Donna Karan Cashmere Mist

Cashmere Mist

Cashmere Mist

I don’t know why I thought I had already done a review for Cashmere Mist. Perhaps it’s because of how used to it I am. Everywhere I went as a child, I smelled this perfume on somebody. It’s popularity has ingrained itself into my mind and made it something of a given that I should have talked about it already.

In Bottle: Bergamot and very soft floral woods.

Applied: Cashmere Mist opens with a little nip of citrus that serves to drive the fragrance into its dominant stage. The stage is that of a very soft floral tinged wood with a light dusting of powder that envelops the wearer in a warm blanket. A lot of fragrances remind me of my mother because, when I was growing up, her fragrance collection helped shape my perfume preferences today. Cashmere Mist is one of those perfumes that reminds me a lot of her because she had some of it at one point. I do have to admit that I’m not a big fan of this one, despite the good memories associated with it. It’s a bit dull, sadly. Otherwise, it’s warm and soft and nurturing. It’s nice and gentle and smells like memories of the early 90s. It’s also clean, like soap, powder and laundry if you were interested in a clean scent. I just think it’s a bit generic smelling and I’m entirely willing to admit that I might just be bored of smelling it because I’ve gotten so used to it since its release.

Extra: Cashmere Mist has been out and available since 1994. It remains easily accessible and can be purchased at a variety of department stores and online.

Design: Some people love this people and some don’t. I’m one of the people who love it, though I have to admit my bias because I grew up seeing this bottle and smelling Cashmere Mist so I’m a little bit attached to it. It is, however, a somewhat dated design in that it reflects an earlier aesthetic. There are two types of bottles for Cashmere Mist, a frosted glass bottle (pictured in this post) and a clear glass bottle.

Fragrance Family: Clean Woodsy Floral

Notes: Bergamot, lily of the valley, jasmine, suede, cashmere wood, sandalwood, musk, vanilla.

The version I reviewed should be noted as there has been some differences noticed by the fragrance community between the EDT that I’m reviewing and the EDP in the clear glass bottle that’s being widely circulated.

Reviewed in This Post: Cashmere Mist, 1998, Eau de Toilette.


Hugo Boss Hugo

Hugo is your run of the mill fresh aquatic that doesn’t bring much to the table and doesn’t leave with much either. The tide of aquatics has petered out in the latest years as the incoming flood of fruity florals starts dominating the scenes. Some of these are works of olfactory art in their own respect while others are forgettable. And some even regrettable. Unfortunately for Hugo, it was one of the less notable aquatics of its time. Hugo

In Bottle: Green and blue aquatic. Fresh, sharp, and a little bit spicy. The herbal notes up front are paired with pine and citrus.

Applied: The green flare, just a touch sweet before it settles into its spicy woodsiness where the pine is predominant on me. I smell kind of like one of those pine-shaped air fresheners you use for your car. Not unpleasant, I just have a strange association with anything pine scented. Well, perhaps not strange, just persistent. The scent stays with pine as it introduces a few spicy herbal notes into the mix. Hugo takes a turn for the interesting near the complete dry down stage as it leaves its fresh pine-scented herb garden and veers toward a darker, murkier, funnier funky note that’s reminiscent of the blast of aquatics upon application. It’s fleeting though, a one or two second moment that could just be me. Hugo dries down to a benign woodsy, spicy, fresh accord that doesn’t make any presumptions and doesn’t even want to think about standing out.

Extra: Hugo Boss fragrances have largely been a miss for me. The only one I can say I actually like is Deep Red. Even then, I don’t particularly like it that much. I can say nice things about it though. But this fragrance, it’s the generic men’s scent with the all too familiar aquatic citrus opening, the woodsy spicy middle, and the miasma of leftover freshness at the base.

Design: I could give or take with this design. It’s clean and simple and functional. Holding it is easy. Spraying it is easy. Kind of looks like a water bottle which is a bit cheesy but overall, not bad.

Fragrance Family: Fresh Woodsy

Notes: Grapefruit, green apple, pine needles, thyme, spearmint, basil, cedar, rum, jasmine, sage, geranium, clove, lavender, cedarwood, moss, fir balsam, sandalwood, vetiver, suede.

Yeah, I definitely cannot get past the predominant evergreen scent in this. Too much pine, maybe, or maybe I’m just not the kind of person who likes that in a scent.

Reviewed in This Post: Hugo, 2000, Eau de Toilette.


Donna Karan Liquid Nude

Cashmere Mist is one of the most popular Donna Karan fragrances. It was released in the early 90s (1994, I believe) and has been sold with much popularity since. Liquid Nude is the brand new 2010 flanker to Cashmere Mist. Liquid Nude

In Bottle: Light and floral. Reminds me of clean linen and fresh sheets with a hint of cleaned up sandalwood.

Applied: Floral top notes that lend a very feminine edge to this fragrance. It has quite a nice display of florals set against a seemingly always present perfumed sandalwood. The fragrance evolves into a clear and very floral jasmine mid-stage that lends to a nice airy clean linen-like scent. This smells like good soap and I can sort of see the connection to the original Cashmere Mist as this is set in a nicer, more modern stage than the original. It also smells a little bit younger too. The dry down is a pleasant smooth white floral with a bit of lingering warmed sandalwood mixed with a light vanilla. Pretty much the one thing you can take away from Liquid Nude here is that it’s a very good, very clear and clean floral and creamy woodsy fragrance.

Extra: Donna Karan has other fragrances with her name on them including the very popular DKNY Be Delicious line which is a big hit with younger women.

Design: I don’t know if “elegant” is quite the word I want to use here but the design of this bottle is slick and nicely designed. It reminds me of a variety of things but mostly, it’s a close interpretation of the original Cashmere Mist bottle in a nice shiny pinkish tone with the swan shape toned down and smoothed out.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Orange flowers, pink cyclamen petals, lily of the valley, sandalwood, ylang ylang, Moroccan jasmine, labdanum, jasmine, white amber, skin musk, suede, tonka, benzoin.

I’m actually not much of a fan of Cashmere Mist or this particular incarnation of it. It reminds me of the perfumes I grew up smelling and I suppose my nose is a bit dulled from it by now.

Reviewed in This Post: Liquid Nude, 2010, Eau de Parfum.