Dior Hypnotic Poison Eau de Toilette Spray > Reviews (19)

When I was a little girl I was taught that familiar rhyme, ‘Sugar and Spice and all things nice’ if I remember rightly, wasn’t that what girls were made of?
I had wanted a bottle of this since it came out (I think it was released in about 1999) but never really had the money, or forgot about it to get some. Well, when Danny surprised me with a trip to Milan last year and we were at the airport, not being able to resist a walk around the perfume shop before flying out I saw a bottle of this about £15 cheaper than in the high street, so bought some. Here’s my op on a very Hypnotic perfume, Hypnotic Poison xxx

.;:~ What does it look like? ~:;.
The packaging is in 2 parts as it often is with perfume, firstly the box and secondly the perfume bottle it’s self. Well, both are rather plain yet alluring.
The box is bright red and very square like. It has a small logo on the front which basically says ‘Hypnotic Poison’ in goldish writing followed by 'By Christine Dior'. The box does have a black ‘fleck’ like pattern on it too, over all very plain and it doesn’t really stand out from any other perfume box I have.
The bottle isn’t that exciting either, I guess they really are saving the best for the inside in this case (Which trust me they are!). The bottle is red aswell, a slightly darker shade than the box and is a solid colour, you can hardly see through it as the glass it lightly ‘smoked’ although you can just about make out liquid moving inside. In gold clearly stated is ‘Hypnotic Poison’ and neatly below, 'By Christine Dior'. I’d try and describe the bottle to you but to say it is an odd shape is an understatement! It’s roundish and slightly fluted, almost like the bottom half of an hour glass I suppose. The lid is black and smoked as is the spray nozzle.

.;:~ What does it smell like? ~:;.
Anyone who has ever tried to write a perfume op will know, they aren’t easy to do. Describing what something smells of can be very hard. Well, not with this perfume, I have one word for you, VANILLA! The main base of the scent is vanilla; it’s almost heady as it’s so strong. Then you need to add a little bit of spice, but not cinnamon like at Christmas time, it’s sweeter. So, to sum up the smell of the scent I would say vanilla and spice. I really can’t say more than that and I’m sure if you smell/have smelt it you will probably agree.
It’s not a floral scent at all, which leads me on to its use. I find floral scents are easiest warn in the day (Cerutti, Coco, Jean Paul Gautier), this is like I said a heady perfume as well, quite potent and if you pop too much on (which is easily done!) very overpowering. I am trying to say that basically I would pop this down to more an evening scent and would also go as far to say it’s slightly seasonal and would be more an Autumn/Winter scent than a Summer/Spring one. However, I wear it in the day time and in any season, it has more to do with the amount I put on though as to the times of year due to its utter strength!

.;:~ How long does it last?

~:;.
This part is the surprising part. You have just heard me go on about how strong this stuff is and you needn’t pop a lot on. This is very true. But and there is a but, it doesn’t last that long. On the wrist I find it lasts quiet a while, but the neck doesn’t have the staying power. I have no idea at all why this is, but I do find that if I have a spray of it in the morning before I go out, that I often will have another spray late afternoon if I am out again. However, it does last long enough if you are out on an evening as long as you have 2 sprays. The single spray can sometimes not be enough. I’ve got to warn you though, it will smell (and will be) a bit strong for an hour or so to you, but the staying power at least is there.
As I feel this part should go under this category too I’d like to tell you about how long the actual ‘bottle’ lasts. Now, I got mine in November of last year (2002). I have the 50ml bottle size which is about 2 and half inches tall. I suppose I wear this 3 to 4 times a week and that’s 2 sprays each time, well I have only used about 1cm out of the bottle! I feel this is great seeing as the perfume is now over 6 months old!

.;:~ Where can I buy it?~:;.
The perfume comes in various sizes (5ml, 30ml and 50ml) and can be bought as eau de toilette or parfum. I did a bit of a search online and found the following prices;
5ml Hypnotic Poison from SBS-UK (http://www.sbs-uk.net) £5.95 including postage and packing.
30ml Hypnotic Poison from Superdrugstore.com (http://www.superdrugstore.com) £24.95 including postage and packing.
50ml Hypnotic Poison from Superdrugstore.com (http://www.superdrugstore.com) £29.99 including postage and packing.
Although I will also add you can buy this perfume in most of the high street stores (Debenhams, Boots, Super Drug, discount toiletry places, perfume shops) and at airports too, so if you get a chance have a look there too.

.;:~ What I really think of it? ~:;.
Seeing as I had only ever smelt this once or twice before I bought it I am very happy with the purchase. It smells lovely and sweet, it can be over powering but I have learnt that ‘less is more’ where this perfume is concerned and not to go OTT when spraying it on. I don’t think the bottle or the box packaging is anything special at all, I also don’t think it needs to be. See I have never smelt a perfume like this and feel that the perfume it’s self is special enough. Also, I don’t want to be charged lots on packaging (Jean Paul Gautier is a good example of this!) when the scent says enough words on its own.
IF you are looking for something different, something sweet I recommend nipping along to your local perfume store, whether it is Boots, Debenhams or whatever and giving yourself a spray of this. Just because one perfume suits one person, if may not suit everyone. Leave it a good couple of hours and see how you like the scent then, if you still like it, leave it a couple more and if it’s still good to you then and you haven’t had a skin reaction (I am not saying this perfume is more likely to give you a skin reaction than any other but 4 hours is a good guideline as to whether it will). Then talk your loved one or someone special into buying you a bottle .
I really do rate this perfume highly, it is lovely and worth the money I paid. I do think that perfume is overly priced for what it is and hate paying the normal prices, so buying online is usually the cheaper alternative. This perfume gets a 9 out 10 from me. Happy scent hunting! Mel xxx