Kilian Vodka on the Rocks Perfume Review

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

• Neiman Marcus
• Nordstrom
• Selfridges
• Sephora