cK one Shock Street Edition for Him
Calvin Klein (2012)

What is stranger than a mainstream unisex fragrance line like cK One (1994) being split into separate sexes for it's newest flanker entry cK One Shock (2011)? Why, making that entry a deceptively mature and formal pair of oriental gourmands, with the male version (cK One Shock for Him) a sleeper cell revival of the great turn-of-the-millenium tobacco style from a decade back! What's even stranger than that you say? Well, giving this flanker an edgy and dark appearance that appeals to disenfranchised youth despite the scent not matching their tastes, then completely failing to market it, creating a potential cult classic doomed to eventual obscurity and veneration (then overpricing) from vintage fans! But wait, there's more! How do we make it even more strange? Um.. how about a limited edition flanker of a flanker with even edgier packaging that tries to address the lack of youth appeal but does little (thankfully for us) to address the smell besides adding more gourmand tones? Yep! That's cK One Shock Street Edition, and in this case, cK One Shock for Him Street Edition (2012), released a year after the original cK One Shock line and falling into the same trap, albeit a bit differently. The original cK One Shock for Him smelled like it was a scent meant to compete with Versace The Dreamer (1996) or Yohji Homme by Yohji Yamamoto (1999) but shelved as it didn't fit Calvin Klein's synthetic freshness theme, then later used in a bizarre move as youth-courting flanker for another line. With cK One Shock for Him Street Edition, Calvin Klein commits more fully to the gourmand side of the gourmand/oriental hybrid dynamics of the first Shock, tipping the scales in favor of sweetness and pulling out the tobacco note that made the first iteration such a sublime dark horse.

Is it good? Yes, but those who fell in love with the first Shock will inevitably feel sequelitis and feel indifferent about it, which is the bulk of neutral to negative reviews you see. The opening of cK One Shock for Him Street Edition is similar and recognizable to the original, with cucumber making a return but the clementine and mandarin ghost fig leaf accord being replaced with "sparkling citrus" and a "mojito accord" that probably tries to copy Guerlain with their L'Homme (2001), but due to the usual synthetic abstraction of CK's "Kleinisms", fails to convey anything like that. The middle of "raspberry cocoa" and geranium comes across more clearly than the top, reminding me of those peelable chocolate oranges sold around Christmas time, which isn't a bad vibe, but does absolutely not a goddamned thing to convey "Street Edition" to me, unless they were mistakenly going for street food, in which case well done! Spices and more cocoa await in the base, with tonka and amber replacing the already-missed tobacco finish of the first Shock, before cK One Shock for Him Street Edition caps off in a vanilla afterglow. It's warm, sweet, fruity, ambery, full-tilt gourmand that yet again feels nothing whatsoever like a cK One flanker, let alone a limited flanker of a cK One flanker, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. The only bit of increased accuracy here is smelling like a proper flanker, if cK One Shock for Him Street Edition was actually a flanker to the original cK One Shock for Him if that erstwhile scent had been released as a pillar in 2001 or so under a different name. Only under the above circumstances would this feel right, but as an edit to a youth market mainstream flanker with an attempt to have even more curb appeal, this is downright laughable. I give it a thumbs up for it's content, but not the presentation.

The level of marketing delusion Calvin Klein displays here in this bottle nearly trumps the worst 80's and 90's periods of Avon, but what ultimately saves this from that surreal level of market disassociation is yet again, the contents of the bottle, no matter how poorly fitting to the presentation, are again very wearable. Ann Gottlieb was on her own this time, making me believe the inclusion of tobacco in the original cK One Shock for Him might have been perfumer Long Doc's doing, since he teamed with her there. If this is cK One Shock for Him as Gottlieb would have had it, then marketing-wise it would have made no difference but that scent wouldn't have it's cult status. On it's own merits, cK One Shock for Him Street Edition smells like a competitor for any number of candied dark gourmand masculines from the decade prior, which also makes it feel like a scent out of time, but not to the same degree of severity as the first Shock. This stuff is good, and a far sight better than many other designer releases from 2012, but trapped in the bottle of a completely obtuse limited-edition failed flanker of a failed flanker that doesn't benefit from the cult following it's predecessor possess, and has a heftier price tag when found because of it's collector's value. Folks completing their cK One collection might want this, or fans of obscure alternatives to popular themes, but few others will find it worth the hunt. Expect decent sillage and longevity, but less performance in extreme temperatures. Recommended use is romantic or casual evenings, cool fall or mild winter days, and for the love of all that is righteous, do not show anyone the bottle if they ask you what you're wearing.

CK One Shock Street Edition has some similarities with the original--the sweetiness, the frutiness, the musk--but definitely is not the same type of blend. It's less sweet, deviates more toward a liqueur type of small, and lacks anything earthy or robust like the tobacco vibe of the original. I enjoy the alcoholic bite of the opening but the drydown is an odd musky old fruit mix, which actually reminds me of dry down of The Body Shop's Arber and 50 Cent's Power. Something's just off. I wouldn't say I dislike this, but I'm indifferent. An interesting composition but one I find difficult to wear, and short-lived enough to let go.

5 out of 10

Very close to Diesel Fuel For Life..
The opening of Wall Street by Bond lasts for a few minutes..
Mojito and mainly cucumber..
Then the raspberry kicks in mixed with Tonka and light vanilla,,
the drydown is good but is somewhat synthetic.
Judging by the pyramids one would think this would be more of a gourmand but it's really not.. It has low projection but good sillage on me..
Not a good blind buy..

Not too bad, but nothing to search around for. If you have smelled Fuel for Life by Diesel, you aren't missing much. Fuel for Life is actually much better, but if if you don't like FFL's beast mode projection you may enjoy this, as it's more tame. It is nothing reminiscent of the original Shock though.

Basically.. raspberry, mint, citrus, slightly aquatic, and a cocoa dry down. Fuel for Life meets Victorinox 125 Years Your Companion For Life. Longevity is pretty weak.. 3-4 hours at best. Projection is nice, average, 2 feet or so.

Generic, citrusy, bland, and evaporates in an hour. Not even close to the character of the original. Two thumbs in free fall.