DK Men by Donna Karan c1994

DK Men by Donna Karan: launched in 1994. Created by Jean-Claude Delville.

This fragrance is also known as DK Men Fuel for Men or DK Men Leaded.

DK Men™ was originally available in the following products:

• 2.5 oz DK Men Fuel for Men Cologne Spray (actually Eau de Toilette)
• 2.5 oz DK Men Fuel for Men Cologne Splash (actually Eau de Toilette)
• 4 oz After Shave Skin Conditioner
• 6 oz Hair & Body Shampoo
• 2 oz Antiperspirant/Deodorant
• 5 oz Soap

In her 2015 autobiography, My Journey, Donna Karan reveals:

"We tackled men's fragrance next. Because Stephan was a race car and motorcycle fanatic, I wanted it to smell like race cars. When he and Jane met with International Fragrances and Flavors, they visited a garage with the engines on so they could smell the exhaust. It could have killed them all! But that was Stephan, passionate and committed. He even created a bottle that looked like a stick shift. I wanted to call the fragrance Thrust. I loved that it evoked the vroom of driving, and yes, that it was sexual. But our friend Hal Rubenstein, the fashion editor, said, “Don't you dare, Donna.” We settled on Fuel for Men as the name."

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a woody spicy fragrance for men. Spices, musk and exotic woods fuse to deliver a warm, sensual smoky fragrance. An "accelerated burst" of citrus, plus notes of tobacco and leathery suede accord.

• Top notes: pineapple, apricot, orange blossom, green notes, osmanthus, peach, bergamot
• Middle notes: carnation, lily, cassia, orchid, jasmine, heliotrope, ylang ylang, rose
• Base notes: tobacco, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, patchouli, musk, benzoin, vanilla, citruses, vetiver, incense, cedar, suede

Business Week, 1994:

"A competitor is Donna Karan, which earlier this year launched cig-scented dk Men. Company President Stephan Weiss chose the smell after a visit to a tobacco shop. He says that the finished product recalls a "powerful, masculine" scents he encountered while racing automobiles. The tobacco fragrance, he says, adds a feeling "of warmth and serenity similar to a fireplace." But cologne makers are aware of the public crusades against cigarettes, so they are quick to say they don't endorse smoking. Says Donna Karan's Weiss of his product: "I couldn't imagine a more healthy use of the scent of tobacco."

DK Men Unleaded:

DK Men Unleaded by Donna Karan: launched in 1995. This is a lighter, fresher companion scent to the 1994 fragrance DK for Men Fuel. Because of its concentration as a Eau Fraicheur Tonique, it's overall scent is not as long lasting as its predecessor.

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a bracing spicy woody fragrance for men, enhanced with the fresher, crisp top notes of basil, sage and cardamom, layered over lighter concentrations of the sensual suede and tobacco base used in the DK Men Fuel version. 

• Top notes: basil, sage and cardamom
• Middle notes:
• Base notes: suede and tobacco

Happi, 1995:

"Donna Karan's newest scent, Unleaded, complements the company's first men's fragrance DK Men. Like DK Men, Unleaded contains suede and tobacco accords, but the IFF juice is "crisper and fresher" with basil, sage and cardamom notes."

Bottles:

The original DK Men Fuel fragrance was available in a rare "gas pump handle" styled bottle designed by Donna Karan's husband, Stephan Weiss. The bottle for DK Men Unleaded is the same as the original but is made with a smoky mirrored style glass.

However, both the DK Fuel and the DK Unleaded fragrances were also issued in other identical bottles that remind me of a thermos. How to tell the difference between the bottles?

The original DK for Men fragrance is housed in a black box with the words "Fuel for Men™" on the back of the box. This fragrance is a 75 ml Eau de Toilette.

CLICK HERE TO FIND DK MEN FUEL BY DONNA KARAN

The flanker scent DK for Men Unleaded is housed in a gray box with the words "Unleaded™ Eau Fraicheur Tonique Vaporisateur". This fragrance is a 100 ml Bracing Skin Spray.

CLICK HERE TO FIND DK MEN UNLEADED BY DONNA KARAN

Fate of the Fragrance:

Both DK Men fragrances were discontinued in 1998 was phased out when Lauder acquired the Donna Karan Beauty Company.

Fuel for Men was relaunched in 2008 as a part of the Donna Karan’s Michael Andretti Essence Collection as Limited Edition.  A few  of the black glass "gas pump handle" shaped bottles were signed at the launch party by the famous racing driver. This 1.7 oz bottle held Eau de Toilette and were housed in a silvery box.

After the launch party, a reformulated limited edition of DK Men (Fuel for Men) was brought out in 2008 and was only available at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. This edition, simply known as Fuel, is housed in a black glass cylindrical bottle as a 100 ml Eau de Parfum Spray.

This version is classified as a floral woody musk fragrance for men.

• Top notes: citrus, pineapple and juniper.
• Middle notes: mayflower, amber, lavender and almond.
• Base notes: sandalwood, patchouli and musk

CLICK HERE TO FIND DK MEN BY DONNA KARAN