Calvin Klein Downtown

I received samples of the new Calvin Klein fragrance with my last Sephora order and then was given even more samples of it when I bought some perfume gift sets at Macy*s.  Downtown is a fragrance that is inspired by New York City.  I was very excited when I saw that the Rooney Mara (in Lisbeth mode) was the model for this ad campaign and I tried this fragrance out with high hopes.  I initially liked this fragrance however I have decided that Downtown will be added to the list of Calvin Klein fragrances that are not my cup of tea.  With the exception of a handful of fragrances, Calvin Klein has never been a brand that has created perfumes that I have liked.  I find that this company creates many fragrances that skirt the line between masculine and feminine and these are just not the types of minimalism fragrances that I would wear very often.

I think that I really wanted to love Downtown for two big reasons.  The first reason is that it Rooney Mara is the cover model for this ad campaign and I love her minimalist downtown style.  The second reason that I wanted to love this fragrance is that it smells like nothing that I already own and it is very unique.  I own nothing like this fragrance for a reason...I just do not like unisex fragrances and would rather own a massive collection of floral fragrances. 

I found this fragrance on the Macy*s website, it states that Downtown is, "This urban women's fragrance is sophisticated and extremely feminine yet has a confident edge. Featuring scents of watery plum and gardenia, you'll never get tired of this divine scent." 

The key fragrance notes are: Neroli tunisia, fresh green pear, watery plum, gardenia petals, pink peppercorn, violet leaf, Texan cedarwood, vetiver, benzoin Laos orpur and musk. 

As I stated above, I find that Downtown could be a unisex fragrance.  The gardenia and violet leaf notes barely come out on my skin and I usually wear white florals very strongly.  I get mostly the pear, cedarwood, and vetiver notes from Downtown.  I did like how different this was but I didn't like how it wore on my skin.  It reminded me more of a men's cologne than a fragrance geared toward females.  If the floral notes were stronger, I probably would have been able to wear this fragrance but that is not the case so I will not be buying a full bottle of this fragrance.

The other disappointing aspect of this fragrance is the wear time.  Calvin Klein fragrances have never worn very long on my skin and I find that they tend to be heavy on top notes and don't last on many people's skin.  I got about two hours worth of wear time from this fragrance and I found that I needed to reapply it several times throughout my day and have been running through the samples that I have very quickly.

I was very hopeful that I had found a new perfume when I started trying these samples and I really wanted to like this fragrance but it just isn't for me.  I will finish the little bit left in my samples up but then I will be moving onto another perfume.

photo courtesy of Macy*s

CK One

There is one fragrance this spring that I really have an urge to purchase the hugest size imaginable of. That fragrance is the one and only CK One from Calvin Klein. He has re-released this fragrance in a special bottle that looks like it could be an anniversary edition of the fragrance. The first time that I ever smelled this was in an issue of Seventeen that I bought when I was just entering the sixth grade. This was the first fragrance that I ever remember really wanting someone to buy me but at the time, Calvin Klein had just released some rather controversial advertising campaigns so my parents would not allow me to own anything that had his name on it. Eventually, I did succeed in purchasing some of his t-shirts but I never did get my hands on this fragrance.

I have sort of forgotten about this fragrance even though Calvin Klein releases a special edition of this fragrance almost every summer (so it seems). I just always associated this fragrance with the 90s and the grunge movement, neither of which I am a fan of anymore. This fragrance was first introduced in 1994, so this year would be the 15th anniversary of its launch.

Why did I start rethinking about this fragrance? A fragrance strip of it was included in one of the many magazines that are delivered every month to my home and I resmelled it to see if I remembered it accurately. To my shock, I remembered it almost exactly and a new lemming was created. I don’t want the anniversary edition bottle, I want the original that I was never allowed to have circa 1995.

I have often wondered what this fragrance smells like and what notes allow it to be unisex and somehow smell almost the same on both genders. Here are the notes of the fragrance - papaya, pineapple, jasmine, green tea, and amber. I don’t smell any of the individual notes in this fragrance so it absolutely confounds me as to how they work together to create this unique fragrance. This is a mystery that I may never solve but at least now I am allowed to purchase myself of bottle of this fragrance. And it will be large one so I can use it even when its not popular or easy to find anymore.

photo courtesy of fragrancenet