Elizabeth Taylor's Perfumes

My favorite is Black Pearls ...i like Gardenia and Passion ,too!I own White Diamonds too!
Gardenia is one best floral of Taylor's!Black Pearls is nice for evening wear ..a wonderful floriental!
Passion is deep warm and sensual!Not for everyone,some say it smells synthetic ...i am not one of them!
White Diamonds..a classical feminine scent!
Hope i gave you an idea !Cheers from Greece

The only one l've tried is Gardenia, & l have to say it's one of the most authentic gardenias l've tried ( & l've tried a few! ). You could almost say it's too authentic, because it can become too cloying in a warm, enclosed room, but l admire it for not being a run of the mill tuberose/jasmine like most "gardenias" seem to be ( so frustrating, have these people EVER smelled a real gardenia?! ).

The only two I know well are Gardenia and White Diamonds. Gardenia is nice. I agree it can become a bit cloying - I get a watery floral quality in it. The truest nuance of gardenia is only in the top notes, so doesn't last long, but if you spray it on your clothing it lasts longer. I like White Diamonds and wore it in the early 90s. I got a little burned out smelling it on people who overapplied, but I like it very much on people who wear it well. A white floral chypre is the best way I can describe it. I have not tried Diamonds & Sapphires and the others, but I wouldn't mind sniffing them sometime out of curiousity.

Ooh, White Diamonds sounds nice, l might have to seek that one out!

I have Diamonds & Sapphires - it a sharp (lotv & freesia), warm floral, a tad fruity. To me it's the most unique of the diamonds bunch.

When "Passion" was released (in the 80's, as far as I remember) - I quite liked it - it was slightly reminiscent of Halston Z24 - only more flowery. Not bad at all. The recent version is weakend and smells "threadbare"... - I had a sample of Sparkling White Diamonds a year ago, which was extremely loud and cloying - and so artificial it could be used as an insect repellent.

I read about a 2010 NEW E.T. release - hope that's gonna be better.

Mine was also a blind buy, but l got it from eBay, from a seller here in the UK. Have you checked out eBay?

I was very impressed when I first sampled E. Taylor's frags 20 years ago in London. The house has not 1 but 2 FiFi winners!!!!!! and that speaks for itself.

Passion- a dramatic Poisonesque oriental chypre - it reminded me slightly of Poison when I first smelled it (not a Poison clone though). It's sweet, fruity - plums, powdery. A friend of mine recently got some EDP in the states and......it has sadly changed.

White diamonds - big, loud, sweet rose. Similar to Ysatis, but sweeter and way to loud. I managed to use up a 100ml bottle and I think that will be it for me. I've seen it compared to Ysatis and I can see why. I love Ysatis but can not pull WD. WD Reminds me of an old Bourjois scent called Evasion I still wear sometimes. Composed by Sofia Grojsman and a Fifi winner

Diamonds & Sapphires - a floral, lots of lilac. Lacks moss so I used to mix it with GFF or Empreinte and the resulting smell was Diorella like. It's like Diorella minus the moss. I still have it and could send You a tiny bit if You want to sample without commitement.

Diamonds and rubies is like Burburry Brit and it impressed me the most at the time as Brit was not yet composed.

D&emeralds - I do not remember and I'm very curious as to what it smells like

Passion for men - big, loud, gourmand woody oriental. There was a concentrated version that smelled great. It has everything - spice, leather, fruits. It would not smell unusual nowadays I suppose. Well worth the sampling provided it has not changed as I have not smelled it recently. If You wear Catalist, Joop Homme, Jaipur, no problem with Passion. One does not have to be accustomed to Yatagan, Lapidus or something that strange in order to enjoy P for men.

What does Gardenia resemble the most? I'm very curios about this one.

Spot-on analysis and description.

@ Makassar, since you will not be able to sample, if you like sweet frags, Passion for Men will be quite interesting.

I only know White Diamonds and in my opinion, it's a very smooth yet also very formal classic floral, with a touch of underlying sensuality, but apart from that, the impression of domineering conservativeness remains

Hi,

Makassar, I'm thinking of getting ET Gardenia. My favourite gardenia scent is Anick Goutal's Gardenia Passion. What is ET Gardenia similar to (that I can go and smell in a store). Is it green? Or sweet?

I think WD and Passion are good choices, those are the FiFi winners.

White diamonds - the EDT has monster sillage, starts off with a blast of sour, green, sweet at the same time aldehides. The perfume is tamer and less artifficial. If I was You I'd get the pure perfume. Fragrancex has a small size 4ml pure perfume at a very reasonable price. After all, it's the perfume that got the award, not the EDT The EDT is the same smell and lasts loooooooong.

Passion - Do not get the EDT! It's not very nice, never was and never will be. If You can't find the EDP (which has been changed and is not as nice as the original), get the lotion or the powder. The powder resembles the original perfume the most, the lotion is OK and if You wear lotion it's the best product to get. At least You get a feel of the fragrance. You can then wait untill someone has the higher concentration.

Passion for men - I see fragrancex have tiny sample of the EDT. The cologne?????? I don't know. I remember very well my husband had the EDT version and this is what I reviewed. I hope You do not get desappointed. I'm pretty sure the EDT is better. Maybe is a good idea to ask on the gentlemen's forum if anybody has sampled the EDC.

Ken, I personally see absolutely nothing conservative about WD. It's a bold and attention grabbing scent. Ysatis and, say, Moschino couture are demure and well behaved from start to finish. They are not overly sweet. WD has a flowery sweetnes not easy to stomach. Sweet orientals somehow stay close to the skin, the sweetness lays low. White diamonds is an explosion of roses, it's like Ysatis + Joy + 1000. The moss, instead of overtaking at some point seems to constantly elevate the rose. It's about Roses. Composed by Grojsman. Among her creations - Tresor, YSL Paris, BB Nude, Eternity. I see the similarity to Eternity, but this one is sweeter.

Nevena, I'm trying to think what Gardenia is similar to. What I like about ET Gardenia is that, to my nose, it has a very true smelling gardenia note, but it only lasts the first few seconds and it's gone. It immediately settles into a "fresh" floral blend that is dominated by jasmine (I think), and there is something about it that reminds me of Yves Rocher's Tendre Jasmin, but with some other florals (lily of the valley maybe, and something that smells a bit water-flower'ish to me). I suppose the base is musk, I don't smell any woodsiness. I can't pick it apart, I'm not very good at that. I don't detect tuberose, which you smell in AG's Gardenia Passion.

Thanks lilybelle. It sounds interesting, especially with the lilly of the valley. You, Americans, are lucky You can sample almost everything and cheap!!!!!!!

Dam'it! Makassar! I just ordered Dana's gardenia and have to wait a month before being able to order again. In France the customs often tax heavy. I never understood how they calculate taxes, but someone told me below 22 euro is OK and tax free. Fingers crossed. Powerhouse, that sounds interesting and I'll order. I taka Your word for it. In the eyes of an American it's probably not a worthy frag given the fact it's popular and drugstore. I like Chanel n°22 better than the N°5, although I prefer the vintage one, before it went exclusive. I'll go and smell it again in the flagship store.

I'm a huge fan of American fragrances. Some can be bought cheap from British sites and at least there is not duty tax to pay. I'm always amazed how much Europeans love the smell of American not so "in" scents, because they have not been subjected to the aroma constantly, do not know anything about the house and price and are not prejudiced.

Pheeew. Dam'it! I should have asked first. Poor sillage - is it the smell that's not nice or just the projection? What it resembles most -insect repellant? How long does it take for a parcel to arrive fm the states to France? It's my first order, so I'm curious.

There is no tax on good arriving fm EU. It's the law We often ordered fm fragrancedirect. Even if the order is of a thousands' of pounds worth, no tax is due on it. It arrives in a week or 10 days. Only once it did not, they told us to wait and sure, it arrived in a month or so. But the GB sites no longer carry testers and the prices are not competitive.

l got my mini parfum of White Diamonds from ebay & tried it yesterday; there's a blast of aldehydes in the opening, but once that settles down it's a very smooth, clean, soapy, powdery floral which is very pleasant IMO. l detect lily & rose, & a little vanilla & musk in the base. The sillage is nice & it lasted around 4 hours on me. l see this as a summer scent for occasions when you want to feel "well-dressed", & a light application is enough.

So Makassar, have you been able to try this or any of the other recommendations?