CK One goes for the gold this Christmas

CK One was one of the defining perfumes of my generation. As someone who didn’t like the cloying, flowery notes of most feminine fragrances, I totally bought into Calvin Klein’s concept of a fresh, unisex fragrance that could be worn by anybody, no matter which gender you identified with.

That was back in 1994, and CK One went on to become the most successful unisex fragrance of all time.

Calvin Klein has since reworked the successful formula a number of times, from CK One Red to the CK One Summer they release every year.

For the holidays 2016, they’ve come up with a limited edition CK One Gold — a markedly different direction from the original scent. The minimal glass bottle is now dripping with a rich gold coating, and the juice parallels the packaging in its warmth and depth.

So, what does gold smell like?

Well, according to Calvin Klein, it starts off so fruity you’ll want to bite into it, with top notes of fig, bergamot, and sage. This succulent opening gives way to a flowery heart of neroli, violet, and jasmine sambac, before the composition dries down to a warm and woody base of vetiver, patchouli, and guaiac wood.

Personally, I like how it straddles the line between a fresh and more sensual, oriental fragrance. I think Calvin Klein was able to capture the smell of success.

“CK One Gold is a juicy, fresh, unisex fragrance that fuses the energy of both sexes,” says Celeste Valencia, senior product manager at Luxasia, Inc. “It reinvents the gold trend, from money, luxury, and success to more on passion, audacity, and the boldness to pursue dreams.” 

Decadence And Flowers

In a joint venture with Coty, Luxasia is also releasing new fragrances by Marc Jacobs and Chloé.

Jacobs is known for his youthful Daisy fragrances, but last year, his company took a more daring direction with Decadence, a bold, statement-making, emerald-inspired perfume with a green flacon in the shape of Jacobs’ Trouble bag.

This year, Jacobs released spinoff Divine Decadence, which is fresher and lighter than its predecessor, with sparkling notes of champagne, gardenia, and liquid amber.

“The Decadence line is targeting a different psychographic,” notes Mutya Laxa-Buensuceso, Luxasia’s country manager. “It’s still in keeping with the Marc Jacobs girl but more sophisticated and elegant, with sweeter, heavier notes for a different side of her personality.”

Those who prefer more classic florals can opt for Chloé’s Fleur De Parfum, which is another rose scent in the vein of Chloé’s Signature Eau De Parfum but greener and more luminous, with a heart of Damascena rose and cherry blossoms.

“The rose is the signature flower of Chloé,” Valencia explains. “It’s the fresher scent of the Signature eau de parfum, but focuses on the heart of the rose.”

Buensuceso adds that, despite political upheavals, consumer demand for fragrances remains strong in the Philippines. “Organic growth is phenomenal — we’re in double-digit growth. Luxasia is the biggest distributor of fragrances in the Philippines; by next year, we’ll be 70 percent of the market.”

She says their vision is to become an omni-channel beauty leader. “Right now, we’re very strong with physical stores, but moving forward, we’ll be very strong in e-commerce, and Luxasia will have a new platform with our new CEO, Dr. Wolfgang Baier.”

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Until then, CK One Gold, Marc Jacobs Divine Decadence and Chloé Fleur De Parfum are available at fragrance counters nationwide and online at Zalora and Lazada.

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