Kilian Angels’ Share Eau de Parfum is rich, fruity cognac tempered by oak woodiness drenched in buttery sweetness and a hint of cinnamon spice. The opening gave me the impression spiced, caramel apple with a darker, boozy bent, and the sweetness tempered as the oak blended with the cognac. It’s a gourmand scent, through and through.

The brand listed the notes simply as “cognac, tonka bean, and oak wood,” but in its longer description, it noted it opened with “cognac oil, upon a blend of oak absolute, cinnamon essence, and tonka bean absolute” with “long-lasting notes of sandalwood, praline, and vanilla,” which I’ve broken down into a note structure:

• top notes: cognac
• heart notes: cinnamon, tonka bean, oak
• base notes: praline, vanilla, sandalwood

It opened with a boozy, caramel spice scent that was rich in fruity sweetness. The cinnamon spice gave me the illusion of my mom’s apple cake, which is drenched in liqueur and paired with spices like cinnamon, but the cognac’s fruitiness was deeper and broader than just apple. It was really cognac through and through for the first 15 minutes from application before the oak emerged, which tempered the sweetness by adding more nuance and depth to the fragrance.

Angels’ Share felt like it literally warmed up on me over time, and it got spicier and woodsier over the next hour of wear but still the cognac was the star. The drydown still had a fruity, slightly boozy element to it but was blended and smoothed out by buttery vanilla.

For testing, I had a 1ml dab vial sample, which was applied to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm using half of the vial. I use 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 was extremely long-lasting (over 12 hours and was still detectable as a skin-scent) with heavier sillage and projection for the first few hours; it was definitely a scent that wafted up as I walked, even just dabbed on my wrist.

Subjectively, I enjoyed it quite a bit, though I’m not sure it’s something I’d reach for and wear enough to justify purchasing a bottle of (I wish there were more petite sizes available directly from brands!). I think I have a fondness for cinnamon-apple kind of scents, even if Angels’ Share was fruitier and sweeter than just apple, and it put me in the crispness of fall (well, my winter, I guess, here in Phoenix) with its warm, cozy, and gourmand scent. It does make me more excited to try Apple Brandy at some point!

While I tend to prefer much darker, woodier scents on the whole for fragrance, I actually love a good gourmand scent for body wash, owing to a long love for philosophy’s many food-inspired options over the years. A lot of that is because it creates a lovely, gourmand scent in the shower but doesn’t linger at all, so it seems I am, generally, pleased by gourmand scents… in small, short doses, and Angels’ Share has significant sillage and projection compared to many perfumes I’ve tried in the last few months.

Available Sizes

• 50 ml for $195
• 250 ml for $700
• 50 ml (refill) for $155

Where to Buy

• Nordstrom
• Saks
• Selfridges
• Sephora

Kilian Angels' Share Perfume Review

Kilian Angels' Share Perfume Review