Calvin (1981)
by Calvin Klein

Calvin is certainly a good pick for anyone who ever wished their aftershave performed better. It's a clean, crisp scent, which is a bit of a surprise for the era. It's also very honest-smelling, a trait I can rarely apply to any CK fragrance. The opening is mostly tangy lemon rind and bergamot with soft, sweet cinnamon and an underlying almost-vanilla styrax waxy note. As Calvin progresses it becomes more floral and powdery but I don't feel that it changes much, which, aside from the freshness of it, is probably why it reminds me of an aftershave. But this is a truly utilitarian scent, as it is good for just about any occasion (though I feel hot weather might spoil it or kill the wearer; I'll get to that). My favorite aspect of this fragrance is that it performs like it's being paid. I can't really account for it, but I don't get fatigued by Calvin, and it constantly reminds me I'm wearing it, so it's a good thing I enjoy the stuff so much. Constant green-lemony thermals for hours on end will rise up to greet me. The first time I wore this it projected off me for a good eight hours and was still apparent the next morning.

10th January, 2012.

Like dreese pointed out below, this is for those who love Old Spice and the like but want a richer texture and better formulation, look no further. One of those hidden gems for those who have an appreciation for older scents. I love this and wear it sparingly. It is very much an "apres rassage" as I would reach for this post an evening shave preceding a walk around the neighborhood, yet it is dressy enough to wear with a tuxedo.

3rd November, 2011.

Near impossible to find, I try it for the first time in the middle of 90 and it was love at first sight.
I know that Clavin is now in production (limited) again, but I am not sure if the new is like the original one. Anyway a masculine scent that I put among the top five men's cologne ever.
Again, 1981 definitely a year of grace for scents.

5th January, 2011.

I don't know what "version" it is that I obtained a sample of, but it was acquired in the summer of 2010. Calvin is waxy, sweet, floral, dark, rubbery, and unfortunately, a little bit powdery. Well, if you like powdery then that's fine, isn't it? You may try this and think, "hey, SSS lied, this isn't powdery, what an asshat!" And if I could reply to your thoughts, I would tell you to wait a bit. The powdery notes will emerge eventually. It's also deceptively powerful and can become cloying with slight over-application; I put on a half of a sample at 8AM and by noon I was nuclear.

Calvin feels like the perfect fragrance for a metal band. It's dark, which fits metal, but it's also sweet, which would juxtapose with the harsh quality of the music. Although if you apply more than one spray you'll drop dead before the set is over.

5th December, 2010.

Calvin’s opening maneuvers are pretty conventional: tart lemon, sweet bergamot, and lavender that presage a classical fougère formula. A strong anise note and additional aromatic elements emerge to establish a spicy central accord that reminds me very much of the classic Azzaro pour Homme, though decidedly softer and sweeter. The foundation is predictably heavy on coumarin, and mercifully free of the crude woody amber basenotes that mar so many newer fougères.

While Calvin is much less loud than some of its contemporaries, it is not a retiring scent. It won’t enter the room before you do, but you’ll always know you’re wearing it. Calvin’s spicy-aromatic heart is relatively quick to deconstruct, so that within two hours of wear what remains is a much more bland, and rather sweet, traditional fougère of medium intensity. I’d prefer it if Calvin retained its spicy edge for longer, since the extended drydown is disappointingly dull. "Businesslike" is how I would describe this scent, and decidedly conservative, in a style that while perfectly attractive, is not the current fashion.

12nd December, 2009.

My signature scent almost immediately upon its issue in the early 1980s. I never really thought about wearing cologne until I tried Calvin.

The 1999 reissue was not quite the same but since you can still find bottles of it here and there it will have to do. Anyone sampling the currently available product missed a treat.

Calvin had a phenomenal balance of citrus, floral and woody notes. I always found that the floral mid notes faded fastest drying out within a couple of hours. The lemon top notes lasted longer and the base mellowed but persisted.

The reissue seems much lighter on the citrus and overall less persistent. Seems spicier too.

Exertion immediately after application did not bring out the best in Calvin but a little heat later in the day revivified.

"Soapy" as a parfumier of my acquaintance stated when I recalled my love of Calvin. Not my first choice of words but undeniably a clean fresh scent.

I have never found an adequate substitute, and the subsequent trends of orientals, musks, marines and sweetness have nt favoured my taste. Byblos was in the same range, but nowhere near the balance and elegance.

Most disappointing is that none of the scents from the house have lived up. IN2U is the ,ost recent one to tempt me with an initial flash that did not stand the test of time.

Nothing comes between me and my Calvin after all.

5th September, 2009.