Oh Cinnabar! You gorgeous gorgeous one! You somehow arrived with the wrong foot, even though your timing was perfect! Forever eclipsed by Opium, my favorite oriental, Cinnabar comes first as well, showcasing different notes and moods, but still belonging to that pantheon of spices that Tabu and Youth Dew helped build. Review of late 70’s splash edp and 2010 edp. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but if Cinnabar imitates anything, is simply the lineage that came before her. Tabu paved the way for animalic spices, Youth Dew followed in her Americana country style, and by the late 70’s, Opium was born, stealing all the flashes and staying in the spotlight for a whole decade. How could Cinnabar compete? Some time ago, I read in The Black Narcissus that most -if not all- vintage Lauders have a ‘rich divorcée accord’ that permeates, creating a somewhat stuffy style. In a way it’s true, but this rich divorcée gets down to business, gets her hands dirty, and when she throws a party, she spends the day in the kitchen making sure everything is perfect, before getting glammed up for her guests (and herself) and welcoming them with a warm smile. She wasn’t born rich and she knows her way around work. Maybe that’s Estēe all along. And like a true artist, that’s the part of her that lives in her perfumes! Cinnabar is a supercharged floral oriental, more floral than Opium and Youth Dew. It’s the spices from before but accesorized with the finest floral essences and the juiciest citrus notes to enliven them. Cinnabar throws the spice rack at you, but it doesn’t let it take over. Instead, the flowers soften the bang and the smoothness of the amber and sandalwood hover like a silk drape. And there’s everything but the kitchen sink in here! But it doesn’t overwhelm; bright aldehydes remove the opaqueness and make it feel like it was originally called, Soft Youth Dew! Estēe went that path before and for the big and shiny 80’s she wanted something a bit different. So, you get the cloves and the carnation and the spices, all dressed up in buttery ylang, dark roses, narcotic jasmine and tuberose, with bright flashes of light; aldehydes, lilly of the valley, mandarin, without smelling like a pomander. Neon lights at the discotheque. Peach and vanilla add some smooth creaminess, while sandalwood and incense bring it back to its oriental self before landing on a bed of oakmoss, musks and civet. The starchy feeling, like a hot iron and most likely from the aldehydes, is what separates it from the rest and to some makes it stuffy. I don’t feel that way. If Opium wears a bright kaftan, has a tanned glow and dances all night long in Les Bains Douches or Le Privilège, Cinnabar has dinner at a classy restaurant and then goes to Studio 54 to dance and have fun, sans drugs. She’s wearing a metallic bodice, silk pants and has her hair slicked back. Vintage Cinnabar is all this! 2011 Cinnabar has more of the starchy aldehydes, less florals and less spices, but still smells like Cinnabar, and seen from a 30+ year perspective, she’s finally eclipsed Opium (the modern); where current Opium smells cheap, plasticky and screechy, with a lot of hot iron starch, Cinnabar smells mostly like it used to, rich divorcée accord included. The difference is that in Cinnabar that comes natural! If you find vintage please dive in! But if you have the current formulas available to choose, forget Opium and go with Cinnabar. Time has been kinder with her, and today she eclipses momma Youth, Opium, Coco and everything in between that once upon a time stole her show.