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Estee Lauder Knowing

post #1 of 28
10/18/10 at 7:28pm
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Friend claims it's the greatest thing he has ever smelled on women. I have never heard of it. How good is it?
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post #2 of 28
10/18/10 at 7:40pm
I liked it at first but it's gradually began to annoy me. It's a big, floral chypre slightly on the sour side for my tastes, now that I've given it a few wears.

On the plus side, it's pretty cheap!
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post #3 of 28
10/18/10 at 8:28pm
Ulta has it .I tried it on there .It is closely related to Paloma Picasso and Diva by Ungaro .Now I own ,like,and wear Paloma and Diva but Knowing was a bit stronger and less floral . It would be an easy unisex nowadays -at least to my nose.Definitely try before you buy(full retail at least )Or get a mini on Ebay.
For me ,Knowing is an eventually -probably.
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post #4 of 28
10/18/10 at 8:51pm
I think of it as a fruity, green rose. It's nice, but I think Montana's Parfum de Peau is better if you're looking for a mossy floral. I love both of the bottles!
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post #5 of 28
10/18/10 at 8:52pm
Love it on the right woman. Very sexy.
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post #6 of 28
10/18/10 at 9:02pm
Do you like Crisp cypre flowers with leather thats what Knowing smells like
very crisp flowers with leather it's almost like Paloma Picasso without the
resins and Spicy accords.
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post #7 of 28
10/18/10 at 9:15pm
Well, very little gets me as excited as Estee Lauder, and Knowing is my favorite of the house!!

I find it to be dark, sexy and brooding. It's very woody and leathery, floral, but not too sweet. And I think it tops the genre of dark, rosy chypres, which happens to be my favorite genre.

Not to mention, it's a Bernard Chant creation, and I love all of his fragrances!

Other notable dark rose you might know, for reference are: Gucci L'Arte, Sisley Soir de Lune, Ungaro Diva, PG Corps et Ames, Jil Sander No. 4....

I'd agree that Montana's Parfum de Peau was on par once (It was DIVINE.), but it's been horribly reformulated, and the old stuff is hard to find AND hard to identify. Estee Lauder, the other hand, has not reformulated anything, and it's a delight.

And as Suga points out, it's not too expensive, so it's a safe investment.
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post #8 of 28
10/19/10 at 1:00am
Oh how I love Knowing! When it came out I had to wear it sneak-ily on weekends and evenings because it was the signature scent of a co-worker in a small office. Diva and Paloma Picasso have never floated my boat the way Knowing does.
Similar in character are L'arte de Gucci and Teatro alla scala
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post #9 of 28
10/19/10 at 5:17am
Totally agree with jpkunst...on the right woman, Knowing is spectacular rose, woods and leather..like no other scent. However, I've smelled it on others and it was sour and flat.

I don't think my chemistry is best suited to it...I can wear a small dose, in the right weather....but unfortunately, while O.K., it's not spectacular on me
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post #10 of 28
10/19/10 at 5:24am
Another fan of Knowing here. It's a mossy rosy chypre, deep golden & green smelling to me. I think it's a perfect fragrance for fall, but it's a classic, so maybe someone who likes today's sheerer styles will not care for it. Try before you buy, as always.
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post #11 of 28
10/19/10 at 6:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugandaraja View Post

I liked it at first but it's gradually began to annoy me. It's a big, floral chypre slightly on the sour side for my tastes, now that I've given it a few wears.

On the plus side, it's pretty cheap!


This was exactly my experience with the bottle I had.A generous family friend gave me a box of several EL fragrances as a teenager,and though it wore me down,I still think Knowing was the best of the bunch.While it's not for me,I agree it could be wonderful on the right person.
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post #12 of 28
10/19/10 at 7:20am
I agree with everyone above who loves it (although I don't find the rose particularly prominent like it is in L'Arte and Diva) and I will acknowledge that it can be an aquired taste. It has a bitter edge that gives it its unique and powerful signature, but lots of people don't like that. And it's easy to overapply - you must be careful with it! I had the body lotion some time ago and I think it was this softer version of the fragrance that initially won me over.
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post #13 of 28
10/19/10 at 7:51am
  • jtd
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Knowing is a rose chypre like many of those mentioned above. What distinguishes it is its lack of a sweet element that some of the others share. Diva has its honey and Paloma has sweet balsams. Knowing has a dry woodiness that perfectly ties the moss to the spiced rose. The key here is the rose. Not a dewy rose, not a flaming rose. This rose is dry verging on bitter and is in perfect accord with the moss. This is the fragrance I'd recommend when people ask for a rose that a man could wear, which is funny because I'd wear anything I like whether targeted to boys or girls. Also funny because the EL fragrances always seem to have that suggestion of solid, practical American femininity (I guess I'm falling for marketing here.) But you know what? Knowing shares as much (categorically) with the rose chypres as it does (in tone ) with men's power fragrances of the 80s. It is huge, woody, has preternatural sillage and a half-life of days. My god, this could be Antaeus.
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post #14 of 28
10/19/10 at 8:55am
I sampled it in a department store and loved it. The SA actually talked me out of buying it.

Months later I noticed an unpleasantly strong chypre perfume on someone sitting next to me. Asked what it was (nicely). It was Knowing.

Made me want to do the "sampling on another person " test before all perfume purchases!

It is definitely a fine fragrange, but I find it a little too in-your-face for me.

[jtd--your description is spot on!]
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post #15 of 28
10/19/10 at 4:12pm
I love it. It's dark, rich, mysterious, and never too sweet. It is also packs a MONSTER wallop and should be applied lightly! In general, the Estee Lauders are not the shrinking violets of the scent world, are they?
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post #16 of 28
10/19/10 at 5:33pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for the feedback, ladies! much appreciated!! please tell me it doesn't smell anything like youth dew as it makes me ill. so does mitsouko and samsara.
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post #17 of 28
10/19/10 at 6:35pm
Knowing is a classic in the Estee lineup, and itself is a classic chypre. Not for everyday wear or even office wear for most, yet refined and even unisex. It is very strong and has presence. Not airy and aquatic at all.

For a woman mature (and not just in age) or a man with confidence to pull this off.
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post #18 of 28
10/19/10 at 6:47pm
Knowing is definitely NOT airy. It is dark, heavy and rosewood/woody, fruity, a little bit "soapy" (that's the leather, oddly enough)...and dry on me, but in a good way. And not the tiniest bit green. (honestly, it does go a little sweet on me but many scents do that.) I think of it as a scent for a mature woman (or man, actually)... EL's scent (Aramis) JHL is a "more feminine" rose to my nose than Knowing. Just goes to show that scent is uniquely individual at times.
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post #19 of 28
10/19/10 at 7:31pm
I have to chime in again as to its unisex potential. My BF wears it and considers it totally appropriate to a man. It really would not strike anyone as a 'feminine' I think.

I actually get more compliments wearing this one, but I have to be sparing!
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post #20 of 28
10/19/10 at 8:11pm
Yes, I agree it is a "handle with care" type of fragrance. I enjoy mine occassionally, but have to be careful not to overspray
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post #21 of 28
10/19/10 at 8:31pm
A while back I hugged a friend goodbye and I just had to ask- what's that perfume you got on? Estee Lauder's Knowing! I looked it up right away online, never took notice of it before then.
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post #22 of 28
10/20/10 at 9:26am
I think it's a beautiful classic. It was the only scent that my mother could wear after they ruined Arpege by watering it down.
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post #23 of 28
10/20/10 at 10:26am
I'm wearing it today, because I'm VERY suggestible. Oh, it smells so good on this rainy day! Sweeter than I remember, but so dark and mysterious and greeny-rose. It reminds me quite a bit of L'Ombre dans l'Eau. Also, I am reminded all over again that Knowing is strong enough to kill small pets and livestock at 20 paces ...
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post #24 of 28
10/20/10 at 10:45am
Wifey loves EL Knowing. She has a largish wardrobe but Knowing is her default frag. I just bought her a second bottle within a year, recently. Apart from Ubar, this is the one i like most (maybe, just maybe, that is why she wears it so much [yeah, yeah, in my dreams, i hear....])
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post #25 of 28
10/23/10 at 12:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hillaire View Post

I'd agree that Montana's Parfum de Peau was on par once (It was DIVINE.), but it's been horribly reformulated, and the old stuff is hard to find AND hard to identify.

In my experience, anything older than the current Italian butchering is good stuff. This Italian reissue is packaged in a blue box with a depiction of an orange helix bottle on it: STAY AWAY! Older formulations are packaged in a blue box with blue text (original) or a blue box with black/silver text (90's reformulation with synthetic castoreum).
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post #26 of 28
12/30/10 at 12:17pm
Knowing is fabulous- a very different animal to Youth Dew. I tend to think of Youth Dew as Mae West and Knowing as Lauren Bacall. So classy
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post #27 of 28
12/31/10 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tott View Post

In my experience, anything older than the current Italian butchering is good stuff. This Italian reissue is packaged in a blue box with a depiction of an orange helix bottle on it: STAY AWAY! Older formulations are packaged in a blue box with blue text (original) or a blue box with black/silver text (90's reformulation with synthetic castoreum).

Good information, and sad to hear. I am glad now I still have my mother's 20 yr old bottle.
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post #28 of 28
1/1/11 at 1:28pm
Oddly enough, I find the 2010 version of Knowing closer to the vintage PP than today's PP is.
Wearing Knowing today. Swoon!
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