Eternity
Calvin Klein (1988)

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.

If we believe the backstory that Calvin Klein gave a ring to his wife inscribed Eternity, and this inspired the perfume, then it’s safe to assume that la Grojsman was given the brief ‘Do one of your Hug Me thingies, and make it last forever’ (or something to that effect). She did that alright, but what Eternity gives in longevity it takes away in legibility.

It feels like her soft rose-violet formula has been stretched out, becoming longer and narrower, and all the details squeezed together. There's also an aquatic feel that makes it more streamlined, but it doesn’t do much for the quality of the rose.

This was Grojsman’s sixth perfume and her first unpopular one on Basenotes. It gets 42% negative reviews (and 36% positive) and with certain exceptions, her ratings tend to go down from here on in.

If you want to smell the work of Sophia Grojsman (and I urge you to do it) there are better places to start, Paris being the obvious one (the perfume not the city) and once you’ve smelled a couple of the Hug Me scents you’ll realise there’s not that much between them.

Early on, I get an ashy note from the vintage parfum (which is full and in a pristine box, and made by Calvin Klein Cosmetics – not Coty) and in light of the fact that it doesn’t say anything new, except for a slight aquatic that's a wee bit scratchy, I'd say forget this and try some of the other early period works.

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.