Kenneth Cole New York Men

This is one of the fragrances that I own and I am proud to have in my collection. It’s an early 2K fragrance and I was too young at the time to care about collecting colognes, what a shame though because I missed out on this one. I was too busy with club scents. Anyway, this is next to impossible to find these days and I’m sure it’s discontinued. I was lucky enough to find this over the 2020 holidays at my local pharmacy and it was collecting dust in the back of an unnoticed row. I have many other Kenneth Cole bottles in my collection and always love the brand because it’s almost always aromatics. You know when you take a shower and you come out smelling soapy clean? Not shower gel like but soapy? You know what I mean, just fresh, we’ll picture that but for about 4 to 5 hours. I dislike vetiver scents, as it’s a soapy clean type of smell that’s in a lot of dated bottles. I can appreciate people who like it, but it’s just not for me. In this one the vetiver is that same clean smell but it’s more of a passenger in a car full of other notes that take their turns driving and the vetiver is always just the passenger. Weird analogy I know, but what’s going on in here is lite, uplifting, fresh, and pleasant. It’s one of those rare moments where you feel uplifting while wearing it. I’m trying to compare it to something and the closest thing I can compare it to in my collection is Halston Z14, but it’s much better that that. I’ve walked into stores and random employees say to me; dude, did you just literally step out of the shower? Whatever you’re wearing is super clean and crisp. To me this is almost a perfect scent. It gives the illusion that you are much cleaner than you probably are, so you’re still going to have to shower lol. It’s not offensive in anyway possible. This is a home run for me and it’s a solid 9/10.

It starts with a spicy Vetiver and Lemon Accord at first, within a minute some Mandarin joins in. The Orange is fruity, not zesty. To my nose, the Vetiver is very rich, a bit dry, and even a little 'earthy' (but not dirty), and it holds on right through to the dry down. Very smooth. In a few minutes some florals join, Iris and Lily (sweet, like 'Lily Of The Vally' is) which is quite rich but not overbearing. The florals replace the citrus quickly. During all this progrsssion, a Sandalwood-Amber Accord is picking up some power, but the beautiful flowery notes hold their own against it for a respectable length of time. I don't smell any Black Currant, and no more fruits or veggies. When the florals do fade, probably somewhere between 1 to 2 hours in, the Sandalwood-Amber base gets a little bit soft and Musky. As the Vetiver gradualy fades, the mix seems to sweeten a little and any dryness fades away. It's a safe scent, but not generic. For me it has the right balances. Seems about average in projection and longevity. It's a little hard to find these days. It's a very nice scent, suitable for either casual or business, anytime, night or day. Kenneth Cole Fragrances is a division of Parfums Givenchy.

I received one of these bottles for Christmas when I was only 11 years old and I instantly loved this fragrance. I love the mandarin note you get with the first initial sprays but most of the top notes fade away rather fast and smells a bit musky after a while. I am now 28 years old and this fragrance has been long discontinued but I was able to get a very small bottle of this. Smells a bit dated but reminds me of all the good times I had while wearing this fragrance. I would definitely recommend this if you are still able to find these now a days.

10-15 years back, this was my aquatic, sporty counterpart to Chanel's Platinum Égoïste. I had several bottles but I really only needed those two, that was my dynamic duo. Amazing aquatic citruses, super versatile. PE was the classy, dressed up scent that I would wear to a formal or for business but I could pull off in the gym if I had to. NY was the gym scent that I could wear dressed up if I had to, they had each other's backs. Good times. Why you discontinue this gym gem KC?

This is my first cologne purchase when I was still a Private First Class in the Marine Corps. I took this one to every location the Marine Corps sent me, even during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. I still have my 2nd bottle and the first bottle as a souvenir. I wish they didn't discontinued this cologne. My overall rating 7.5/10