Passion by Annick Goutal, 1983

The emotion passion has come to be confused with the expression of passion. Focussing on quixotic symbolic gesture, passion has come to mean any attention seeking act. With a vocabulary borrowed from the romantic comedy, its a very long short-hand. Set this in a culture where an actions value varies directly with the number of people who witness it and passion loses its meaning as an internal state. Annick Goutals Passion fits an older definition that describes an emotional state on the spectrum from enthusiasm to compulsion. Yes, there are objects of passion, but passion is what you yourself feel. Passion, the perfume, is gorgeous. Its a blended floral, a prospect that by itself is hit-or-miss, but its also a combination of tropical and seasonal white florals. A failure with this mix of genres could be a disaster, but Passion is exquisite. It is identifiable and has excellent form along with an ambiguity that lends itself to mystery rather than indecision. Mixed florals such as Patous Joy and de Nicolais Number One show that the prettier aspects of a flower, the sweetness and light, are important, but the expertise lies in the perfumer's use of the rawer, less obviously fetching side of the flower. Passion draws on this underbelly of the flower to paint a mixed floral, but because it used both classical and tropical flowers, it has a larger palette to draw on. I dont find Passion overwhelming or oversized. It is buttery and textured and relaxed. Passion lets its hair down. As for us men, Passion leaves its shirt-tails untucked suggesting not so much informality as the desire for an easy range of motion. Again, passion isnt about the reading. its about the inspired state.

One balmy summer day in around the mid/late 80s, I was heading through Knightsbridge - intent on browsing around Harrods. Suddenly, I became aware of a bit of a commotion going on and suddenyl a stunning and slender tall blonde lady rushing along the pavement - with a handful of photographers in hot pursuit. It was, of course, the beautiful Princess of Wales - Diana. My two abiding memories were the flashing blue fury in her eyes at once again being hounded by the press and, as she passed, a faint trace of the most beautiful fragrance I had ever smelled anywhere. Belive me, photographs have neve done her justice. Her beauty in the flesh was almost surreal. Sometime later I read that one of her favourite scents was Passion by Annick Goutal and, curiousity and the memory of her beautiful fragrance, drew me so that the next time I was in Harrods, I tried it for myself. Oh Wow! This was the ONE! As soon as the sample on my wrist started to dry down, I was back in that street gaping in wonder at one of the most famous women in British history. I still wear Passion very often and it almost seems to sum up everything I remember about Diana - it is graceful, feminine and warm. If ever a fragrance could so perfectly 'match' the wearer then it is this one. I'm finding it harder to get hold of in the UK and in the Annick Goutal boutique in Knightbridge, they tell me that they no lnoger do the bath and body lines as there is no longer a demand for them. Thankfully, I can still get the EDT and EDP. I'm praying that the fragrance continues forever because in my opinion it is matchless. Reading the other reviews on here, everyone has summed it up perfectly. It is one of the best 'secret' scents - worn only by very few women - and as stunning as our lovely Princess of Wales was herself.

Tuberose and jasmine from Grasse blend with vanilla to create the warm and heady scent... ~Annick Goutal's ingrediant list
I first smelled this from the bottle and thought it smelled sort of peppery, bold and not very floral. It seemed to have that old fashioned smell that you are not sure if it smells good or not.
Was I ever wrong! I wonder how anyone can smell a scent from the bottle and have any idea of what it really smells like? After letting it settle on my skin, it completely changed.
This perfume is absolutely beautiful! I can see why it was Annicks' signature scent. It is just strong enough and the florals unfold perfectly. The tuberose does not have any of the sharp unpleasant side to it and it blends into the jasmine that also is soft and sweet without any of the jasmine sharpness. I don't really smell vanilla unless it is the holding scent that allows the Tuberose and Jasmine to blend smoothly. As with all of Annick Goutal's scents, that make me love thier whole line, there is a point that you can smell the trademark AG scent. It too passes through before getting to the final scent that lasts a while.
I enjoy scents that last just long enough, then you start to think, "its time to put more on". ~The sign of a truly good perfume!