Knowing by Estée Lauder.

This fragrance is introduced in 1988 as a sophisticated and distinctive fragrance for a mature, refined and self-confident woman. It's served in a bottle resembling to the piece of crystal to please your every sense according to Estée Lauder.

Estée Lauder classifies this fragrance as a woody floral. Turin & Sanchez in their guide describe it as rose chypre. Well, it's definitely a rose and it's woody. Even oriental woody I'd say. Not sure about chypre as I can't recognize it behind the rose curtain.

Estée Lauder gives the following pyramid for Knowing:

Top Notes: Rose, Tuberose, Mimosa, Plum
Middle Notes: Jasmine, Patchouli, Orange Flower
Base Notes: Oakmoss, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Amber

Some other sources mention also spices like coriander, laurel and clove; melon, orange and aldehydes in the top; cedar as a part of woody component. Well – enough ingredients to compose your own bouquet.

My own olfactory experience is – it's all about the rose. Beautiful fresh petals of a dark red evening rose are sinking in a sultry syrup of floral honey and ripe fruit to the bottom of sweet woody amber. It's stupefying viscous and enshrouding directly from the opening. It's pretty linear and doesn't change much from top to the base, except may be the ambery honey sweetness that gets stronger. Knowing has a good sillage.

Summing up the opinions of perfume experts, I can say that this fragrance is appreciated for its finely balanced composition, complex structure and sillage. It's described as lush, European styled and multi-coloured. Five stars at Turin&Sanchez guide.

A good friend of my is using Knowing and I always like to catch a train of it when she is passing by. Really attractive. I completely agree with Estée Lauder's recommendation to use this perfume for a mature refined woman with a touch of class. This perfume gives me a feeling of a warm fond embrace – the one my mother gave me when I was a child.