Star Anise

Lolita Lempicka

The opening is a cool, green jolt—anise and ivy shimmer together like frost on dark leaves, quickly softened by violet's powdery hush.

Tom Ford

Oud Wood announces itself through a smoky, resinous haze—Brazilian rosewood and cardamom tempering the dense, medicinal quality often found in oud-forward compositions.

Jean Paul Gaultier

A wave of orange blossom and anise announces itself immediately, sweet and slightly medicinal, like candied fennel seeds scattered across white petals.

Giorgio Armani

Armani Code opens with a brief citrus clarity—lemon and bergamot that dissolve almost immediately into something warmer and more puzzling.

Dior

The opening rushes forward with a bracing bergamot that feels almost electric—bright citrus stripped of sweetness, channeling raw energy rather than refinement.

Givenchy

Very Irresistible opens with a crisp jolt of star anise—cool, almost medicinal, with a licorice edge that feels unexpected against the floral promise of the name.

Azzaro

Azzaro Pour Homme opens with a clean, aromatic blast—lavender and bergamot lifted by the licorice snap of star anise and the green punch of basil.

Yves Saint Laurent

Opium pour Homme opens with a sharp pulse of star anise—licorice-dark and medicinal, cooled by tart blackcurrant that cuts through the sweetness.

Acqua Di Parma

The opening unfolds with a transparent sweetness—almond blossom rendered through star anise and citrus rather than the heavy marzipan of true almond extract.

Guerlain

The opening of L'Instant pour Homme Eau Extrême announces itself with star anise—clear, faintly medicinal, and cool as polished steel.

Diesel

Loverdose opens with a jolt of star anise—sharp, licorice-sweet, almost medicinal in its intensity.

Nina Ricci

The opening feels like walking through a fruit market in full bloom—ripe pear and peach mingling with fresh bergamot and a subtle anise edge that keeps the sweetness from becoming cloying.

Issey Miyake

L'Eau Bleue d'Issey opens with a bright jolt of lime and rosemary, immediately clarifying and herbal rather than sweet.

Atelier Cologne

The opening is pure sunlight—bright mandarin peel with a sharp green edge that feels more alive than sweet.

L'Artisan Parfumeur

The star anise arrives first, sharp and licorice-sweet, cutting through bergamot like fennel seed dropped into Earl Grey.

Dior

The opening is all citrus brightness—petitgrain and bergamot cutting through with a green, slightly bitter edge that feels more herbal than fruity.

Issey Miyake

A Drop d'Issey opens with damask rose that feels filtered through water—translucent rather than heavy, closer to morning dew on petals than old velvet.

Naomi Campbell

The opening arrives with unexpected sharpness—star anise cutting through a haze of coconut and soft white florals, bergamot lending brightness without sweetness.

Yves Saint Laurent

L'Homme Libre opens with a brisk aromatic clarity—basil and violet leaf meet bergamot in a way that feels green and slightly metallic, like crushed stems rather than flower petals.

Yves Saint Laurent

Rive Gauche Pour Homme opens with a jolt of herbal clarity—rosemary and star anise cut through the bergamot citrus like a chef's knife through morning fog.

Acqua Di Parma

The first spray delivers a flash of bright bergamot and orange laced with star anise—a licorice-tinged sweetness that frames the iris before it fully arrives.

Al Haramain Perfumes

The opening arrives with a brisk, spiced heat—ginger and black pepper crackling over cinnamon bark.

Goutal

The opening is surprisingly bright for something named after a shadowy root—bergamot gives way almost immediately to a cool rush of mint and star anise, more herbal garden than apothecary shelf.

Bvlgari

BLV EDP II opens with star anise and violet — an anise note that reads slightly medicinal and dark-sweet, alongside violet's dusty, powdery facet.

L'Artisan Parfumeur

Black currant opens with a tart dark-fruit bite — not the sweet cassis of oriental florals but the raw leaf-and-berry sharpness of a black currant bush, with an implicit green bitterness beneath.

Jean Paul Gaultier

Fragile opens with an unusual combination: ginger and star anise alongside Bulgarian rose and bergamot, the spice and citrus creating an almost culinary brightness before the florals reveal themselves.

Calvin Klein

ck-free opens with a jolt of star anise, cool and medicinal, before spiraling into something darker and more ambiguous.

Histoires De Parfums

1725 opens with bright grapefruit and bergamot — a clean, slightly tart citrus preamble that doesn't linger long.

Avon

Absynthe opens exactly as named — star anise and anise together produce an unambiguous licorice quality, cool and herbal, that gives the fragrance its identity before anything else arrives.

Shiseido

Energizing Fragrance opens with black pepper and clove — warm and assertive, spicier than the title might suggest.

Frédéric Malle

The geranium here is more herbal workshop than garden—sharp mint and medicinal anise cut through any softness, giving the opening an almost camphoraceous chill.

Guerlain

A wisp of smoke curls through the opening—star anise and citrus suspended in something faintly charred, like incense just extinguished.

Giorgio Armani

Black Code opens with a bright citrus burst—lemon and bergamot—that quickly gives way to its true character.

Olfactive Studio

The opening announces itself with a warm spice cabinet—cinnamon and cardamom mingling with the licorice sweetness of star anise—but this never becomes gourmand clatter.

Salvatore Ferragamo

The opening balances tropical warmth with citrus brightness—coconut and bergamot meet in an unexpectedly refined way, softened by the licorice whisper of star anise.

Lolita Lempicka

**Mon Premier Parfum** opens with an anise-forward freshness that feels both herbal and slightly sweet, tempered by the green clarity of ivy.

Givenchy

Very Irresistible Eau de Toilette opens with a crisp rose that feels more airy garden than heavy bouquet, lifted by transparent greens and a subtle berry sweetness.

Lancôme

The opening arrives with a sharp anise clarity softened by blackcurrant's dark sweetness, while peony adds a powdery floral veil that keeps things airy rather than heavy.

Guerlain

The opening swings cool and bright—mint meets citrus in a rush that feels like stepping into an air-conditioned room on a hot day.

Caron

A cool whoosh of mint and anise opens Aimez-Moi with surprising clarity, almost medicinal before violet and cardamom soften the entry.

Guerlain

The opening arrives with a bright jolt of citrus tempered immediately by star anise, lending an unexpected herbal coolness that keeps the bergamot and lemon from veering sweet.

Moschino

Star anise opens with a sharp, licorice-tinged brightness that cuts through the air—almost medicinal at first, softened slightly by bergamot's citrus glow.

Giorgio Armani

Star anise announces itself immediately—a sharp, licorice-bright opening tempered by grapefruit's citrus edge.

David Beckham

Grapefruit and bergamot open bright and accessible, with cardamom adding a faint spice that elevates the opening above a standard citrus freshie.

Nobile 1942

Star anise opens sharp and herbal-sweet, announcing itself clearly before stepping back to let the heart develop.

Michael Kors

The opening is a spice cabinet tipped over: cinnamon and star anise announce themselves loudly, tempered by cardamom's green warmth and a flash of bergamot.

L'Artisan Parfumeur

A rose caught between powdered silk and a whisper of smoke.

Aedes De Venustas

Iris Nazarena opens with a cold, medicinal clarity—star anise sharpens the powdery facets of iris until both feel austere and churchlike.

Anna Sui

The opening of Sui Dreams feels like stepping into a sun-drenched room where fruit and florals mingle without ceremony.

Olfactive Studio

A sharp crack of pepper and galbanum announces itself immediately—green-bitter, almost medicinal.

Hugo Boss

A shower of bergamot and cardamom opens with surprising brightness before anise introduces a cooler, almost medicinal edge.

Hugo Boss

**Boss Selection** opens with a brisk citrus clarity—grapefruit and bergamot—tempered by the gentle heat of pink pepper.

David Beckham

Signature for Her opens with a crisp flash of star anise, licorice-sweet and faintly medicinal, cutting through what might otherwise be a standard vanilla composition.

Paco Rabanne

Ultrared opens with a bright blast of strawberry—vivid and unapologetic, more candied than fresh—that immediately announces itself.

Aquolina

The opening is bright citrus tempered immediately by a soft licorice sweetness—star anise makes itself known early, weaving through the bergamot like smoke.

O Boticário

The first impression is unexpectedly spiced—star anise arriving with a brief, licorice-sharp clarity before the composition softens into its true nature.

Calvin Klein

A contemporary Eternity flanker that leans warm and spiced rather than fresh.

Jo Malone London

The opening is a shock of licorice-bright anise tempered by neroli's bitter citrus—an unexpected pairing that reads both medicinal and festive.

Nicolai Parfumeur Createur

Cuir Cuba Intense opens with a bracing jolt of mint and anise that feels both medicinal and aromatic, like stepping into an apothecary where leather jackets hang on cedarwood racks.

Yves Saint Laurent

Opening with a jolt of licorice-sharp star anise softened by the tartness of black currant, this adaptation of YSL's famed Opium into masculine territory leans into both sweetness and spice without apology.

Goutal

Mandragore Pourpre opens with a rush of mint and anise that feels both medicinal and strangely ancient, like walking into an apothecary stocked with dried herbs and dusty glass bottles.

Jacques Bogart

One Man Show Gold opens with violet's cool powder alongside anise's slightly medicinal-sweet character — an unusual pairing that signals this won't follow a conventional structure.

Perry Ellis

The opening turns on bergamot sharpened by star anise, a licorice-tinged brightness that feels clinical rather than sweet.

Yves Rocher

Flowerparty-by-Night opens with a bright clash of tart raspberry and mandarin that quickly surrenders to a darker, spicier core.

Byredo

Sunday Cologne opens with a bright spark of cardamom and bergamot cut through by the licorice-like sweetness of star anise, creating an aromatic clarity that feels both clean and slightly exotic.

Kate Spade

A burst of star anise opens with unexpected warmth, its licorice-sweet edge softened by mandarin and orange blossom that keep the introduction bright rather than heavy.

Oscar De La Renta

Intrusion opens with a bright, slightly discordant clash—neroli's bitter-orange radiance meets the licorice-sharp edge of star anise, while grapefruit adds a tart, sunlit citrus veil.

Trussardi

The opening announces itself with a jolt of star anise—licorice-sharp and medicinal—tempered by a bright lemon accent that keeps it from veering too herbal.

Escada

A glittery opening of pineapple and ginger announces this festive flanker with unabashed optimism.

Al Haramain

The opening strikes with a heated rush of black pepper and ginger, sharpened by cinnamon's dry heat, while tobacco weaves through like smoke from a half-forgotten fire.

Givenchy

Very Irrésistible opens with a bright clash of pear and star anise—the juicy sweetness immediately undercut by licorice spice.

L'Artisan Parfumeur

A soft, almost powdery take on patchouli that sidesteps the typical earthiness.

Giorgio Armani

Attitude Extreme opens with a jolt of cardamom and star anise, their spiced brightness cutting through like cold morning air.

The Different Company

Star anise arrives first, cool and medicinal against bright bergamot, a pairing that feels both herbal and faintly liqueur-like.

Gritti

Duchessa opens with saffron's leathery warmth softened by ripe peach, a combination that feels both opulent and slightly peculiar—like finding velvet draped over summer fruit.

Tiziana Terenzi

Lillipur opens with sharp, resinous frankincense cut by citrus and the licorice-green bite of star anise—an almost medicinal clarity that clears the air before settling.

Oriflame

Raspberry, star anise, peach, and grapefruit open with an animated fruity-spiced beginning — the anise providing a herbal-sweet dimension against the straightforward fruitiness of raspberry and peach.

Maison Martin Margiela

Funfair Evening is from the Maison Margiela Replica series — and this one conjures a fairground after dark, when candy-apple smell mingles with night air.

Atelier Cologne

Black pepper and star anise open Mistral Patchouli with a dry, slightly anisic warmth — the anise is spice rather than liqueur, restrained, and the pepper adds heat that focuses the opening without sharpening it.

Jaguar

Jaguar Classic opens with a full deck of aromatics — lavender, basil, and star anise alongside orange and bergamot, a multi-layered freshness that manages to feel both clean and slightly spiced rather than antiseptic.

Mugler

Cuir Impertinent is Jean-Christophe Hérault's study in paradox: leather, which is warm and animalic by nature, read through star anise — an ingredient that introduces a genuinely icy, crystalline quality that transforms everything it touches.

Giorgio Armani

Code Ice is summer's answer to Code's dark original — the anise and lavender DNA preserved but the register shifted from wood-smoke to cool-herbal.

Tom Ford

Rose de Chine stages rose's reveal as a narrative event.

Lorenzo Villoresi

Piper Nigrum opens in a medicinal, aromatic rush — mint, peppermint, fennel, and star anise combining into a challenging herbal-anise accord that reads almost apothecary in its directness.

Michael Kors

Black pepper, star anise, thyme, and bergamot open with an assertive spiced aromatic — star anise's licorice-adjacent sweetness alongside pepper's dry heat, thyme adding herbal freshness, bergamot providing citrus counterpoint.

Avon

Tomorrow for Men opens with a distinctive pairing: star anise's sweet, herbal bite alongside lime's bright, candied citrus.

Acqua Di Parma

Cipresso di Toscana opens with a burst of herbal clarity — rosemary, basil, petitgrain, and star anise providing an aromatic green freshness, citrus notes of orange and grapefruit lifting everything with bright Mediterranean warmth.

Angel Schlesser

Angel Schlesser Homme begins with bergamot in the conventional manner — clean and briefly bright — then delivers one of the more densely populated hearts in early-2000s masculines: ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, lavender, and vetiver arrive together, which should be chaos and isn't.

Marc Jacobs

Blush predates the Daisy era and speaks in a more formally feminine register — a structured white floral typical of early-2000s prestige fragrance.

Giorgio Armani

Emporio Remix for Her opens with a distinctive accord: pear and cranberry provide the fruit, while star anise adds a herbal, licorice-edged sharpness that distinguishes this from the typical 2006 fruity feminine.

Pierre Guillaume Paris

Cinnamon leads the opening, dry and bark-like rather than red-hot, with star anise braided through it for a quiet liquorice-aniseed sparkle.

Mind Games

Tomato leaf opens with that unmistakable bitter-green stem-snap, lifted by bergamot and the dry pop of pink pepper.

Rasasi

Hawas Ice is a cold-weather fresh-aromatic built around an icy apple opening — clean, sharp, and slightly sweet.

Tiziana Terenzi

Lince opens with a bright citrus burst tempered by the licorice-spice warmth of star anise, an unexpected combination that immediately sets it apart from typical floral compositions.

Parfum d'Empire

Lavender, rosemary, neroli, and bergamot at the top — a Napoleonic eau-de-cologne register, herbal and bright, almost barbershop in feel.

Kerosene

With everything declared as general notes, the composition reads as a gourmand-aromatic blend rather than a pyramid evolution.

Histoires De Parfums

Iris meets violet at the doorway — cool, slightly metallic, with bergamot keeping the line from going somber.

Reminiscence

Star anise opens with a cool aniseed snap that reads almost camphorous before settling.

Bath & Body Works

A raspberry-and-bergamot opener announces the fruity intention before the fragrance blooms into a generous floral heart: gardenia, magnolia, jasmine, and a thread of apricot alongside the mildly surprising star anise.

Moresque

A spicy aromatic opening of star anise, pink pepper, and nutmeg lands over bergamot, with the anise giving an unusual liquorice-edged sweetness from the start.

The House of Oud

Star anise pairs with lemon and bergamot at the top, the anise adding a licorice-tinged warmth that complicates the citrus brightness.

Filippo Sorcinelli

Star anise and a soft sandalwood lift the opening together, the anise giving a cool licorice snap while peach and freesia add a fleshy sweetness underneath.

Givenchy

Very Irresistible Poesie d'un Parfum d'Hiver layers cold-season sweetness onto the underlying rose structure of Very Irresistible.

House Of Sillage

Star anise opens with a sweet, liquorice-like aniseed warmth alongside almond's marzipan note and a clean bergamot lift.

Carner Barcelona

Ibiza Nights opens on pear and star anise — the fruit juicy, the anise giving it a licorice edge that keeps the sweetness from going flat.

E.Coudray

Lavender and anise open the composition with a herbal-licorice pairing that's immediately unusual — soapy aromatic against sweet seed, with jasmine and orange blossom softening the edges into a creamy white-floral lift.

Bond No. 9

Lexington Avenue opens with a licorice-herb accord — star anise and fennel dominate, cypress adding a cold, resinous dimension.

Philipp Plein

Ginger and bergamot start things off with a fizzy, slightly biting citrus-spice — the entrance is loud and immediately warm.

Histoires De Parfums

The opening throws a citrus-herbal-spicy avalanche — black pepper and ylang-ylang against lime, orange, lemon, eucalyptus, grapefruit, galbanum, ivy, lychee, and bergamot.

Calvin Klein

Lime and lemon hit first — bright and simple, like a sliced citrus rather than a squeezed one.

Adidas

Moves is the most ambitious entry in adidas's late-90s catalogue, and the only one that asks to be read as a proper composition.

Carthusia

Mint and eucalyptus open the composition with a bracing cool-herbal lift, almost menthol-sharp at first.

L'Artisan Parfumeur

Navegar is Bertrand Duchaufour's spiced-rum study, named after the Portuguese verb for sailing.

Yves Saint Laurent

White florals — gardenia, jasmine, lily — announce themselves up front, joined by star anise whose licorice character prevents this from reading as a simple white floral.

Avon

Apple and pear open with a crisp, green-fruited freshness that reads clean without being sharp.

Playboy

Grapefruit and galbanum open tart and green-bitter, an unusual pairing that creates instant tension — galbanum's resinous greenness sharpening the citrus rather than smoothing it.

The Different Company

A minimalist white floral with an unexpected anise lift.

Nicolai Parfumeur Createur

Kiss Me Tender opens with an unusual pairing: star anise prickling against orange blossom, the licorice edge keeping the floral from going syrupy.

House Of Sillage

Star anise and bergamot open with a slightly sweet liquorice spice over a clean citrus lift, an unusual pairing that telegraphs a gourmand-floral direction.

Maison Crivelli

There's no clear top — the fragrance enters with osmanthus's apricot-leather glow already mid-bloom, star anise lending a cool licorice-tinged spice that sharpens the floral.