Hypnotic Poison (1998)
by Christian Dior

I had high hopes for this fragrance, but on me it's terrible. Opens with a faint anise-like smell I attribute to allspice and then becomes something weirdly unpleasant...perhaps the allspice with fruit. Whatever it is, it comes off as leather + rubber to my nose and is nauseating. This lasts for quite a while before HP gets to its drydown, which is mostly sweet vanilla with some bitter almond cutting through and a touch of musk/spice from the sandalwood. The drydown is enjoyable, but not enough to offset the nose-wrinkling middle notes.

29th January, 2012.

Sweeeeeeeeet vanilla pudding, with perhaps a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg, & a little burnt sugar. This is much too sweet even for me; l prefer Dior Addict for a sweet-spicy kick with a dark side.

21st January, 2012.

Reading some other reviews I think I've got the notes the wrong way round! The first strong burst was of vanilla, almost like Pink Sugar but a moment later I got the almond. It wasn't a 'bitter almond' like cyanide it was a marzipan almond. I think most scent is based on nostalgia, in this case Grandma's house. After half an hour the woods came in, Grandma's lovely furniture, the carat smell of the drawers, and the spices she kept. At the end of the dry down Hypnotic Poison stayed with me all day, with the notes changing, first the top notes the heart and the dry down in quick succession, then all together like an endless kaleidoscope. I only have the sample bottle and at the moment can't afford a full bottle. However I think Hypnotic Poison is a masterpiece.

31st December, 2011.

In a nutshell, it's an exotic spiced almond cookie. I love this scent and I wear it in small doses because I noticed that spraying too much is overkill. I also only like to wear this in the evenings. To me, this is a statement fragrance that's pleasantly heavy and sensual. I think heat and an elegantly sweet dessert laced with fondant. My husband loves this scent, especially the vanilla base but I don't get as much vanilla as I do almond and caraway. Even at full dry down, it's still almond. No complaints tho!

15th December, 2011.

I absolutely adore this fragrance! It doesn't really smell like a perfume to me as much as it just smells like a soothing "spa" aroma. It's definitely a scent that could just as easily have been bottled and sold as an aromatherapy product. I loved it the minute I sprayed it on my arm and I continued to get good feelings from it all day as I shopped at the mall. I find that normally I feel cranky and tired in crowded malls, but the smell of Hypnotic Poison actually seems to calm and soothe me a lot. :D I think it must have been the EDP that I sampled because the longevity (on me) is fantastic and the fragrance didn't fade very fast. I've heard that the longevity on the EDT is not as good, but I forgot to read the bottle before spraying unfortunately so it might have just as easily been the EDT. Some EDTs that other people say don't last on them at all actually last for ages on me, so I'm honestly not too sure which version I'm reviewing lol!
Overall, I have to say that Hypnotic Poison is probably my favorite Christian Dior fragrance and I definitely recommend it to everyone!

7th September, 2011.

This perfume is intoxicating and mesmerising. I always buy this for my partners! A friend of mine once told me that she was allowed to wear this as a flight attendant for Qantas Airline because it excited too many male passengers! I can smell this from about 25m away in a nightclub full of people. Love it.

27th August, 2011.