I have always adored Obsession by Calvin Klein -a spicy floriental that smells intense and lovely. It was the kind of scent that was significant enough that I’d save it for special occasions, dabbing the real and pungent perfume in strategic places.
But now there’s a new girl in town and she’s even hotter: Secret Obsession by Calvin Klein for Coty Prestige 1.7-oz. Eau de Parfum Spray, $55.003.4-oz. Eau de Parfum Spray, $72.00. The scent is sexy with an advertising campaign so sexy that a video clip of sultry actress Eva Mendes (the face of this latest Calvin Klein perfume) rolling around in black & white, totally nude, was banned from the networks. Really? Give me a break! You can see more “sex” on the average television drama or daytime soap. Mendes rolling around as if possessed is dramatic, but there’s little to shock (other than a flash of a nipple).
The spot was re- edited to air on TV after 9:00 p.m. for the holiday season. This being 2008 and not 1985 (when the first Obsession scent was created), you can see the “banned” commercial as free advertising for the product just about everywhere online….including here on the Advice Sisters blog. Judge for yourself and leave a comment.
A large billboard with a tastefully nude Mendes was unveiled a few weeks ago in Times Square during Fashion Week. The advertising line: “between love and madness, lies Obsession” line isn’t new. The “taunted with illicit thoughts and compelled with seeking pleasure” tag line is, and probably caught the censor’s attention (along with the sexy image). Sex sells, and it certainly sells fragrance…but honestly, this lovely fragrance sells itself!
And the fragrance is what all of this hype is about. There’s a marbelized, amber carton that holds an amber glass bottle with slender top , designed by Fabien Baron. It looks a bit like an Aladin’s lamp. At press time, the actual bottle was unavailable to the Advice Sisters, but we’ve been told that as you pull of the cap over the spray diffuser, the Secret Obsession logo unveils itself on the collar (like a private secret the designer shared with just you).
Inside, the fragrance, created by Givaudan perfumer Ann Gottlieb is a modernized version of the original scent. It’s hardly the same though, with just some of the basic notes in the original. this one’s a much lighter version that starts with a cheerful fruit — top notes of exotic plum, mace and rose de damas. The heart features the florals: Egyptian jasmine, French orange flower and tuberose. The base notes are what attract me and provide the spicy drydown: sultry cashmere woods, burnt amber, Madagascan vanilla and Australian sandalwood. In concert, the notes feel exotic but with a surprise of some masculine woods. It scent warms with your skin, lasts, and transforms your attitude. Visit the Secret Obsession web site and learn more about the fragrance, get a sample, and if you desire, leave your “secret” obsession for others to read.
Secret Obsession: macys.com/and Macys, and department stores nationwide.