Anne Klein
Anne Klein (1984)

User Bostonredlox's first two sentences provide a great impression. But perhaps you haven't smelled vintage Arpege or Jontue and aren't sure how potent this juice is. Well, to start us off there is a blast of sparkling aldehydes that might make a perfumer at Chanel blush. Then comes a host of white florals, most prominently tuberose, along with a healthy dose of galbanum, adding a green blush. Then comes a catapult of even more white florals, basically all of them at this point (seriously, tuberose, jasmine, lily, gardenia, this beast has it all). As the heart emerges we get a whiff of what is to come - a glowing ember of a base consisting of moss, amber, and civet. It's sweet but serious, fun but focused. All in all I think Anne Klein is a fabulous scent which is guaranteed to offend anyone under 30 and intrigue most perfumistas (I feel slightly dirty for using that word) who love 80's glamour scents. Projects a million yards and lasts until flying cars enter your life.

No disrespect to those who love this perfume, but it's astounding how foul Anne Klein is to me, a lover of all kinds of old-fashioned and very strong perfumes. I've tested vintage Anne Klein in the edp from two different sources and in the parfum as well hoping to figure it out. Every time resulted in puzzlement and a sort of reaching desire to hunt out some aspect to praise but coming up short.

This screaming mimi makes Giorgio seem almost coy. Giorgio's very same industrial tuberose seems to have been dusted off and reused for Anne Klein. Galbanum is one of my favorite notes, but here it grapples with a cornucopia of dusty wax fruit, ultimately losing out to seemingly extraneous animalics.

After drydown, the smell is exactly reminiscent of a glamourous aunt of mine's late 80s convertible with leather seats that had been mauled by a melted lipstick, ill-fated transports of her spraying tomcat, spilled diet soda, hairspray, and the detritus of her various 80s powerhouse perfumes augmented by my three year old self's addition of a wad of watermelon bubblegum on the dashboard. She, a fabulous eccentric, encouraged the "creativity" of decorating with gum. I smell the same kind of overzealous "creativity" in Anne Klein. Maybe this aunt did wear Anne Klein?

Granted, the parfum concentration is a lot better than the edp to my nose, with the aldehydes leading the wild 80s parade into something I can at least recognize as a striking and confident perfume. Much respect to those who can pull this off; I don't think I'm woman enough! File this and shoulderpads under things the 80s can keep.

One of my all time favorite fragrances, and one that I bought repeatedly (which is unusual for me, as I usually buy something different every time). One of the rare scents you could wear year round. The tuberose was very discreet, you would only get faint whiffs of it, but it was definitely there. The other floral composition just compliments it. You can occasionally find this on Ebay, but the price is usually outrageous.

Anne Klein's classically composed floral marvel may speak from a familiar script, but its diction is pluperfect.

The vertebrae that create the spine of virtually the entire experience is evident within minutes. Familiar floral components are enhanced by occasional but notable cameos. Initially it is the cassis in the opening bestowing AK with a faintly oleaginous quality, and latterly it is the almond-esque tuberose note accentuating the existing blossom sweetness. The drydown is a little more parched, but the narrative is maintained to the end.

Anne Klein was one of those rare occasions where my purchase became an instant investment.

If Arpege by Lanvin and Jontue by Revlon had a baby, it would be Anne Klein. It has the aldehyde notes of Arpege but the sweet floral notes balance out the amber, musk and civet and remind me of Jontue. I found a bottle of the eat de perfume and my only complaint is that it has surprisingly short longevity. But otherwise a perfume that it sophisticated and soft at the same time.

Yummmmm!! When I was in high school, there was a girl who I had a very hot make-out session with at a party who wore a delicious fragrance. This was well before AK was launched, and I never did find out what her fragrance was, but when I first smelled Anne Klein it brought back all those memories!According to H & R's Fragrance Guide, Anne Klein is a floral scent with top notes of aldehydes, galbanum, bergamot, hyacinth, neroli and cassia, middle notes of jasmine, tuberose, rose, lily of the valley, ylang-ylang, orchid and fruit, with base notes of sandalwood, vetiver, musk, civet, amber, benzoin and vanilla. There is an initial blast of sweet floral that's quickly balanced by greens, and even though there are powerhouse flowers here, no one of them dominates the others --- the spiciness of the ylang-ylang and the depth of the tuberose are balanced by the freshness of the muguet and the roundness of the rose, and the base notes are also so artfully blended as to create an accord in which no one element overshadows the others.This is a scent of many moods --- it alternates being sweet, seductive, fresh, and mysterious, but always very, very feminine. Love it!