Police — To Be Super (Pure)
Essence
To Be Super [Pure] is a cheap, cheerful, genuinely unisex citrus-tea-woody cologne from Police, the accessories and eyewear brand whose fragrances, made under licensee Mavive, are famous for skull-shaped bottles. Housed in a transparent clear-crystal skull, it is pitched by the brand as a manifesto of purity and freshness uniting “girls and boys,” and it is near-universally read as a modern, affordable riff on CK One: bright bergamot-mandarin citrus, a green herbal lift, a refined black-tea heart and a soft musky-woody drydown. It belongs to Police’s eco-positioned green To Be line and is the work of perfumer Veronique Nyberg of MANE.
Scent Profile
The opening is a fresh, slightly bitter citrus grove of bergamot and mandarin, lifted by a green neroli edge from the MANE captive material Bigarane, which gives the immediate CK One association along with a faint boozy, lightly spiced facet some wearers perceive.
The heart turns more herbaceous and lightly smoky as black tea emerges, described as more refined, earthy and mineral than CK One’s green tea. Osmanthus adds a soft apricot-tinged talc, while a muguet material keeps the floral side subtle and well blended rather than loud.
The base is a soft, slightly salty-sweet woody drydown, with a driftwood material giving a gentle, ambergris-like green wood that avoids sharp cedar or sandalwood, rounded out by a fruity, tea-like davana. The signature impression throughout is clean citrus-and-tea, often called fresh laundry or out-of-the-shower, airy and pleasantly soapy.
Performance
Performance is modest and is the main knock, in line with its cologne genre and price. Wearers report roughly three to four hours on skin, with the scent turning into a soft skin-perfume after the first hour while lingering faintly beyond that, and sillage stays soft. The practical reading is a fresh splash meant to be reapplied through a hot day rather than something that projects or lasts all day.
Wearing Context
This is a spring and summer, hot-weather, daytime fresh scent, explicitly suited to work, sport, post-shower and casual warm-weather wear. It is fully unisex, with wearers stressing that it never leans clearly masculine or feminine, and it functions as a clean, crowd-pleasing fresh-laundry cologne rather than anything seductive or formal. One wearer notes that it practically screams for sunshine and is hard to appreciate in winter. Socially it reads clean, understated, inoffensive and youthful.
Comparisons & DNA
- Calvin Klein CK One is the overwhelming reference, with the association triggering instantly, though many call this an alternative rather than a strict clone given its more herbaceous, smoky black-tea direction.
- Elizabeth Arden Green Tea sits in the same green-tea-cologne lineage that wearers reach for.
- Gucci pour Homme II is invoked by one wearer as the same idea reduced to its purest form.
- Within Police’s own catalog it sits beside To Be Green and the close sibling To Be Super[Natural], all by the same perfumer.
The DNA is a clean citrus-aromatic-tea cologne in the genderless-fresh idiom, given a modern, captive-molecule twist.
Reception
Reception is that of a pleasant, underrated, surprisingly un-synthetic and un-sweet fresh-laundry cologne that punches above its rock-bottom price, let down mainly by weak longevity. Praise centers on the clean, airy citrus-tea freshness, the bargain pricing and the eye-catching clear-skull bottle. Criticism centers on short performance, the closeness to CK One that makes it feel redundant to some, and a soapy shower-gel quality a minority dislike. As a blind buy it is an easy, low-stakes yes for fans of CK One-style freshness, provided you accept reapplication.
Versions & Reformulation
To Be Super [Pure], a 2022 eau de toilette, is one flanker in Police’s very large skull-bottle To Be family, which has produced numerous variants since the original To Be in 2011. Super [Pure], in a clear skull, and Super[Natural], in a pale-green skull, are distinct flankers rather than the same scent. No reformulations of this specific flanker are documented, and it is sold in 40, 75 and 125 ml eau de toilette.
Acquisition Notes
This is budget-tier pricing, frequently discounted, with wearers reporting prices around fifteen euros for 75 ml and wide availability at discounters and online. Sizes are 40, 75 and 125 ml eau de toilette. As an inexpensive, widely distributed current release, counterfeiting is not a documented concern, and given the low price and modest longevity, a full bottle effectively serves as its own low-risk sample. Authentic channels include the brand’s own sites and mainstream discounters.
Notable Facts & Lore
- Police’s skull-shaped flacons are a long-running, polarizing design signature, and this fragrance’s fully transparent clear-crystal skull is meant to literally embody its purity concept.
- The Super[Pure] juice is colourless while its sibling Super[Natural] is pale green, a deliberate visual differentiator.
- The newer green To Be line is marketed as eco-designed and certified via a Green Motion tool, with recyclable glass and aluminium and reduced packaging.
- The scent leans heavily on MANE captive materials, an unusually transparent ingredient story for a budget designer release.
- No celebrity tie-ins or controversies are documented for this specific flanker beyond the brand’s general skull-bottle identity.