Perfume Review: Calvin Klein Secret Obsession

If I didn't happen to actually like Secret Obsession, I would have made myself like it. These days, when the threat of Palin is upon us, any mention of censure or banning or denial of one's choice in anything at all makes me see red. Whereas I want to see blue. Anyhow, elections and much ado about not especially provocative video notwithstanding, I do like Secret Obsession. To those who know my hatred for Obsession, this will come as a shock. But the two are very different animals, so much so that I don't think they share much in common except for the name and the fragrance family. Secret Obsession, says Klein, inhabits the territory "between love and madness". It is a story about "being taunted with illicit thoughts and compelled with seeking pleasure". I wouldn't know anything about madness and illicit thoughts, and it must be this innocence of mine that makes me see in Secret Obsession a comfort perfume, not a forbiden elixir of passion. It is a fairly robust (but not NEARLY as heavy as Obsession), fluffy woody scent with vaguely fruity (plum) and subtly floral (oramge blossom, tuberose) undertones. The fruits are very abstract, which is the only way I can tolerate them, and pleasantly candied, the flowers creamy, the woods indeed cashmere-like in feel. Overall, the slightly fruity, powdery-velvety woodiness of Secret Obsession reminded me of Evening Edged in Gold by Ineke. Secret Obsession will not make fragrance history the way Obsession did way back when. Klein, like Lauder and Lancome, should, however, be thanked for abandoning the freshies and the fruities and focusing on woods. Again, like Sensuous and Magnifique, this new release is not staggeringly original, not a masterpiece. Like them, it is very wearable and very pretty. Of the three, it is my favorite...and the first CK perfume I like a lot. I see myself reaching for this comfort scent quite often during cold months. Secret Obsession is available at Macy's, $72.00 for 3.4oz.