Comfort in Chaos, photo by Josephine Cardin

During a lonely, hectic trip, Stephen Weiss found himself thinking of a perfume for his wife. He imagined it would be the antidote to the chaos of his travels — struggling with luggage, rushing through airports and countries. Donna Karan Chaos is a warm pashmina, the sort of fragrance to turn to in jagged moments.

Chaos has had its own turbulent history. Released in 1996, it grew in cult status while never making it quite into mainstream approbation. After Weiss’ early death in 2001, Chaos was, however, discontinued. I first encountered it being talked about with reverence on perfume blogs. For ages, it was next to impossible to get hold of much more than a sample until 2008, when Donna Karan brought it back alongside a few other perfumes she had stopped producing. And it was still recognizably the same gem. All was right with the world.

That is, until 2013, when it was once again relegated to “vintage”.

Stephen Weiss and Donna Karan, photo via The Daily Mail

Chaos is similar in feel to Christopher Sheldrake’s early work for Serge Lutens, woody orientals such as Feminite du Bois and Bois et Fruits (both 1992), but is less dense. Chaos has a silky wholeness that doesn’t make me think of classical composition. With its central stillness, is like a loved hand on the back of your neck. Its first minutes are all mellow spice and smoothed wood. Cardamom and cinnamon cuddle with sandalwood for an ageless time. Top notes often pique or flirt; Chaos embraces, even before it warms on the skin. Clove adds a soulful background note, like the low strings of a double bass.

Embrace, photo by E.E. McCollum

Soapy musk comes in a while later, mingling with some mellifluous amber. The contrast of sudsy and rich notes in the middle has the effect of smelling like melting beeswax over baked plums and fading roses. The woods sneak in unobtrusively until you realize they are there, adding weight and structure, accented by the mulchy, slightly animalic aroma of chamomile. Step away and inhale Chaos again now: it is incandescently lovely, soothing and intimate. There’s muted spice, a harmony of woods, some quiet lavender that entered unannounced but which smells almost like dried fruit.

Graffiti stock photo via pxfuel

As I sit down to write this, my city is on fire. A few of my neighbours write heartfelt chalk messages in multicoloured pastels on the pavement, people bang drums and pots out of open windows as helicopters clatter in the sky like immense birds of prey. Curfew falls.

Still Life Photographer Raymond Meier | Creative Director Monika Kim

Chaos is a perfume for today. This day. I dab a bit more of Donna Karan’s perfumed love letter from her husband and find a corner of calm in the roil.

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Disclaimer: Donna Karan Chaos from my own collection.

Notes: Sandalwood, cardamom, cinnamon, padukwood, agarwood, saffron, clove, amber, musk, sage, lavender, chamomile, coriander.