Bottle Design:
Robert Lee Morris

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Sonoma Scent Studio 2004

6.8 / 10 102 Ratings

A perfume by Sonoma Scent Studio for women, released in 2004. The scent is floral-spicy. It was last marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.
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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Woody

Fruity

Oriental

Fragrance Notes

Casablanca lily Acacia

Acacia

Jasmine

Pimento

Amber

Benzoin

Cistus

East Indian patchouli

Frankincense

Peruvian tolu balm Pollen

Pollen

Vanilla

Webnoplith

Perfumers

Yann Vasnier, Calice Becker, Rodrigo Flores-Roux

Ratings

Scent

6.8102 Ratings

Longevity

7.773 Ratings

Sillage

6.664 Ratings

Bottle

8.065 Ratings

Submitted by Sani · last update on 11/02/2024.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Gold Eau de Toilette

Fleur Nocturne

Karleidoscope

Lys Méditerranée

Calycanthus

Leap! Perfume Oil

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

07/14/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Top Review 11

What they said.

Gold is an interesting take on the floriental. The opening lily note is so succulent and fresh. The lily is way out front and Gold seems like it’s going to be a straight-out soliflore. The freshness lingers into the heart when an amber sweetness replaces the watery feel of the lily. At this point, the lily remains, but its spiciness emerges and makes a smooth transition from coolness to warmth.

I don’t know how it’s done, but what a smart transition! The wet coolness becomes a humid warmth, and water comes to feel like a scent note alongside lily and amber. The floral note (notes? jasmine?) becomes indolic, and the steamy floral, with the sweet but slightly scratchy amber, gives a languid feel that, once it starts, lasts to the end of the drydown.

04/21/2013

2Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Rubyred
49 Reviews

Rubyred

Very helpful Review 4

Gold? I'll stay poor

This is a scent I can happily live without.
I don't get any lily, in the opening. I can only describe it as a cold, synthetic smell.
What I do get into the drydown is petrol - sweet and fumey. And a strong bitter, herbal medicine smell. With cloves.
And could that be lily peeking through in the drydown? Can't tell for the industrial strength pepper and spices and incense. Maybe church on Easter Monday with all the white Easter lilies and altar boys gently swinging censors to keep the charcoal burning the smoking incense. I would expect this heaviness of spice in a man's scent. I expected something cuddly and soft, angora shawl in front of the fire with kittens on lap and all that. It does later develop a hint of powder.
Given that I don't like amber and patch, and thus orientals, this wasn't a hopeful contender for my favour.
I tried this - 4 sprays - on a cardboard stip. It's still pumping strong after 8 hours.

01/05/2012

7Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

Very helpful Review 3

Gentle Nobility

I took a chance on Donna Karan GOLD and am very happy that I did. The reviews I'd seen were really mixed: some caught cucumber, others pencil shavings, still others touted GOLD as a masterpiece. To my nose, the opening of GOLD bears similarities to Lalique FLORA BELLA. No idea why, frankly, given that lily is the star of the GOLD show, while the Lalique composition has a hefty orchid note. But maybe that is after all part of the explanation, since lilies and orchids, in my experience, share a kind of dark, almost dirty quality. Not that GOLD smells dirty. Nor do I catch any cucumber or pencil shavings. And my biggest concern, that the clove would be too much—as one reviewer finds—has no basis in reality. I do not even smell the clove as an individual note, so skillfully is this blended.

How to describe GOLD, in the end? I'd say that it has a kind of gentle nobility to it, thus earning its name. A beautiful, slightly oriental, lily-rich floral composition with great longevity and an addictive quality. Now I really need to take up FLORA BELLA again, as my perceptions of that perfume have changed quite a bit since having acquired a bottle...

02/04/2012

9Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Lola82
361 Reviews

Lola82

Very helpful Review 4

Golden Champagne

the opening has a mossy gardenia note wet white lillies the drydown is a bit
spicy with the clove note and there's
a bit of amber brings an earthy sensuality in this fragrance the identical sister to kenneth cole new york but less creamier.

the flacon reminds me of sparkling
gold champaigne imagining floating
and swimming around inside the bottle
goldust
over your hair over the bed the floors
the walls and you roll across the bedroom floor or going to a sultan's
palace made of pure flawless gold.

01/25/2012

7Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Missk
1350 Reviews

Missk

Helpful Review 5

Elegant lily and amber

I am enjoying Donna Karan Gold quite a bit. It has proven itself to be a beautifully composed floral with warm spices and ambery goodness.

The scent is actually rather light which may be my only gripe with this fragrance. When I think gold, I think extravagance. Boldness, richness, sensuality, attention, extreme pride and dominance. Donna Karan's Gold is a little too much on the quiet side, a little like copper to me, not gold.

But casting all opinions aside, this fragrance is indeed glamorous and elegant. The lily in Gold is very dominant and feminine. The amber, cloves and patchouli only add to this fragrance's warmth and prevent the lily note from smelling too fresh and watery.

The pretty floral softness of this scent would suit a blushing bride on her wedding day or compliment a sweet and innocent blonde in a pretty, floral-printed sundress. Donna Karan Gold is reserved and lady-like, not at all raunchy or seductive.

The complexity and fantastic sillage has me wound up in its spell. I really do love this scent although lily isn't one of my favourite notes. My cousin actually wore this on her wedding day along with a bouquet of rare white lillies. She loved the flower so much that she named her first born daughter Lily. I'm certain this fragrance will always be a staple in her collection.

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