Eternity
Calvin Klein (1988)

Eternity is charming, and this might be considered a stream of "hot takes", because I enjoy this, but I also don't think it's the most well-constructed of Sophia Grojsman's works.

And...well, I adore S.G, but part of me speculates that the materials within Eternity are of lesser quality than other houses. Calvin Klein is often criticized as being entry-level stuff and not necessarily containing high-quality naturals or fixatives. I think I tend to agree with this claim, and it seems fair (I've tried a lot of CKs). Yet, there's always something fantastically casual, shamelessly pedestrian, wonderfully and refreshingly accessible about them all. And truly, this humbly fresh vibe is what I have come to appreciate most about their fragrances as a whole. I'm not the most refined person, and I've ALWAYS felt right at home in them (including the men's stuff).

~

This is a powdery house party of various florals.

Lily-of-the-valley is the most popular a sorority sister hooking up with Patchouli - a total burnout who biked from the other side of town for a chance at her. Dirty meets soapy in some sort of cinematic way that happens to make all the sense in the world somehow.

Marigold is handling drinks and music, truly a welcome face in a sea of chaos. Sunny, warm, welcoming...holding the whole thing together. Supported by her friend Amber, who is...kinda sloppy, but absolutely sweet and enjoyable.

Sandalwood is waiting to make his move on Amber, but he's a shy, art major. Owing to Amber and Narcisse (who is table dancing...badly), nobody can hear him.

Sage is sulking in the corner with her bottle of port that she brought herself, sharing nips of it with Sandalwood. Oddly enough, nobody can resist looking at her. She's jarring, and tries to have RBF, but she's gorgeous and everyone secretly adores her.

Rose is puking outside by the fence. A total disaster. As the night wears on though, she straightens out a little.

In all seriousness, this perfume is a fun, beautiful mess. I don't know why it's taken me this long to try it!

If someone stuck a gun to my head and told me "You MUST wear a fragrance your store sells.", then Eternity would be it. Eternity is a sort of watery floral and while it does have a kind of "functional" household fragrance vibe to it (a detergent or liquid dish/hand soap thing) it is the only scent in our "designer fragrances" counter that doesn't make me recoil in horror. Yeah, it is made of nothing but cheap aromachemicals so naturally it does smell cheap (to my refined nose anyhow) but I suspect most people would find it pleasant and inoffensive. You could spend a lot more to smell a lot worse. Just try to get a bottle on sale, shouldn't be too hard. Performance-wise it is on the level of an eau de cologne. Not a bad scent if your expectations aren't very high.

The opening note includes a mandarin part - giving lightness and freshness- and white florals - mainly muguet. This all is combined with a whiff of a green herbal element. Bright and pleasant.

Later on I get an ambery woodsiness that combines with a very soft and pale patchouli impression.

I get soft sillage, adequate projection and four hours of longevity on my skin.

A light daytime spring scent that starts in an agreeable fashion, but the drydown is very generic and not particularly enticing. 2.75/5.

Sophia Grojsman's classic fragrance, I can't tell if I love it b/c of its quality or b/c a girlfriend wore it 27 years ago. Maybe a bit of both. I love the crisp sharp citrus and the Grojsman artistry. One of my favorite women's fragrances.

An elderly woman came into the building I work in and I smelled this on her and had to ask her what it was. It is the most sheer fragrance but very powerful. Until I read the reviews here I loved it, but then I recognized each of the flaws spoken about: the soapiness, the cheap rose. But it's funny, I am quite a nose and didn't detect any of these before someone mentioned them. To me, it was a fresh white tulip or daffodil fragrance, so transparent and sparkling, but the only voice in the room at its high frequency. This could easily have slipped into the white musk Aquanet hairspray territory, but it didn't.

I do notice these elegant, sheer florals that only charming older women can get away with for some reason. Girls don't smell like flowers anymore, they smell like really the popular aromachemical of the season.

I recall smelling this everywhere when I was a teen, people bathed it in. Back then as much as I loved it, I'd never have bought it because everyone else was wearing it.

I recently bought a bottle after rediscovering a sample and still love this scent. Fresh, green floral, a hint of citrus and spice, a bit aquatic and ethereal.

I can't comment on any of the flankers, but the original is beautiful.