Temptalia

Kilian Gold Knight Perfume Review

Christine — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 21:00:00 +0000

Kilian Gold Knight Eau de Parfum is all about rich, golden honey that’s raw, unfiltered, and decadent. It’s fresh, slightly lifted by the addition of anise (but not enough that it overwhelms), and the patchouli merely adds a vague earthiness to the whole scent but never really comes across as distinctly patchouli. The progression was linear, so it was very much the same through its wear; the drydown was slightly sweeter as the vanilla merged with the honey and the anise receded.

Gold Knight Notes

It is described as a the “dark sensuousness of patchouli” paired with the “effervescent brightness of bergamot, and warm golden shimmer of vanilla and anise.” The notes are not laid out in a particular order, but they include: patchouli, bergamot, vanilla, anise, and honey.

What does Gold Knight Smell Like?

It opened with an herbaceous, zesty lemon with honey drizzle and subtle vanilla sweetness that became more noticeably spiced with anise after the first few minutes. Gold Knight was a dark, fragrant honey–sweetened but not sugary–the anise lightened and lifted it, almost making it like honey’s aroma emitting from a cup of hot tea. The patchouli, which emerged after a half hour, added an earthy, almost cocoa-like component. The anise was sweet, slightly earthy, and like a dark licorice with less sweetness than candied licorice.

The honey was more like fresh, unfiltered and raw honey–still a little floral, sweet and golden but not cloying. There was just a lift to it that made it a true honey note to my nose. For those wary of patchouli, I did not find it was a really noticeable aspect to the scent; it brought a bit of earthiness, a little dimension, but it wasn’t “patchouli” front and center. Gold Knight was heavy on the honey with anise lifting and giving it more depth without overwhelming the fresh, oozing, golden honey.

It had a linear progression, so by the time I arrived at the drydown, about six hours in, it was more golden, honeyed, and a touch vanillic with less noticeable effect from the anise.

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 16 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate for the first three hours.

Personal Notes

I love honey when it is fresher and rawer, when there is a hint of all the various places the bees have visited. I particularly love a little bit of spice or tea elements with my honey, as they bring to mind good memories of being cared for on a sick day. This was definitely one I would have considered purchasing had I not received a sample!

These are more subjective feelings based on what I like (or don’t like) in a perfume as well as considering the fragrance against other perfumes I own and love.

Testing Methodology

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime, so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Availability

Gold Knight is available for $250/50ml or just a refill for $200/50ml.

If possible, I highly recommend trying a fragrance before purchasing a full bottle because fragrance can wear differently just because of skin chemistry. Skin chemistry can effect not just the longevity of a fragrance but also what notes are prominent or hidden.

Gold Knight Samples

We recommend the following retailers for purchasing decanted samples (typically 0.7ml to 2ml in size). This is a fuller list, so individual availability may depend on inventory.

Where to Buy

Kilian Gold Knight Perfume Review

Kilian Light My Fire Perfume Review

Christine — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 19:00:00 +0000

Kilian Light My Fire Eau de Parfum has a more nuanced opening that is part smoke, earth, and chocolate with cumin facets, but it shifted into a honeyed-almond affair with more of the underpinnings of a patchouli note than an dominant patchouli note after about a half hour and through the drydown.

Light My Fire Notes

It is described as a “cumin-spiced seduction” with “earthiness of patchouli and vetiver” that is supposed to evoke the scene of “never ending summer’s night” with “rich, honeyed cigar smoke” in the air. The notes aren’t listed in a hierarchy, but these were the ones mentioned: cumin, patchouli, vetiver, honey, tobacco, almond, heliotropine, tonka bean.

What does Light My Fire Smell Like?

It opened with smoke, earth, and chocolate, in that order, flecked with cumin; it was an intense opening that flickered between spicy and smoky and honeyed and sweet. After five minutes, it cumin-laced honey, sweet with a hint of floral blurriness, over a dark, earthy patchouli that had soft wafts of cocoa powder at times.

The almond turned everything smoother and creamier after 20 minutes, which had the effect of diffusing and spreading out the notes and made them less distinctive, though not totally blurred together. It was warm, honeyed, and sweet with little cumin left but an earthy patchouli continued to be noted.

The fragrance turned sweeter, more vanillic, and the honeyed deepened over the next two hours, and as a result, it was less earthy, more lightly spiced and woody with almond creaminess and nuttiness. The drydown was soft, creamy almond, vanilla, and subtle woods.

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate and moved closer after three hours of wear.

Testing Methodology

Availability

Light My Fire is available for $295/50ml or just a refill for $200/50ml.

Light My Fire Samples

We recommend the following retailers for purchasing decanted samples (typically 0.7ml to 2ml in size). This is a fuller list, so individual availability may depend on inventory.

Where to Buy

Kilian Light My Fire Perfume Review

Kilian Princess Perfume Review

Christine — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 19:00:00 +0000

Kilian Princess Eau de Parfum is well-categorized as a sweet, gourmand ginger, peach, and vanilla-marshmallow that was fluffy, sweet, and fruity with a zesty ginger (less spicy as it was refreshing) in the early hours before becoming sweeter, thicker, and gooier through the dry down. The jasmine, and possibly green tea (which wasn’t clearly delineated to my nose), gave it a little more perfume-like edge than something more photorealistic of marshmallow.

It is re-release (though I’m not familiar with the prior version!) that’s been repackaged as well, as a FYI!

Princess Notes

It is described as “gourmand with a kick” and “like sipping on a green tea mocha with a tip of ginger on the nose.”

top notes: lemon
heart notes: green tea, ginger, peach, hedione, jasmine, apple
base notes: marshmallow, vanilla, benzoin

What does Princess Smell Like?

It opened with sweet, indulgent lemonade that became crisper and clearer, more lemony with a subtle, sweet and peachy undercurrent. There was a zing of ginger and a crisp bite of apple that filtered through the lemon and peach, which had the effect of adding some effervescence to what had become a medley of fruits.

The fruits became more and more candied over the first 20 minutes of wear; the marshmallow adding a layer of fluffy sugar, while a hint of jasmine added a touch of that floral that kept the marshmallow from totally overwhelming the other notes (at least, at that point).

I didn’t find that the green tea came through in a more delineated fashion on me–nothing was herbaceous or remotely green or earthy for me, as the composition was a confection of peach, apple, some ginger, and marshmallow that grew as the vanilla in the base strengthened. I’d say that it possibly added some grounding element to the marshmallow-vanilla combo to keep it from being cloying during the first half of wear, but it just didn’t come across as a green-vanilla fragrance to my nose.

The fruity notes dissipated significantly by the fourth hour, while the caramel-like quality of the benzoin ramped up and added depth and more nuance to the marshmallow-vanilla duo.

Longevity

It lasted for five hours until it was a skin-scent and about eight hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate with the sillage dropping faster than the projection within the first hour of wear.

Personal Notes

My expectation that this was going to run far too candy-like, based on the description of the scent, and it absolutely lived up to those expectations! I can see why scents like this are popular, and it’s the kind of scent I might like as a candle for a shorter period but not one I think I’d reach for to wear as a daily perfume.

These are more subjective feelings based on what I like (or don’t like) in a perfume as well as considering the fragrance against other perfumes I own and love.

Testing Methodology

For testing, I used two sprays from the smaller size bottle dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample in June 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime, so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Availability

Princess is available for $120/50ml or $30/7.5ml.

Where to Buy

Sephora

Kilian Princess Perfume Review

Kilian Vodka on the Rocks Perfume Review

Christine — Sun, 01 May 2022 19:00:00 +0000

Kilian Vodka on the Rocks Eau de Parfum is a cool, aromatic fragrance with a soapy undertone paired with soft, rosy florals and tangy fruit that slowly gets taken over by ambroxan, which creates a more lasting phase of subtly floral, fruity, and blurry spiced woods. It is described as being part of the “fresh citrus family” with key notes of “aldehydes, cardamom, [and] oakmoss.” Here is a longer list of notes:

top notes: aldehydes, cardamom, coriander
heart notes: bitter rhubarb accord, rose, lily of the valley
base notes: Ambroxan, sandalwood, oakmoss

It opened with a cool, crisp blast of aromatics–green cardamom, peppery coriander–over a clean, soapy base from the aldehydes. The rhubarb crept in with a fruity tartness that was bright and slightly green, and it was accompanied by a soft, more abstract rose. The perfume was softly floral with tangy, fruity accents for the first 20 minutes of wear.

The ambroxan started to move into play, first a blurry ambery-woods kind of aspect, before growing in intensity, but there remained a soft, floral-fruity accord that sat atop the ambroxan. It seemed like the base was now lightly spiced, semi-sweet woods with sort of soapy florals leftover. Over the next few hours, there were very little changes beyond a general weakening of the fragrance (and all its notes), which had the effect of further blurring the notes together so it was all a suggestion of semi-floral, slightly spiced woods.

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Longevity

It lasted for six hours until it was a skin-scent and about 10 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were on the lighter side and moved closer to my body/my skin within two hours of application.

Personal Thoughts

The opening was interesting, but the middle and drydown phases were soft and blurry that I lost interest in it as it ended up on the soapier side for my personal taste!

Available Sizes

50ml for $240
50ml refill for $195

Where to Buy

Kilian Vodka on the Rocks Perfume Review

Kilian Liaisons Dangereuses Perfume Review

Christine — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 17:30:00 +0000

Kilian Eau de Parfum is a peach-coconut dream that starts off sweet and fruity with a creamy undertone that shifts to having a more musky, rosy floral feel, still more underneath the fruits (dominated by peach and coconut). The drydown is woodier and a little smoky, but the other notes from before were more dominant and noticeable.

It is described as having “jammy rose essence” and a “juicy plum accord” and is part of the brand’s “Narcotics” family, which is dedicated to highlighting floral notes. Here is a more complete set of notes as seen on retailers:

top notes: peach, plum, black currant, coconut
heart notes: rose, geranium, ambrette, cinnamon
base notes: musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, woodsy notes, vetiver, vanilla

Scent Development

It had a sharp twist of slightly greener, woody black currant with a kiss of coconut creaminess that was then spiced with cinnamon and overtaken by plum. There were a few slices of peach that seemed to add sweetness but were less noticeable as actual peach in scent. The coconut really tamped down the “fruity” aroma of peach, plum, and black currant and made it feel more indulgent and richer with less overt sweetness.

After 15 minutes of settling on my skin, Liaisons Dangereuses turned smoother, creamier, and slightly musky with a medley of fruit with coconut cream and a veil of rose. The perfume softened further, more of a peach and coconut fruitiness over a creamy, vanillic base of musk and rose. It stayed in that space until about the fourth hour during the drydown where it was slightly smoky and woodsy with peach, coconut, and vanilla that were a little musky and floral.

Application

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Longevity

It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate and dropping closer to the body after two and a half hours of wear.

Personal Thoughts

I liked that the coconut was present but the fragrance never felt like a beachy/sandy/sunscreen lotion kind of fragrance, so it was just enjoyable to see coconut in a different light than I have previously. The musk was more an element of diffusion than heavy, which I also preferred. If I found myself wanting to wear more fruit-floral fragrances, this is one I would consider.

Available Sizes

50ml for $240
50ml refill for $195

Where to Buy

Kilian Liaisons Dangereuses Perfume Review

Kilian Forbidden Games Perfume Review

Christine — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 19:00:00 +0000

Kilian Forbidden Games Eau de Parfum is a sweet, fruity peach-heavy perfume that has a floral background that eventually loses focus and becomes more honeyed peach with vanilla cream. It is described as being “honey-drizzled peach” with “cinnamon bark” with a “floral nectar heart” that also includes “Madagascar vanilla, Laotian honey, and spellbinding resinous oil of opoponax.” It is part of the brand’s Narcotics range, which is dedicated to highlighting floral notes. Here is a more complete list of notes found on retailers:

top notes: peach, apple, plum, cinnamon
heart notes: rose, jasmine, bourbon, geranium
base notes: honey, vanilla, opoponax

It opened with plump, juicy peaches dribbling their sweet nectar down your fingers before a crispy, green apple burst onto the scene followed swiftly by blooming jasmine, which dominated over the initial fruits found in the initial minute. Given another two minutes, the jasmine softened, diffused into soft, just-blooming roses; the florals blanketed ripened fruits with a subtle green fringe.

In the first 20 minutes of wear, the florals and the fruits jockeyed for first position; sometimes the jasmine came through more, and then it would be peaches and plum with a hint of apple. It finally seemed to settle at the hour-mark and was fruit-forward with sweet, ripened peaches with slivers of apple and plum paired with a garden of rose and jasmine softly blooming in the background.

Through the next hour, Forbidden Games’ floral characteristics faded into the background as honey emerged and drizzled itself all over the ripened peach and plum with a dollop of vanilla cream. The composition sweetened as the drydown emerged as soft, sweet peach, golden honey, and vanilla.

Application

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Longevity

Personal Thoughts

I liked it, but I’m not fully drawn in my heavy peach, so it’s something I’d wear occasionally but not often enough to justify a full bottle! I preferred the addition of lychee to peach found in Kilian’s Playing with the Devil.

Available Sizes

50ml for $240
50ml refill for $195

Where to Buy

Kilian Forbidden Games Perfume Review

Kilian Playing with the Devil Perfume Review

Christine — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 19:00:00 +0000

Kilian Eau de Parfum features peach and lychee, sweet and juicy, with a dash of pepper paired with soft florals that seesaw between jammy rose and blooming jasmine. The base notes didn’t seem to come through as well on my skin, so the drydown was scant in definable notes; at best, soft, slightly sweet and smooth woods with a fruit-floral veil.

It is described as having key notes of “blood orange, pimento berries, [and] sandalwood.” Here is a list of notes that is quite expanded and found at retailers:

top notes: black currant, white peach, blood orange, lychee
heart notes: pimento, pepper, rose, jasmine
base notes: vanilla, cedar, sandalwood, patchouli, benzoin, tonka bean

It opened with sweet, syrupy lychee with a whisper of peach and orange that was swiftly joined by a jammy rose accented by a subtle, peppery kick. The black currant added more dimension after a few minutes, slightly fresher with green undertones, adding brightness along with and a hint of woodiness. There was a trail of jasmine deep in the background, easy to miss, that became visible after 10 minutes. It was a sweet and floral mixture where lychee and peach were the primary facets.

Through the next hour, the lychee and peach were strongest but slowly shifted downward, weakening and letting the jasmine breath over them and by the end of the second hour, jasmine was the most prominent note in the mix. I didn’t notice a sense of woods or earthiness until closer to the drydown, as the base notes didn’t seem to come through as much as I anticipated on my skin. The drydown appeared as soft, blurry woods with subtle, vanillic sweetness, but it was like a veil of scent on my arm.

Application

I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Longevity

It lasted for six hours until it was a skin-scent and about 10 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate and dropping closer to the body after three hours of wear.

Personal Thoughts

I felt like the base notes didn’t translate well on my skin–they were largely absent or otherwise very blurred and hard to detect for me. As a result, I ended up feeling like I was missing part of the journey!

Available Sizes

50ml for $240
50ml refill for $195

Where to Buy

Kilian Playing with the Devil Perfume Review

Kilian Apple Brandy On the Rocks Perfume Review

Christine — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 15:00:00 +0000

By Kilian Apple Brandy on the Rocks Eau de Parfum is a boozy, apple liquor drizzled over lightly smoked oak that progresses more linearly from middle to end. The apple note softens and fades as the drydown emerges, where lightly spiced, smoked woods and vanilla start to take over. The notes are:

top notes: cardamom, bergamot
heart notes: apple, brandy, pineapple, rum, moss, vanilla
base notes: cedarwood, ambroxan

It opened with crisp, freshly-peeled apple with fizzy lemon dribbled over that was bubbly and teased my nose initially before sweetening to its namesake, apple brandy, where the apple was noticeable but richer, sweeter, and boozier but not so sweet that it became baked or dessert-like. There was an underlying subtly smoky, woody note (had me imagining oak barrels) and a hint of earthiness from the oakmoss that made an appearance about 15 minutes into wear.

Apple Brandy On the Rocks got boozier, drier, and less apple-heavy, no longer fizzy or remotely tarte, and the apple felt like it flavored the booziness rather than the other way around (how it was in the opening). Overall, the progression ended up being more linear with the apple getting more and more muffled in the background as the brandy and woodiness combined with vanilla. It seemed like a lot of others got pineapple as a dominant note, and try as I might, the fruity note(s) always reminded me of crisp, granny smith apples.

For testing, I used half of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed onto the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise. It had moderate projection for the first two hours of wear, and then it dropped to only a couple of inches above my skin before becoming a skin-scent after five hours of wear. It was longer-lasting at over 10 hours.

Subjectively, it was an interesting scent to try after testing out By Kilian’s Angels’ Share, which I prefer for its sweeter quality; Apple Brandy on the Rocks’ crisp apple note was pleasant but I wanted more, and Angels’ Share gave that to me (personally!). I’m not often pulled in by perfume bottle packaging, but I think Kilian did a lovely job on this series’ packaging.

Available Sizes

50 ml for $195

Where to Buy

Kilian Apple Brandy On the Rocks Perfume Review