Secret Obsession

I’ve already left a review of this thing not quite long ago but I’m revisiting it bc I gave it a redeeming moment. Tl;dr I wasn’t sure about it but now I decided to keep it. Now if u have enough time to read my review, here you go !! Calvin Klein’s Obsession for Women and Men were indeed true to their brand because I found myself reaching for them most of the time despite owning quality heavy-hitters but this one is the Obsession that I had a weird relationship with. Hmmm. That could be because it has an extra word (secret) which is a word others can keep while others can’t hahaha! well pun intended I wasn’t sure if I could keep this in my shelf or not 🤭 I love blind buying interesting fragrances regardless of how cheap or expensive they are as long as the note breakdown piques my interest. I. JUST. HAVE. TO. GET. IT. ofc! this had all the boxes checked. / affordable / interesting notes / cute bottle / discontinued (HELL YEAH) Part of blind buying is instilling that disappointment will always be inevitable and sadly this didn’t really meet my expectations. I was expecting a sillage beast bc of the intense looking scent profile but this one was surprisingly a gentle whisper despite having notes that would make an absurdly strong fragrance. Now idgaf about grandma-centric fragrances bc i heavily fw mature scents. why? Bc i wanna be edgy like that (LMAO) and also i love being an attention-seeker with my fragrances and that could be the reason why i wanted to get rid of this (IT WAS QUIETTTTT) Haha yeah u guessed it right i made a listing Nowwwww, this is the time I get to thank my never ending “perfume-craving-blind-buying-itch-uncontrollable-impulse-buying” disorder. I wanted to buy a mature rosy dark floral fragrance but to cut the story short, I remembered this one reminded me of a toned-down Paloma Picasso EDP but the only thing holding me back from wearing Secret Obsession was its tart boozy-fruity and quite jammy opening that was sweet and sour (which isn’t FEOORR me) but i said f* that, i’ll wear test you and give my final verdict. yeah whatever I was a clown bc I ended up loving it and I remembered the reason why I bought it. it’s similar to a lot niche scents. While wear testing it, I discovered how weird the performance is. THE LONGEVITY IN THIS ONE? HOLY SH8. It was still lingering in the heat despite sweating my ass out in the sun. It was still on my skin as a skin scent after 12 hours of wear without any reapplications. Makes me think of the reason why they made every campaign extra raunchy. This was made to last and I mean like LASTTTT for sweaty “sessions” As for the sillage, it’s confusing but maybe it is strong enough without being annoying. It’s meant to be discovered with your trail (or discovered during “SESSIONS”) and not with extreme projection. Again idk how strong this thing really is but I’m guessing it’s stronger than it seems bc I layered this with Kenzo Jungle L’elephant and I kept getting whiffs of Secret Obsession more than L’elephant (which is a well-known beast performer) To sum it all up, it redeemed its spot in my collection and hell no i’m no longer decluttering this sensual masterpiece 😭 i just overlooked its beauty and I’m a fool for that. It’s a beautiful sultry floral bouquet, all i really smell is carnal floral petals that smell super realistic to my nose. I mostly get rose, ylang, and jasmine that reminds me of elegant, classic, old-fashion style florals from Chanel and Estee Lauder. Maybe I am smelling tuberose but can’t seem to pinpoint it bc I’m used to bubble gum tuberose (thanks L’interdit) or maybe the florals are just soooooo well-blended in the juice. I just wish this thing had an earthy and bitter patchouli that made me feel like cruella de vil but no worries !! I’ll just layer patchouli-heavy scents to give this its needed extra depth. Just a quick realization before ending this review, from now on, i’d rather just buy 10ml bottles or smaller sizes of any perfume that i wanna blind buy in the future. I find myself getting tired of a scent after weeks of wearing. Most of my full bottles have a minimum dent of 5ml. And yes I find myself having a hard time finishing the leftover 5ml from my 10ml bottles because I always wanna sniff something different 💀

I got this because I'm totally in love with the Obsession line by CK due to the fact that I love smelling like an old wooden church, incense sticks, and resins but idk maybe I just like fragrances that either intrigues or disturbs people because it's a liberating feeling. I've had high high hopes for this one because I expected actual smoke and woods but I got less of it, however, it doesn't mean I dislike it, I would still totally wear it but it's just not the scent profile I expected. I wanted to smell like a gothic church but I got winery and pub realness, regardless, it doesn't matter because boozy fragrances are also up my alley. I'd say the incense is quite there but it's unlit and ur just smelling the sticks. This fragrance starts off super nail polish remover-y. Initial spray is super sharp, alcohol blast, and ammonia-like but who the hell even cares for that because perfumes are about THEEEE dry down. As it dries down, the scent of cola fizz with hints of freshly crushed pepper starts to tickle ur nose which later on develops into this lovely aroma of mead and plum wine that lingers from a tipsy barmaid's booze-stained and slightly sweaty clothing but not at all nasty, lustful, and hardcore skank. It's a lot more subdued, it's just a slight kick of carnal-floral raunchiness--think of someone's perfumed skin that has recently perspired but is now starting to cooldown which leaves a warm and salty skin-scented aroma that helps their perfume bloom and smell differently on their body chem. I'm getting mostly fresh wood chips, plum jam, and fruity white florals, in which thankfully no indole in this one (at least to my nose) because the classic obsession definitely has that indolic stench that makes it more bitchy and outright slutty compared to this more secretive and elegant cougar, hence the name "secret" lol. Surprisingly, idk if others can also pick it up but there's a note combination in here that smells like a lipsticky iris. Maybe it's a hidden note? But I totally smell a hidden iris in here and I LOVE THAT. I love the mid dry-down experience but it kinda falls flat as it ends pretty watery... like how the hell does this sultry fragrance end up smelling more aquatic floral towards the late dry down? :( it's exactly the same experience I had with CK Reveal for Women which starts super complex but ends super meh and ordinary which is my only problem. I'd still wear it tho but I can't help but reach for her bitchier sister most times. Classic Obsession is just hella goated and timeless + it dries down on my skin differently each time compared to this one which is more linear on me. I guesss if I wanna be niche-y scent profile smelling at times but want to less likely offend people, then I should go for this. edit: I kept thinking of a dessert i could compare this with and I think it's raspberry dark chocolate !!

Secret Obsession is like entering the private chambers of kohl rimmed, vestal virgins and concubines, who are preparing themselves for the king and several days of feasting with the court. Somewhere near the city of Jordan, in a time when life was good and there was peace. First, you are enraptured by the sweetness of their beauty and their steady gaze intoxicates as you enter the room. And then, as you look around, you start to notice, that besides the ornate curtains and fabrics, the plush furs and the bejeweled, gold picture frames. The headiness of their perfume and in the air around you entrances you. And as you start to search for the source of this olfactory magic. Your eyes are drawn to the onyx table on the left. Laden with delicious, plump, ripe, juicy plums on silver trays and on your right, spicy nutmeg, fresh cardamom and rose de damasc teas, which are all grown in the palace gardens, below. You walk further into the room after a while, right next to the balcony door and your olfactory senses behold the familiar notes of: jasmine, orange blossom and heavy lidded tuberose flowers, which are planted directly below the balcony; scenting the night air and their scent is softly, wafting around you. You also note, there is a communal ritual, and some women are bathing in what seems to be milk, and scattered in the bath are petals from those same rose flowers; which have also turned into precious oils, which soften and moisturise their skin. As they enter these mystical baths. As you sit down and start to recline, a young woman, starts to attend to you, by removing your heavy, dusty layers of clothes and undergarments. This feels so good, as the women are laughing and doing each others hair, so it is time for you to join the other women in their bath, and the young lady takes you by your hand to the steps of the bath and as she passes you, you catch the scent of her skin and hair, which has been deeply perfumed with the rare and precious cashmere wood, vanilla, amber and sandalwood. This is because she and some of the other women tend the fire and the incense burners day after day. And those smells have been carried along the trade routes, on the backs of camels from places, far, far away on the trade route. And the combination of these smells and exquisite sensations, is what is bottled in Secret Obsession. Secret Obsession, an opulent, floriental that transports you back to another place and time. Sacred. From another time of dusty streets and street bazaars, of hot nights in palace gardens. Roof terraces and of the craving and desire for men who fought like gladiators and women who hide behind veils and ankle bracelets. The End.

Calvin Klein Secret Obsession is definitely an interesting perfume, to my nose -- an experience, even! It's one of the very few perfumes that I actually hated when I first smelled my blind-bought bottle; I thought it smelled like pungent deodorizing rug shampoo or something (Unfortunately, I may have been influenced by Tania Sanchez's review in Turin & Sanchez's perfume guide...). But so many folks loved it and urged me to take it out when the weather was cooler, assuring me that I would then be able to see just how beautiful it is, that I put it on a shelf and vowed to try again later -- and lo and behold, they were right! Maybe it was the strong mace & nutmeg in the opening, layered over the plum & tuberose base -- it just smelled odd to me, like a weird mashup of smells that didn't go together. But when I tried it again, months later, I suddenly "got" it, but I'm not really sure why! It just suddenly smelled very good to me and I don't have a clue what changed... Maybe my nose was "primed," having smelled it before; maybe the bottle needed to "rest" (I've heard people mention this but I'm not sure what it means). Since I have a decent-sized collection, this evening I decided to compare Secret Obsession -- with its strong plum and tuberose notes -- with other examples of these notes. So I pulled out one of my favorite plum perfumes, Rochas Femme, along with one of my strongest tuberose perfumes, Michael Kors original scent, and yes, those are unmistakably the notes in Secret Obsession (minus the nutmeg & mace, though). Mmmmmmmm, beautiful!!! To me, Secret Obsession is a very sensual, cozy scent (many reviewers also mentioned this) and it strikes me as best for cool to cold weather (I associate nutmeg & mace with Christmas cookies). Performance-wise, I'm not sure if the super-strength of it just fades really fast or if I go nose-blind (anosmic) to it (I suspect the latter). But it's gorgeous, warm, and cozy-sexy (as opposed to vampy sexy like, say, Salvador Dali Dali PDT or Ungaro Diva). Plus, I think the bottle is magical & beautiful; I've never seen another one like it. It's a great bargain (I think I got it on FragranceNet for less than $20) and I'm so glad I hung onto it instead of immediately giving it away. The experience of suddenly coming to like/love this one after putting it on the shelf for months and months is one of those mysterious experiences that happens around fragrance that keeps me coming back for more... ;)

I still remember last fall when I decided to order a perfume for the cold season and I ordered CK secret obsession almost by chance. In fact I had smelled it very quickly in a perfume shop before and I had found it very different from all the perfumes there.But After ordering I checked Fragrantica and I realized that it has a strong Tuberose note in it which I have always disliked since my childhood. So when the perfume arrived I was so skeptical about it. It was early autumn and the weather was still warm here in my country, I sprayed it and I hated it so much that I decided to get rid of it immediately. I found it very strong, ugly and out of date. So I put it aside until in a snowy day in winter I remembered that I had still this bottle and I sprayed it on one of my cloths and continued my work. and....after 30 minutes I started wondering: where is that divine smell coming from? I could not even guess that it was the perfume that I hated so much before and the smell was becoming better and better by time and stayed more than 1 day on my cloth. Yes I fell in love. I just cannot get enough of this perfume. It is the best perfume in my collection at the moment and this year is the second winter that I am wearing it and I get tons of complements from everybody especially men every time I wear it. CK secret obsession is simple but sophisticated , womanly and feminine but strong, not boring at all, classy, warm, unique, soft but bold at the same time and absolutely sexy and erotic .It is not a mainstream perfume, it does not smell like others it has its own character and is definitely an underrated perfume. I recommend it not for girls but for women. You also should like classics to enjoy it the most. I think men also can wear it since it has a unisex quality to it. I also strongly suggest that you wear it in winter , I believe this beauty only suits very cold weather, otherwise you will find it overwhelming like I did, and do not forget to put it on with a light hand.