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Thoughts about Halston Catalyst

post #1 of 21
9/22/10 at 5:00pm
Thread Starter 
Hey Guys

Just sampled some Halston Catalyst today. I'm wondering how many basenoters have worn this one in the past year? Also, I feel that this is a good choice for the holidays with all the nutmeg and other seasonal spices. How does Catalyst measure up against today's frags as a holiday frag? I'd say about an 8/10 for holidays. Maybe about 7/10 for fall/winter in general. Overall, I guess about a 6/10 for bottleworthiness.
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post #2 of 21
9/22/10 at 5:08pm
i have a large bottle of it as well as 3 test tubes of different colored catylst. it was a set. i dont think much of it. looks cool though- the bunson/test tube theme.
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post #3 of 21
3/8/11 at 5:35am
I didn't think too much of the Men's Catalyst for a while after I bought it blind but I grew to really enjoy the sour-warm opening and apparently it's very attractive to others. Certainly one to keep in the collection if you have it already because there are so few like it.
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post #4 of 21
3/8/11 at 7:28am
I don't mind Catalyst, but keep thinking it's lacking some body to it - that it could be a bit richer.
The Catalyst aftershave splash is interesting. It's one of the few designer splashes that actually soothes skin, and works nearly as well as an aftershave balm.
Regards,
Renato
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post #5 of 21
3/8/11 at 11:52am
I had this when it first came out.....Very spicey for sure.....Works great as a holiday fragrance.....I still like Z-14 better!!!
Gary
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post #6 of 21
3/8/11 at 12:04pm
i love it to bits and i've worn it for ages. far better than (the reformulated) z-14, in my opinion. a perfect blend. one needs to be careful with the trigger, though.
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post #7 of 21
2/22/12 at 12:18pm
I have a wardrobe of fragrance, yet this one is the chepaest and one that gets the most intrest, and compliments. I have gone for bespoke courture fragrances, some that cost £3/ml and I have to say this is on the best fragrance I have ever used. Absolute perfection. Whenever I have worn it, it always gets attention and women and emn ask what am I wearing. Another of this genre is Quorum by Puig. I walked into a shop and the girls kept asking what is it you are wearing? In England its not common so nice to wear as neah perosn knows about it.
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post #8 of 21
2/22/12 at 1:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BradW View Post

Overall, I guess about a 6/10 for bottle worthiness.

For me, that number would decrease to 1/10
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post #9 of 21
2/22/12 at 1:15pm
I also had this when it first came out.....I didn't mind this at all.....Thought the bottles were cool at the time.....The scent was spicey and worked for me.....My Son still likes to wear this every once in a while!!!
gary
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post #10 of 21
2/22/12 at 2:12pm
What Renato said. A pleasant scent, but begin to feels thin and unsubstantial...and ultimately somewhat cheap.
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post #11 of 21
2/22/12 at 2:18pm
As usual I'm wondering about the leather note in this. Can you guys give me an idea what other leather notes it resembles? (Trying to avoid birch tar...) E.g. the leather in Z-14 (which I don't smell anyways) is not birch tar as far as I can tell.

Also, how sweet is it? I got Jovan Sex Appeal hoping for a straight spicy frag but the vanilla/amber is just too sweet for me.
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post #12 of 21
2/22/12 at 3:42pm
^ If you know the leather vibe of Dunhill's Edition, then you know the leather vibe of Catalyst. Both subtle and neither are in the birch tar vein.

I have a few forms of Catalyst (Beekers, Test Tubes, edt, a/s). Aside from the unappreciated gimmickry I do appreciate the scent and find it a dead ringer copy of Edition; 1994 v. 1984. For what the scent pyramids are worth... Catalyst's pyramid is a perfect subset of Edition's. Common notes: lavender, sage, citrus, nutmeg, clove, sandalwood, musk. I don't consider either the least bit sweet.
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post #13 of 21
2/22/12 at 4:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DuNezDeBuzier View Post

^ If you know the leather vibe of Dunhill's Edition, then you know the leather vibe of Catalyst. Both subtle and neither are in the birch tar vein.

I have a few forms of Catalyst (Beekers, Test Tubes, edt, a/s). Aside from the unappreciated gimmickry I do appreciate the scent and find it a dead ringer copy of Edition; 1994 v. 1984. For what the scent pyramids are worth... Catalyst's pyramid is a perfect subset of Edition's. Common notes: lavender, sage, citrus, nutmeg, clove, sandalwood, musk. I don't consider either the least bit sweet.

Thank you very much DNDB. I'm not familiar with Edition but this is still helpful.
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post #14 of 21
2/22/12 at 5:17pm
I've had a test tube (50ml of the EDT) of Catalyst for a couple of years now, and I wear it occasionally in the winter months. I enjoy spicy scents like Catalyst and Sex Appeal by Jovan. Catalyst does seem a bit on the weak side to me, but it is a really good fragrance for the money. Longevity on me is only average (about 6 hours). If you're looking for a similarly spicy fragrance with exceptional longevity (i.e., 12+ hours), give Sex Appeal a try.
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post #15 of 21
2/23/12 at 4:49pm
Just picked up Catalyst at the local Ross for a song. Unfortunately, I do get a dose of birch tar in it.

Sex Appeal is considerably sweeter than Catalyst imo. That probably accounts for its longevity. Though I found the musk drydown of Catalyst longlasting as well.
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post #16 of 21
2/23/12 at 9:38pm
Catalyst is Autumn in a bottle. I don't wear it enough. I love the clove overkill.
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post #17 of 21
2/23/12 at 9:42pm
i get some incense off of it. its a nice cold weather scent not bad for late night clubbing either.
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post #18 of 21
2/24/12 at 1:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonkeyBars View Post

Just picked up Catalyst at the local Ross for a song. Unfortunately, I do get a dose of birch tar in it.

Sorry to hear that mr. monkeybars. I associated gritty/smokey birch tar with my leather heavy hitters (e.g. Russisch Leder, Kolnisch Juchten, Cabochard, Aramis, Bandit, and a dozen or so others to a lesser degree). Man it would bum me out if I developed a negative sensitivity to birch tar.

I've always attributed the cool, ever-so-slight smokey spice vibe in Catalyst (Edition and Anglia's Park Royal, for that matter) to the clove/nutmeg interplay. Side-by-sides, I do get a slightly similar spice note out of Havana and 'they' say birch tar is in Havana... so who knows?
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post #19 of 21
2/24/12 at 3:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DuNezDeBuzier View Post

Sorry to hear that mr. monkeybars. I associated gritty/smokey birch tar with my leather heavy hitters (e.g. Russisch Leder, Kolnisch Juchten, Cabochard, Aramis, Bandit, and a dozen or so others to a lesser degree). Man it would bum me out if I developed a negative sensitivity to birch tar.

I've always attributed the cool, ever-so-slight smokey spice vibe in Catalyst (Edition and Anglia's Park Royal, for that matter) to the clove/nutmeg interplay. Side-by-sides, I do get a slightly similar spice note out of Havana and 'they' say birch tar is in Havana... so who knows?

I assume there is birch tar in Havana too. The ones you mentioned are 95% birch tar to my nose, while Catalyst is more like 15% or so.

Clove and nutmeg together have a lovely edible character, no smokiness at all -- think gingerbread batter.

Fwiw, Sex Appeal doesn't have any birch tar to my nose, just a bunch of vanillin. It's yummy and definitely has a bunch of clove and nutmeg imo.
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post #20 of 21
2/24/12 at 10:43pm
Worn a couple of 1oz tubes of Catalyst. Love it so much, character and spice punch.
Worked best for autumn and winter walks/travels in the country.
I don't wear it often since I have only half a tube left.

Regards, Odor.
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post #21 of 21
2/25/12 at 12:15am
I loved it and wore it so much in the 90´s that finally got tired of it. Hopefully my love affair will continue in the near future with the test tube flask!
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