Escape
Calvin Klein (1991)

Escape by Calvin Klein (1991) is a very big perfume, almost counter to Eternity by Calvin Klein (1987), which it succeeded by a few years. Eternity was composed by Sophia Grojsman, and is a masterclass in sheer futurism, transparent and with Grojsman's "hug me accord" nestled between what otherwise might be stinging levels of freshness. Here with Escape, Claude Dir perfumes and takes the dial back a bit to more conventional ideas compared to Eternity. That said, Escape is still fairly sheer, with a lot of fruity and floral accords that are in and of themselves light; it's just that he layers so many of them on top of one another so thickly, that the end product is a literal "wall of smell" that comes at you opaquely like a typical 1980's powerhouse. The only thing close to this would be Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden (1993), which could be seen as a downmarket clap-back at Escape in many ways; my mom certainly liked it much better. J'adore by Christian Dior (1999) would strip away the fiddly bits from the core ideas found in Escape, and make a leaner, more elegant version of them.

The biggest players in Escape's "wall of smell" are osmanthus, calone, peach lactones, jasmine hedione, and rose ketones. In the usual futuristic way, very little about Escape is natural, but the smell is so impressive that you just don't care. This fruity-floral amalgam has additional players to darken and sweeten it up, like blackcurrant and green apple notes layered with carnation, mandarin orange, and musky ylang. The big dihydromyrcenol through-line brings in that oh-so-trendy aquatic freshness of the time, but it honestly fights for space against all the dense fruity floral elements. What makes this a good fruity floral and not one of the many bad examples of the over-represented genre in women's perfume, is the sharpening effect of green notes like galbanum and cassis, vetiver, oakmoss, and patchouli; all of these are background players and really don't come into play until the dry down, but that's where you want them. The slight green chypre-like edge is what also makes Escape feel more "vintage" to most noses than Eternity, both then in 1991 and now.

Had Escape come out in 1981 instead of 1991, and it would have stood strong against perfumes from Lauder, Giorgio, Givenchy, Dior, and all the usual suspects making big floral powerhouses at the time. Also considering that the materials in Escape existed at that time, just weren't in such common use yet, means it was possible; and had it been done, Escape would have been seen as a groundbreaking exercise that set the tone for what would have come regardless, instead of a slight half-step backwards that became eclipsed by the unisex offering cK One by Calvin Klein (1994) in short order. Escape for Men by Calvin Klein (1993) was wholly unrelated to the women's fragrance in the same way Eternity for Men by Calvin Klein (1989) was for Eternity, and also like Eternity's male counterpart, ended up a bigger seller in the long run even if it fell far behind the women's entry in the initial launch. In many ways the men's Escape was much more daring a composition (from perfumer Steve DeMercado), even if this original women's entry feels more time and care was taken with it. Thumbs up

It is fruity and fresh with very prominent melon, but with almost oldschool floral richness underneath. Very interesting, like meeting the old and the new. Well, that "new" is 30 years old already and already out of fashion as aquatic scents are not "in" anymore, but still it feels good to wear it - and you hear it from a person that normally hates aquatics!

I remember smelling this everywhere when it was first launched, but never owned a bottle myself. I hadn't smelled it in a long time until I was recently sent this sample by a basenotes buddy. The calone note here is much less oceanic than I recalled, & the melon smells more like grapefruit to me. In fact it reminds me strongly of Armani's Acqua di Gioia, only even more synthetic & slightly turned. There's no development whatsoever; the volume is simply turned down after six hours.
I thought I would enjoy smelling this again, but either it has changed, or I have. I suspect it's both.

I used to wear this when I was younger. I really liked it and got a lot of compliments on it. People always told me I smelled like watermelon. It reminds me of the way some chewing gums smell. My mom used to wear it too, but it smelled differently on her. It was less melon and more floral I think. Funny how scents are individual that way!
I haven't worn this in a long time, but I remember it well. I'm not a perfume expert, so all I can say is that I loved it then and I like it now. I prefer more "sensual" scents now which probably comes with age!

I was looking for a replacement for my favorite discontinued scent, New West. I searched online for similar notes including this site, and got a lot of suggestions. I don't like to wear different perfumes. I like to have a signature scent so that people identify me by one sniff. I love fresh, clean, aquatic, melony types of scents. According to "distinguished" folk, the love for aquatics is similar to a love for synthetic leather. I don't even care! I ordered samples of Issey Miyake something D'Issey, Eternity Summer 2014, Clinique Happy Heart, Clean Skin, Clean Rain (already use), Escape, and True Star. Calvin Klein Escape was the winner, hands down! From beginning to the dry down, it smells absolutely amazing on my skin, clothes, everywhere. I love it, I love it! And it's so inexpensive, that's the best part. Thanks for all the help on this website!

Summary: For me, starts nice, but the melon note becomes overpowering after a while and I cannot tolerate it.

Smells nice. A little flowery but not sweet at all. Mainly a fresh flowery scent. The flowery part is very nice, reminds me of wild flowers and wild bushes.

However, there's some note on the fresh side of this fragrance that displeases me. Maybe it is the melon, which does not smell like those sweet, fragrant, melt in your mouth melons, but just as those unpleasant, too-green melons which are a disappointment.

For me, replacing the green melon note with carnation would have been perfect, as I seem to like the other notes together. As it is, I am not sure I can get over the green melon note to enjoy the rest.

Edited to add: The sillage was actually strong enough for the melon note to become overpowering and distracting while programming at work (had applied it on my left arm near the wrist). Had to scrub it twice with hand soap and apply scented lotion to make it disappear. It seems I cannot handle this melon note after all, which is a shame as the rest was very serene and pleasing to me.