Kilian Intoxicated Eau de Parfum showcased cardamom in all of all of its smoky, nutty, spicy-sweet glory. I struggled to really discern other notes throughout the development of Intoxicated; at most, a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon appeared with a vague sense of creamy vanilla and coffee about mid-way through with the coffee blending with the cardamom in the drydown.

There seemed to be mixed reviews on whether coffee was a stronger part of the composition as some experienced it as a cardamom-heavy scent and others seemed to really get coffee and vanilla.

• top notes: Turkish coffee, cardamom
• heart notes: cinnamon, nutmeg
• base notes: vanilla

It opened with a a sharp bite of lemon with a green backing before turning smoky, nutty, and slightly spicy–the opening was full of cardamom with only a flourish of coffee, sort of nutty and caramelized. The cardamom was almost savory for the first 10 minutes before turning marginally sweeter and earthier with the spiciness getting tempered. Eventually, some of the

There was a hint of nutmeg grated finely over the cardamom that appeared almost ninety minutes in with cinnamon that followed almost two hours after I applied the fragrance. At long last–three and a half hours in–the cardamom’s intensity dropped noticeably and yielded to a sense of slightly creamy, spiced coffee with vanilla. On my skin, even in the drydown, it was predominantly reminiscent of cardamom with some spiced vanilla and something that might have been a whisper of coffee.

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 1ml 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. 

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 Thoughts

If you enjoy cardamom, I could see this being a lovely option because it seemed well-blended, but I was hoping for a more noticeable espresso/coffee note and something more on the gourmand side as a result (Kilian describes it as a “gourmand coffee perfume”). By the time the coffee seemed to show up on my skin, it was a skin scent so I didn’t feel like I was able to enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

Available Sizes

• 50ml for $240
• 50ml (refill) for $195
• 0.7ml sample for $6

Where to Buy

• LuckyScent
• Nordstrom
• Saks
• Sephora

Kilian Intoxicated Perfume Review

Kilian Intoxicated Perfume Review