Reviews of cK one (1994)
by Calvin Klein

I must applaud CK for revitalizing the interest in unisex frags, but unfortunately, this is not a winner. The opening is somewhat like a traditional cologne tempered with harsh synthetics and fermenting fruits. Carries a light, musky, fresh base. I pass on this one. Try it at Macy's if you haven't already.

Bright, clean smelling...a happy scent. Perfect for adolescents. Adults are likely to find this yawn-inducingly boring.

I used to wear this when it was first launched , and as someone said it is a 90's scent.Light,clean and fresh and caused quite a stir at the time - however now whenever I smell it ,it seems crude and basic and very cheap, a bit like washing up liquid. My partner was going to buy a bottle recently,but luckily was talked out of it !! A fragrance of its time !I'll give it a neutral rating as I used to wear it,but just seems to be unrefined and crass now !

It's pretty hard for me to describe the notes in this one. It's one of those fragrances that you "just recognize" if you've ever smelled it. Ck One is a very clean, citrus-y floral (synthetic jasmine) with a touch of unrecognizable woods and some very fresh-smelling musk in the base. It's actually a very good example of a synthetic fragrance at it's best.

I used to wear this and CK Be all the time when I was about 10-13 years old, and it brings back some very good memories. (I always liked CK Be a lot more though). I really like CK One overall, but unfortunately I can't wear it these days because it just screams the 90's for me.

On a final note, Azzaro's chrome is very, very similar to CK One, but it feels more modern and crisp, so I'd probably recommend it over Ck One.

7/10

When I take the time to smell One and sort out the ingredients, it strikes me as a pleasant mix. But when I just take a whiff of what I'm wearing, I find it overall rather blah. This might be a case when the parts don't add up to be a whole.

One of the best citrus-based scents in the mainstream market. Very casual yet distinctive. A must have.

I think this is my first review - what better place to start than with...One.

It may also be a good place to end. This cologne is so light it's like goose down, it's almost weightless. As in invisible. On me I can barely detect a trace of it after just a few minutes.

On the positive side, it has a very fresh smell when it goes on. That flattens out in a hurry to a kind of inobtrusive, unobjectionable aroma that is kind of attractive, though it does not smell like anything that occurs naturally.

I can't recognize a single one of the Top, Middle, or Base notes. If I were flat out guessing, I'd be aiming at imaginary chemicals, like extract of ammonium hydrate, essence of fluorocarbon, natural ozone, etc.

I kind of like it, in a post-modern kind of way, for the full 15 minutes it lasts.

smells like teen spirit that's about it...a lot of lemonish, car wash fluidish, rug (foam type) cleanerish... Windex has a new fragrance? Do tell...No good!

This is a pleasant little citrus and musk composition, conceptually not far removed from Mûre et Musc or Fraîcheur Muskissime, but for quite a bit less money. Nice stuff, if not terribly exciting.

Great for freshening you up in the morning, or even for "classy-ing" yourself up for a casual party.
I like how the smell stays on clothes for a long time (value!) and changes with your own personal smell.

Just a good all rounder, on guys OR girls.

Let me compare this to another mass market womder and say I like it better than Aqua di Gio. Why? This scent is about every day but not as forced in its clean approach without any need for status (no prolonger citrus/floral here). Better for me than Chrome? Probably. Closer to the skin and much less headache provoking.

Linear not bad here but good.

CK One just about gets a thumbs up from me. It's possibly a little too feminine for a man but a nice and fresh casual scent for a summer's day. Not sure if I would buy this but I'm glad to have tried it all the same.

It's already been stated that ck One has a synthetic note, but I really do have to throw in my opinion that this note ruins this frag. I could stand the florals, however the synthetic makes me want to vomit.
I don't wear this one.

In 1994 I was 16 years old... one of the benefits of having relatively "well-off" parents was the opportunity to have whatever "it" scent was available... this was what i drenched myself in my junior year of high school... back then it was absolute money every single young female i came across buried themselves in my clothes and didn't want to leave... (ahhhh the memories now at 30 there are so many other things the fairer sex is looking for, but a great scent doesn't hurt)... anyway just to put things into perspective i still have my final bottle of this stuff bought in 1998... to me it's still a decent enough smell but to be honest, this is what i put on the kids when they want a little "smellgood" that they see me putting on every day before work... it also makes a fabulous laundry spray used in addition to fabric softener... your clothes will come out of the dryer smelling very fresh... i know this isn't my best review, but there's not too much else i can say... thumbs up for the memories

I refuse to disown this although I haven’t worn it since 1996. cK One is a pleasant fragrance: somehow intelligent, breezy, yet not inconsequential (the nutmeg for me always gave it that very needed sting.) A scent for technoheads. Obviously it got too popular for its own good, but that was the goal after all. Hard to separate from the beauty of the minimal bottle and the ad campaigns that were omnipresent around 1995 which tried to readjust to idea of male and female beauty yet resulted in something quite sexless (a gathering of friends without bodily attraction, just talk, talk, talking.) Which probably was the point too and as the clever observer Klein had noted, a sign of the times. As you can get cK One fairly cheap nowadays I’ve toyed with the idea of trying it again just as a summer fragrance to conclude that I have outgrown it and besides have set my controls for the opulent heart of the seventies which has no place for cK One. Even so, lasts long and if you are young and feel a bit shy of standing out in a crowd not a bad choice at all (as a starting point.)

I LOVE THIS FRAGANCE, asbolutely one of the most important fragance of the world: simply bottle, simply smell... but WOW, everyday I love it more, and more and more
sorry for my english, I'm italian
xoxoxo, J.Cherry

As many other thumbs down review say, the stuff has an awful, sour, synthetic, chemical note. Actually makes me want to clear my throat and spit. How did something so toxic make it by the test panel? Could be one of those either/or notes that some people pick up and others are oblivious to. For instance, some, including myself, find the aroma of white pepper very repulsive. Others love it.

As a young man I find that this cologne is pretty nice. It is not offensive and it smells fresh and clean. The cologne is somewhat citrusy and sweet, almost sugary like which is a good thing. I like this cologne and I find that it is best suited for daytime and is more like a summer cologne or maybe a summer. This fragrance is appropriate for office or school wear and it is targeted towards male teens and up, but it is a nice scent for women of any age. On a woman it speaks sexy but subtle and fresh. But many women find that it is slightly masculine, but I beg to differ.
Overall I give this fragrance 8.5/10. If you want a fragrance that is fresh and inoffensive than this is for you.

Too heavily advertised and therefore too often smelt on others which saturated my nose.
Don't be surprised to smell like everyone else if you wear it,

This is headache alley! I use to wear this in middle school some 14 yrs ago. I guess it was ok for that time. But If I wore this mess now O my...... This is a light yet strong fragrance if you get where im coming from. The smell is just horrible & very cheap bland like. Even when I smell this on someone else my nose instantly flares in disgust! This is 1 I would NOT recommend to anyone.

This scent to me is under the average very flowery and too much "happy"
to me.Its a classic after all this succeeded years and but if it wasn't I d say
that it is a thump down one!

Oh, man, it was so popular 12-13 years ago! I had the impression that the air had a smell of CK One.
First bergamot, then pine and fresh spices and finally amber… thus nothing unusual, nevertheless pretty pleasant.
Many different houses tried to make a copy of this scent. It seems that CK One has more clones than sheep Dolly. However, CK One “looks” younger and more joyous than any of its clone.
I still have this fragrance in my collection; I use it 2 or 3 times during the summer and it always brings me a few compliments.

was a classic for me in early twenties. Fresh, charming, young, not one of those extra sweet teenager fragrances of today. I remember I got a lot of compliments whenever I wore it. In my mid-twenties, I met my husband, and he was wearing CK One:) I couldn't stop smelling him on our first date:) I should admit that CK One was one of the reasons I fell in love with him.

i agree that it smells more masculine than feminine. but i still like the top note which i find it very fresh. it dies down to a rather musky and masculine basenote after an hour. i wore this to school and my friends commented it was nice. the price is rather low for a cK perfume.

I first had the chance to smell this so called scent when it first came out. I said it smelled like LOVE MY CARPET then and I have not changed my mind!This scent is so generic that it smells the air freshener!

Ahh, good ol cK one. It's pretty nice, but that's really about it. When I wear this I don't really enjoy the smell myself, and I'm always worried that I smell boring and citrusy to others. It could be worse though, as cK one certainly never offended anyone. On a side note it also shares its sharpest note with Chrome, but to my nose Chrome smells a little more full and interesting.

I'm not sure if I like this stuff, or not. On a man, it can be cloying in anything but small amounts. It's floral, but definitely unisex. Unlike some "unisex" Indian or Arab attars and perfumes, this stuff to my nose just smells like a car air freshener more than anything, some kind of non-descript, but cheap smell that has so few edges it seems to lack any real character.

The drydown is probably the best part. You have to wait a while to get there, though.

I agree that this really isn't unisex (anymore). I received this as a gift in 1997. Well, it was a knockoff brand and until recently did I realize that it was a knockoff. I never wore the cheap copy because it was well... wrong. Now I try the classic fresh fougere and and taken back to my youth. This stuff is amazing. Also, until until just now writing this review do I realize what "One" means... it was mass marketed as unisex.

nope, it doesnt stink. a fruity, effervescent and only mildly green scent with the heart of spices engulfed in citrus sitting on soda. cant go wrong with this one if you feel like being fresh whole day and want to be sure you left a nice trial when you passed by...cant go wrong my freinds, a definite keeper. actually, both CK one and Ck be are a must have in any wardrobe.

all these talks of it being "cheap" "nasty""lacks sophistication" is pure crap. for all those who still think in similar line..."Alberto Morillas / Harry Fremont" just look up for that name. Three thumbs up!!

For many years I resisted getting CK One, as it's sooooo immensely popular and.... well, boring. Sure it smells fresh, but also generic and flat. Yet last year as I was looking for a bottle of something simple and inoffensive for work, I decided to get a bottle... because it's one of the cheapest designer house fragrances out there and it's relatively pleasant.

Marketing strategies do work I suppose.

Though in conclusion, I should add that the fact that it's flat and cheap does make it a good choice as a base scent for layering with other fragrances.

This stuff stinks! It's more masculine than feminine, so I smelled like a guy! Yuck! A guy at work wore this and I told him he stank awful. 'What! I payed over $50 bucks on this!' Oh, okay, like that means you're not supposed to stink, right? NOT! This is one of the worst I've smelled! And it smells cheap and sickly! It's very nauseating to smell and wear. One of Klein's worst. It's very sharp, crisp and strong when first applying, but that sweet-sour chemical odor! It's on my bug repellent list. And it stinks on everyone I've smelled it on!

CK One was one of the first fragrances that I bought for myself. As I began exploring the world of niche perfumery, I stopped using it gradually and eventually swapped away, in the blind belief that everything non-niche is inherently inferior.

I sprayed it on myself one last time before I put it in the box that was to be shipped, and oh my, what have I been missing all this time? Yes, it's linear, it feels somewhat artificial and it's not the most interesting thing out there. But it's pleasant in a demure, nondescript sort of way; blandness and abstraction taken to an art form. The experience was akin to rediscovering how good your local baker's everyday bread is, after having travelled all over the world for high cuisines.

It smells fresh but breaks down to some choking powdery base. i dont like the base note.

A monument to excellence — excellence in marketing: the first successful mass marketing of a unisex scent — a rather linear scent based on a non-offending accord rather than one which might cause any kind of polarization. There’s a bit of a lighter fluid blast that lasts for only a few seconds when cKone is first applied. The scent then mellows out to a synthetic but quite pleasant citrus / green / fruit accord that has a tea note and a pineapple for added sweetness. Is it masculine? Feminine? Very hard to decide — take your pick — it’s nice, though, I have to grudgingly admit. The opening accord then moves to the floral middle. Of the flower notes, to me the jasmine and the lily of the valley stand out. I don’t get rose at all, but there’s a strong nutmeg note in there that more or less dominates once it shows up. At this point, the fragrance gradually changes from heart notes to base notes providing a nice sillage all the while. From the base I get mainly nutmeg and white musk with a bit of green / cedar / amber. By this time the nugmeg is getting a bit dull and flat, which is a shame because it is so dominant in the accord — the base lasts respectably well. cKone has held its own for over twelve years as far as sales go. Now days it seems a little common, but in my mind it has never risen to the “annoying” status as so many other popular fragrances have. I have to admit that it’s a decent scent: It certainly is one of the better of the mass-market best sellers of the past couple decades.

This worked for me at launch.I just happened to sniff in a department store and its evident that my taste has changed since I was 21, but over all still a decent run of the mill Mass Market scent. I'll give it a thumbs up

It's old and unfortunatly has no timeless qualities the sooner this cheap and nasty fragrance dies the better. It evokes no sense of sophistication at all.

This has been a staple in my wardrobe since it came out. I've always loved it, and it's always smelled great on me. It's my no-fail scent. I can't even describe the notes in it anymore, I'm so accustomed to it. But I love the green notes & the musk. It's comforting to me. yummy!

Eh.. It is okay.


I personally do not like where it tends to go sour.

CK Electric is also worse on that.. When they say Electric they actually mean rudely offensive static like top notes and a sour dry down... nothing energetic about it..

I just started getting really interested in fragrances. Now I realize I've never gotten a compliment about my smell when I use cK One. And I've been using this for several years.

I still think it smells good and fresh, so maybe it's just me who can't pull of something so feminine. Whatever it is, this one doesn't work at all for me.

A pleasant every-day sorta fragrance for me. This is the sorta thing I wear only ever on the weekend, or to casual events or uni when I'm feeling very casual and "bleh".

Simple. Fresh, but not necessarily clean.

Unfortunatetly, it smells a bit generic, given all the seasonal spin-offs and what not. Like Cool Water, not necessarily a product of the generic perfumes market, but more of a progenitor.

And, I remember, when this first came out, everyone wore it! It was inescabable...primary school...high school...funerals...weddings...formal dances...just couldn't escape it! It was rather like Cool Water when it first came out!

This only got worse after the the various spin-offs were churned out! Then it got even worse when Big W and Target and various drug-stores started selling the stuff on the cheap!

But alas, there is something about it that I jusk "like".

And fortunately for me, along with others like it, CK1 has been gradually decreasing in popularity in the last few years, which increases its wearability!

Fresh, original, inoffensive but not profoundly exciting.
Good for work wear !

Good. Clean, light, smells like flowers of a vine, that's why I like it.

I loved this when it was new and popular. My boyfriend at the time had it and I fell for the smell completely. It didn't smell as good on my skin though, so I only used it a few times after I bought it and then put it away. Nowadays I'm quit tired of it, but I react every time I smell it on someone. It's quite musky, a little too much for my taste.

This stuff is repulsive. I can't see for the life of me how it became such a popular "fragrance" (I prefer to think of it as an offensive odor) and remain so to this day. It just disgusts me when a whiff of this wafts under my nose, and furthering my dismay, I discover the source of this nauseating stench is an attractive female.

Fresh or floral? Cannot make up my mind... Pleasant, however easily forgettable. Not for me.

I came pretty late onto the perfume enthusiast bandwagon, so when I finally knowingly smelled this, it reminded me strongly of something... parts of my childhood? Well, now I know that it's because everyone was wearing it back in the 90s. So for this first-time smeller, I really enjoyed it. Smells pretty smooth, well-mixed, easygoing. It's something casual I would wear when I'm dressed in sweatpants and a tee shirt, and am not trying to impress with all my unusual niche scents.

I swear when this one came out everyone and their brother was wearing this scent. There was one specific moment in late 94 when I was travelling and I was at O’Hare airport in Chicago and it truly seemed like every 1 minute or so, I smelled ckOne sillage coming from someone different at this place. It felt almost like a ckOne convention was in town or something.
Now onto the scent: one of the most abstract, clean and prismatic scents if I may say so, that became some sort of fragrance world phenomenon, has very clear white tea/white musk or even green tea notes that are becoming more and more popular both in male and female scents, it also has a certain metallic top that makes it a bit sharp for the sensitive nose that almost feels like an aldehyde cousin.
It’s one of those scents that you just have to try at least once, in case you haven’t already tried some of the ck one “inspired” scents like bvlgari’s white tea, paco rabanne’s paco or mavive’s white musk or any other form of “revival” of this fragrance. It has a very faint fruity mid that glides on the chemicals that make up the form of this almost transparent juice in the frosty bottle.
The added cirtusy top is enough for it to make it fresh all the way towards the end of the composition.
The base, in case anyone’s wondering, is very musky, that’s white musk I mean. I like it a lot, but for sentimental reasons more than for the juice itself. Still, this scent is very attractive anyways.

I never was a fan of CK scents and even less of unisex creation which are marketed as yothful, but often lack imagination, distinction, or even lasting power...But i almost accidentally stumbled upon this one and was, if not impressed, still somehow relieved and almost pleasantly influenced. I mean, this one truly smelled cleaner and less unisex, less experimental than i expected. It has a rather cheap smelling, but clean allround impression and its notes are fruity, powdery, yet not overdone, intelligently balanced by citrus. Actually, quite close to Acqua di Gio, Creed's Royal Water, Quasar or some Kenzo creation( i just mentioned a very uneven range of scents, but they truly have all something in common), the citrus note is here not zesty or chypre, but rather restrained, mellow, sweeter than usuallly and drawn- never to stand out- in a cocktail of watery( both aquatic and watered down) " clean" smells- youthful, rather light and uncomplicated never capable to turn dark or leathery. A certain relaxing fresh quality, combined with a slightly powdery, yet still not heavy background. Would most likely not be worn by me, but not a bad( but not outstanding, radically exquisite) scent either.

I loved it when my sister had it when I was was a kid, so later, i bought my own(I'm a guy)..and wore it through the mid-late 90's..god knows I'm sick as hell of it now, but the fragrance itself didn't do anything wrong, just overpopulation...

Fresh,sensual, this is good for anybody. It does not offend any person and u can't go wrong with this one(in Romania this is rare among men).This is excellent for summer.

Reminds me very much of old-fashioned unisex EDT's in general -- don't know what all the fuss is about. It lasts longer than old-fashioned EDT's and EDC's, though (e.g., Eau Imperiale, 4711 etc.), and it's very agreeable. Not something I clamor for, but by no means worthy of the derision some heap upon it.

CK1 & Truth are the best of Calvin Klein. at first is like Acqua di Giò & not interesting, but after a few minutes is like Bvlgari pour Homme, but Bvlgari PH is better & more complex than this.
longevity is not good.
totally CK1 is very ordinary.

I received this fragrance as a gift.Surely Ck one is for women,not for men.Although it's a unisex fragrance is still too feminine.If you want something similar but more subtle and masculine try Echo,Cool Water or Azzaro Chrome .

How funny what feuermandala said. I love my gay friends and all gay people in general, but it's true, Calvin Klein with all his advertisements, that's the image that comes to mind. I personally don't like the perfume as I don't like the citrus based, cool perfumes.

when it came out, it was a revelation to many, especially to those who didn't care much about fragrances before. a mass-market perfume par exellence and in that way well done by firmenich perfumers. it showed how far one can go by placing the hedione-helional-scentenal accord so ostentatious in the middle. rated sexy still by many, to me it is as unsexy and asexual as it can be. it always reminded me an overcrowded boy's locker room at a high school gym with the air loaden by the smell of sweaty socks and cheap deodorants. which of course could also be sexy, but rather obnoxious to me.

Not bad, but rather common since 1994 (unlike other older classics). It should be taken as a splash cologne for summer or sports, or for young women (usually don't trust on unisex fragrances, I take them as women fragrances), not for more serious/evening events. Better in the range under 30, as I smelled it on older women, business style dressed, and it projects a very contradictory image.

For all seasons!!!
CK one is a versatile perfume.
I use everyday...
And here in Brasil is better use
light and citrus scents...

if you put all your pretentions aside (check my wardrobe) this is really not a bad scent. I find it similar in concept to gendarme but a bit sweeter. Its a truly unique scent and I have to give it a thumbs up

When I was a teenager I wore this just because it was supposedly 'cool' to do so. Actually, I never really cared for it very much. A little to masculine for my tastes. Now, I wear what I like and CK One, I don't.

if it's gay, it has to be ck!

i like that sweet scent but it should be for girls only

Wore It a lot in High School.....seems everyone did not a bad cologne very light and non offensive to most people. I can really smell almost a baby powder sent in it although I'm pretty sure theres no babypowder in it. It does seem to last a long time on me which is a pleasant surprise for such a soft light cologne. Anyway worth a purchase if you like soft smelling colognes.

I wore this as a perfume novice and got good reactions (mainly from men). Now I have a more refined nose (how pretentious is that?) I find it a little too vulgar and cloying.

I used to wear this a lot more, now I like a fresh, green splash of CK One in the summer, mainly. It's true that it's played out and oversold, one reason it fell out of my favorites. I still like it on myself, it's when I smell it on other people that the chemistry starts to go haywire! It seems to be a scent that can smell very cheap or very clean and unique, depending on the person. I still like it, but have moved on to more complex fragrances.

"A scent for all seasons"

As others have said, it is versatile and easy to wear (which are qualities that some might actually want in their scent for a variety of reasons). Having said that, there are other similar scents that have slightly different and perhaps more daring notes. This scent also happens to be one of the few that I dare to "blend" with others in my collection.

A fresh clean scent. It's along the same lines as Chrome, but this is a bit more subtle. Usually when a scent is labeled as unisex, people tend to believe that it smells rather feminine. That is not the case with this one IMO. The citrus notes don't last that long, but the musky drydown seems to linger for a good while. You really can't go wrong with this one if you want a basic clean scent. However, it's a bit one-dimensional and linear so you're not going to be drawn in by its complexity or development.

Doesn't like it, a bit too girlish

The quint-essential CK fragerance...CK one was like nothing else in it's time, but time waits for no one, and CK one has been relegated to the same drugstore and supermarket fate as other blockbuster scents that came before it...it's still a reletavely good smelling fragerance, but, conjures up images of the time when it was released...reminicent of partying in an old apartment building in an urban area, Seattle grunge rock or gangsta rap echiong down the hallway, people wearing baggy clothes, taking themselves far too seriously...much as this scent does, though it really doesnt deserve to...it's good for what it is, but is by no means the legendary scent that it was predicted to be...

I couldn't wait to try it when I heard about a new term of fragrance labeled "UNISEX" and being created by the house of Calvin Klein after being thrilled wearing Obsession, Escape, and Eternity in the past. Not an ounce of regret when it finally made it to the department store shelves. For a couple of years I wore it everyday, that's quite a statement for someone who constantly changed scents. It was always pleasing as the first day I smelled it. Forever a memorable scent for me.

I never learned to like this - it's incredibly nondescript to my nose and on top of that has a very unpleasant tenaciousness to it that I know comes from the hedione, which carries with it the power to destroy everything else in its path. Hedione is what makes every *bad* jasmine bad - the hot-breath-like, cloying, awful kind of jasmine that hounds you like a stalker and will. not. go. away. It certainly gives this fragrance a lot of staying power, that much is true! Because it's so universally well regarded, I kept this in my collection for the longest time just thinking it needed to be there; I felt as though there was something wrong with me for not liking it. But the dealbreaker came when I found out that this was the fragrance that Rosie O'Donnell self-admittedy drenched herself in - something like twenty-five sprays at a time - on a daily basis. Rosie O'Donnell. Drenched in CKOne. Need I say more? The horror, the horror. It ceased then and there to be part of my fragrance holdings and I can't say I ever regretted that decision.

Fresh in a tart way until it dries. I like a little more floral in my fragrances, but my husband wears this well on occasion in the warm months. It's a safe scent that won't offend your companions--well, except for those who look down their noses at scents that are supposedly passé because of fashion. There's a reason CK Be and One are still selling--they appeal to the masses.

boring citrus with a woody floral accord

This is a great scent when you can't decide what to wear. This has to be one of the most versatile fragrances on the market. It's great to wear for most occasions. Because it's so fresh, it appeals to both men & women. It's also "safe" enough for a boy or girl first dabbling in fragrances. To me, the only way to describe this fragrance is "contemporary classic."

Wonderful. Why it took me so long to try this I can't say but I'm enjoying it as well as the Summer version. It does put you in the mind of Chrome for Men but I happen to somehow like it better than Chrome. This and Obsession are the only CK fragrances I like but I like them alot. I love Obsession but don't wear it well. This however, smells great on me.

The smell is excellent, it was big in the past but i think the smell is still great today!!