Catalyst Halston 1993 Eau de Toilette

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7.3 / 10 50 Ratings

A perfume by Halston for women, released in 1993. The scent is floral-chypreartig. 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

7.350 Ratings

Longevity

8.341 Ratings

Sillage

7.939 Ratings

Bottle

7.145 Ratings

Submitted by PontNeuf, last update on 08/16/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

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Narcisse Parfum

Reviews

4 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/18/2014

6
Scent

ScentFan
334 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!

08/08/2025

7
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 8
Scent

Serenissima
729 Reviews

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Serenissima

Helpful Review 9

on stage: A scented stage show

Given that Halston designed the entire stage wardrobe for Liza Minelli as her constant companion, I'm not surprised that "Catalyst" delivers a great stage show on my skin.
I only got the information on Sunday and this sparkling scent arrived yesterday: it was probably meant to be!

Like many of us, I only knew the classic Halston fragrance and enjoyed wearing it for some time.
"Catalyst" would have been too powerful for me; because this creation is as lush as it is exuberant and all the fragrance notes flood the stage at the finale:
It gets full and it does get quite loud!
To my personal delight, "Catalyst" opens with the sweet fruity aromas of velvety-skinned, overripe peaches, whose companions hyacinth and gardenia are not exactly restrained either: Let the music play!
Bergamot almost leads a shadowy existence, as an abundance of white flowers, still led by the allure of gardenia, conquer the room! We all know them, those of us who were able to experience this wedding of "golden scents":
Countless jasmine blossoms and lilies of the valley, plus not exactly shy tubular roses send out their waves of fragrance. One or two orange blossoms ride on top - delightful and sensual! Garden carnations, as spicy as they are nostalgic, and charming roses don't take long either: Just like the legs in a ballet, the fragrance notes fly here - wonderfully arranged!
Admittedly, "Catalyst" could certainly become very tiring very quickly! But now the warm, rich aromas of orchid and vanilla flow in: they bring some calm to this shimmering and colorful fragrance stage set!
Spicy moss cushions are woven in for resting and lingering, the creamy animalics of sandalwood and the soft cedarwood tone marry with amber sounds: "Catalyst" takes a breath before a rich, shiny finale unfolds on the skin, a veritable firework of swirling fragrance notes.

There is nothing quiet and shy about "Catalyst": this fragrance show starts pompously, it remains dazzling and colorful, but is surprisingly wearable.
Or is that just me with my rather cool skin? Does this fragrance develop quite differently on a different base? Of course, I can't answer this question, so I will still be able to experience my own private stage show with "Catalyst"!

05/21/2020

7
Bottle 8
Sillage 10
Longevity 8
Scent

Josephine
1 Review

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Josephine

Helpful Review 3

Unfulfilled longing

Because the EDT by HALSTON (1974) for women still haunts my olfactory memory, I have, after Amber (in the gold bottle), dared to approach Catalyst. After a perfume evaluation, exactly my thing. Thought, ordered, delivered. As I unpacked the bottle, I immediately noticed that the liquid in the nice bottle shimmered quite dark brown. The first spraying showed without a doubt that this bottle is unfortunately "tilted". I could barely recognize/recognize the opening chords and the heart notes and was immediately reminded of Giorgio Beverly Hills, not unpleasant - although he was never my fragrance. Drowned out by the penetrating, sour, pointy and musty haze. It's such a pity, I would have loved to enjoy the green in the fragrance in spring/summer and no nose in my environment would have guessed what it was

07/08/2019

9
Bottle 8
Longevity 8.5
Scent

16paws
51 Reviews

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16paws

Top Review 8

Holla the forest fairy

Only recently I became aware of the Halston brand and because I liked Halston Woman Amber so much, Halston Woman and Catalyst were also ordered blind. I have regretted none of my purchases.

Catalyst starts with a slightly bitter astringency and I can immediately recognize gardenia and bergamot. The hyacinth also sends me a greeting, but I can't make out a peach.

Then it's gonna happen in quick succession. For me, it becomes impossible to identify individual flowers after the top note. Only the carnation I can guess, but only because it is listed in the pyramid and I think it is quite possible that some cloves have been added. Then a little incense comes through to me. Economical, but clearly perceptible. The whole smoky sea of flowers is covered with powder and I am curious how this fragrance journey will go on.

With time Catalyst gets warmer and like me it also seems softer, but not chummy and never even nearly sweet. Even in the base, I can't divide the individual ingredients, because here, too, everything is tightly interwoven. I blame the sandalwood for the warmth, vanilla and amber for the softness and moss for the earthiness. Still I can recognize a breath of incense, which accompanies this fragrance experience.

Everyone who is enthusiastic about crackers like Cabotine etc. should definitely try Catalyst. In 1993 the fragrance for ladies came onto the market, but men should not be deterred by it and should simply test it.

However, one should be careful with the dosage. One sprayer too many and Catalyst will probably turn into a true monster. So be careful with the spray head, because here too the dose makes the poison. Sometimes less is actually more.

Catalyst accompanies me for about 10 to 12 hours. But only in my spare time, because it is a special fragrance. Also at temperatures from 25° I refrain from spraying, because otherwise it could be really exhausting for my fellow men.