if others might not care for the fragrance all she cares about is that she likes this perfume on herself.

chepur41 – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

Oh God!!!!! Its a masterpiece!
At first , its a bit strong suede , but it drys down very very wonderful .
If you smell from very near the skin you sprayed the suede feels strong but if you smell it from the distance it is so light and modern .
I usually spray the curtains of my room to see how a perfume develops and to check its sillage . This filled my entire home with its heavenly aroma .
I have more than 700 perfumes and my nose is really a mess , but this aroma is unike !!!
Plus , Its rare and this fact double values it . No one can wear it except you in your city ! I feel unike today <3

vldlslqfnj – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

Purchased on Ebay
Donna Karan 1992 Vintage Perfume
Donna Karan’s debut fragrance is an underrated masterpiece. This is such an absolutely gorgeous fragrance and like so many vintage classics from the 80s-90s one that got lost in the shuffle of discontinued frags. Before DKNY became the logo the house of Donna Karan, in the 1990’s, was creating fashions for modern young hip urban professionals in Manhattan NYC. When I smell this fragrance I do think of the fashionista crowds, the boho-chic groups, and artists, models, photographers, the whole Fashion Week thing. However this fragrance also seems to capture the early 90s in the fragrance industry. Fruity-florals were in vogue, heightened feminine scents, powdery florals, stuff like Tresor by Lancôme and Chloe Narcisse. The opening to this fragrance and the top notes reflect this period. Heavy on sweet fruity scents of citrus, apricot, pineapple, peach, orange blossom, ylang ylang. The bergamot orange apricot peach and pineapple are delicious. They’re fresh and sweet with flowery touches of the orange blossom and ylang not to mention further notes of cassia or cassis/currant.
In the heart the florals come through without the fruity sweetness because they are over a base of incense and musk. I detect spicy-florals with carnation, a patchouli-rose, indolic jasmine and powdery heliotrope. The heliotrope is like the high note in the floral chorus especially in the middle of the performance. A powdery feminine very 80s and 90’s woman’s boudoir type of smell. After the flowers fade, the unisex and modern make-up emerges. The warm incense/benzoin, some green notes, the suede/leather and the woods (sandal and cedar) and amber. I like the dry down and the base notes in this perfume. They come off as a little Oriental because of the patchouli and incense but it never goes into solid hardcore Orientalism. This is no Shalimar. Donna Karan keeps this fragrance in the realm of modern New York. The suede note makes my head swim.
This is like a handbag or leather shoe wardrobe scent, lots of leather, musk, enough to make it unisex/masculine but also feminine in the body of flowers and fruit. The amber and vanilla plus woods provide a praiseworthy dry down. Finally I want to add that I love the bottle. Reminds me of artsy modern ‘furniture art’ you know like an objet d’art you put in your apartment living room or right by the doorway so that arriving guests can admire it.
Lots to love about this perfume. I think it’s great for autumn and winter so now that we’re in September this fragrance would be perfect to wear with like a scarf, gloves, pea coat, trench coat, cashmere sweater, and vests, suits, business formal or evening wear. This is good for September through February. A fruity top, floral heart and musk/Oriental sandalwood base makes this a kind of amazing hybrid of all the different types of fragrances. Good job Donna on your first perfume.
Can they reformulate this or bring it back?

mrtomi – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

The first perfume from the brand in 1992 also reflects the not massified authorial style of perfumery that came before the 90 decade. The bottle itself is already unusual – an almost art object, created by the then husband of the stylist, Stephen Weiss. What goes in it is a composition with classic rich aura and that could well have been launched by Guerlain. Signature opens with a light aldehydic aspect and a quite striking floral aroma of roses and geraniums. Multiple nuances develop from this point: the almond and almost medicinal smell of heliotropin, the powdery and sweet aroma of violets and a leather accord that lies between the rustic classic leather and the softness of suede. It still draws my attention the base, which shows a more woodsy aroma, moderate amber touches and a musky sweetness that is very comfortable in the final moments on the skin. It is a scent that could well be unisex for its leather aroma and the striking woody tones of its base. A beautiful abstract creation of good duration on skin.

vip_miguel – 2022-06-07:

4 out of 5

scent : 6/10
sillage : 8/10
longevity :8/10
100% night fragrance
too feminine for me
floral scent

derdat – 2022-06-07:

3 out of 5

This is one of my all time favorites. It is a rich,subtle scent that is (for me) an oriental that dries down to a musky, slightly leathery and sweetly spicy scent with a touch of incense that had always garnered compliments until it was discontinued.
If anyone knows of any company that knows how to make this based on assay of what can be taken from my last original, 1992 edition of this is, please let me know!
Thanks!

fl1ght – 2022-06-07:

3 out of 5

This fragrance is….
Me at my first New York Fashion Week. Donna Karan I don’t know how you did it but you’re describing me, my life, my work, my Manhattan all in the course of time the fragrance wears on my skin. It’s like Donna made it just for me. This perfume has every ingredient I love in a perfume. From the top notes: pineapple, osmanthus, orange blossom, and peach. From the heart: orchid, jasmine, heliotrope and rose. From the base: amber, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, incense, cedar and suede. This scent embodies the best of the best from New York designers who work hard to create a work of art. Before Tom Ford’s Black Orchid, there was Donna Karan’s debut fragrance. It’s such a crying shame you can’t find this anymore other than if you hear about a friend who still keeps it. This fragrance has everything: fruits, flowers, patchouli, amber, sandalwood, musk, leather, incense, woods, and vanilla. It’s an epic fragrance that smells like every note is a model on the runway showing off the beautiful designs of Donna Karan’s genius. I got aldehydes (not listed) scented with green notes and osmanthus right off the bat. It smells green but not terribly herbal or vegetal. It helps that the peach pineapple and apricot notes are keeping it sweet. It does start off sweet with fruits and flowers. The flowers include carnation, lily, orchid, jasmine, heliotrope, ylang-ylang and rose. Like I said I love the flowers in this fragrance. It’s too bad they’re not really huge players and I would not call this a floral fragrance. It’s got mostly carnation heliotrope and orchid serving as the heavy hitters. They are there for a while but they make an exit and serve as ladies who are hosting an event in which the men take over not too long after the floral show is over. The men in this scent are very masculine, but yet they are fashionistas and extremely formal, well dressed, elegant and as good looking as the women. There are animalic accords of musk leather and suede. A lot of it. It smelled like Donna Karan’s walk in closet where she keeps all her fur coats, leather jackets, leather trench coats, leather boots, leather gloves, scarves, leather hats (think biker hat), and all her shoes and that’s a lot of shoes. The suede scent really evokes shoes. God how I love that. The dry down is pure wood. It’s like she put on a fashion show wearing all kinds of outfits and then put them back in the closet/wardrobe – which is made of wood. There’s also patchouli and incense doing their thing and releasing a lot of smoke and cathedral style incense. All of these final phase notes are totally masculine so this fragrance (like Tom Ford’s Black Orchid) is completely unisex. Guys can wear this and rock it. Women too but I feel that it’s for women who have experience wearing all kinds of perfumes and colognes, even men’s colognes, and has developed a refined and specific taste for perfume. This really does feel like Donna Karan made it for other designers to wear for their own pleasure. It smells so good, so elegant, so sexy, so incredible and it has the same bones as TF Black Orchid so if you liked that you’ll love this one. I would have to say that to my nose DK is more feminine (even with the unisex quality) than Tom Ford which to me really does smell more masculine. If it wasn’t for the fruit notes, the flowers and the vanilla, this would have become a man’s cologne. O my God but is this a perfume or what? It’s aromatic, it’s spicy, it’s floral, it’s musky, it’s citric, it’s feminine, it’s masculine, it’s smoky, it’s sweet. It has every ingredient that you’d find in both men and women’s fragrances. Donna outdid herself with this one. Did this win a FIFI award? It’s too bad that it doesn’t get as much praise as Black Orchid. This is a unique one of a kind scent that stands tall on it’s own. It’s so beautiful. So perfect. I have nothing but love for this perfume. One last thing I’d like to add: it’s strong and heavy so it’s a one spritz and you’re done type of perfume. It’s an evening formal fragrance to wear at night to go to the theater, to Broadway musicals, the symphony, the opera, the ballet, or any black tie gala event at night. It’s Oscar Night on the Red Carpet. It’s Fashion Week Fashion Show After Party. It’s glamorous, sexy, modern, and it has Manhattan New York written all over it. Donna Karan wore this herself because it’s quite obvious she made this perfume for herself to wear and she put a lot of her own personality in it in the same manner Elizabeth Taylor did for her fragrance Passion. DK is a winter fragrance because it’s got so much musk and leather which gives it a warmth and balsamic aromatic quality typical of winter fragrances. This scent can also be classified as belonging to every fragrance family: fruity-floral, incense, Oriental, musky and gourmand. While not as gourmand as Black Orchid which has chocolate, this has vanilla which does stand out if you’re paying enough attention to what your nose is smelling. This is a masterpiece. Absolutely perfect perfume. I am wearing it for Fashion Week this week.

Ribique – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

Shalimar PI, move aside, my true signature fragrance has arrived. It seems the perfume gods have bestowed me with this ambrosia like fragrance; it smells so divine and wonderful to me, almost out of this world. I happened to stumble upon half full 1.3 and full 3.4 oz bottles for only 50 dollars on my local auction site. I didn’t think twice and contacted the seller immediately.
Since it contains an army of notes I have great difficulty picking out the individual notes, but I’ll try anyway. It opens up like some heavy, boozy nectar; it’s sweet and dark and has a substantial heft to it. The most noticeable opening notes are the green notes, pineapple and osmanthus, swirling in a tornado of booze. The suede, incense and tonkabean are noticeable right from the start and they give DK it’s fascinating, static smokiness that I adore.
The boozy and smoky quality never fades away, but it comes less intense as the floral middle notes start to show up. Lily and orchid steal the spotlight, whilst the other florals create more of a floral low frequency humming. From this point on the smoke and booziness start to clear. This is the moment when the other basenotes start to show up.
As dark and smoky as it started, DK dries up surprisingly clean. The musk is quite clean, but fluffy, but it is texturized by the amber, benzoin., vanilla and sandalwood. The incense has faded away, but suede feeling has remained. It dries up, at least on my skin, as a musky lily, wrapped in suede and sprinkled with vanilla powder.
The evolution of this fragrance is simply wonderful. Longevity is about 10 hours. Sillage is extremely heavy the first hour, but it fades away to a skin scent in about 3 hours. Even though I’d like it to be a bit stronger I’m still very happy I got the chance to buy this perfume. Oh, and I agree with the other reviewer who mentioned it has similarities to Antaeus (I don’t know about the vintage version, though). Antaeus is pretty much the smoky, suede aspect, only much darker and more stern.

teacher13 – 2022-06-07:

4 out of 5

This review is for the 1992 release of the Swan Bottle.
It opens with the leathery bite of an old cracked bikers jacket. It reminds me of the leather that is used in Whips and Roses by Kerosene. The leather is touched with a bit of Frankincense. There is also a good sized dose of cassis that adds an almost phenolic green sweetness. It’s not often that I find a scent that showcases cassis as well as this one does. It really gives that leathery incense combo the “something” that it needs. After a few moments a sweetness pops out with a loud “pop”. It’s a beautiful pineapple/peachy zing with a floral tail (ylang-ylang and rose). This new combination punches it’s way over the leather brightening everything up and breathing some life and youth into the old, cracked leather. The soft floral accord is almost a whisper. It’s really beautiful.
The heart is more floral than the opening and the cassis has faded. There is a sharp ylang-ylang bite with a spicy (carnation?) rose touched lily. It’s a really nice, girly contrast that breathes life into the weathered and more masculine leather. There is also a touch of sweetness on the skin (benzoin perhaps?).
The dry down is mostly a sweetish amber and tonka with a clean musky zing. There are still some light florals (rose, lily, ylang-ylang) lazing around. The leather is also much softer, almost a memory. This is a really beautiful dry down. The florals blend so beautifully with the amber/musk/Tonka cpombo that it all becomes one lazy and lovely song.
Overall this is a fantastic scent. The longevity isn’t the best but You’ll get a good 7-9 hours out of it and it doesn’t become a skin scent until well after 4-5 hours. There is something just so wonderful about the play of the very feminine florals and the heavily masculine leather. She’s a tough girl that loves butterflies but takes no crap from anyone.

dis029speagoessenda – 2022-06-07:

3 out of 5

Interesting that all good stuff gets discontinued! Not fruity enough for those of naive nostril to keep it in production perhaps…

miraf31 – 2022-06-07:

3 out of 5

The ultimate bold and sexy evening perfume ,
please please please bring it back and let it travel to Europe stores too !
I have finally got the chance to buy 10 ml from a domestic parfumista friend – but I want the beautiful bottle too !
Please Donna Karan, make us wait no longer !!!
Update my secret domestic distributer…is letting me have one of her bottles!
It is insane !!! I am finally getting the half of a 50ml bottle that I have been wanting since 1995 – I have to pinch my arm .is this for real ???
Good start of 2015 – indeed !
Almost fainting…

kentdoc – 2022-06-07:

4 out of 5

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it and can’t find it anywhere. Donna Karen has a signature fragrance but doesn’t really smell the same. If anyone finds it please let me know. I found one bottle on line for $325.00 but thought that was really stretching it. Have empty bottles but really want the perfume! Why did they stop making it????

rivast – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

Came for the lilies and incense, bizarre original Stephan Weiss-designed sculptural flacon, and a rumored favorable comparison to Daim Blond. Staying for the crisp and strong sillage, remarkable tenacity, a certain gasoline and cleaning products hypermodern slant. An androgynous, intellectual but soft composition that samples from the best of all genres to bring in fruit, woods, florals, suede, and resins in thoughtful, serious united structures like elegant code leading to electronic music. Almost chilling in its contemplative remove but with a hint of just enough warmth to be human.

alex772135 – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

Very beautiful sexy and classic the same time. Wonderful sillage and good longevity plus it doesn’t smell as a floral fragrance on my skin. Smoky suede which gets softer (amber, benzoin and patchouli) after the opening. Best for fall or winter. Superb!

speeguips – 2022-06-07:

3 out of 5

how much is this perfume worth now if you can find it…. anyone knows???

feliks62 – 2022-06-07:

3 out of 5

i found a 3.4 EDP of this today at my local red white and blue for $13.95 i could’ve screamed to the Fragrance Fairies… Thanku when i was young n dumb i hated and abused this fragrance and now the my perfume senses have matured i longed for this and now i own it once again… thanks Red White & Blue

rafis – 2022-06-07:

4 out of 5

I have this but I don’t really like it that much, so I will be happy to give it away. If interested, PM me.

Aerohopleneriwha – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

I need this, it reminds me if my youth , dark smoky clubs and a sense of wild freedom , wintry nights and warm seduction, but then the cosy comforts and safety of a blankie, bring it back , even if its just for the bottle with its aesthetic curvaceous shape, unlike many of todays round pebble styles, which unfortunatley like seems to be the change from my youth to womanhood .

chemer – 2022-06-07:

3 out of 5

why is this fragrance categorised as a floral?….am a tad lost

viksun – 2022-06-07:

4 out of 5

One of the most remarkable scents of the 20th century hands down.
This scent capture the sophisticated glam of Manhattan. Think to yourself Madison Ave at night light up by all the boutique windows along that avenue as you look out from tinted car window being whisks off to exclusive evening gallery opening party in trendy So Ho.
No scent capture that then Donna Karen New York. For the life of me I could never understand why Estee Lauder when the took over the DK fragrance portfolio canceled this fragrance along with the male counter part. The original bottles themselves where works of sculptured art from Donna husband.
Think beautiful rich suede against white orchid with a mist of smoky tobacco and amber vanilla.
Everything else from Lauder under the DKNY name has been trash.

mixo545 – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

Amazing oriental that reminds me of classics like Chanel Antaeus and Jacomo de Jacomo. Notice that both of the fragrances I mentioned are masculines. This is perfectly unisex, with dark fruits and incense/leather notes. It also proves a suitable replacement for vintage Antaeus, in case you’re a fan of Antaeus but don’t like the reformulation.
I happen to have a vintage bottle. It’s good stuff.

Elenadesign – 2022-06-07:

4 out of 5

This came to me in the way of a romantic gift for Valentine’s Day from a great love of my life which was never going to work, (the love, not such an issue the perfume). Its great. I do see it as a more autumnal/winterish scent though that doesn’t have to be limited to that. It always struck me as ‘suede-ish’ or ‘leather-ish’, very class, warm. I did miss it when the bottle ran out. Years later when I worked for a company that rep’d it I got a bottle to have for memories. I rarely wear it but from time to time when its cold I’ll wear it. It is unique and special.

Alkonafts90 – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

I bought this years ago and I thought I liked it, but I never wore it(I still have over half a bottle.)I love the bottle though,very artistic. The fragrance was OK but I liked others better. It smells very heavy on me, very much like incense.

uhs267speagoessenda – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

Another of my mother’s fave, mostly reserved for a night out and full makeup and high heels attitiude. I always admired it although personally i find it a bit too much too fully enjoy it. Still is a good one.It satrts some how with a green juicy rush then it weirdly warms up in a cinnamony sweet, heady ,unusual thing like a deep bronze iridescent peacock feather. A creature delivered from the most fertile fantasy!As for the end of the show a well judged vanilla-cedar combo with a green narcotic fume and the texture of a taupe bias- cut suede dress. A classic although not for me!

wylfinovich6 – 2022-06-07:

5 out of 5

Wonderfully sexy, a beautiful fragrance but impossible to find.

flaxxx – 2022-06-07:

3 out of 5

very sexy and sultry