Euphoria Calvin Klein perfume – a fragrance for women 2005

Wow… and no, that’s not a good start in this case. The wow is for the rather hefty dose of disappointment I had to deal with after I’d worn this a few times*. The purple box, the bottle, the name, the comments on it… everything led me to believe CK’s Euphoria was going to be dark, edgy from the Mahogany and Amber in the base with the sweetness of the flowery heart and added base cream.

Instead… Instead I get a weak & artificial pomegranate juice with a wilted flower-sweetness lounging over a barely there base of something peppery that I assume is the mix of the Mahogany wood and the Amber (usually a banging combination, as I have a plummy rose fragrance with that base that makes me feel like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company who Burlesque dances in her free time 😆). Even looking back at the early years of this perfume I still don’t get why this was received so well and until this day considered a classic.

I consider myself lucky that I got the 30ml and paid only 15 bucks. Maybe my 14yo niece will love it and think herself ‘mature’ when wearing it, and perhaps on her it’ll become the rounded sweet floral with edgy- creamy base the pyramid promised, but to me it really gives me little to nothing when it comes to scent.
Add the atrocious projection and longevity to that – initimate and just over an hour on my dry skin (bad, even for me) respectively – it makes sense why I was so wowed with disappointment. I don’t hate- hate it (for that it needed to have skanky oud f.e.), but my expectations have certainly put it in the dislike column. I should’ve listened to one of my favourite fragrance-Tubers who said that only Euphoria Amber Gold is worth having (and of course: that one seems to be discontinued…).

Euphoria can be worn in Spring and autumn. Based on what I’m getting it’s not strong enough for winter, but probably runs the risk of getting too peppery for the hot days of summer. I don’t consider it a date night fragrance, so wearing it on the day to school, uni, work etc, seems alright if you happen to like it.

I warn everyone not to blind buy this. The chances of your buy backfiring on you seem quite large if you read the enormous discrepancies between reviews – and sadly also the many, many negative ones. Get a sample, decant, try it at a friend’s, find it at a store. Only get it untested when you find it in a 90% off bin somewhere.

PS. Sorry, the perfume that makes me a Burlesque CEO has also been discontinued, so naming it has no use. But, there might be ways to improve Euphoria, if – like me – you wanted a stronger, edgier base. I have a tip that might just do that AND that’ll give you a great Amber fragrance with a bit of spice and very little flowers if you were looking for one. I recommend the as not yet here mentioned brand: Paris Corner. More specifically: “Paris Corner Amber Night PriveZarah”. It’s supposed to be inspired by Dior’s Ambre Nuit, but that’s rather pricy. Amber Night is usually available at perfume shops where you can acquire Arabian fragrances, and is an Ambergris ‘bomb’ with a woody base and a peppery rose heart. With the Amber -Wood base being so lacklustre in Euphoria I’m thinking a layering might just create something lovely.

But then, I’m somewhat of a fragrance mixologist and love to mix, match, enhance, improve and create. It’s ideal when you have a nicely scented, but too weak on its own, edp or a fragrance that won’t fully develop on your skin and that would be perfect if you added vanilla or jasmine f.e. At least, that’s how I started. Nowadays I don my chemist hat for the fun of it ;). So yeah… if you were disappointed too, but eager to give the purple box yet another try, then mix & match. You don’t hàve to get Amber Night, but saving Euphoria simply means giving it what it needs in your eyes, hopefully already present on your Vanity. Whether that’s a rose fragrance, a layer of amber or a spray of another dark fruity edp.

(* I buy a lot of Middle Eastern perfumes and those are notorious ‘maceration’ freaks. They can be ranging from ugh to meh at first spray, and after a couple of weeks suddenly become the star of your collection with extra notes, multiplied projection etc etc. Which is why I never give up on a fragrance unless it’s still not better than “meh/ okay ish” after 3 tries and at least 2mths time. )