10 perfumes in similar style to Knowing by Estée Lauder

An iconic classic in its own rite, Quelques Fleurs is a true ingenious scent of its time. The French perfumer, Robert Bienaimé, unveiled Quelques Fleurs the first true multi-floral blend ever created, in 1912.

Since then, his perfectly-balanced, refined bouquet has become modern perfumery’s peerless criterion for pure, meticulously-crafted, multi-floral accords. Prior to his bold invention, floral fragrances had been mainly singular flowers, or florals combined with various nuances of herbs and spices. Bienaimé’s singular triumph is remarkable for its secret, mythical formula. Upwards of 15,000 exemplary flowers and 250 prestigious raw materials are diligently-curated in the creation of a single ounce of perfume.

Santal takes its inspiration from a Sandalwood fragrance originally created in the 1800s which has then been given a distinctive contemporary edge.

ANGELS' POWDER

DIRTY HEAVEN

DIRTY RICE

FIG PORN

HAPPY NUTS

INDECENT CHERRY

NANATOPIA

SUGAR ADDICT

DRUNK SAFFRON

UNHOLY OUD

BURNT ROSES

ZEST Z&T

DGAF

DRUNK LOVERS

SMOKIN’ GUN

SEX & COGNAC

Heaven on earth: Alamut.

If we were to believe Marco Polo’s story - Alamut was the fortress and headquarters of the order of assassins. In Alamut among other things, according to Marco, the new recruits could experience the demo version of heaven. An assassin to be would be inebriates by some potion (even though Marco never mention which drug it was, highly likely it was hashish). Then the recruit would be taken to a pleasure garden with drinks, food and beautiful maiden. Afterwards the head of the order would explain that absolute loyalty and fearless determination would guarantee an afterlife of this kind.

Lorenzo Villorezi’s Alamut is an intense sensual rose resting on a cloud of ambergris.

Floral leathers are at times hard to decipher. The floral nuances spread on top of dark woody and resinous materials cross the airy threshold and become dark and mysterious.

This is the case of Mandarava - a totally enigmatic perfume. Firstly, there are so many heady flowers in it: champaca, osmanthus, gardenia, yang-ylang, marigold and more. Each flower has a complex aroma of its own and when combined they become a strange infinite floral boquet.

Secondly, these flowers sit between aldehydes which in perfumery have an effect of frosted glass and distort familiar aromas. Then there is a maze of dark woody aromas: oud, benzoin, incense, Mysore sandalwood and animalic civet lurking in the darkest corners of that maze.

However, all this complexity makes sense eventually. It's not confusing but more of a Russian doll effect, albeit all of the dolls are translucent and the central one is visible behind all the layers.  

For advanced/experienced users of perfume. 

Ultimate vintage glory. Mandodari Mandodari feels like it belongs to the era before the mass production and synthetic musks took the industry over. It’s a complex blend featuring precious rich floral absolutes and animalic bases.

This perfume (at 48% strength) is double the concentration of the original Mandodari. The perfumer adds extra smokiness with the tropical sal tree absolute (choya raal) and a tree ash accord (cade oil + birch tar).

Absolutes of rose de Mai, jasmine grandiflorum, orange blossom, tuberose as well as natural ambergris and civet steer the formula in the vintage dimension. There is an intentional YSL’s Opium spicy cameo too.

An electrified lily-of-the-valley spark, modern molecules reanacting a vintage theme. Also a romantic scented scetch on kings giving in to the magic of love.

Notes from the brand:

"The curtain rises on a state at the corner of 69 rue des Archives, in the Marais, Paris. A place that is like a frontier, where the old world ends and the new world begins. The pale moon can be seen lowering over the towers of Notre Dame in the distance. A man and a woman are in a perfumery, surrounded by bottles. He has yielded in submission to a fallen sovereign and is condemned to the ultimate fate. She is the new soul, the new role, she is desirable and she has conquered. She is the denunciation, a touch condescending. The fluttering of her eyelashes declares she is the one whose hour of glory has arrived, a scent testing blotter in hand."

June 1660, the Isle of Pheasants, Basque region, French-Spanish border

Fleur de Louis is a refined and elegant imagining of the peace negotiations at the center of the marriage between Louis XIV of France and Marie-Teresa of Spain. A regal ceremony carried out with pomp and purpose against a newly built pavilion of cedar and pine which takes center stage.

Neroli, green galbanum, cypress and bergamot open, leading the way a heart of radiant orange blossom (a favourite of the Sun King), jasmine and subtly perfumed rose and clove water.

Powdery and clean orris contrasts with resinous white cedar. The charismatic beginning of a new era.

A scent for Skin, Soul and Space

Sacred Mist was inspired and developed by Kate with Victoria Young in her English country garden. It was then formulated in France’s oldest perfumery.