Cinnabar Estēe Lauder 1978 Eau de Parfum

Version from 1978

Cinnabar (1978) (Eau de Parfum) by Estēe Lauder

Bottle Design Ira Levy

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7.9 / 10 239 Ratings

A popular perfume by Estēe Lauder for women, released in 1978. The scent is spicy-oriental. Projection and longevity are above-average. The production was apparently discontinued.

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Main accords

Spicy

Oriental

Woody

Resinous

Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Spices

Aldehydes

Orange

Bergamot

Peach

Heart Notes

Cinnamon

Clove

Rose

Ylang-ylang

Iris

Jasmine

Base Notes

Frankincense

Ambergris

Benzoin

Tolu balm

Vanilla

Patchouli

Vetiver

Perfumer

Bernard Chant

Ratings

Scent

7.9239 Ratings

Longevity

8.9185 Ratings

Sillage

8.6173 Ratings

Bottle

6.0163 Ratings

Value for money

7.219 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 01/10/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Cinnabar (2015)

Cinnabar (1978) Perfume

J•H•L Cologne

Opium (1977) Parfum

KL Eau de Toilette

KL Parfum

Reviews

13 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/21/2012

10
Sillage 10
Longevity 10
Scent

EvaK
30 Reviews

EvaK

Top Review 12

A 50-megaton Nuclear Bomb

So they say Cinnabar is a heavy hitter. A powerhouse perfume. I have to disagree strongly on this. Cinnabar is not a heavy hitter at all. Cinnabar is a bloody nuclear bomb of at least 50 megatons! This is far beyond powerhouse. Cinnabar ought to be caged and locked up excactly like Hannibal Lecter was in The Silence of the Lambs... with a hotline to the fire deptartment within reach. Cinnabar might very well self-ignite.

In case I didn't make it clear yet: I love it. I am literally blown away, Cinnabar knocked my socks off and took my breath away in more than one sense. This is one strong motherf....! By default I don't belive in one-spritz-wonders, not on my skin. I have a couple of two-spritz-wonders, but I never expected to meet anything that would exceed that.
I give in. Cinnabar is definitely a one-spritz-wonder. I took one (1) spritz and found myself in a fog so thick I could barely navigate - for hours. 12 hours later it behaves like normal perfumes do an hour after 5 spritzes. I don't know how they did it, but this potion is out of the ordinary in every aspect.

So how does it smell like..? To me, note-moron as I am, it's a very, very spicy, hot, animalic, dirty-classy powerhouse perfume. Dramatic, mysterious, smouldering. A come-hither fragrance? Umm, yes.. a "come-hither if you dare" kind of thing maybe.

So, Cinnabar... the name evokes associations to the mysterious east, spice markets, velvety night skies, mosques, Aladdin's treasures, slave girls dancing with covered faces.
But is this what Cinnabar is really like? In the drydown, yes. Absolutely. In the drydown the aggressive, bold, shouting sensuality softens to unspoken promises, mystery, and a strange anticipation of something to happen.

Once upon a time I went through a couple of bottles of Opium. I haven't smelled Opium since sometime in the 80'ies, but Cinnabar reminds me very much of it. I'm pretty sure Cinnabar kicks more ass than Opium did though. Correct me if I'm wrong. In my opinion it's in the vein of Knowing too. Until now I've considered Knowing to be the mother of all powerhouses. Now I'm not so sure... Their statements differ quite a lot. To put the comparison very short: If I was an executive and was going to fire my entire board and scare the shit out of them, I'd wear Knowing. If I wanted to fire my entire board and make them come back for more, I'd wear Cinnabar.

Clove, cinnamon, patchouli, incense. What more can you ask for? This is a Grand Dame, not to be messed with - yet not overly formal, perhaps overly sensual. A Femme Fatale beyond imagination.

A masterpiece. Period.

02/09/2013

10
Scent

Peaches
11 Reviews

Peaches

Top Review 9

Queen of spice

Cinnabar is the Queen of my winter fragrance collection. This is a very warm, even hot oriental spicy perfume. It is deep, rich, dark, and mysterious. Opium pales in comparison though I love them both. This fragrance evokes images of bitter cold winter days, sitting by a fireplace and drinking wasil. It is frequently the one I wore for Christmas eve. One whiff of this on a cold day could warm you to your bones. This fragrance is very strong and over spraying it makes me nauseated so my bottle usually last years. There is also something very sexy about this but I found it too overwhelming for up close romantic encounters. Cinnabar is the kind of perfume that fills a room and people can smell it from a distance. During Winter when gift sets come out they have dusting powder available. I bought the dusting powder and wear that for daytime or romance.

12/01/2013

5
Bottle 2.5
Sillage 2.5
Longevity 5
Scent

Sorceress
213 Reviews

Sorceress

Very helpful Review 8

Smells Better On A Strip Of Paper

This review is for the current formulation of Cinnabar by Estee Lauder, which is an important variable in a review for perfumes. Many times there can be a huge difference between a vintage and the present rendition of a fragrance. Without ranting and raving about the how's and why's of the perfume industry changing a scent, I'll describe my experience with the current rendition of Cinnabar, a perfume that I used to love.
I sprayed this on, expecting the wonderful spices and warmth to deliver its punch. I couldn't be more disappointed. What a synthetic, crass, harsh and linear opening I experienced.
The spices, cedar and mosses came strolling in, then quickly hid behind the trees, almost as if they were afraid to show themselves. I waited for the spices to show themselves. They did. In a casket. Everything else that I was waiting for, the incense, the cloves, the wonderful cinnamon and patchouli had died and was being readied for a burial. The funeral procession has begun, the woods have taken over, and all the richness and glory is being buried in the deep dark woods. But even the woods are dying.
Today's Cinnabar smells much better on a strip of paper or an article of clothing than on human skin. What has happened to the original? Well, we know. But I won't beat a dead horse. If you remember Cinnabar for a lush experience, look for the vintage. Do not bother with this unrefined new liquid.
It's no wonder the EL counter refuses to give out samples, citing this reason-"Cinnabar has been around for too many years for people to ask for a sample. They know what it smells like. We don't need to give out samples of a popular perfume. We only give out samples of our newest fragrance." I kid you not. I was told this by two EL counter SA's. Perhaps the accurate reason is that customers will try the new Cinnabar and be disappointed and refuse to purchase it. I sampled Cinnabar three times for this review.
I accidentally sprayed some on my sweater and that's where the better aroma of the perfume is evident. The spices intermingle ever so lightly with the other notes, but nowhere near the original of years gone by. What's on my skin is shallowness, a lack of depth in this Cinnabar that would make me hesitate to purchase any current stock.

06/22/2012

Coutureguru
223 Reviews

Coutureguru

Very helpful Review 7

Spice me nice ...

STILL STUNNING!!! I'm not entirely convinced that Cinnabar has been reformulated, and if it has it's been done very sympathetically. I remember vividly playing around at my grandmother's dressing table as a young boy and being absolutely entranced by the oriental magic of Cinnabar!!

My nose has always been keen, so much so that my favorite party trick is to stick it in someone's neck, take a deep sniff and tell them what they are wearing. This was a lot more easily managed when Lauder fragrances were "individual" and special, like Cinnabar, Private Collection, Beautiful ...!
Most of their latest efforts "smell like" some other newly foisted-upon-humanity-rubbish-made-by-accountants-posing-as-parfumeurs that was released last Tuesday and will be forgotten by this coming Sunday. OH!! Silly me ... they have a marketing term for that type of ploy. It's called a "Limited Edition" ... BAH!!!

Cinnabar retains all the glory of it's past IMHO. It still comes out of the bottle slightly oily and could stop the charge of a bull elephant at 200 paces if not treated with respect. I wear this in lieu of JHL. It's pretty much the same ... just a little more flamboyant which suits me fine! Brilliantly complex, comfortably reliable ... Thanks Mrs. Lauder, rest with the angels!!

03/24/2012

10
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 6
Scent

Missk
1357 Reviews

Missk

Very helpful Review 6

A fine example of a heavy hitter from the 80's

Cinnabar is one of those strong, bold and spicy orientals that emerged along with YSL's Opium and Chanel's Coco way back in the 80's. At the time they were all the rage, however these days they've fallen out of fashion and tend to get labelled as 'old lady' scents.

I have a great appreciation for these sillage monsters. They may have been made long before I was born, however I find them incredibly hypnotising.

Cinnabar at first spray is incredibly strong, like a fierce punch to the face. I thought my nose was going to fall off as I felt my eyes water with its strength.

As the scent settled, I began to find the resemblance to Opium. I expected this fragrance to have a stronger cinnamon note, however I do believe Cinnabar was named after a mercury ore, so perhaps it is not supposed to be primarily cinnamon.

The scent is very complex and rich, which is both a pleasing and disappointing quality in my opinion. In a way there is too much going on in this fragrance's composition with particular notes clashing with one another. For this reason, I tend to prefer Youth-Dew over Cinnabar as my spicy oriental choice.

Cinnabar has a rather exotic charm, it's what I imagine an ancient Chinese temple to smell like. The touch of incense in the base, gives Cinnabar that slightly religious feel.

While I would never term a fragrance 'old lady', I must say that Cinnabar is for a more mature crowd. I just can't imagine a woman under the age of 30 wearing this, especially since soft ambers and fruity florals dominate this age group these days.

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