Last week, a good friend set a bottle of Carrington Perfumes Forever Krystle Eau de Toilette on my table. “I put it in the box to bring to you. Took it out, then put it back again. Here. Maybe you can find it a home.”
Years ago, I’d found the bottle of Forever Krystle at Goodwill and passed it to her when we were both deep into Dynasty reruns, even sometimes giving episodes our own Mystery Science Theater treatment.1 I couldn’t remember the fragrance at all, but I did remember that Krystle wore Bal à Versailles. (In one episode, Krystle’s nemesis, Blake’s ex-wife Alexis, makes a big deal of dousing herself in it to win Blake back.) How would they compare?
Forever Krystle was released in 1984. Whoever created it — I couldn’t track down the perfumer — did a great job of distilling Krystle’s essence into fragrance. Imagine Krystle: soft-voice; gentle manner; sharp cheekbones; highly processed, ashy hair; stupendous shoulder pads; frosty eye shadow. She’s sweet, bland, and disco-ready.
Similarly, Forever Krystle is a mix of classical perfumery, maternal florals, and assertive glitz. Forever Krystle kicks off with aldehydes and an unmistakable civet-y hit. The civet and a gassy whiff of moss retreat to the background as powdery mimosa and vanilla step forward. Not everyone will agree, but at this point I do feel a resemblance to Bal à Versailles in Forever Krystle’s layering of animalic and candied floral notes.
Now, Forever Krystle goes straight-on 1980s with a whoosh of musk bolstering its vanilla-amber-mimosa. The barest hint of pepper gives it texture. (Here’s where I’ll take Bal à Versailles instead, thank you.) The musk and vanilla soldier on until dinner in a comforting-yet-irritating combination that might take the boxing ring with Calvin Klein Obsession for an even match.
Carrington Perfumes Forever Krystle is discontinued and sells for hundreds of dollars on eBay. (I’m going to return the bottle to my friend and suggest she sell it.) Forever Krystle does have a distinctive signature, and it’s interesting how it bridges old-school fragrance with the Reagan era, but is it worth it?
Not for me. I’ll take my mimosa in Caron Farnesiana. I hear there’s a new Dynasty on the air, though. Maybe a Forever Krystle relaunch won’t be far behind.
1. Example: Blake Carrington sits at his 1980s manor house dining room looking grumpy. Near him is a folded newspaper and a bilious pastel floral arrangement. “Blake, darling, why are you so upset?” Krystle, voice by me, asks. “I hate those flowers," my friend replies. "Why does it always look like Easter in here?”
Hi Angela ~ Thanks for a wonderful trip down memory lane!
I remember loving this eons ago but somehow lost track of my older bottle. Now I’ll have to spritz my bottle of BaV as a substitute.
True story, I ran into Linda Evans years (perhaps it was 2000/2001?) ago in San Francisco, in the Financial district. I was second-guessing myself as to who she was but then she turned to me directly and there’s no mistaking those exquisite cheekbones. Still gorgeous.
You’re welcome for the memory trip! How amazing that you saw Linda Evans. You’re right–those cheekbones are unmistakeable. I wonder what perfume she actually wears?
Angela, that’s a good question! I see her in Fracas by Piguet.
For a more modern scent, Lipstick Rose or Carnal Flower by Malle.
Boy howdy do I want to see what’s on her bathroom vanity!
Fracas, huh? I can see that. I can also imagine Alexis running with it, too. I bet Krystle’s vanity holds a lot of frosty eyeshadows.
Didn’t Joan Collins always used to say Bal A Versailles was her go-to perfume around that era?
I can completely imagine her in Bal a Versailles, although I think she’d be great with tuberose, too. Or something of the era, like Poison!
Do you know how hard we worked to get those hair flips in high school? So glad to be 50-something.
Oh yeah, there was a lot of processing going on. Wash, blow dry, apply curling iron, shellac it all down with hairspray….
Angela, I used to set off the fire alarm in my old SF apartment. Too much hair product combined with a flat iron is not a good thing!
But it did come in handy when all the cute firefighters arrived…
That’s hilarious!
That’s crazy! I sufficed with my usual frizzy mess, plus two neatly rendered sausage roll curls, one on each side of my head. Truly awful.
I tried that hair flip and wound up looking like Roseanne Roseannadanna (vintage SNL/Gilda Radner).
Ha ha! You and I have similar hair. I totally get it.
Oh, Angela, I laughed at your MST3K reference! I’m an ardent Mystie fan and love its giggle-a-minnit quality. And, their #1 fave to lambast is/was “Mitchell” with Linda Evans in at least one of those eps. I’m old enough to remember “The Big Valley” (also starring Linda Evans); my sisters were hot for “Heath” but the eldest brother was my secret crush (testimony to how bad a dork I was). Yeah, and the hair thing – – constantly straining for the Farrah Fawcett Hair Fantasy! ???
I’m glad you enjoyed it! (And hey, why hasn’t anyone made a Big Valley perfume yet?)
Ooh, ugh. My nemesis of a boss wore this, until she moved up to Red Door. I preferred the Krystle.
Your nemesis boss must have had a big personality. Whew! Or she had a worn-out nose.
Thanks for the fun review! My boyfriend and I like to watch bad movies and provide commentary MST3K style. I bet Dynasty is perfect for it.
I highly recommend Dynasty for that! By the second season, the action focuses on the Carrington’s, and it’s deliciously campy plus has great production values.
The perfumer for this fragrance was James Bell of Givaudan.
Thank you so much!! I looked everywhere and came up dry.
I just won a bottle of this on eBay last week!
Have you smelled it yet? What do you think of it?
Yes. It is very, very strong. A nice champagny-chypre, with a slight powder at the tail end. Ylang ylang is prominent, as is the raw civet.
When you spritz, just to double check, you find that the bottle’s sprayer leaks. And a lot of it smells like licorice. And Dawn soap.(washing hands☺)
Oh no! A broken atomizer! Now you’ll get to know that perfume very well, like it or not!
That made it really funny. I scrubbed!