Calvin Klein Women
Calvin Klein Women is having a little moment with Aussie influencers, and no wonder, since she’s soooooo pretty and ‘gramable. Add a decent hashtag (#IamWOMEN), and away you go. I’m a little cynical about this heavy handed hook into new wave feminism, TBH. What I’m not cynical about is the lovely content and sincere sentiments posted by women in the Aussie beauty community that apply their own eye over that of Raf Simon’s marketing department.
Plus, the perfumers who created Women actually are women… So how does it smell?
Calvin Klein Women was created by the two female perfumers also responsible for Obsessed (read our review here). I get definitely similarities. Both go heavy on the aromatics. With Obsessed it’s sage and lavender, and with Women, we’re greeted with the familiar (to Aussies), camphorous scent of eucalyptus. The openings are close sisters, both refreshing, vibrant, savoury, and pretty powerful in their effect. These are certainly not shy scents.
While Obsessed stays in that herbaceous fougere framework, Women heads in a more traditionally femme direction with a white flower heart of orange blossom, magnolia, and jasmine. All is clean, and bright, and soapy, these are definitely morning blooms. While heady, they are fresh in their sweetness, not ever dipping into what I would consider “girly” territory. The orange blossom for me is the easiest to pick out, giving vibrancy to the fragrance, and seriously impressive longevity for those florals. And on this point, we’re back to some clear similarities between the two releases. Both have ridiculous tenacity on my skin, at least 12 hours, and while Obsessed is more white musk, and Women, a little woodier, they both feel cut from the same cloth (that would be a very luxe, minimal and slightly sporty CK cloth I guess).
While I totally understand why they tinted Women millennial pink, I love that this juice feels anything but cutesy (I’m looking at you, Elie Saab Girl of Now). I’ve read comments that it would make a great guys fragrance. Maybe so. That doesn’t mean it’s inappropriate for a woman, or that a female market won’t love this scent (after all, we’ve been shopping for bubble-gum-free frags in the men’s section for ages, guys). The intermingling of those white flowers with the warm, abstract cedar base, kept nice and bright with olibanum, certainly seems worthy of any woman.
This is not a scent that tries to appear authentically full of flowers, and it does screech a little on me. I have to adore a fragrance’s every move if it’s still going to be stuck on my skin when I wake up in the morning. Calvin Klein Women won’t be on my dresser, but if it inspires *actual” women to produce gorgeous, girl-only content like Ella Jane’s for Chronicles of Her, then I’m a fan.