Here I am looking about and I see this thread. And what are the chances as today I wore not one but TWO scents by American designers (to salute my vote!
) that have, sadly, been discontinued.
One you mentioned in your list: Calvin by Calvin Klein. Snapshot: An 80's "powerhouse" scent....an aromatic fougere, to be exact. Very unique and quite unlike anything else currently being shoved down your throat as you enter Macy's, Penney's, Von Maur or who-have-you in your neck of the woods. I searched like a fiend back in Spring of 1999 to snag a bottle and I found nothing locally here in Chi-Town. Quite frustrating when in early 1995 I recall seeing the shelves of a few Perfumania stores just jammed with the navy blue bottles....and for about twenty-four bucks plus tax for a 3.4 oz.!! A couple years later it was gone. Poof. Vanished. See 'ya....wouldn't wanna be 'ya! And just as I was about to part with $70 or so to buy a bottle from a perfume dealer in Hollywood....a familiar SA at a local Carson Pirie Scott store tells me Calvin Klein is bringing Calvin back!! October '99 arrival for a reissue to mark the new millenium! It would be on sale for the year 2000.....and then quietly leave again. This richly blended scent stands apart from the Acqua di Gio's and Le Male's of the world....but sadly, not all greeted it with open arms. Some former fans had.....moved on.
The second scent I wore today had a shorter life in the retail world....less than a decade I believe. Unleaded by Donna Karan was introduced around 1994 and was seemingly more omnipresent than its richer, older sibling, DK Men....known colloquially or quasi-officially as Fuel. I say this because I actually was not proven DK Men's existence until I came here to Basenotes in 2005 (Sheesh...was it THAT long ago? Time flies when your having fun!). Nevertheless....after Christmas of 1996 was when I first sniffed Unleaded, straight from its futuristic "gear shirter" bottle. I was somewhat intrigued, but my female friend was repulsed. She quipped that the "sports car image" the scent was supposed to project came off as being closer to "sports car ashtray". A couple years later I revisited Unleaded; and I dug it even more! I secured some to have for myself as it seemed to leave stores and never come back. (I HATE when scents do that! Especially ones I like!) Come 2003 I saw some on E Bay......bringing stupid money1 I'm sorry: They were ASKING stupid money, in high "Buy It Now" pricing....but they always seemed to be there time after time. I realize Ms Karan reintroduced DK Men in the exclusive line.....I forget the actual name, but where all the bottle have the same general shape but the colors or material's textures are different. And in limited numbers. If Unleaded had longevity and projection like DK Men, I would wish and wish and write letters begging its reinstatement into the line. But this scent is mellow on my skin, wears close, and some wouldn't even like it. So it stays a discontinued treasure.
But these are just two examples of some of the heartache that accompanies the joy (no pun intended) of this fragrant hobby of ours. And sadly, theres a sad srory out there for each and every one of us. Just look over the Scent of the Day threads every once in a while and you will occasionally find an in-depth post from someone like JaimeB or TwoRoads or Hirch Duckfinder....lots of folks....they list a beloved scent they are wearing and wax on nostalgic in words that seem lifted from a love letter or fabled tale; and somewhere in those pinings and remembrances you will see the word "discontinued". It is bittersweet. and I believe we all have at least one....one Patou Pour Homme....one Gucci Nobile.....one Ralph Lauren Monogram....or one Calvin by Calvin Klein. And our lady friends here may have even more than we men. Scents we love and struggle to hold on to....we may have hoarded some in fear or anxiety.....but someday we will enjoy our last spritz. And the scent we may never smell again stays imbedded deep within us.....we have its image to keep us company....an intangible olfactory picture of the way it smelled to us and the memories it rekindles. Fragrance is made to be spent....quite literally "thrown to the air'....and some never come back.
It certainly is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all!
Onward, friends. Onward.......
Thank You.
) - so I'll have to check out the first two you mentioned, because I agree that Ungaro II is a true masterpiece.
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