Calvin Klein

Eternity (Woman) by Sophia Grojsman for Calvin Klein 1988

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Hi there Perfume Junkies,

Recently we showed the return of Christy Turlington (Burns) who was the original Calvin Klein Eternity model in 1988 return with husband Ed Burns as the faces of a new steamy 2014 Eternity campaign. I was so impressed with them bringing Christy back that I went and bought a brand new 30ml bottle to show my support.

Eternity (Woman) by Sophia Grojsman for Calvin Klein 1988

Eternity Woman Calvin Klein FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citrus, green notes, sage, freesia, mandarin
Heart: Jasmine, narcissus, rose, violet, lily-of-the-valley, lily, carnation
Base: Heliotrope, sandalwood, musk, amber, patchouli

To be honest I was expecting it to be terrible, absolutely disgusting and completely unwearable. Having bought it (for almost no money at a chemist) I was then surprised that I unwrapped it immediately to have a sniff.

Fresh citrus blasts its way out of the bottle, a joyful reminder of a hot summers day dream of fresh citrus fruit salad lightly sugared. When the flowers come through they are a 100% faux bouquet, very synthetic, but not bad for all that. Eternity is a simple seeming, light but noticeable, clean fragrance that already has hints of the amber/sandalwood in the base. There is a lightly peppered feeling, cracked black rather than wet bell, through the heart too that is very appealing. I can remember smelling Eternity on people in the 90’s, it captured the fragrant zeitgeist (funny that that word is also used in the Perfume Shrine post) of its time perfectly and I think we are seeing a return to this style of fragrance. They are not scent similar but I think the Serge Lutens, Laine de Verre, is a modern take on Eternity and its cohorts, that 100% synthetic feeling.

1988_Eternity Woman Calvin KleinPhoto Stolen Calvin Klein

Luca Turin blasts Eternity thus, yet still gives it 3 stars: I have always though Eternity a copy of something not worth copying, Jardins de Bagattelle. Smelling them together now I can see why JdB, while arguably better, was a flop and Eternity a success. They art both unpleasantly screechy and soapy but at least Eternity does not pretend to be demure. LT

The rose is not rose-ish for me but I do get a spicy fruit/berry accord that could very well be a nod to rose? Yes, there is a very soapy vibe going on through late heart and dry down but it feels nice, wearable and I can see it still being extremely popular with the mainstream wearing public.

If you are only into niche and indie fragrances, want your scent to be filled with naturals or totally freaky then you will need to look elsewhere. Here we have a scent that will keep you smelling freshly showered and laundered all day, a slightly chemical wash that may not have people stopping and asking you what you’re wearing in the street but they may think that you are clean, neat and healthy and it will make a great weekend or work scent where you don’t want to stand out but would like to be fragrant. On these front Calvin Klein’s Eternity delivers in spades.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine
FragranceNet has $25/30ml (before coupon)
My Perfume Samples have $2/ml up to $7/5ml

Did you ever get on the Eternity scent bus? Was there ever a Calvin Klein fragrance that you did wear?

Portia xx

Calvin Klein 2014: Christy Turlington and Edward Burns

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hi There APJ,

There has been a lot of talk about NECRO-Celebrity. The use of dead celebs images for advertising for many reasons: nostalgia, budget, no news worthy diatribes, mistakes or faux pas and best of all no 100% gold plated asshole of a celeb to deal with. I understand the lure of the dead, especially in a marketing game where one wrong sentence in an interview, or even said with friends and distributed, can cause millions of dollars in collateral damage and rebuilding.

In stark contrast to all other marketing trends Calvin Klein has gone for a living, mature couple to front a brand new launch and in one of their cases to re-front one of the Calvin Klein stable of fragrances 26 years later. That is longer than most alive frag models have been on this planet, by about 10 years. 45 year old Christy Turlington with her her husband Edward Burns. This needs a serious BRAVO for Calvin Klein’s marketing team. Still as unattainably gorgeous as ever but selling to a market who have been long neglected in the marketing departments of the big fashion houses: 40+. I think it will reap BIG rewards and I’m surprised the ads weren’t released a month ago for Mother’s Day.

Enjoy them, real; beautiful; people.
Portia xxx

I stole this stuff Lock, Stock and Barrel from art8amby

Calvin Klein Eternity Night Fragrance 2014 Ad Campaign

Shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin in Turks & Caicos, the campaign is exactly what you would expect from Calvin Klein; passionate, intense but always understated. However admits Turlington, “it’s also funny to be intimate with your life partner and have people around.” (source)

Calvin Klein Eternity 2014 Ad Campaign

Christy Turlington and Edward Burns are also fronting the latest campaign image of Calvin Klein Eternity perfume.  (source)

SUNDAY QUICKSNIFF REVIEWS #9

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Hey Hey Scentsationalists,

Click here for more graphics and gifs!

Every Monday morning the Sunday QuickSniff Review page is opened and each time I spritz and am near the computer I’ll give a 3 sentence review with a rating out of 5 each for, well, see the key after the reviews. Just some sniffs written quickly, it’s Sunday, I’ve been relaxing with my buddies, dogs and partner. I hope you’re having a good one too.

These can be samples I’ve bought or had sent to me by friends, or a FB that I may fully review later, or have done before and want to remind you of its existence.

OUTSPOKEN by FERGIE for AVON. My mate Penny (Thanks Penny, you SUPERMUM!!) gave me this, she is an AVON lady; honesty compels me to tell you that I expected it to be utter crap and it’s nothing new, can’t hold a candle to Chanel, Guerlain or Serge Lutens, but for the price this is AWESOME! As soon as the squeaky opening settles it is a soft aqueous white floral with a very respectable woods and leather dry down; gone in 2-3 hours on me. This is a good scent if you are on a budget, it wont skunk, is wearable at any time and in most situations, you could pay a lot more and get worse. Around $20 for 50ml S=*** L=** D=**

VIVA LA JUICY by JUICY COUTURE 2008. A youth oriented, slightly fizzy, fruity gourmand that is not bad on my skin!! Less irritating than many in its style, has some depth and follows an interesting course from super sweet fruit, through white flowers to soft amber/caramel base over a decent amount of time. Not my thing but I can see where it’s better than many of its peers and will probably use up this sample. A 3ml spray decant from MyPerfumeSamples only $6 S=*** L=**** D=**

FLOWERBOMB by VIKTOR & ROLF 2005. OK This is the same stuff but with all the irritants put in that they left out of Viva La Juicy. One of the currently ubiquitous fruit-chouli army, on (and to) me HORRIBLE!! but I know it’s a really big seller so it must work for some. I will be giving this away in our Thursday Giveaway. A 5ml spray decant from MyPerfumeSamples $9 S=* L=*** D=*

OBSESSION MEN by CALVIN KLEIN 1986. This is an ex-tester bought supercheap, Thanks Amanda! The citrus and spice at the top of this old chestnut are like stepping back in time to when I was studying fashion and this was what people wore, the general public went crazy for it and it still sells. Until today I’d never put it on my skin but POW right in the sniffer! I know America has a thing for clean smelling fragrances but Obsession has always had a sexy backdrop of fleshy, aroused manliness to me. FragranceNet has 15ml for under $12 S=**** L=*** D=***


Photo Stolen from shirtsays

Scent, Obviously the number 1 priority here is how does it smell. My reviews are completely subjective and will differ widely from your own experience with the scent but it’s a good starting point. As yet I am not a trained perfumer so any and all descriptions are merely that, descriptions. There are plenty of blogs that offer technical details and chemistry, in 3 sentences I’ll pass.
Longevity, This is a biggie for me because like enfleurage where flower petals are left in fats to steal the scent, my fatty body works the same and eats it up, yum. So for a scent to last well on me, it will probably last a whole day on you and need a radioactive decontamination shower to defuse it from your skin.
Desirabilty, Wrapped up in this is scent, price, house, history, longevity, packaging, availability and a billion other things.

Photo Stolen from bittbox

* in any of these being the, “You couldn’t pay enough to spray this God awful stink on me again, it smells like public toilets in India, long time fridge malfunction while on Summer holiday and the vile stench of poverty all rolled into one.” You are putting innocent people in danger if you wear this.
** means it’s a nothing, wearable, boring, maybe the price is prohibitive for what you get or it’s ubiquitous. You should definitely get a sample of this to stop a buying boo boo.
*** is a perfectly good product that smells good and lasts a while at a decent price. You should definitely think about trying a sample or squirt but should you miss out your life will continue. Sample size worthy.
**** is the one you try, want a lot but can wait for a birthday/Christmas. It’s better than most of the stuff you’ve sniffed and may fill a void in your library. This is also an excellent decant product 5ml will get you through the season and maybe buy it next year.
***** meaning, stop reading this, grab your cash, credit card (or partners), roll the elderly or rob a petrol station and purchase this product. NOW! If you don’t have this fragrance you could die.

Have you sniffed at all this week? What was it and how did it smell?

Portia xx