Calvin Klein Euphoria Men Eau De Toilette

Author's product rating:   

Staying power	Excellent
Design of the bottle	Very nice/creative
Value for money	Excellent

Advantages:	Long lasting,  and  a gorgeous scent
Disadvantages:	None really .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Calvin Klein Euphoria Eau de Parfum Spray 30ml

Euphoria by Calvin Klein

I adore perfume, in fact I feel naked without it, and I am quite fussy about the perfumes that I use. I prefer a French perfume, and these usually come with quite an expensive price tag. So I would rather wait till I receive it as a present, or I feel that the laying out of the money on a luxury can be afforded. I have quite a few favourites, and I usually go for any perfume by Yves St Laurent. My favourites being Rive Gauche, and 'Y'. Romance by Ralph Lauren is another favourite of mine. As is Miss Dior by Christian Dior. I also love the Japanese perfume L'eau Dissey by Issey Myaki which I received from my Husband as a impromptu present last year. So when asked which one I would like to receive as a Christmas present this year I decided I would like to have a perfume that I have not owned before. Whenever I am round my friends house, I always have a spray of a perfume she has on her dressing table. She has quite a few, but this is the one that caught my eye to try. Initially I was drawn by the design of the bottle. It has such a distinctive eye catching design, and shape, and on handling it felt smooth and expensive within my palm, and when I sprayed it onto my skin, the most gorgeous fragrance was emitted and I was hooked from the very first try.

The Bottle

To me, apart from the well known name, the container of the Euphoria is a strong selling point, and it is what attracted me as soon as I laid eyes on it. The bottle has a modern look to it, almost futuristic in appearance, and it showed a high standard of aesthetic design. The bottle itself is half encased in a silver metal shell, and through the top half of the bottle the beautiful colour of the violet coloured eau de parfum is visible. The bottle was designed by Fabien Baron and Calvin Klein, and they wanted it to portray, what inspired them, in it's shape, which was an orchid in bloom. When I look at it I see an Oyster shell. It's all in the personal interpretation of it really. The lid is rectangular, and with it's square edges it breaks the shape of the softly rounded base, and looks attractive in it's contrast. Running up to the top, the words Euphoria, and Calvin Klein are etched upon the metal lid. On removing the lid the atomiser is in keeping with the shell, being made from the same silver metal. The bottle sits nicely within the hand and is moulded inwards to the top to ensure an easy grip within the palm of my hand. To the base of the bottle it has the shelf life at 36months which is a pretty good longevity I would say. This container has been designed for ease of use, with minimum effort. The bottle feels expensive, and has a real look of quality, and high design about it. ~

The Perfume

The first thing that strikes me when I spray the Euphoria is the strong sensual fragrance. This is not a heavy perfume, but it does have an extremely strong depth of smell. It has a real hue of essential oils to it. I think because it is an eau de parfum it has a more intense fragrance than an eau de toilette would have, and it assaults the senses immediately when the spray is released. Euphoria is musky, and vital, with a very interesting mix of warm notes. I wouldn't describe this as having a fruity fragrance to it at all, though I do know that it contains pomegranate. To me it exudes provocative tones, and the fragrance upon the skin is deliciously exotic, and delightfully sensual. Euphoria is a very apt name for this perfume. It appears to lift the mood when breathed in. Scents can work in this way, and they are known to affect mood, and sense of well being. I would say that the signature Euphoria is just about spot on when describing this perfume. It is absolutely gorgeous, I feel somewhat decadent when I am wearing this, and it does exude the most lovely of perfumes.

The lasting power of Euphoria is very long indeed, it certainly does last all day and is still evident when I go to bed at night. The drydown on this perfume is liquid amber, black violet, cream accord and mahogany wood. Drydown is what you are left with when the topnotes, and the midnotes of a perfume disappear. The endnotes then leave you with the main essence of the perfume, and in Euphorias case the endnotes are very lasting indeed. I would say this perfume is one you could wear at any time. It is not so heavy that you could not wear it in the day, nor too light that you would not want to wear it at night. It's all according to personal choice really.

I think the secret with applying perfume is to get the right balance. How often have you walked past someone and the perfume that they have applied is overpowering! This is not pleasant, and definitely not sexy. The subtle approach is much better, and a light waft of perfume will have much more of an impact than an assault to the offactory senses. Our pulse points are just for this reason, they give out heat, and are where the blood vessels are closest to the surface of the skin. So the heat works together with the perfume to bring out the oils in the fragrance. You should apply perfume to your pulse points which are located on the wrist, throat, and the back of the knee and arm. Another method of strengthening the staying power of the perfume is to use the same fragrance body crème after bathing as a base, then apply the perfume directly onto your damp skin. This will lock in the fragrance as the skin dries, and improve the perfumes performance. Also scent rises! So start at the ankles upwards for staying power.

Euphoria is a perfume that will definitely leave a lasting impression. It has impact, and it is distinctive. By that I mean, when you are wearing it, the smell will be easily identifiable by anyone who is familiar with this fragrance, and I would say it is not similar to any other perfume I have tried to date. The perfume that you wear says a lot about you. It gives out a non verbal message, and I think the perfume that you choose, should be chosen wisely. It should suit you, and compliment your personality. I think a good perfume is money invested wisely.~

When choosing a perfume it's best to let it settle for a while before taking in the smell. Spay onto your wrists, and let it absorb into the skin to bring out the true smell, and let the oils settle. Perfumes will smell different on different people, according to the dryness or oiliness of your skin. So the fragrance you loved on your friend may smell totally different on you. It really is essential to try before you buy for a true impression. I don't know why they now spray the perfume onto the thin strips of card now, when you go into the shop. Surely this isn't going to give you an accurate appraisal of the fragrance, and I always insist on having it spayed onto my wrist, and waiting a while before smelling. Perfume doesn't last forever, and should be used upon opening, as if it is left standing it will change it's properties, and the smell will alter, and change over time. I wasted a bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier Femme which someone had bought me as I wasn't that keen on it after I had opened the bottle. So I kept putting off using it, and after a year it was completely off, and the resulting smell was awful; Such a waste. I think possibly because I kept it in the bathroom the heat may have got to it. To keep perfume in excellent condition it should be stored at an even room temperature, with no extremities of heat or cold, as this can result in it evaporating, and do not place the perfume in direct sunlight, as this will distort the equilibrium of the fragrance.

Summary

I adore this perfume. I found the fragrance to be earthy and sensual, and I keep smelling my wrist when it is on me. It has such a divine scent. This perfume lingers! It lasts from morning to night. It's certainly no shrinking violet, and I have had many compliments when I am wearing it. It's definitely worth paying a little more for eau de parfum as it lasts extremely well. I would normally go for a slightly lighter perfume, but the exotic quality of Euphoria really does seem to lift the spirit, and I love wearing it. I don't think my 30ml bottle will be lasting me very long at the rate I am using it. It's not at the cheap end of the market and will cost you £93.33 per 100ml . The bottle is so beautifully designed, It is also quite dinky, and would fit into my bag for a night out. With so many perfumes out there it really is very hard to choose a favourite. But I think I can honesty say that Euphoria is definitely 'up there' in my list of top ten perfumes, and it is appearing very close to the top. This is one perfume that I will definitely be using again...and again!

With their controversial, and provocative advertising Calvin Klein has cornered a niche in the perfume market, with such an amazing range of perfumes, and mens eau de toilette. He seems to have captured the imagination of the young, with his hugely popular CK1 seeming to never go out of fashion. Cleverly using the unisex angle, he is pitching a fair few of his products to either sex. His fragrances are original, and appear to be timeless. Once again with Euphoria he has come up with a totally new fragrance that I feel will see off the opposition, and stand the test of time very well. ~

Price

I received the Euphoria perfume within a gift set which my Husband bought for me this Christmas. It came in a stunning purple box, with silver ribbons slashed across the front. The box set contained the 30ml bottle of Euphoria, and also a 100ml bottle of 'Sensual bath and shower crème', and this presentation cost £27.50, which was obviously a special gift pack price. Normally the Euphoria would cost £28.50 for a 30ml bottle. But I if you search around on the web there are bound to be some special deals, especially on Ebay I expect.

The Notes

Euphoria has top notes of pomegranate, persimmon and lush green accord; a heart of dewy lotus blossom, champaca flower and black orchid, and a drydown of liquid amber, black violet, cream accord and mahogany wood. The drydown is the key accord of the scent.

http://www.escentual.com/calvin_klein/euphoria/ck_euphoria_01.html

"For the lady who wants to give herself the 'edge'!"

Thank you for reading
Electra 2008*