One of my regular fragrances in the 1980s was Anne Klein II, launched in 1985. That was the year I moved into New York City, sharing an apartment with my younger sister and two friends from college. It was exciting: New York was on the upswing after its near-bankruptcy and political troubles of the 1970s; Wall Street was on the rise; socialites were unabashedly socializing; and we were in our early 20s, enjoying being young in a great, vibrant city. Need I say more? We all had responsible jobs, but we also had plenty of energy to go out after work to places like The Bear Bar and King Tut’s Wawa Hut. We had fun!

I associate Anne Klein II with all of that; and it is indeed a warm, happy, floriental fragrance (also the only one that has ever prompted a total stranger to ask me, on the subway, what my perfume was). Its top notes were: bergamot, galbanum, peach, rosewood, and lemon; heart notes were jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, marigold, carnation, and orris root; base notes were vanilla, amber, sandalwood, musk, patchouli, benzoin, and civet. Victoria wrote a long post about it several years ago at her blog “Bois de Jasmin“, identifying the perfumer as Yves Tanguy, who also created another favorite of hers and mine, Jacomo Silences, as well as Lancome’s Magie Noire. Sadly, AKII was discontinued many years ago, although I continued to hoard my last bottle of eau de parfum. I was glad I had, since the price went through the roof on eBay, commanding ridiculous amounts far beyond the $19.99 on my original 50 ml bottle. This seems even more egregious when one recalls that “Anne Klein II” was the name of the design house’s “bridge line”, which offered less expensive options than the main designer collection to younger and less affluent women.

I was very happy to discover Jeffrey Dame’s JD Duality, which is not a dupe of AKII, but enough of an homage to it that it fulfills the wish for a semi-sheer, warm vanilla-based floriental. Its list of notes is somewhat different: artemisia, lemon, bergamot, cinnamon, coriander, cedar leaf, rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, carnation, water lily, lily of the valley, vanilla absolute, vanilla, benzoin, cedar wood, patchouli, sandalwood, labdanum and musk. Duality is also a great value: high quality at Jeffrey Dame’s usual reasonable prices. It seems to be sold out right now on his website; let’s hope he makes more, because it’s great stuff!

Imagine my surprise, though, when on a recent visit to T.J. Maxx, I spotted a tall, 100 ml spray bottle of what looked like the original Anne Klein II! For $12.99! I realized it couldn’t possibly be the original, but the packaging was identical, and for that modest amount, it was worth making a blind buy. Reader, I bought it on the spot.

It turns out to be a relaunch of AKII by a company called Palm Beach Beaute, and it is a very respectable reissue, manufactured in China. Since I still have a half bottle of the original, I have been able to compare them directly, one on each arm. While the original is richer and deeper, the new version smells very similar, and lasts almost as long. It even goes through the same stages of drydown at about the same pace as the original, at least on my skin. I suspect that the differences I can smell are mainly due to changes in ingredients that were necessary to comply with newer regulations. To be fair, also, the richness and depth that I smell in my original bottle may be partly because it has aged well for 30 years. As it dries down on my skin, its basenotes keep getting richer and sweeter, more so than those of the reformulation.

If you miss Anne Klein II and can’t wait for more JD Duality to arrive, look for this reissue! Like the original, it is a semi-sheer, vanilla-based floriental, not too heavy but with a warmth that is very alluring, especially in autumn. Some commenters on Fragrantica have not cared for it, but many have. If you buy online, it will be important to know the difference between the original and the reissue, as the packaging is so similar but the prices so different. The original was made in France by Parlux, and it will say so on the bottom of the box. The reissue lists many more detailed ingredients on the back of its box, as is now required, and it will say “Designed in the United States, Made in China” on the back, with the company name of Palm Beach Beaute LLC and its website, palmbeachbeaute.com.

It seems to be rare that a relaunch or reformulation satisfies fans of the original fragrance, but I am very pleased with this one, especially at the bargain price of $13-15 for 100 ml. Did you ever wear Anne Klein II? Have you tried the reissue? Or have you found any other reformulations or relaunches of favorite fragrances that you found acceptable?