Obsession Night For Men by Calvin Klein, 2005

Ive been trying to figure out Obsession Night. I keep looking for some reason why it would be named Obsession. The original Obsessions were creative and trend setting fragrances. They held sway for years and are still popular still respected classics. Obsession Night for Men is a generic, uninspired, fragrance- by- formula. Thats not to say that this is a bad scent: it isnt; its quite good in its generic way. Its probably the best fragrance that Calvin Klein has come out with in a decade. Its opening fruit / spice accords are quite well balanced none of the syrupy sweet, not of the synthetics of the usual run of CK scents of recent years. The accords have balance and a bit of dramatic tension. The middle notes are so attractive they are close to being enchanting: That black suede (whatever that is) note along with the discreet nutmeg and the smooth musk is an ingenious accord I love it. And the dry down is adequate + +. But its no Obsession its not even related to Obsession; it is simply the product extension of the popular Obsession name in name only. This scent, as generic as it is, is good enough in the mass market to have been given its own name, without the misplaced desperation of product extension. I can see somewhat of a relation of Obsession Night to Tom Ford's Black Orchid. I don't find the relationship very strong because I like this one very much and I find Black Orchid quite annoying. But I don't think Obsession Night should be criticized because of the relationship: after all, Obsession Night was introduced a year before Black Orchid was.

Even tough i usually cannot stand CK fragrances with the exception of the superb all-time classic Eternity for men, being more a fan of much more classical, basic or dandified scents, there is something about Obsession Night that fascinates me. It has style, smoothness and a certain combination between mainstream appeal and sophistication- something highly unlikely like someone trying to be original and still fitting into contemporary fashion trends. Besides the notes listed before i seem to sense even a slight note of blue cedar in this one, quite similar to Eau de cedre bleu by Yves Rocher, which is more affordable than this, but shares the same unusual and exquisite woody note. Of course, the suede element is also pleasant as there are watery notes, the latter exhaling a crisp and mellow smell which suits almost any age group and even both genders of wearers. Besides Eau de cedre bleu, I'd compare this one to Joop Nightflight, even the more precious Endymion or some aquatic Boss scents, in particular Elements Aqua, for reasons which i feel very intensely yet cannot express very logically and properly a this moment, as the memory and the associations of scents are often very nondescript.