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Catalyst Halston 1993 Eau de Toilette

7.3 / 10 51 Ratings

A perfume by Halston for women, released in 1993. The scent is floral-chypre. The longevity is above-average. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Floral

Chypre

Woody

Spicy

Green

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Peach

Hyacinth

Bergamot

Gardenia

Heart Notes

Narcissus

Jasmine

Lily of the valley

Orange blossom

Orris root

Tuberose

Carnation

Orchid

Rose

Base Notes

Sandalwood Amber

Amber

Vanilla

Cedar

Musk

Oakmoss

Tree moss

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

7.351 Ratings

Longevity

8.242 Ratings

Sillage

7.738 Ratings

Bottle

7.044 Ratings

Submitted by PontNeuf · last update on 12/09/2025.

Source-backed & verified

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Reviews

13 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/18/2014

6Scent

ScentFan
336 Reviews

ScentFan

2

A Collision

Nothing sweet about this Halston, picked up bargain shopping. It's interesting, though, and encourages me to re-sniff several of its notes to better understand them. First of all, this fragrance is green! Which are the cause among its 20 notes? As a start I reach for hyacinth, orris root and narcissus as likely culprits. Yes, hyacinth has that "decaying vegetal' smell, while narcissus can smell a bit like a bog and gardenia, too--well, it may be associated with secret love, but I'd say it's love's aftermath. These are the kind of notes that can ennoble "prettier" florals. I learned that from analyzing Rodin by Ollo Lusso, a marvel of Jasmine and Neroli, pushed to the heights by Lily of the Valley. In this perfume, the lot of them have just collided, with hyacinth dominant. They've even added orchid, another floral not particularly lovely on its own. The base reads beautifully, but in spite of it and Jasmine, Rose, Peach, etc., this scent doesn't work, IMO, because the embellishments have taken over and drowned out the main accord. CAN these notes work together? Sure. Ask Jeane-Claude Ellena, who designed the magnificent First for Van Cleef & Arpels, using not only hyacinth, narcissus, orris and orchid, but lily-of-the-valley, too!

12/31/2014

8Scent

pudelbonzo
2405 Reviews

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pudelbonzo

Top Review 16

the grande dame

I bought Catalyst blind, trusting in Halston, which my mom and I have always had in the house.
What could go wrong?

I am brand loyal - I drive the car with the star and have been wearing Lewis for years.

Always nice - cobbler, stick to your last.

But Catalyst surprised me considerably! It almost shocked me.
I did not expect such an adult lady with such a strong attitude.
The scent intimidated me - and attracted me at the same time.

Like the arrival of a new student who entered our class for an extra round.
It was not an arrival - it was an apparition.
Tall and sovereign, she stood in the classroom, without a trace of insecurity.
She looked around with unabashed arrogance and chose, to my excitement and joy, the seat next to me.

Despite her aloofness, I hoped to become her friend.
She was older than me, due to two honorary rounds, and had an enviable composure.
Her intelligence left nothing to be desired, but her direct, honest interaction with the teachers earned her quite a few demerits.

Flattery and good behavior were foreign to her; she spoke bluntly about what needed to be said.

Not every educator can handle that fairly. Unfortunately.

A straightforward person who wouldn’t let anyone take the butter from her bread, and who also shielded others from being victims.
So she did for me when injustice befell me.
She also taught me to boldly proclaim my opinion and to be disobedient where it was warranted.
We were friends.

And so is Catalyst. Stylish, unconventional, and honest.
It possesses seriousness and grandeur. And a proud statement.
The peach has its soft moments, the hyacinth is sharply alluring, the lily of the valley is quite lovely, but is tempered by the dark, significant iris.
Tree moss and oak moss add depth of thought.
This fragrance is a statement and not for the faint-hearted.
Yet it implies warmth when it has embraced you in its heart.

I have learned a lot from my Anne, and I can benefit greatly from the fragrance as well.
It is also a good experience not to be Everybody's Darling.

P.S. By the way, Anne has become a teacher. I am convinced she does it well.

11/19/2014

9Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Honigmelone
19 Reviews

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Honigmelone

Top Review 12

Grunge, no Schlager

One doesn't always have to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes it simply helps to connect something old with the present and see what comes out of it. This is what happened with Catalyst by Halston. Thanks to Pluto, I have rediscovered something I thought was forgotten. Generally speaking: The scent I never owned feels somehow familiar. After all, it has been around for 21 years, and I am already 25 for the umpteenth time. Surprised and somewhat put off by the local comments, as it was described as difficult and edgy, even called extreme by Medusa's daughter, I finally mustered the courage to test it. And it clings to me like a second skin. Classy. I wouldn't describe it as extreme, difficult, or edgy. On me, it is a densely woven, warming scent scarf with a touch of sweetness, green, fruity from bergamot and peach. I find it hard to sniff out further ingredients; I see the scent more as a total work of art that becomes woody-floral over time. The base unfolds quite sweetly. Catalyst is a heavy, complex, opulent fragrance that does not hold back. It harmonizes perfectly with gray skies and stormy autumn weather.

For me, it is extremely feminine and, when dosed in moderation, certainly has a positive effect on the environment. From a distance, it reminds me of Femme by Rochas. Catalyst contains that subtle degree of nonconformity that can characterize a person when they want to reveal their individuality through wearing a fragrance. This makes it not always pleasing, which naturally makes it all the more interesting. So, it's not a scent that one can easily blend into the crowd. That’s something one has to want. Because the sillage and longevity are good.

The overall mood of Catalyst is deep and dark. It feels comforting and somehow fitting to me. Depending on the perspective from which one views this creation, it is timeless, if not even modern. Catalyst was launched in 1993, the same year Nirvana released "In Utero." This music fits Catalyst far better than the currently omnipresent Helene Fischer. But in times of shallow pop music, various newly opened shopping centers (we have two opening at once here in Stuttgart, and I am eagerly waiting for the next one), and brain-numbing television shows, Catalyst is certainly a fragrance that has its place.

07/27/2011

9Scent 10Longevity

Medusa00
845 Reviews

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Medusa00

Very helpful Review 13

With this, I win every battle

Thanks to the good Lotus for leaving me this rascal and a 100 ml supply pack to boot! I don't even know where to start and can only say "My lovely Mister Singinclub!" Do you know the distortion of German sayings by translating them completely nonsensically into English? Well, my dear Mr. Singing Club! Packaging ripped open, well, the package did come from the West, haha, and sprayed it directly. My daughter immediately exclaimed: "Muuuttttiiiiieeeeee, your taste in fragrances is sometimes really extreme!" Well, for young ladies, the American screamer is really nothing. Yet he is a completely unsweetened powerhouse and starts with a dark gardenia note that somewhat pushes the citrusy bergamot aside. In the heart note, he is opulent but time and again something green and creamy catches my attention. Iris root? Luckily, the May bells don’t ring that loudly. I don’t find him strict, rather dark and in the base with an overdose of musk. Catalyst is indeed a child of its time.
I like it very much. Nevertheless, he will first go into winter quarters with the other winter powerhouses. There he can chat with Poison, Dali, Boudoir, or Kenzo's elephant about who hits the hardest.

03/18/2017

9.5Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

Minigolf
2534 Reviews

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Minigolf

Very helpful Review 10

A Chypre Like a Thunderclap

Oh, HAAA! That's the first thing I can manage to vocalize when I spray on the "Catalysten".
What flies around my nose: hyacinth bergamot... paired with clove peach, mossy lily of the valley.... more and more.
Everything happens at once, just like in a 70s action movie, where an "Evel Knievel" jumps over 7 trucks on his motorcycle, while next door someone is climbing the facade of the Empire State Building without a net or rope. To the right, a muscle man saves a beauty from the collapsing roof.......
Yesss, pure power 70s Chypre opening.
And still the scent doesn't settle down, images in vibrant colors rush by. A red rose peeks out from between meter-high iris stalks, then the proportions shift to make room for orchid and daffodil, while the tuberose disappears behind the garden carnation.
But first, they bring jasmine into the "boat" to give the orange blossom the "cold shoulder", which then fights its way through and gives musk a little nudge from behind.
Yes, there's a lot going on. Extended!!! The base follows. But not abruptly, no, little by little, always following the nose.
Here, woods sneak in, coming together to form a solid ground like the planks of a ship. These are thickly mossed and offer space for a titan who wants to rest. But first, a few "action scenes" with drum rolls and thunderclaps. The "music" that dramatically announces thrilling moments.
This brings relative calm, which lasts for a few hours. But even then, a long tone emerges: smoky-mossy vanilla.....

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