Mainstream Monday – Sniffing a Popular Perfume
At first I had no idea why the flanker, Calvin Klein Forbidden Euphoria is “forbidden”. It seems friendlier than the first one. Forbidden Euphoria isn’t as “dark” as Euphoria, it’s lighter and fruitier. It’s more like Euphoria for summer, an EDT. Now read the copy and you’ll figure out why Forbidden Euphoria is forbidden. It’s marketed as jail bait.
Calvin Klein goes right out and says it: This is a younger interpretation of Euphoria. That’s fine. My nose has already made that conclusion. It’s obviously marketed to teenagers. From the fashion line that brought us a 14 year old Brooke Shields in underwear and jeans, it goes on with a slightly disturbing Lolita fantasy copy that I’m sure somebody like John Waters couldn’t get pass the censors. “Possessing an innate confidence and sophistication, she is just starting to explore her sexuality. What she doesn’t know yet is that she already is every man’s fantasy.” This type of “all men are perverts” copy makes it difficult for me to actually enjoy this fragrance, but I’ll try.
Forbidden Euphoria opens as a musky orange creamsicle. The fragrance is very sweet but the fruits really do seem chilly. When I smell the top of this I’m reminded of frozen treats like orange creamsicle, peach fro-yo and raspberry sorbet. BUT the fragrance doesn’t smell cold. It just smells like frozen treats…sweat and fruity with some creaminess. It has lots of sweet woods and musk. What stands out to me the most is the raspberry sorbet and “creamy woods”. The dry-down is a sweet vanilla woods-patchouli-musk. I find the base very sweet but wearable.
Notes listed include mandarin, peach blossom, iced raspberry, pink peony, tiger orchid, jasmine, cashmere woods, patchouli and skin musk.
Give Forbidden Euphoria a try if you like sweet floral ambers. Or if you like perfumes like Calvin Klein Euphoria, Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola!, Escada Sexy Graffiti, Estee Lauder Pleasures Bloom, Guerlain My Insolence, and/or Vera Wang Rock Princess. I do see Forbidden Euphoria as a feminine fragrance.
I find that the perfume has below average projection and longevity. It wears more like an EDT. Even as an EDT I find its wear below average.
I do apologize for the ad campaign rant. I usually avoid that stuff because so many launches are complete bologna that we all roll our eyes at. But, this one I felt like talking about. And trust me, I edited this post heavily. I can’t stand when any ad campaign dares to say “every man’s fantasy”.
Calvin Klein Forbidden Euphoria comes in a few sizes with prices ranging from $45-$80. It’s available at Sephora and Ulta.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Fruity frozen treats + floral ambers marketed as Lolita juice that attracts men that have fantasies of sleeping with the baby-sitter. OK, rant over. It’s a Euphoria Lite, a good choice for summer if you already wear stuff like Euphoria. It’s not for me even though I like the original Euphoria.
Want more reviews? Try…
Fragrantica – memeber reviews
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Oh my golly! A coworker handed me a sample of this recently, and both the fragrance AND the ad copy made steam come out of my ears. I agree fully with your analysis– not least because it saves me from having to review this cynical little thing. I should send you flowers in gratitude! 😀
I want to hear your rant! OK, I guess there is no reason to repeat but I love your writing. And seriously, Calvin Klein you wrong for dat.
Gave this sample away and the inside the card it’s on the following adjective are used: alluring, tempting, forbidden.
Gag.
You’ve convinced me to go for it! Not for the purposes of deliberate spite or anything, but CK deserves a truckload of retaliatory snark for this one. I SIMPLY MUST. 😀
I love your writing too– as much when you’re good ‘n’ truly riled as when a fragrance stirs your respect!
They do deserve it. I can’t believe that I haven’t heard more about this BS. I mean that Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola! ad was banned in the UK but this sh*t is still in print.
So, do it.
WHO passed this as an ad/campaign concept? It’s appalling. Let’s call a spade a spade – forbidden = below the age of legal sexual consent. There is nothing sexy or alluring about that.
I couldn’t give this fragrance the time of day for the concept, so I’m not even going to touch on the juice itself.
I regret even reviewing it because somebody may buy the fragrance. BUT I can’t get over that there hasn’t been a big media deal about this. I mean those Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola ads were banned because Dakota Fanning was 17! How could this get pass and those ads couldn’t? Seriously. How did this one get through?
AND I can’t believe that large retailers carry this product. AND I can’t believe they use that disgusting copy. I *could* see selling it hoping that nobody read the press release, saying Forbidden Euphoria is a fruity fragrance. The end. But, obviously, places like Sephora don’t get it either.
And you’re not missing anything. You’re going to be happy you didn’t touch this stuff.
Please do not ever apologize for calling foul of promoting children as appropriate sex partners. I enjoyed Truth well enough in the 90s but I’ve boycotted Childporn Klein since learning about how they reset the social Perv-o-Meter before I was even born and then kept ramping up the yuck as I grew through girlhood. Thank you for speaking up.
Thank you for your comment. The more I think about this, the angrier I get because it seems like people are ignoring it. Almost like “CK always does this” so it doesn’t shock them anymore. The line is dead to me. I can’t support a line that KEEPS selling through the exploitation of minors.
Thanks for this review, Victoria. I was wondering what was so “forbidden” about this concoction. Um…. yeah.
The “every man’s fantasy” part is kind of insulting, to be honest. Don’t these guys have kids? Just sayin’…. 🙄
OY!
Anyway, this apparently isn’t the spicy floriental that I’ve been smelling lately on the LADIES at work. I appreciate the nice review for ruling this one out. (I should probably just ask, but I’d rather figure it out.)
Thanks again! -Red
Redneck Perfumisto recently posted..Diogenes of Synapse
It’s insulting to everyone. “Starting to explore…” are they talking about a pre-pubescent girl or a 22 year old graduate student? They should make that clear. And I don’t believe this person is every man’s fantasy, just say’n.
Hmm…I wonder if they are wearing the Euphoria that is not forbidden and for ladies of a consenting age? It’s pretty darn popular and every place I’ve ever worked had a woman that wore it. Or you could just ask 😉
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