Calvin Klein
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
A crisp bellini accord erupts immediately, its prosecco-like shimmer underpinned by sharp bergamot and tart red berry notes that feel almost effervescent. The synthetic topnotes are prominent here—bright, almost plasticky in their vivacity—creating an initial impression of uncomplicated freshness.
As the fruit settles into the background, peony emerges with genuine prettiness, joined by pink lily and jasmine that collectively create a soft, almost petal-like texture. The floral heart is where Sheer Beauty reveals its actual substance, moving away from fruity frivolity into something more contemplative and genuinely feminine-coded.
Vanilla blossom and musk dominate the final hours, creating a soft, musky-sweet skin scent that bears little resemblance to the opening's vivacity. Sandalwood provides a woody anchor, though by this point the fragrance has become a whisper—intimate, comforting, but almost entirely absent from a distance.
Sheer Beauty arrives as a fragrance caught between whispered intentions and bold declarations—a floral that's simultaneously airy and substantive. Carlos Benaïm has constructed something that feels almost contradictory: a bellini-spiked opener that suggests aperitif indulgence, yet one that dissolves into delicate peony and pink lily rather than pursuing fruity opacity. The bergamot provides architectural clarity, preventing the composition from becoming a generic fruity-floral blur, whilst the red berries add a barely-there tartness that keeps things from drifting into powdery sentimentality.
This is a fragrance for the wearer who gravitates towards florals but resists their predictability. It's neither the ingénue's first fragrance nor the collector's Holy Grail—rather, it occupies that middle territory where sincerity meets restraint. The synthetic musks (comprising 64% of the accords) reveal themselves gradually, creating a cosmetic cleanliness that some will find refreshing and others will identify as distinctly 2012. The vanilla blossom in the base prevents the drydown from becoming austere, introducing a creamy sweetness that softens the sandalwood's woody undertones.
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3.5/5 (150)