Friday 2 May 2014

Calvin Klein Euphoria vs Endless Euphoria

Endless Euphoria is the latest perfume release from Calvin Klein. It is a flanker of 2005’s Euphoria and it is categorised as a fruity floral in comparison to Euphoria’s oriental floral/exotic fruity floral.




Calvin Klein Euphoria



Euphoria features top notes of pomegranate and persimmon with a heart of lotus and black orchid. The base is a combination of mahogany, black violet and amber. 

Endless Euphoria features top notes of orange, bergamot and cherry blossom. The heart is made up of rose, violet and syringa and it is rounded off with a base consisting of bamboo, sandalwood and musk.




Calvin Klein Endless Euphoria



But which one is better?

To help me out with this decision, I called upon the biggest Calvin Klein fragrance fan that I could think of: my mother.

My mum loves CK perfumes. Whenever there is a new release she will be instantly drawn to it over anything else.  However, even though she loves herself a CK perfume, she will still be unashamedly honest and blunt in regards to her thoughts and feelings on each scent. There wasn't anybody else better to ask, plus she got really excited when I proposed the idea to her.


“I want to wear that one!” said my mum pretty much straight away as I walked in, pointing towards Endless Euphoria. I wasn’t too bothered by this as it saved the deliberation as to who was going to wear what. I recently purchased Endless Euphoria from Boots with my points, (earning myself a free, pink tote bag in the process). I was originally intending to buy a full bottle of Euphoria but there wasn’t a bottle left. Therefore, I have only a sample vial of the original scent.

We have both smelt these perfumes before, but we have never sat down and had an in depth discussion about the differences and similarities. I sprayed myself with Euphoria first and we began to talk about it.





Calvin Klein Euphoria



“It’s dark and fruity, sort of musky” says my mum. That, I will agree with.

For me, the pomegranate is the most noticeable note. It is a beautiful, sensual smell, making me instantly think of it as an autumn/winter scent. It is rather heavy for the warmer days and I’d imagine that it could become cloying if worn in the heat. 


Euphoria has an undeniable sweet side. It’s dark, sweet and woody. 




Calvin Klein Euphoria



“It’s a beautiful scent,” says my mum, “but I think it’s too heavy for me as I prefer something a little lighter.” I had to chuckle at that comment as I am fully aware that my mums signature scent is Chanel's Coco which is far from being classified as ‘light.’ I must admit though that in the day time she is more prone to wearing the lighter scents with Coco being kept for when the time is ‘right.’


After discussing Euphoria, my mum had her turn with Endless Euphoria, liberally spraying it all over her (“well I’ve got to make the most of it as it’s not my bottle!” she says). “Oh yes!” she exclaims, “this is beautiful.”




Calvin Klein Endless Euphoria



It was at this point that I challenged my mother to a game of guess the notes. I had the note list in front of me and I wanted her to guess as many as she could. She managed one - violet.

“It’s like a fruity, summer Parma Violet sweet,” she explained. “It must have violet in it!” Before telling her that she was correct, she was waving her arm around in front of my dad (who had just entered the room) asking him to pick out notes. He was far superior at this game than her though, guessing orange straight away as well as rose.

The main note in this for me is definitely the cherry blossom. It is beautiful and powerful but within moderation.

“Oh I really do love this!” my mum kept repeating, over and over. I swear that she was almost looking at me expectantly; as if silently asking me if she could keep the bottle (err, no!). 




Calvin Klein Endless Euphoria




“Okay, enough of the CK admiration, let’s get to the point of this,” I said to her, “which is better and why?”

I probably didn’t actually have to ask this question as it was glaringly obvious what she was going to say. “Endless,” she confirmed, “I love how light it is, it’s so perfect for warmer weather.”

The weather comment is one that I have to agree with. Endless is definitely a summer version of Euphoria. However, I prefer the original to the new flanker. “I love the darkness to Euphoria,” I argued, “but yet again, that’s the type of scent that I am usually drawn to.”

But how similar are they? Well, like my mum said in regards to Endless Euphoria, after a short while I can vaguely smell violets in Euphoria. It is one of the only notes that they have in common (along with musk, the others are just similar - to me, anyway, i.e. the balance of florals and wood type notes, Endless includes more fruity notes). Along with that, they both have a tangy-sweet dominant note (pomegranate and cherry blossom) and floral hearts, as well the woodiness from the mahogany (in Euphoria) and sandalwood (in Endless).

They are both EDPs (Euphoria does have an EDT version) and to me are long lasting. The sillage on both is moderate and not overpowering.




Calvin Klein Euphoria



In comparison with other popular scents, if you like DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom, you will like Endless. If you prefer DKNY Delicious Night, you will like the original.

Another example; the relationship between Euphoria and Endless are also reminiscent of the relationship between Chanel’s Coco and Coco Mademoiselle. Euphoria/Coco is the original, darker scent and Endless/Mademoiselle is the lighter scent.

If you are trying to choose between the two, it’s going to come down to this simple choice - dark or light. Colder months or warmer months.

Both Euphoria and Endless Euphoria are available from Boots, The Fragrance Shop, Escentual and numerous other places. Prices vary, but pretty much everywhere prices both from £30 upwards.

Have you tried/do you own either of these perfumes? Which is your favourite?
Let me know in the comments below! 

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