Knowing by Estee Lauder was launched in 1988 and was created with the idea of a woman with a strong self confidence in mind, a woman who needs to project a consistent image and to stand out from the average with a perfume with a great personality. Like other Estee Lauder perfumes, like Beyond Paradise, Knowing has a long list of ingredients. The core note is an intense floral, that evolves towards a classic chypre. The official notes are: roses, tuberous, mimosa, plum, pittosporum, jasmine, patchouli, lemon blossom, oak moss, vetiver, sandalwood and amber.
The opening is intense and classic (these two adjectives are appropriate to many Estee Lauder fragrances, like Beautiful perfume for example), and leaves a wide trail. There is dominant aldehydic note, close to a powdery lemon aroma, plus a line of spiced roses with jasmine. In the middle notes the aldehyde is still dominant, but the fragrance is fresher, thanks to a more intense jasmine and an extra note of lemon blossom. In the background there are warm notes of wood, vetiver and nutmeg. There also seems to be a note of sweet patchouli, of the natural type (as opposed to sweet). Towards the end of the middle notes, after about two hours, jasmine and lemon blossom are more intense then other notes, creating a quite fresh effect that reminds of Lou Lou de Cacharel. The final notes are again fresh, with jasmine, lemon blossom and amber. In the background, support is given by vetiver, wood and other powdery notes.
This perfume by Estee Lauder projects a self confident image since the first whiff. It is a very dynamic fragrance, has a good aromatic depth, and a wide range of notes, which change continuously, and there is never a single dominant note for more than thirty minutes. It is, needless to say, a very feminine fragrance, close to a style of classic perfumery, with dark fruity notes that break the linearity of florals. The result is a perfume that can be worn in closed spaces all-year round, and in open spaces in the spring; an elegant perfume that is somehow wasted for a daily use, or non-social purposes. For a night use, it’s at ease in formal and semi-informal occasions. On the romantic side it will seduce with its personality and intensity. After all it was launched more than twenty years ago, and it’s therefore closer to that era when feminine perfumes were designed with that purpose in mind. The proper age to wear it starts from 30 years.