“Oh, I can’t remember the name of it. With a boy’s name. In a bottle shaped like a boat,” a student once described what she was wearing. We were talking about shopping and naturally, the subject veered off towards fragrance. “My husband only likes this one, nothing else.”
I quite understand her husband, actually. Calvin Klein’s Euphoria is an often overlooked one, perhaps because it has been around for so long. But once you are hooked, you stay hooked. The woman I mentioned is an elderly lady with extraordinary poise and grace: I remember looking at her, thinking how very much I would like to be like her when I am old. Piano classes, English classes, swimming, singing, travelling – all that she had started in her sixties! Euphoria, either coincidentally or by association, represents all that. Class and lust for life. An adventurous spirit. It is sexy too, mind you. And contrarily to what you might be thinking now, it does not feel old lady. Mature yes, but not in a million years old or dated.
I recently sampled the new(ish) Deep Euphoria. What a disappointment! The patchouli turned into something nasty on my skin and I had to call off any further flirtations. I actually had high hopes because Deep has been announced as a rose fragrance – I love rose. Me and rose are a match made in heaven. It blends so well with my skin. Patchouli can go really, really wrong though which sometimes almost makes me cry – like in the case of Chanel Chance. What a great perfume, turning into old sweat on my skin… Thankfully, there are frags like the original Euphoria who blossom on my wrist rather nicely.
Euphoria opens with a mouthwateringly juicy pomegranate, leading the way to a dark floral heart of lotus and orchid, while the base consists of violet, amber, musk and mahogany. Quite an unusual base I must say. The perfume slowly lets go of its juiciness, giving way to some powdery orchid, violet and woods, until about six hours later the woods have completely taken over, leaving the skin smelling sensual and just a tad masculine. To my (not overly developed) nose the pomegranate, orchid and mahogany are the most prominent notes. Maybe I also smell a bit of amber. I guess without amber this perfume would smell sharper and a lot colder – amber has the quality of providing roundness and softness, and here it is doing a great job. The lotus and the orchid lend it an Oriental if not exotic quality.
Where would I wear this? Euphoria has a wide grasp. One could easily wear it to work – in moderation though because the sillage is way above the average – or on a night out, to the theatre, even on formal occasions. It is sexy but in a non-offensive, not-in-your-face kind of way. It will elevate you to a more mature person (in case you are not) who knows what (s)he wants and has found her place in this world. I put the ‘s’ between brackets because I believe this perfume would also smell gorgeous on a man’s skin!
I absolutely NEED a big bottle of this. There are always good offers on CK frags and they tend to be reasonably priced even in retail. It is my birthday in a month’s time so maybe I should treat myself to something mature and sexy? Ebay, here I come!
Disclaimer: image 1 perfumative. Image 2 Magnificent Magazine.