Obsession Calvin Klein perfume – a fragrance for women 1985

I wore this when it first came out. Liked it, but did not love it. I was young. Perhaps too young.

My ex wore the men’s version, and I hated it, and him along with it.

Because of my aversion to the men’s version, I have stayed away from the women’s version up until a couple months ago when I decided to buy a purse mini just to have it in my collection since I’m a perfume whore.

HolyMaryMotherofGOD I love this stuff.

I can’t stop buying the vintage used bottles on eBay. I’m obsessed… (oh, how tacky that sounds considering it’s name but IT IS THE TRUTH!).

I have the 1980’s bottles (sprayer in cap) and the kidney’s (“splash cologne”) with their gold trimmed orange-brown tops.

I have the 1990’s bottles (sprayer no longer part of the cap, but the gold trim survived the decade change). These are pre-reformulation, and pre-Coty.

I have the 2000’sies reformulated Coty version. I actually find the new version fine. And considering how much of the original ingredients had to be replaced, I say that Coty did a stand up job. I keep the 2000 dark brown cap/no gold trim versions in my purse for later in the day over sprays. But in the morning, I use the vintage versions.

The 1980’s bottle’s top notes are, of course, deteriorated a bit, but since I never loved the harsh herbal/sorta bitter citrus opening, I’m very happy about it’s demise. So, mostly, CK Obsession gets better with age. The liquid is dark, and thick, and luscious. The dry down notes are: civet, classic sweet-amber- vanilla (Obsession perfected this one!), and the not-so-secret unlisted note of cinnamon. I have noted leather, and a really good sweet pipe tobacco note as well. This version is my favorite, because of the top note deterioration. The dry down is the money shot, and superior in all ways to any future versions. The 90’s versions will smell this good in another 10 years (I hope that prominent cinnamon I smell from the 80’s versions shows up as well!).

The 1990’s versions are wonderful in their own right, and eBay bottles abound for less than 30 cents per ml. These have “ripened” and the top notes are mostly intact. Subsequently the top to heart to dry down journey throughout the day is the authentic vintage one. Intoxicating. Mesmerizing. Orgasmic. I’ll point out again that I feel like the cinnamon note is not quite so evident here. I did big side by side comparisons between my two generously sprayed arms. The 80’s version, hands down, had the cinnamon. The 90’s version: Not so much. And therein lies my core reason for preferring the 80’s versions.

This stuff LOVES me, and I it. We are soul mates, twin sisters. I have a large rotation of perfumes, but if I have not started my day with Obsession, I always manage to end my day with it. Spraying it liberally on my Pj’s and pillow case. It is truly like coming home.

I am grateful the gold band versions are still plentiful. I continue to stock up. How much is enough to last me my lifetime? Can I be embalmed in it? Okay, that last bit was a bridge too far. But you get the picture. I’m smitten.

If you need to dump or swap your gold band versions… PM me… I’ll gladly take your babies off your hands. They will be adored.