My mother had exactly the same problem. Our skin chemistry reacts to one particular ingredient in some perfumes and, within hours, even the most expensive ends up smelling like cats wee! Hence, while I always wear perfume of some sort (well you do when you work in milking parlours, surrounded by the not so sweet smell of cows), I have, in the past, found myself limited to certain brands.

My favourites to date have been Anais Anais by Cacharel, Jicky by Guerlain and CK1 by Calvin Klein. I don't like anything too overpowering and I adore the smell of lemons, so anything with a citrus tang is likely to become a favourite.

Back in September of last year, I was shopping for a birthday present for a friend when the assistant in the chemists' shop sprayed my wrist with a healthy squirt of "Truth" by Calvin Klein. As I usually do, I went off for an hour or so to allow the perfume to settle before deciding I liked it a lot and going back to buy some. (Sadly, when I was told the price, I decided that she was not that good a friend after all and slipped next door to the hand-made chocolate shop.)

Fast forward three months to Christmas shopping. At the beginning of December, I wore for the first time since, the same jacket that I had been wearing for the birthday shopping expedition three months earlier. In the car, my husband commented favourably on my "new" perfume - I wasn't wearing any. After a little random sniffing, we traced the gorgeous smell to the cuff of the jacket where I had been liberally dosed with "Truth" precisely three months earlier. By the end of the day, my wrist smelled as though I had just applied the perfume and I was so impressed, I treated myself there and then.


The packaging of the "Truth" range is, as is usual for Klein, very innovative and very different from that of his other fragrances. CK1, for example, comes in a plain, frosted glass bottle while Ckbe c
omes in a similarly shaped black bottle. According to the Cosmetic and Personal Care Packaging website, Calvin Kleins success in fragrance production comes from his "ability to read the buying habits of consumers".

The intended theme behind "Truth" is modern simplicity and sensuality in everyday life. (Goodness! My cows won't know what's hit them!) Thus the packaging is simplicity itself. A tall, very thin bottle of highly polished glass that has one flat and one curved side and stands slightly tilted. A silver cap, identical in shape, completes the elegant, sophisticated and very expensive look. The outer packaging is equally smart - a slightly pearlised creamy- beige box that would look good on any dressing table. This fragrance looks expensive. It actually looks as though someone might have spent an awful lot of money on buying it for you. Men, take note - it is impressive!

Never mind the packaging, how does it smell? (How on earth can anyone describe a smell over the internet anyway? I'll try my best...)

It's a woody smell, fresh and quite light with overtones of flowers and undertones of citrus. Exactly which flowers it has overtones of provoked quite a heated argument between some friends and I last weekend. One friend thought lily of the valley, another violets, while I plumped for lilac. As it turns out, I was probably the closest, since the floral ingredients are listed as white clover, accacia, white peony and lilac.

I managed to discover that on searching the internet, since our weekend discussion eventually grew so heated that we began placing bets. However, all bets have since been declared null and void, since the ingredients of "Truth" seem to vary considerably according to which website is consulted. Possible ingredients include bamboo, sapling, white amber, silk tree flower, citrus, vanilla, musk - and vetiver, whatever that might be. (Also in the ingredients list is
something called "wet woods" which conjures up images of mushrooms, leaf mould and damp dogs for me, although I'm sure that wasn't what Calvin Klein intended.)

"Truth" is said to react to individual skin chemistry, producing a slightly different and thus unique fragrance for every wearer. I eventually did relent and buy my friend some for Christmas, and the perfume really does smell very different on her than it does on me. The one thing we have both noticed about it is its longevity. If I use it at night, the fragrance is still strong in the morning and needs no repeated application. If I put on a sweater or jacket that I have worn, but not washed, the smell has lingered - for up to three months - and, even after washing my clothes, a hint of scent still remains above the washing powder / fabric conditioner smells.

My advice would be to test it before buyng and leave it for at least a couple of hours to settle since, if you don't like it, or if it reacts adversely to your skin, you're going to be stuck with it for an awful long time. However, even though it is quite expensive, I have found that I use a great deal less than I would do of a comparable fragrance such as CK 1 so it is actually very economical. A little goes a long, long way.

"Truth" is available in a variety of products listed below. You should be aware that the prices given are approximate - for example, I paid £34.00 for the 50ml spray from Boots although it is available from other firms for £32.50.

30 ml spray - £19.50
50 ml spray - £34.00
100ml spray - £45.00
Oil Essence Kit - £21.50
Body Lotion - £22.00
Body Oil Spray - £18.00
Shower Gel - £17.50

Unlike CK1 and Ckbe, this is definitely not a unisex fragrance but one for the ladies. (That's not to say that men can't buy it - in fact I'm currently trying to persuade my husband that he could quite easily buy it if he happen
ed to know of anyone special with a birthday coming up in March!) Oh, and the only other thing to note about this particular fragrance is that in the past five weeks I have received more compliments than I ever have before - and not just from the cows. I've even had complete strangers stop me in the street and ask what perfume I'm wearing.

It is refreshing, sensuous and ideal both as a daytime and an evening fragrance. Mr Nikkisly take note - I LOVE it! (And you're going to hear that an awful lot between now and the end of March.) This year, it really does have to be "Truth" - or face the consequences!