By Kilian Moonlight in Heaven: short fragrance review

Kilian's Moonlight in Heaven is a fragrance I had my eye on for at least a year, nay, more! I took the opportunity to try it out in store with an American colleague, and we both oohed and aahed over its tropical floral glory which spelled summer writ large and in Technicolor. 

pic via

I'm not usually the tropical kind of gal, but there's something in this Calice Beckercreation which smells like frangipani nectar, like the evening air is moist, and warm, and engulfing you in an embrace of pure lust. There's a touch of sweet coconut in the top note, but it soon gives way to that fruity and nectarous quality of the tropical garlands that exude warmth and come hither. 

I kinda see why it's encased in the single blue bottle in a line of black bottles!

Related reading on PerfumeShrine: 

Differences between plumeria/frangipani,jasmine, sampaquita and pikake

Another niche perfume brand bought up by a giant corporation

We have been reporting this snatching up of smaller niche fragrance brands for some time now because it shows just how powerful capitalism is and just how businesses need cash to flourish and expand. Or perhaps how the dream of founding a brand is to eventually sell it to a bigger stake? In any case, the latest news revolves around an interesting (and seemingly contradictory?) acquisition.

According to Fragrantica who reports based on the Business Wire reportage:

"Estee Lauder started to build a strong portfolio of prestige perfume brands with the aquisition of Tom Ford. Recently, Le Labo and Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle have also come under EL control. Now, Kilian Hennessy -  the grandson of the founder of The LVMH Group - sold his brand to EL, although everyone was always hinting at the big support of LVMH behind By Kilian."



It's also reported on The Street Insider. (section Acquisitions/Mergers)

The Lauder Group portfolio currently includes: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, M·A·C, Kiton, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Donna Karan New York, DKNY, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Michael Kors, Darphin, Tom Ford, Smashbox, Ermenegildo Zegna, AERIN, Marni, Tory Burch, RODIN olio lusso, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, By Kilian.

My grumbling had began in 2013 when I lamented the "loss" to Big Market of L'Artisan Parfumeur and later Diptyque and Penhaligon's. And it was back then that I featured a true indie's views on how the market works and what lies in the future ahead. When Frederic Malle was bought by Lauder in 2015 the furore spread on online communities like wildfire. And Le Labo's acquisition too.

It's safe to assume that if your favorite fragrance niche brand is expanding, issuing more and more perfumes and accessory products (candles, linen sprays, hair scents etc.) it's bound to get sold very very soon! However if The Aesthetic Principle® should apply, fear not; you shouldn't feel guilty of fanning the fires of capitalism.

But let's revert to the case at hand. An originally LVMH company bought up by the Lauder Group. A company headed by someone related to LVMH bought up by the Lauder group. We live in interesting times!

By Kilian Good Girl Gone Bad, Forbidden Games, In the City of Sin: new fragrances

After the Eastern-inspired Asian Tales fragrances released very recently by Kilian, a new triad with naughty-evocative names is the next project of the Hennessy heir, stepping into the Garden of Good and Evil.
As you can read below there is a bit of seducer/sinner hyperbole in the ad copy, which might -just might- create expectations beyond the realistic or adversely open up the gates of ridicule among the snarkier perfume aficionados...but that remains to be seen. (They also have a Prohibited in Colors clutch bags collection right now exclusively at Harvey Nichols Pacific Place Level 1 Kilian counter)

What do you think of the following descriptors? Tickling or Ticking? The notes sound very tempting at any rate!

 "Good Girl Gone Bad is a composition of fruits and flowers, a perfume as bewitching as bursts of laughter, a barrier moved beyond, a forgotten prohibition. The fragrance opens on the fresh sweetness of a floral nectar. The ephemeral innocence of the petals of Jasmine Sambac connects with the tender, apricot-kissed tonalities of Osmanthus. The resulting voluptuousness is barely suggested but insidiously addictive, completed by the honeyed facets of the Rose of May. The heart gives way to the troubling and fascinating character of Indian Tuberose. Its round milky notes give off a floral opulence, saturated by toxic Narcissus. This combination brings an unexpected green tension, a unique narcotic depth. A sillage of Amber Vegetal passionately envelops all this floral beauty in a warm and sensual veil, irresistibly feminine. Over it all, the White Cedar confers a dense and powerful woodsiness, like a final vibration.

 Forbidden Games embraces the temptation that leads to wild abandon. The dark addictive nectar of fruits mesmerizes, teasing and seducing the senses. Forbidden Games opens on a potpourri of fruits—Apple, Peach, Plum— spiced by Cinnamon bark of Laos. Then the perfume advances into a lush, exuberant floral heart—Bulgarian Rose Orpur, Geranium Bourbon, and Midnight Jasmine— before disappearing slowly into a sweet confection of Madagascar Vanilla, Laotian Honey, and the spellbinding resinous oil of Opopanax.

  In the City of Sin is a place of extreme temptation where every street corner offers the possibility of impromptu encounters and seductions. In the City of Sin embodies the temptation that leads to carnal desire. This fragrance is a rich composition of Fruits and Spices, Flowers and Woods, in which the essence of fruits liquefies and melts onto the heady woods. As an opening, we meet an explosion of Bergamot of Calabria, Pink Peppercorns and Cardamom from Guatemala. The perfume then evolves into a heart of Apricots and caramelized Plums held in check by the Turkish Rose Absolute. A light haze of Indonesian Incense entrances and then lends a profound depth, further sustained by Atlas and Virginia Cedar woods and rich Indonesian Patchouli."


Let me hereby reveal other names for By Kilian fragrances soon to be implementing the line: Dangerously in Love, Light my Fire, and Kisses don't Lie [ed.n: oh yes, they do!]

descriptions via press release

By Kilian Asian Tales: new fragrances

Kilian Hennesy of the niche, luxe perfume brand By Kilian is announcing a new collection of fragrances, codenamed "Asian Tales by Kilian" or L'Oeuvre Rouge because the familiar black-laquered boxes now boast a scarlet lining and a chinese coin on a red ribbon instead of the little key we knew from L'Oeuvre Noire. The new fragrance line comprises five fragrant editions that will recount the tradition of the Far East and pay homage to this great culture.

For 2012 two releases are scheduled, to be unveiled in Milano next March at the Esxence exhibition, both by perfumer Calice Becker who did the majority of the Kilian fragrances so far: Water Calligraphy is focusing on the artistic merits of eastern calligraphy and its rich tradition. Harmony Bamboo is inspired by The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a Japanese folk tale.

Notes for By Kilian Water Calligraphy:

grapefruit zest, cherry blossom, water lily
magnolia, jasmine sambac
cardamom and vetiver

Notes for By Kilian Bamboo Harmony:

bright notes of bergamot, neroli and orange bigarade
white tea leaves, mimosa, illuminated by a touch of spice
rare essence of mate, fig leaves and oak moss

The rest of the Asian Tales by Kilian line will launch successively in the following seasons, inspired in turn by The Peony Pavillion (2013), The Peach Flowers Water Source (2014), and The Lotus Flower and the King Dragon (2015).

By Kilian Incense Oud: fragrance review

Nothing is more alluring than the forbidden and at a time when the Muslim world appears as West's "enemy" in the zeitgeist, the surge for Arabian-inspired perfumes is gaining momentum thanks to that very axiom. Incense Oud by Kilian is one member of the cast in this multi-character play where prestige and polish are given to niche lines through the claim on age-old materials, such as oud/agarwood and incense; but it's not just a supporting player.

Incense Oud managed to make me notice ~my nose has become seriously jaded with oud-claiming notes in just about every price-point in the market!~ and that's no small feat. Is it because oud has become a play on perception since the perfume doesn't -apparently- contain any? Smoother than the Montale aoud scents, which possess that "Band-Aid note" so distinctly and which announce their presence from five blocks away, the Kilian fragrance feels very wearable and with its elegant eloqution of Eastern materials manages to smell at once mysterious and meditative. It's an "oud fragrance" for non-oud-lovers, but it doesn't betray the promise of Middle Eastern atmosphere.

To an audience of men and women tired of the pop celebritoids popping up through reality TV and one-hit wonders, a media plate brimming with upstarts ready to forsake their panties at the drop of a nickel and eager to leak their own sex video tapes online, a veiled lady or a tanned Arabian prince half hidden under a djelaba look not only exotic, but infinitely classy. When on the other hand you have a Colossus such as LVMH, the Group behind the By Kilian brand (indeed Kilian Hennesy is the heir to the throne of the cognac empire) supporting and pushing the Arabian Scent Concept to anyone willing to look beyond Walmart, you can bet you have a sizzling hot trend on your hands!

As announced, By Kilian Incense Oud is the newest installation to the "Arabian Nights" collection. It is a dark and well balanced blend of frankincense & woods (cedar, patchouli and sandalwood get amped by the naturally leathery accents of cistus labdanum and the murkiness of a little oakmoss) evoking the "impression" of oud. The patchouli gets a boozy, almost licoriced facet, it's soft and quite delicious.
The first impression you get from Incense Oud is terpenes-rich frankincense, the kind you smell in Catholic churches (the Roman Catholic Church sources its supplies from Somalia); in fact the brand claims it makes a quart of the total formula! It doesn't present itself as a hard-core incense fragrance nevertheless and there is no smoky trail, but rather a resinous quality about it. The naturally citric facets of this ancient gum are reinforced by complimentary notes (methyl pamplemouse for one, which is grapefruit-like). The natural pairing of oud on the other hand is traditionally rose, but you can't quite pinpoint this is as rosy. Rose is smoothly blended with the patchouli and therefore nothing like you'd meet at the florist's or ~heaven forbid!~ in a toilet freshener. Think of the treatment of rose in Voleur de Roses in L'Artisan for that segment in the fragrance, a dark rose unfurling its petals under a moonless sky.
The lasting impression is patchouli with a hint of myrrh to reinforce the sweetness in Incense Oud: the longer the perfume stays on skin, the more pronounced the sweet leaves become. Of course, patchouli is to the 2000s what hair mousse was to the 1980s: there's simply no escaping it. Not that I particularly mind.

Sidonie Lancesseur had composed the oud-themed Cruel Intentions, as well as Straight to Heaven, for the brand’s introductory "L’Oeuvre Noire" series. The rest were composed by Calice Becker. Although the info on shopping sites presents Lancesseur as the creator of this scent as well, the Kilian press says that Becker is the real creator. Here she was presented ~oddly~ with the challenge of composing an oud-themed fragrance without including the essence or the synth. I seem to think there's a smidge of it there, but I could just be showing my contrarian colours!

The whys of such a decision not to advertise as it containing oud, when the name alludes otherwise, could be seen in diverging interpretations: It could be that the challenge is a plea to people's intelligence and consequently perfume aficionados' increasing cynicism: "You distrust oud as a mentioned ingredient, so here, we're offering you one which doesn't lie in its notes about what it contains or not". Or it could be interpreted differently, along the lines that since oud is the material du jour, it doesn't matter whether or not there is any included; "as long as it's mentioned in the name, people will try it and buy it". Of course I am not professing any of the two versions as truer than the other; I'm just noticing things!
Kilian offers cardamom as a featured note too (probably because the inclusion of cardamom pods are a time-honoured tradition in the preparation of delicious Arabian coffee and is too good a reference to eschew), but it's not as discernible as in Cartier's Déclaration for instance; it doesn't form a major part of the experience.
Simply put, if you like frankincense and patchouli-rose accords, you stand good chances to like Incense Oud, because it lives up to the former (being the first half of its name) and offers a polished interpretation of the later. The sillage is medium and tenacity is very good. It's a sneaky scent I found, growing on you upon consequent wearings.

Notes for Incense Oud By Kilian:
Guatemala cardamom, pink pepper, Turkish rose, Egyptian geranium, methyl pamplemousse, Virginia cedarwood, Indonesian patchouli, Indian papyrus, Somalia incense (oil and absolute), sandalwood, Macedonian oakmoss, Spanish cistus labdanum, musks.

Available in 50ml bottles for $395 (ouch!!) at Luckyscent et al. Smart tip: go for the refills for same quantity for 175$ (i.e. perfect for splitting).

Disclosure: I was sent a sample vial for reviewing purposes. Pic was sent to me by email unaccredited.

By Kilian Arabian Nights "Incense Oud": new fragrance

Periods and continents diverge to give birth to a new oriental collection By Kilian. Kilian Hennesy, grandson of the founder of LVMH and cognac heir, is well known among perfume enthusiasts for his eponymous collection By Kilian which includes such fragrances as the glorious rosy floral of Dangerous Liaisons and the more masculine woody Cruel Intentions or the more extroverted Love, Prelude to Love or Love and Tears.

The “Arabian Nights” is Kilian's newest project, composed of 5 perfumes, 5 olfactive harmonies, all built around essential oils with strong symbolic values from the East: Oud, Rose, Incense, Amber and Musk.
Pure Oud, Rose Oud and Incense Oud are the first stopovers of this olfactive trip, with Incense Oud to come out shortly.

Oud is an extremely rare and precious oil found in Agarwood, the resinous heartwood of the
Aquilaria tree from southeast Asia and is possibly the strongest trend in perfumery in the last two years, mainly thanks to developments in synthetic replications. (You can read a comprehensive article on oud/agarwood on this link on Perfume Shrine). Still some companies use the real stuff to extend the effect.
The natural oil itself is dark in coloration and has a complex scent, being warm and woody, yet strongly animalistic at the same time. In many Middle Eastern countries, Oud is believed to be worth more than its weight in gold. To echo this belief, the Kilian Incense Oud bottle has a gold plaque engraved with the name of the perfume and the box is decorated with a gold plaque on the top.
Incense, a mystical aroma whose smoke was said to be one of the links between mortals and Gods, is combined with oud, giving birth to a fragrance that is mysterious and warm, yet modern.

1.7 oz/50ml PURE OUD spray $ 395
1.7 oz/50ml ROSE OUD spray $ 395
1.7 oz/50ml INCENSE OUD spray $ 395

Points of Sale:
Bergdorf Goodman, select Saks, Lucky Scent Bar, MiN (and online at BergdorfGoodman.com, Saks.com, luckyscent.com and MiN.com).

some info via press release

By Kilian Love & Tears (Amour & Larmes): new fragrance

The 9th installment in the By Kilian line L'Oeuvre Noir is announced: Love and Tears (Amour et Larmes).

The fragrance is centered around jasmine, with facets of iris, hesperides, white flowers and animalic notes garlanded around it. With such a composition, what other subtitle would you expect but Succumb? (In the manner of all the little commands of L'Oeuvre Noir scents in the By Kilian line).
Love and Tears by Kilian will be officially launching in September 2010 and will cost from 45 up to 165 euros, depending on packaging and size. (Yes, that means there will be travel refil options for you)


Related reading on PerfumeShrine: By Kilian news & reviews (scroll)

Info was brought to us as a heads-up first from the sweetest person imaginable.

Rose Oud by Kilian: new fragrance

In the sub-line 'Arabian Nights', the luxurious niche brand By Kilian (of whom we had occupied ourselves with the arousingly rosy Liaisons Dangereuses and the unusual oud-tinged Cruel Intentions in the past) is launching another instalment, Rose Oud, right after Pure Oud.

Composed by Calice Becker, almost resident nose at By Kilian, it promises some of the luminous treatment which she reserves for most of her creations (J'adore, Liaisons Dangeureuses, Secret Obsession, Beyond Paradise, Cuir by Lancome, Tommy Girl etc) but also "mystery, depth and opulence". The composition will predictably focus on the magical wood and the essence of rose, a combination as classic as the many centuries in which Arabian fragrance use is counting.

The line is set to include another three fragrances centered on Oud, following the first two: an embarassment of riches for the many fans of this complex note. The packaging for Rose Oud is decadently luxuriant in its shiny gold tones...

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Perfumery material: Oud & Synthetic Substitutes, By Kilian news & reviews

pic via extrait.it

Monolithe Travel Sprays for By Kilian fragrances: at long last!

If you have been one of those people who have been enamored with some or all of the By Kilian fragrances (such as the wonderful rosy jamminess of Liaisons Dangereuses or the less intriguing Cruel Intentions, reviewed on these pages), but annoyed by the concept of the super-luxe box under lock & key and the inability to buy the available refills without first investing in the whole kaboodle of the expensive presentation, you will be thrilled.

Perfume Shrine is bringing you the welcome news that Cognac heir Kilian Hennessy's By Kilian brand will be introducing a travel purse spray, called Monolithe, in spring '09, designed with the familiar Achilles' Shield design which is the signature of L'Oeuvre Noire (ie.the first lineup of By Kilian fragrances in black packaging and noir-ish intent). The design is, well, monolithic, I guess, in its columnal glory with some textural interest.
Refillable, Monolithe travel spray will be available for filling with 4 refills of 7.5ml/0.4oz each in Prelude to Love, Love, Beyond Love or Liaisons Dangereuses . Availability and price: 95 Euros, starting March wherever By Kilian scents are sold (like Aedes for example).
Considering that the usual standard price of the By Kilian line is US$225 for a 50ml/1.7oz bottle and $115 for a 50ml/1.7oz refill or ~if you want to have a constant source~ $2,500 for the small "barells" of perfume), it sounds like a more approachable solution for many perfume lovers, even if ml per ml it is not so economical. Rejoice!

News & pic via Magali Bertin vogue.fr

Cruel Intentions By Kilian: fragrance review & myth debunking on Oud

Cruel Intentions tagged "tempt me", along with Liaisons Dangereuses, is part of the Parisian orgies unisex duo, meant to denote a source of desires, transgressions and pleasures of the flesh. The fragrance was composed by Sidonie Lancesseur and inspired "by the warm, enfolding, balsamic notes of oud, a legendary wood whispered to be worth more than its weight in gold". Of course when it actually comes to revealing the actual components, the brand has the decency and -to be applauded- honesty to admit there is an agarwood accord. Accord is perfume-speak for the combination of more than one ingredients to produce a sum larger than its parts, a co-existance that sings together to produce the odour impression of oud/agarwood.
Not everyone who does "oud fragrances" dares to admit so!

But what is oud? Let's explain and dispell some myths. Agarwood is the resinous heartwood from Aquilaria trees (predominantly from Aquilaria malaccensis), evergreens native to southeast Asia. As they become infected with mold (Phaeoacremonium parasitica, a dematiaceous fungus) they compensate by producing an aromatic resin. Thus the growing of the infection results in a rich, dark resin within the heartwood. That resin is known as gaharu, jinko, aloeswood, agarwood, or oud/oude/oudh, valued in many cultures since antiquity for its distinctive aroma ~terribly complex with nutty, musty-earthy undertones redolent of undergrowth. However oud is prohibitevely expensive, even for niche and ultra-expensive brands and quite rare, which raises questions as to how so many fragrances can claim harnessing its complex bouquet! One of the reasons for the rarity and high cost (above $62,000 cash for one kilo) of agarwood is the depletion of the wild resource: Since 1995 Aquilaria malaccensis has been listed in Appendix II by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, while in 2004 all Aquilaria species were listed in Appendix II, even though some countries have reservations for the latter listing. Middle Eastern or French perfumers seeking oud at source must establish ginormous bank funds in the pertinent countries, because governments are aware of the trade capitalizing on it. Additonal obstacles arise from the sheer reality of harvesting: Dead infected wood cannot be distilled and heavily infected live wood is not worth it as the wood itself is so more pricey. Thus the only wood distilled is live. Distillable wood is only good for a few months on the other hand, as the essential oil cells dry out, making oud a stratospherically expensive business.
Besides there are also grades within the product: The highest quality comes from the tree's natural immune response (known as agarwood #1) while an inferior resin is rendered by deliberatily wounding aquilaria trees (agarwood #2, within which there aslo several grades of quality). Adulteration is not unheard of either, according to Tryvge Harris. The average oud available in the US will have changed hands at least 10 times (!), while rumours abound about Chinese factories who churn out beautiful but fake product ~made of the lowest possible grade agarwood soaked for a month in synthetic (European manufactured) oud. It's also worthy of note that Arabs are not that concerned with purity as might have been supposed, instead focusing on the pleasure principle the aroma brings.
Some years ago (well, ever since M7 by Yves Saint Laurent at least) there have been ways to approximate oud's odour profile by combining ingredients with ambergris, jasmine, earthy and woody facets. Therefore a tsunami of oud-centered fragrances flooded the market (yes, Montale, I am looking at you!). Precious few companies do use the natural distillate, Zeenat and Amouage among them. It's all worth keeping in mind when faced with claims about oud/agarwood included in your latest niche bottle!

At least, like noted above, by Killian is honest about it. On the other hand most of the other ingredients they include are top-notch: the castoreum, styrax resin, Centifolia rose (May rose) and vanilla are all natural absolutes imparting a rich vibrancy, while the bergamot oil comes from Calabria, a region that has been declining due to the the material being slowly substituted for cheaper locations' product.

Cruel Intentions is not terrifically oud-like, yet it has a bittersweet facet that can be interesting to see flesh out and indeed, contrary to the grand ball room of Dangerous Liaisons, it offers a panoramic vista of notes evolving out of the bottle in quick succession: Opening with discernible bergamot with its refreshing yet sensually complex attribute; the sweet combination of violet and rose very smoothly blended; an earthy-musty phase that might be due to the violet accord in combination with the woody-grassy elements of patchouli and vetiver ~or it might not; and a creamy leathery impression that persists for a while, wearing itself closely to the skin. After all, the vogue towards woodies has breached into the mainstream as attested by the dubious Magnifique and the innofensive Secret Obsession and I predict it will continue its course for a long, long time.
Alberta Ferretti, the Italian designer with her own portfolio of fragrances, admits to Luckyscent to be smitten:"I love it's {sic} homage to old-school glamour and that it comes in a beautiful black case with a lock and key". I can't say I am equally struck. For those prices I expect something which will rock my world and make me abandon everything I do to pay closer attention to the microcosmos playing tiny strings' sextets on my wrists as I go about my day. Still Cruel Intentions is not as confused or undecided as other authors have made it out to be, although not dangerous by any stretch of the imagination, and if you happen upon a sample or a decant it is an interesting fragrance to investigate on closer quarters.

And if you want to see what the hell is this "Cruel Intentions" stint, click here, here and here.

Notes for Cruel Intentions: Bergamot calabria oil, orange blossom oil, violet accord, centifolia rose absolute, agarwood, Indian papyrus oil, gaiacwood oil, Haiti vetiver oil, sandalwood, styrax absolute, castoreum absolute, vanilla absolute, musk.

By Killian Cruel Intentions comes in 1.7oz/50ml (225$) refillable bottles of Eau de Parfum and a candle version. Available from Printemps Haussman, Parfumerie Victor Hugo, Bon Marche in Paris and Monaco, La Mure Favorite in Lyon, Verso at Anvers, Oswald in Zurich, Skins in Amsterdam, Bergdorf Goodman and Aedes (also online) in NYC, Apothia and Luckyscent in Los Angeles, Saks in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Beverly Hills and Holt Renfrew in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary). Also from their site.

Pics from the film Cruel Intentions through cswap.com and of box presentation courtesy of By Kilian

Liaisons Dangereuses By Kilian: fragrance review and brand presentation

"L’Oeuvre Noire" (The Black Masterpiece) by Kilian evokes a Faustian atmosphere that casts an iniquitous alluring spell, pervading the spirit and senses, while transporting the soul to nirvana. Inspired by a search for perfection, the poetry of Rimbaud and Baudelaire, as well as the lyrics of modern day poets like Pharrell Williams and Snoop Dogg. The black masterpiece "by Kilian" is revolving around ingenues, artificial paradises and Parisian orgies". With a rather pretentious manifesto as the above (surpassing even the Nasomatto one) and the coronas by Turin on perfumer Becker's work (she of J'adore, Tommy Girl and Beyond Paradise notoriety), is is any wonder it took me so long to review any of the By Killian fragrances? Even Killian Hennesy himself noted in a small interview by Mffan310: "The two perfumes that Sidonie Lancesseur created for me, Straight to Heaven and Cruel Intentions, got only two out of five stars, whereas the ones created by Calice Becker all got four stars becuase he loves Calice Becker's creations. Still, I welcome perfume critics... the industry needs more of them. Look at movies: what if there was only one or two movie critics, all giving the same films the same ratings? That's why I welcome more critics."
Having spent a good part of summer testing and re-testing some of them and spurred by a reader's recounting of how one worked on a particularly sensitive moment of his life recently and questioning my hitherto silence, here I am trying to be fair to a collection of varrying degrees of comptence. After all, like Yourcenar used to say "There's no reason to fear words when one has consented to things."

Killian Hennesy, the admittedly very handsome and privileged grandson of the LVMH Group founder (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy), grew up around the family's (excellent, btw) cognac reserves and studied Information and Communication Studies in the Sorbonne, becoming interested in the intricacies of odour semantics which brought him into work for the luxury houses under the LVMH umbrella. The progression to his own niche line was but a small leap away and luckily for us he spared no expense on raw materials which is always a good step in the right direction.
The L’Oeuvre Noire portfolio currently includes 7 fragrances, the first 6 intended to be juxtaposed in a play on a common theme: Liaisons Dangereuses, Cruel Intentions, , A taste of Heaven, Straight to Heaven, Love, Beyond Love and the newest Prelude to Love.
The presentation is in black taffeta with a black tassel and the shield of Achilles (!) to protect from harm ~coincidentally and for their information, according to the Iliad the shielf of Achilles was made from several metals and contained anthropomorphic depictions. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect is that the bottles can be refilled through the barrels that contain a 1L reserve of the precious juice, once you have purchased the original bottle.

Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons), tagged "Typical Me" is composed by Calice Becker like most of the line's fragrances and was inspired by the homonymous epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in 1782. The novel was adapted into film by Roger Vadim (1959), by Miloš Forman (1989) and -the best known version- by Steven Frears (1988)as well as a rather abysmal TV adaptation featuring Catherine Deneuve and Rupert Everett (Perhaps this link might be of interest to those who want to compare). Then again the plot was twisted into a modern younger spin set in NYC in Cruel Intentions which is sardonically the name of the mirror scent By Killian, with the tagline "Tempt Me". Although both intended as a continuation of 18th-century libertine tradition to symbolize transgression, the pleasures of the flesh and defiance of prohibitions and conventions, the scents themselves do not lend themselves to orgiastic proclivities.

Liaisons Dangereuses is not a dangerous or evil creation despite its connotations. Centered around a very sweet rose aroma with the richness and incadecence of fruity liqueur in crystal tumblers, it possesses fruity chypre tonalities but without the dense, overripe feeling of the traditional peachy-plummy bases (Persicol) like in Femme, Diorama or Que sais-je by Patou. Instead the fruity aspects are interwoven into an almost gourmand jammy effect that is light, with the surprising hint of sugar-dusted Turkish Delight, and quite trasparent denoting a resolutely modern composition that sings its notes in unison. There is no obvious spiciness or animalic muskiness, nor is there the emerald background of a forest's floor; nevertheless the fragrance lingers for a long time melding with the skin pleasurably. The traditional feminine ideal of rose has always held me in check because I find it unimaginative and not particularly human-like the way indolic white florals or even anisic (lilac, cassie) and spicy ones (carnation, lily) reference the intimacy of feminine skin and its secretions. Rose as an erotic symbol stood as the triumph of optical semantics, and possibly tactile, in the very field (blossoms) that I always felt should be left to the olfactory. And yet, there is no doubt that Liaisons Dangereuses is glowing its cherubically smooth cheeks in a Watteau painting, not "redolent of an alcove inhabited by languid lovers".
The fact that conversely to the film in the novel Marquise de Merteuil ends up disfigured by pox, a fate considered much worse than having her reputation tarnished, is but an otherwordly notion in the frame of Liaisons Dangereuses By Killian: there is no way one could picture this as anything but pretty and certainly it is not "typical me".


Notes for Liaisons Dangereuses: coconut flesh, prune absolute, plum, blackcurrant buds absolute, crystallized peach, cinnamon bark oil, ambrette seed absolute, rose Damascus, geranium bourbon, sandalwood Australian oil, oakmoss extract, vetiver java oil, clear woods, vanilla extract, white musks.

By Killian Liaisons Dangereuses comes in 1.7oz/50ml (225$)refillable bottle of Eau de Parfum and a candle version. Available from Printemps Haussman, Parfumerie Victor Hugo, Bon Marche in Paris and Monaco, La Mure Favorite in Lyon, Verso at Anvers, Oswald in Zurich, Skins in Amsterdam, Bergdorf Goodman and Aedes (also online) in NYC, Apothia and Luckyscent in Los Angeles, Saks in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Beverly Hills and Holt Renfrew in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary). Also from their site.

The line will be completed upon reaching the goal of 10 fragrances, whereupon there will be another By Killian collection on a different concept.

One sample will be offered to lucky reader! State your interest.

Pics of Matisse special edition bottles and candle provided By Killian. Pic from Dangerous Liaisons courtesy of Wikipedia.