cK one Shock for Him
Eau de Toilette, Calvin Klein (2011)

It's an exact replica of Avon Mesmerize for Men (1992). Cheap spicy, but easy on the nose. The original CK One is much better.

CK One Shock is a very nice casual/office safe juice. Great price with nice quality. It is in no way something new of course. Think Burberry London or Rochas Man. It is masculine. This is a tobacco, fruity, musky and spicy juice. For the price this is an easy winner and safe blind buy. Enjoy!

If you like gourmands, this may be for you.

I should give a thumbs down, as this smells to me as if they've re-used Rochas Man's formula with a tweak here or there.

Not original, not different enough to stand out from the pack.

But for $20 off the TJ Maxx/Ross/Marshall's shelf it's a pretty good value for those who enjoy this genre. You could do much worse at those stores at the same price point.

Maybe I'm being to harsh, as the blending and material quality is pretty good, especially considering contemporary pack leaders. No screechy "modern blue" nose needles here, thank goodness!

But Rochas came first...

Fragrance In Three Words: Fruity Gourmand Tobacco.

This was a blind buy based on reviews by Greggieboy and Mr Smelly on YouTube.

The fragrance starts off with a tropical cucumber and Clementine/Tangerine. A really original opening compared to the bergamot and pink pepper a lot of fragrances use. This part lasted around 20 minutes.

Drys down to some green notes and a well done tobacco. The tobacco isn't quite on par with Pure Havane. Light amber and chocolate notes give a gourmand feel without being overly sweet, but it also lacks the punch of balsamic amber in more expensive fragrances.

This is becoming my signature fragrance for the time being. It's very affordable and has an originality often lacking in designer fragrances. On skin it lasts around 4 hours.

Rating: 7 out of 10

This has to represent one of the best buys for a beautiful autumn/holiday fragrance. From opening to drydown it's an absolute winner for me. Get it while it's available cheap, and get the big bottle. It is delightful. If you want another great autumn/holiday option a la Burberry London here you go. Absolutely two Thumbs Up.

It smells smooth. Nothing too incredibly jarring. I get the clementine (or just sweet undefined orangy citrus) on top of tobacco cardamom lavender patchouli, in that order. It smells nothing like the bottle looks. This should be caramel colored. I don't get the cherry syrup others sometimes mention. I do feel like it is a bit cardamom unbalanced in the mid. Add to that the cashmeran. Both of those, cardamom and cashmeran have a soft texture, take the two together and you get a sweet olfactory equivalent of a beige cashmere sweater. The closest thing it feels like to me is Tom Ford Noir Extreme. Projection was close, longevity was slightly below average.

Not my style, I won't buy it. But in my idea, this fragrance is pretty good. The bottle is atrocious, so -1 for that. It is a great value, often under $20. +2 It feels like a begrudging thumbs up. Value here is large, as this smells much better than the small cost it is currently going for.