Calvin Klein: cK one Shock (2011)

The first thing you need to know about Calvin Klein's cK one Shock is that the bottle doesn't fit the scent. The second thing you need to know is that the name doesn't fit the scent either. That neon green, faux spray-painted "SHOCK" is only shocking in that it suggests a synthetic sporty/aqua scent appropriate for 21-23 year-old males who still think swigging Mike's Hard Lemonade constitutes "drinking," while the actual scent contained in this bottle is the exact opposite.

Maybe that was the point? "Here, try our new fragrance, you'll form a strong prejudice based on the bottle alone and then, SURPRISE, not at all what you were expecting!"

This is a great fragrance, and I wish they'd called it cK Late at Night, or cK Dark Seduction, or something that would indicate that what's in this bottle is a tobacco/leather/vanilla type of scent. It's rich, it's savory, it's smooth, and it is very reminiscent of other fragrances in this same genre: Bvlgari's Man in Black, Calvin Klein's Dark Obsession, Perry Ellis' 360 Degrees Black, John Varvatos' John Varvatos.

There's a bit of sweet citrus (orange) in the opening spray, as well as some chocolate, but this sweetness very quickly recedes into the darker base of tobacco, pepper, lavender, and patchouli (not to mention some vanilla undercurrent). That's the blend that sticks around for the hours that follow, and it's very much the Calvin Klein concoction you've smelled in their other bottles: Contradiction, Euphoria, the original Obsession for Men. It's that patchouli-plus-lavender (plus cardamom, or musk, or whatever that particular scent features) recipe that is undeniably Calvin Klein, and it works well in this fragrance with the tobacco and pepper.

Projection is average, maybe 2-3 feet, and that's fine for a scent in this genre. It would be heavy and overpowering if it projected too much further. The longevity is a tick above average as well, which is unexpected for a Calvin Klein scent (so much of what they've put out in the past few years has next-to-no staying power). I put it on in the morning before work, and I'm still getting wafts of it at 2:00 in the afternoon.

So ignore the bottle, ignore the name, but definitely get the juice. As of this writing, it's available on FragranceNet.com for $17 for the 3.4 oz (100 ml) bottle -- that's ridiculous value. I might just go buy another bottle and keep it for when mine runs out.

8/10 stars.