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Are There -- Be Honest -- Any Kenneth Cole Fragrances That Don't SUCK?

post #1 of 14
10/22/06 at 3:13pm
Thread Starter 
Just curious. I tried Signature today -- hated it.
Have tried Reaction -- bored me to tears.
Have tried all his other masculine scents and -- to be frank -- I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Am I missing something here? Is there any one Cole scent for guys that I might want to re-visit? Or am I right on the money as things stand? (As things stand, btw, I've just gotten to the point at which I despise most Cole scents as much as I do Claiborne scents -- all but the original Claiborne, which I genuinely love).

Ideas?
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post #2 of 14
10/22/06 at 3:21pm
Black's an OK scent, but pretty generic. Nothing earth shattering.

I tried the new Reaction Thermal just today & it was nice. Very soft, sweet, & creamy & nothing like the original Reaction at all.

And I'm sorry the original Reaction "bored you to tears"...I absolutely love the stuff .
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post #3 of 14
10/22/06 at 4:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CologneJunkie

Black's an OK scent, but pretty generic. Nothing earth shattering.

I agree. It is nice on my girlfriend and like to smell it on her. But nothing earth shattering for sure...
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post #4 of 14
10/22/06 at 5:28pm
I dont find that they suck at all. I think New York is a very pleasant and wearable frag with decent longevity. Reaction is the same way. I cant say anythign for signature though. As for Claiborne, I'd say if you are right on money they are a very wise choice. Most have good longevity, and the line has aquatics, orientals, citrus-y frags, oh and small price tags for the most part.
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post #5 of 14
10/22/06 at 6:26pm
I like Black pretty well. I have a bottle of it -I don't wear often, but when I do I enjoy it.

Reaction is an ok scent, but reminds me terribly of Jolly Ranchers.

Signature reminds me of a spicy Reaction -I like it a tad better than Reaction.

I haven't tried Thermal, or New York.

I would have to say that Black, as of right now if my fave from KC.
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post #6 of 14
10/22/06 at 6:43pm
I wrote about my experience with Thermal about two weeks ago. It's surprisingly good, and nothing at all like the regular Reaction. It's quite similar to Armani Black Code, which although it's not a scent I'd buy, it's quite a bit better than most of KC's offerings.
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post #7 of 14
10/22/06 at 9:03pm
I really like New York a lot. My girlfriend likes New York a lot. I always get some great compliments while I am wearing it.

Black for Men is a fragrance that I have received a lot of compliments on as well.

I disagree regarding Claiborne. You have some real gems there - led by Spark. The price is right as far as they are concerned too.
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post #8 of 14
10/22/06 at 10:31pm
Kenneth Cole Black I bought, as well as Clairborne's Curve, Mambo and Sport.

All excellent, long lasting scents which have their uses.
Renato
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post #9 of 14
10/23/06 at 5:20am
Reaction smells nice although It's non original with one of the poorest staying power I've ever tried. All I can get (for 30min - 1h) is Melon and green apple with a bit of powder.
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post #10 of 14
10/23/06 at 6:56am
Thread Starter 
Sorry, guess I hit a nerve here. Perhaps there's just a house note in the Cole stuff that I don't like -- dunno. All I know is that I've sampled everything BUT New York and came away saying, "Huh? What's all the fuss?" It's not about price, either, or name recognition, or social cachet. (You're talking to a guy who searches out every bottle of Revlon's That Man that he can find, and whose top 20 fragrances for women include the remarkably cheap Vanderbilt.)

It's just that most Kenneth Coles I've sampled smelled very much alike to me, and not that different from most of the other stuff out there on the market.
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post #11 of 14
10/23/06 at 9:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tvlampboy

Sorry, guess I hit a nerve here. Perhaps there's just a house note in the Cole stuff that I don't like -- dunno. All I know is that I've sampled everything BUT New York and came away saying, "Huh? What's all the fuss?" It's not about price, either, or name recognition, or social cachet. (You're talking to a guy who searches out every bottle of Revlon's That Man that he can find, and whose top 20 fragrances for women include the remarkably cheap Vanderbilt.)

It's just that most Kenneth Coles I've sampled smelled very much alike to me, and not that different from most of the other stuff out there on the market.

I don't think you've hit a nerve. The underwhelming responses to all the scents bar Black would indicate some agreement to your proposition.

I've passed on Reaction and Signature, and I could have gotten Reaction quite cheaply. I haven't seen New York as yet.
Renato
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post #12 of 14
10/23/06 at 10:25am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tvlampboy

Sorry, guess I hit a nerve here. Perhaps there's just a house note in the Cole stuff that I don't like -- dunno. All I know is that I've sampled everything BUT New York and came away saying, "Huh? What's all the fuss?" It's not about price, either, or name recognition, or social cachet. (You're talking to a guy who searches out every bottle of Revlon's That Man that he can find, and whose top 20 fragrances for women include the remarkably cheap Vanderbilt.)

It's just that most Kenneth Coles I've sampled smelled very much alike to me, and not that different from most of the other stuff out there on the market.

I agree with you. All the Kenneth Coles I've tried smell like poorly made synthetic crap to me.
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post #13 of 14
10/23/06 at 11:11am
The Kenneth Cole fragrances are what they are and for the most part I think they do a good job of hitting their target market which is the late teens to early 30's demographic, the Acqua di Giò buyers. Not to say that everyone in that target demographic will like their fragrance collection, but enough do. I've previously owned Black and though it reasonably good but not one which stood out particularly as being especially good or bad.
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post #14 of 14
10/23/06 at 11:38pm
I did notice Reaction on clearance at Target for like $24, but I don't remember what size it was. It was pretty hard to care when Kouros was right next to it for $19.99 (talk about antitheses of scents!)
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