Poison by Christian Dior (1985)

It's hard to believe that Poison is already 25 years old. This much-maligned and equally beloved 80s scent bomb with a bad reputation still grips my imagination. With its aubergine-colored, fairy tale apple meets vintage apothecary bottle with a crystalline stopper, Poison is nothing if not provocative. You either love it or hate it — usually for the same reasons!

Top notes: Coriander, pimento, plum, anise, mace, rosewood, carnation

Heart notes: Rose, tuberose, ylang-ylang, carnation, cinnamon, jasmine, lily of the valley

Base notes: Cedarwood, vetiver, sandalwood, musk, heliotrope, vanilla, opoponax

Rich, woody, spicy, sweet (it's practically dripping with narcotic tuberose) and berry-like (occasionally veering into a grape bubblegum accord), Poison is like Shiseido's Feminite du Bois with the cedarwood turned down and the tuberose-jasmine turned way, way up. (Think of FdB, which Poison precedes, as Poison's sophisticated French cousin; she's something of a minx as well, but she hides it a little better.) The continuum of berry-like scents from Femme, to Magie Noire, Poison and Feminite du Bois, shows the versatility of the berry/Prunol note as well as its goth-erotic sensibility.

Tuberose is the perfect floral for Poison to showcase, since this often sickly sweet flower, at certain angles and ripeness, can exude a poisonous-seeming sour twang. Like certain poisons whose sweetness hides their toxicity, tuberose initially hides its narcotic, deadly intent. When I smell this facet of tuberose, I think of a snake coiling its tail in anticipation of a venomous strike. Like tuberose, jasmine is two-faced, sweet and friendly and then indolic — aka fecal/meaty/funky. Both of these beauties are the Mata Haris of the floral note world, initially gorgeous but capable of treachery and trickery.)

Although Poison comes on strong, the scent balances its intensity with a symphony of background notes that keeps it from being one-dimensional. In addition to tuberose's minor key twist, Poison's spice (cinnamon, coriander, carnation), woods, and musk temper its floral sweetness. If anything, there's so much going on it can be bewildering to figure out what grips you so. And although there's an assault at the beginning, once the genie's out of the bottle, she mellows out with an opiate-like softness, partly sweet, partly woody, musky and incensey. (Maurice Roucel's Musc Ravageur creates a similar impact thanks to cinammon and musk — but with a more minimalist olfactory palette that emphasizes its bass notes/base notes oudh/guaiac wood rather than the wind section siren song that is Poison's narcotic floral heart.)

What follows are some of the best snippets of reader-reviews I could find on Basenotes and Fragrantica. It's a tribute to Poison's impact that it's hard to tell sometimes which are compliments and which are disses.

You can get vintage minis of Poison on eBay or The Miniature Perfume Shoppe, where I got mine. There might be a reformulation, so stick to vintage, but also remember that vintage Poison has, as one Basenotes reader said, "almost nuclear longevity and sillage." How much of the stuff do you really need? I will proudly (but judiciously) wear this stuff out in the world, detractors be damned! But I promise, Luca Turin, I will not wear it to dinner.

From Basenotes:

"Spray this in Mumbai and it will climb Mount Everest." "These top notes are both fascinating and revolting." "...Suddenly grabs a hold of you and drags you straight to grape city." "Wearing Poison is like being with a bold, abrasive best friend that you love anyway...Like this friend, just when Poison begins to annoy, it does something amazing and makes you fall in love with it again." "Only to be worn if you're in a daring mood."

From Fragrantica:

"Vomit worthy." "So many notes. It also made me itchy." "Some people smell like pure sex wearing this — others smell like rotting fruit.""It is the thickest, darkest, loudest, meanest, most devilish perfume I ever set my nose on. The juice was drained from the gigantic flower grown on a planet outside of our galaxy, where no other creature has set foot before...There is no antidote."

Comments

[Kristy Victoria]

Have you tried this stuff in parfum? It's epic!

[Mals86]

I hated Poison back in the day, but recently snagged a carded mfr sample (possibly vintage?) on ebay, wanting to sniff it again (I live in a rural area, there are hardly any testers available within driving distance). I keep pulling it out and debating with myself whether I want to spend the next twelve hours in it or not...

I am a huge fan of tuberose, but that grape cough-syrup thing makes me think of industrial accidents. Then, too, Poison is LOUD!! and that's another reason I dislike it. Maybe if I dab a toothpick's end's worth... I'll report back.

[Perfumaniac]

Mals86, Poison is indeed loud, and I don't think you're exaggerating when you ponder dabbing it on with a toothpick point. It might be the only way you (and your unsuspecting neighbors) can handle this monster. But for me, in small doses, Poison is, for lack of a better word, intriguing. There is something poisonous-seeming and wrong about it, but like wearing purple lipstick, you can either get away with it or not, and most of us choose not to wear purple lipstick! But please do report back on how you feel about it in tiny doses; what interests me is that you wanted to sniff it again. (Not sure about the reformulation, but like so many perfumes, it's a distinct possibility that the original Poison and the one available now are different.)

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Kristy, I should have mentioned that I was indeed reviewing the parfum. And epic it is! I put the tiniest amount on my skin in a cafe, and worriedly looked around to make sure I wasn't scaring anyone. It's loud but it has something interesting and wild to say, in my opinion. How do you feel about it?

[mals86]

Tested yesterday afternoon: I have a mfr's carded edt sample which does not seem to be very old. Dabbed half a pinky's tip on one wrist. Result: I frightened my children for a good six hours. (My husband has a cold at the moment, or it would have frightened him too!) Honestly, it seems to me that Poison may have been reformulated - this sample seems to lack that truly-poisonous note of cough-syrup overdose that I used to dislike so much. I mean, that's there, but restrained. It seems much more wearable now, not that I actually *would* wear it.

I'm doing a series of reviews on tuberose scents, which was the primary driving force behind wanting to smell it again. Then, too, Luca Turin's hilarious review ("like road-testing an Abrams M1 tank at rush hour") compelled me.

And thanks for letting me know which concentration you were reviewing - sometimes it makes so much difference!

[Perfumaniac]

Now I'm curious about the EDT. I should spray some on the next time I'm at a perfume counter. I was reading Perfume Legends last night (I finally broke down and paid the astronomical amount the book costs) and Poison's perfumer Edouard Flechier described the perfume brief he received from the head of Dior: he wanted "an extreme dosage of fruit and spice notes, and a strong, musky finish." Flechier goes on to say that a lot of classics have that quality — an overdosage of something: galbanum in the case of Vent Vert, ethyl vanillin in Shalimar, aldehydes in Chanel No. 5. It's food for thought. The risk, as in your case and others who find Poison too much, is that whatever is being overdosed needs to be liked by the wearer!

[Kristy Victoria]

I love the parfum. I need to get my hands on some!! :)

[Junebug]

I've worn Poison since I could get my hands on a cheap imposter back in the day.

I wear just the smallest ammount to be subtle and I have always gotten the sniff test from everyone and have yet to get a negative comment.

I'm proud to say that I can't find another perfume that fits me better, but the subtle grape bubble gum scent is how people discribe it on me. I love it and will be an eternal fan.

[Perfumaniac]

Junebug: I think it was Luca Turin who said that Poison was in the category of a "make it a night he won't forget" perfumes. Haha. In my '20s, this was certainly true! I have to be in the mood for it, but I do still love Poison. I haven't smelled it on anyone in a long time...

[Adrianna]

Hello all Poison fans! How old does a bottle of Poison have to be to qualify as vintage? I have just purchased a 1oz Esprit de Parfum. I have no idea of its age. Perhaps one of you might know?

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Adrianna, sorry for the late response. This is hard to answer with Poison because you can't really date the perfume by comparing bottles, as they seem to all look the same. (Please correct me, someone, if I'm wrong.) Did you buy it on eBay? Can you ask the seller? If you bought it at a regular online store, it's probably a reformulated Poison, which I've heard from Poison-lovers isn't as heady and interesting. Have you smelled the original? Can you trust your nose to compare them?

Finally, I have a few questions for you: Do you like this version of Poison you have? If so, I'm curious — why do you want to know if it's vintage? For me, wanting a vintage version of a perfume is about wanting the perfume to be as close as possible to the vision of the perfumer who constructed it, with all the notes and ingredients they wanted before a cheaper reformulation dumbs it down or dilutes it. Unless you're looking to resell, I say, enjoy your bottle! Or treat it as a sleuthing project; try to find a vintage Poison, and compare them. Good luck! Tell me how it goes.--Perfumaniac

[froske1]

Really weird reviews for such an enveloping perfume! (I love it, of course.)

What I'd really like to point out is that fecal smells have actually little to do with indoles. Think sperm when you say indole, think aliphatic diamines when you say fecal smell, quite a big nose-twisting difference!!

[Perfumaniac]

froske1 - Poison is one of my favorites, and a perfume that I used to wear out to cause trouble! As for indoles, I think like any scent molecules, indolic flowers might smell different depending on the composition of the scent and interactions with the facets of other notes. I could see "spermatic" being one facet.

I've heard a variety of descriptions: dusty, musty, sweet-rotten, like rotting mice (Christopher Brosious). But "fecal" is one scent facet of indole that appears again and again. It's included in descriptions in Wikipedia (indoles are "intensely fecal") and by perfume writer/scientist Luca Turin.

But going beyond what the experts say, the nose, as they say, knows: I've experienced the subtle but unmistakable fecal dimension of some perfumes with indolic flowers (orange blossom, jasmine, etc.) Perhaps due to interaction with other notes, I'm not sure (I'm not a chemist, nor a perfumer). Scent is multifarious!

[2crowd]

I have a tiny gold flask charm bottle (looks kind of like a pumpkin or chianti bottle) that was given out as a sample of the original Poison. One side is inscribed poison and the other Christian Dior. I got it as a sample from Foley's in Austin Texas in 1986 or 87. I am trying to raise money for our local Cause for Paws and would be willing to sell this for best offer. I do not know if there is still any perfume left after all these years, but there may be since I opened it only once---and decided the fragrance was not for me. I do not know how this site works as far as connecting people who post with items that others might want. I can take a pic and send in e-mail if interested. Whoever thought 1985 would be vintage?

[Puja Wahi]

Poison is a show-stopper of a scent so don't wear it if you don't like people to stop and stare. But, if you really want to make a statement, wear it with a rich red lipstick for instant glam.

Poison is my perfume equivalent of a soul mate. It has a throbbing life of its own and I have a complex love-hate relationship with it. It makes me feel like a goddess and I think it changes my behavior and body language.

The fragrance does change depending on who wears it though. For example, it smells terrible on my mom and sister. There are days when even I'm too timid to daub it on.

I've heard the Christian Dior is going to stop production and I'm heart-broken at the thought. I've been trying to figure out what else I could get and I'll try Shiseido's Feminite du Bois. I have a feeling that nothing else will make me feel the same though. Poison has been the scent of my bold, brash, sexy twenties and I certainly don't want to let that go. Do you have any idea if and when they're planning to stop making it?

P.S. For those who find the EDP too overwhelming, try the EDT.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Puja, I assumed they had already stopped production! If I were you, I would just stock up on vintage Poison. Its not that rare yet, so just get a few bottles now so that youre stocked into the future. Good luck! Hold on to a perfume that makes you feel that powerful!

[Elaine Noto]

Not quite sure what you are doing, but your ruining a wonderful fragance. Whatever you are doing STOP!! I have worn this fragance for over 20 years and have never stop getting complimence on what I am wearing.Both men and women are continuously comment on what a WONDERFUL fragance I have on..
If you are continually going to close out this fabulous fragrance for all these rediculious new products I would love if you can let me know where I may find anything left in my Original Poison..
Thank You,
Elaine Noto
[email protected]

[Teresa Miles]

I'm very disappointed in Christian Dior for stopping production on the original poison for I have worn it for 20 years now and that and Beautiful from Estee Lauder are the only thing I love. I Don't see the reason why you are discontinuing it, I know so many people who just love it and are upset about this. Thanks a lot! :(

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Teresa, I wish Christian Dior would resume using their original formula for Poison, too. But I wish that for all vintage perfumes I love! At least with Poison, it is still readily available on eBay.

[Ginger]

I can not tell you how disappointed I am in the change. I have been a loyal user of this fragrance since the mid 80's. Now it is as unpleasant to wear as any dime store scent :(

[elisabeth]

I once had a man follow me into the elevator because of Poison. He just loved it...a little creepy initially, but then again, he was really handsome!

[Lou]

For those looking for an alternative, and a pared down one at that, consider Cedre by Lutens. It is a big tuberose built on a base of, duh, cedar. A subtle spicy touch to perk it up. It's actually quite similar but, as said, reduced to its core. No berries and also not a warm, gourmandish accord in the base (no vanilla, heliotrope, opoponax). I actually prefer it over Poison, although I like Poison and still have two bottles with the original juice: one round apple splash bottle bought at the time it was launched and another slightly flattened apple spray bottle bought in the late eighties.

[Pam]

I bought Poison when it first came out, and cherished every drop till my bottle ran out. Never repurchased due to budget,kids, etc. I dearly loved this perfume. I really didn't care what others thought of it, it made me happy when I wore it. It takes a fair bit of moxie to wear it, and I had lots of that. I tried the new stuff, and like it, but may seek out a vintage bottle as well. Its a damn sight better than the dishwater so prevalent these days. Everyone is so afraid of offending with scent. I wear it to make me happy, not anyone else.

[Betty J. Sherrod]

I started using houbigant musk perfume in the 1970's it smelled so very good. I have bought it on the internet but it does not keep the scent like it did before. it seems to be watered down or something - Please tell me where I can purchase the original houbigant musk perfume. Thank you

[Cheryl Bell]

Poison has been my fragrance of choice since I first smelled it back in the 80s. For some reason, I got out of the habit of wearing it and now I have several bottles of it on a shelf in my bedroom. Truth is that I rarely wear fragrance anywhere anymore and I feel the need to pull my vintage bottles of Poison out and get back in the fragrance habit. I know I'll be happier for it.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Cheryl,

Nothing says I am wearing perfume quite like Poison! I love it, too! Theres a whole world of perfume out there. I bet youd find something you like thats new. But it sounds like you have several bottles of Poison, so maybe you dont need anything new!

[caron]

Poison is the only perfume that holds its scent on me Ive been using it every day since the 80's gutted is an understatement that this has been stopped..... What am I going to wear to turn heads now :(

[Flora Sibon]

Poison left so many impressions when I was in my 20's. It is so powerful and leaves a strong impression. It is stimulating and provocative and there have been times when I was wearing it that my behavior has been more adventurous than usual. Not a perfume for the timid. I feel like a huntress when I wear this dangerous perfume. Perhaps I like this stuff a bit too much. Its been increasingly difficult to find but I did recently find a couple of bottles at Valliche's. In any case I know this fragrance is not for everyone but for the temptress, huntress on the loose, this is a powerful alchemy at work.

[Ramonhjurado]

I really don't understand people that say that a pinky size dab of this clears a room, I have to wear 25 dabs to feel I have something on, of any perfume including Poison Esprit de Parfum, and it doesn't last for long.

[Perfumaniac]

The vintage is potent!

[Ramonhjurado]

I don't think it's potent at all, it has the proper potency a parfum should have, several dabs is the same strength as the eau de toilette, but as I say I have to wear 20 dabs between my neck and wrists to get that effect, one dab certainly wouldn't be perceivable, maybe there's something wrong with me because people keep mentioning wearing just one dab but doubt anyone could perceive that.