Back to Black by By Kilian : Perfume Review

Well, I might be a little late to the party, but the little sample that has been sitting on my desk for the past couple of weeks is finally getting its day today. Pure Oud has to be ordered by phone and I’ve no idea whether it will eventually make its way to any brick-and-mortar stores, but Back to Black has been in for a while and I eagerly procured a sample recently, together with some skincare purchases. While it certainly doesn’t trump my beloved A Taste of Heaven as the absolute favorite of the line, it probably ranks in second at this point and we’ll just have to wait and see whether Pure Oud changes that.

Having taken a look at the official note listing on the By Kilian website, I fully expect Back to Black to have a fresh-herbal opening, but instead we plunge into dark sweetness from the first moment. The opening is soft and subdued - a hint of subtle leather and rising myrrh, bittersweet and perfectly discernible, despite the fact that it makes no appearance in the official note listing. The tiny herbal-floral voice of chamomile gasps and fades into nothingness as the dark, soothingly wintry scent intensifies, blossoming into an extravagance of outrageously beautiful opoponax (again, not listed, but oh-so-definitely-there) laced with gourmand notes of cherry and hints of tart raspberry bliss. Unexpectedly, the volume drops lower again as the central note of tobacco emerges through the fruity nuances. Its entrance is diffuse yet full-bodied, as though someone pried open a prize cherry wood humidor housing preciously sweet pipe tobacco within. At this point it’s all I can do to stop nuzzling my arm and to keep writing this review - I just want to keep my nose buried in the crook of my elbow, inhaling this sweet, deep scent that evokes images of grand fireplaces and sipping cognac curled up in luxurious leather armchairs. Gradually, a honey note emerges - subtle at first, forming perfect continuity with the fruity notes of the fragrance, but eventually gaining in intensity and becoming as strong as the tobacco. The two however do not antagonize, but rather complement each other. In fact their union is so perfect that even though I do not normally like honey in perfume unless it is subtle and very round (and this one is very mildly sharp) I find myself not being able to imagine Back to Black without it. It is perfect as it is - honey and all. The drydown is darker, with the honey having died down and the cherry now freely wafting in and out of the sweet tobacco veil that has settled on the skin. Milky almond and soft, powdery notes enhance the feeling of comforting calm, while a beautiful balsamic base simmers gently in the background.

If I had to describe Back to Black by way of comparison, I’d say it smells like the love child of Serge Lutens’ Rahat Loukoum, Fumerie Turque and The People of the Labyrinths’ Luctor et Emergo (wow, what a love triangle!). It almost feels like the best elements of these perfumes were combined to create a separate, brand new entity whose sole purpose is to comfort and delight. While I wouldn’t wear Back to Black outside (it doesn’t really fit my personality nor my image) it would be a dream to own a bottle just to wear this absolutely delightful concoction to bed. Because what Back to Black does, is make you want to close your eyes and keep smelling this perfume that evokes the most beautiful images, grab a book, curl up under a comforter and purr, delight in the warmth of the house even as it thunders, pours down with rain or snows outside. Or at least, that’s what it does to me. It is the ultimate complex comfort perfume. What a luxury.

Images: Antique pipe via National Museums Scotland (nms.scran.ac.uk). Swivel cognac glasses by Bodie and Fou available for purchase via www.notonthehighstreet.com (Editor’s note: Fragrance Bouquet is not affiliated with this webshop)

Blv II Eau de Parfum by Bvlgari : Perfume Review

Bvlgari’s lineup follows (with only few exceptions) a very specific, discernible house style that clearly defines the perfume division of this great brand. Namely, the house satisfies a specific niche in the prestige department store sector, producing one skinscent after the other. There are two ways to define the term skinscent: A scent that has a low projection, staying close to the skin, or alternatively, a scent which mimics or enhances the skin’s own scent, blurring the lines between where the scent of one’s skin ends and where the perfume begins, resulting in a beautiful, “your skin but better” effect. Bvlgari clearly specializes in the latter form of skinscents, producing perfumes that each play with different accents (green, powdery, floral, fruity, musky etc.) but all end up producing a more beautiful, velvety version of skin that seems to be emitting a light, perfumed veil.



The brand’s newest, Blv II, does not diverge from this tradition, but what is astounding is that this time around they’ve managed to bottle the gourmand-oriental genie in a Bvlgari skinscent vessel. What am I talking about? Think Angel and (especially) Lolita Lempicka and then imagine them in the guise of a soft-as-clouds skinscent. Impossible? Well, perfumer Jacques Cavallier has achieved just that. This marriage of potency and graceful, sheer lightness is anything but accidental: Bvlgari describes this newest fragrance as “Intense accords and glowing lightness, the perfect synthesis of intensity and transparency”, while the perfumer, Jacques Cavallier expands thus on the creation:

“I was thinking of The Little Prince, who always runs after the simplest things, but things that are in fact very real and essential. (…) So this creation is based on essential things, on the foundation stones of perfumery: amber, iris, musks, wood, patchouli flowers, violets. All major elements of perfumery, which, for the occasion, have been processed differently thanks to new forms of technology, and thanks also to the heritage of the past 20 years, in terms of transparency, the lightning inspiration of each new debut and the work done also on naturalness.”

- via press release

The first note to become apparent after application is a marvelously soft violet, soon to become dressed and emboldened with the sweet gourmand accents of star anise and liquorice. Soon, the fresh scent of mandarin joins in, at first a green nuance like the scent of its stems and leaves but thereafter ever more full-bodied and fruity. Suddenly its freshness becomes all the more brisk and invigorating, adding a definite sense of masculinity to the mix, which if I’m honest, I could do without. This masculinity is further explored in the heartnotes as it becomes enhanced at first by vetiver but thankfully, it soon subsides. We enter a stage of glorious fullness as the perception of rich iris becomes enhanced and the slightly harsh masculinity of the scent changes to mysterious femininity as the deep scent of patchouli joins the iris in full. Most beguilingly, underneath both I sense a burgeoning, slightly buttery and balsamic woody base, enriched with subtle hints of malt-infused tobacco. The base presents a triumvirate of ruling ambers (ambergris, benzoin & labdanum) on a bed of burning musk. The aniseedic, patchouli-infused violet-iris combo persists however softly to the end, enhancing the impression of the aforementioned skinscent version of a gourmand-oriental in the spirit of Lolita Lempicka. Blv II covers the skin with a soft gourmand-oriental veil that projects lightly, becoming drier and more powdery as time goes on and turning surprisingly transparent, allowing one’s own skin scent to glow beautifully from within. In short this to me seems like the perfect scent for someone looking for a quiet, daytime oriental that will offer sensuality and mystery while remaining subtle enough to leave others wondering whether you are wearing perfume or if indeed, the beautiful warmth perceived is produced by your own skin.