Donna Karan Essence: Jasmine (2005)
by Donna Karan

A pure and transparent jasmine; warm, but having a faint cool, soapy note in the drydown. The sillage is quite attractive, as it has ample spread without ever feeling heavy. It's a nice "middling" jasmine, neither too strong nor too weak.

Easy; likable; simple as can be.

FYI, I am the number one fan of A La Nuit by Lutens, which is my 'gold standard/benchmark' jasmine frag for all others to be held against for comparison. With THAT being said, you must know that Donna Karan Essence: Jasmine has brought me to my knees! JASMINE! Non-embellished, raw and real as I've ever smelled, which is how I like to smell this flower. A perfect replication of nature! As I smell both jasmines, side by side, the Lutens' top notes seem acetone heavy, and need some time to settle. A La Nuit also possesses a touch of green and is far more fresh than indolic, with longevity & sillage to spare. DK Essence Jasmine is still fresh, but not so green, and the indolic properties of the natural flower are far more evident. I've been using the DK Jasmine body lotion along with the edt spray and have no trouble whatsoever with longevity or sillage. (BTW, the lotion is high quality and true to the scent as well!) Now I have two 'gold standard' jasmines! The downside to this perfect jasmine by DK is the high price and low availability...but this is one flower essence I'm willing to hunt down & empty my wallet for! Highly recommended.

It has been said the a great fragrance should be have complexity and/or abstraction. If you are a strong believer of these principles, you will probably be disappointed with this fragrance as it has neither. If however, like me, you like jasmine with no trimmings, no pretence and no silly names, you will likely enjoy this. One complaint is that the lasting power is somewhat lacking.