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Browsing by tag: cheap thrills

Fragrance review: Calvin Klein ck be

Posted by Marlen on 16 February 2006 6 Comments

Calvin Klein ck be, Kate Moss advert

The follow-up to Calvin Klein’s ck one, the designer’s first unisex scent, 1996’s ck be celebrates it’s 10th anniversary this year, and due to some strong word-of-mouth, I decided to give it a try. Ck be has notes of bergamot, juniper berry, mandarin, mint, lavender, magnolia, peach, amber, sandalwood, opoponax and tonka bean. Though it’s described as a musk scent, musk is not listed in the pyramid.

Ck be opens with a citrus rush of bergamot not unlike ck one. The juniper and mint add brightness and from there the scent begins to fade. The peach seems to be blended into the base and instead of creating a fruity effect, here it merely softens and adds a crispness to the tonka bean. The strength of the scent is disappointing and it took quite a few sprays to really be able to get a sense of the composition…

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He says/she says: Calvin Klein ck one

Posted by Robin on 15 February 2006 33 Comments

Calvin Klein ck one advert

Calvin Klein released ck one in 1994. It was one of the first modern fragrances marketed to both men and women, although as was the case with the recent release of Jean Paul Gaultier’s Gaultier2, the company pointedly avoided the word “unisex”, preferring to call it a “shared” fragrance. It was (and still is) targeted towards consumers in the 18-24 age range, and it was a massive success, doing $5 million in business in the first 10 days alone (Women’s Wear Daily, 10/7/1994), and continuing on to become the world’s top selling fragrance in 1995.

The ck one fragrance was created by perfumers Alberto Morillas and Harry Fremont. The notes are bergamot, lemon, mandarin, cardamom, pineapple, papaya, hedione, lily of the valley, green tea, oakmoss, cedar, sandalwood, musk and amber. We’ll start with Marlen’s take…

He says: Admittedly, it was quite the trendsetter when it was launched…

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Fragrance review: Paul Smith London for men

Posted by Marlen on 10 February 2006 5 Comments

Paul Smith London for men

The man famous for the stripes is back with his third men’s fragrance. 2004’s Paul Smith London for men, by perfumer Antoine Lie, is an exciting and boozey mélange of sparkling green mandarin, violet flowers, shots of frosted mint, jasmine, lavender, vintage brandy accord, vetyver, Australian sandalwood, tonka beans, and amber.

Similar to both Armani’s Black Code and Lolita Lempicka’s Au Masculin, London stays in keeping with a theme popular among new fragrances recently — a velvety gourmand note in the base. My opinion: this is perhaps the best of the bunch…

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J Lo Glow by Jennifer Lopez ~ perfume review

Posted by Robin on 30 January 2006 40 Comments

J Lo Glow by Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez released Glow, her first fragrance, in 2002, making her something of an old hand in the current celebrity fragrance boom. The fragrance was meant to target women in their late teens and early 20s, who presumably make up a large part of her fan base. Glow was a tremendous success, ringing up over $100 million in sales in its first year. No doubt it helped to attract other celebrities into the fragrance market, and J Lo herself has not been idle — she has just launched her fifth fragrance, Love At First Glow.

The original Glow was created by perfumer Louise Turner…

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A blast from the past: Tea Rose by The Perfumer’s Workshop

Posted by Robin on 20 January 2006 20 Comments

Tea Rose by The Perfumer's Workshop

Tea Rose was launched by The Perfumer’s Workshop around 1975, and in my mind it is forever associated with that era. It was part of my regular fragrance rotation for many years, along with Diorissimo and the original Halston.

It was a very popular perfume at one time. Nicole Kidman made a bit of a stir by wearing it to the Oscars in 2004 when she had just been named the new face of Chanel no. 5, but otherwise you don’t hear about it much these days. I can’t remember when I stopped wearing it, but I do remember buying Yves Saint Laurent Paris shortly after it was released in the early 1980s, and at that time, it would certainly never have occurred to me to own two bottles of perfume featuring the same floral note…

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