Spellbound Estēe Lauder

Spellbound is a fragrance caught between two compelling impulses: the spiced warmth of a perfumer's archive and the delicate restraint of 1990s restraint. Sophia Grojsman's composition opens with a peppery sparkle—coriander and pimento dancing against bright orange blossom and rosewood—creating an almost savoury introduction that immediately establishes this as something other than the typical floral. But then the heart unveils its true obsession: a lush, creamy floral amalgamation where tuberose's buttery indulgence tangles with carnation's clove-like spice, whilst jasmine provides the structural backbone that keeps everything from dissolving into pure sweetness. Heliotrope adds an almond-tinged creaminess, and that crucial civet in the base amplifies the carnal, animalic qualities lurking beneath.

The fragrance's 76% amber accord gives it a honeyed, resinous undertone that's neither purely gourmand nor classically elegant—it exists in that compelling grey area where animalic musks and warm benzoin create something almost indecent. This is a scent for someone unafraid of projection, a wearer who understands that florals needn't whisper. It's unisex in the truest sense: neither masculine nor feminine, simply present and unapologetic.