Kilian
Kilian
221 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Bright bergamot flares first, accompanied by a rose that skews green and slightly soapy rather than romantic, immediately undermined by the woody base asserting itself—gaïac and vetiver arrive almost simultaneously, transforming what could have been a cheerful top into something deliberately moody and introspective.
The papyrus crystallises into focus, lending a strangely clean, almost straw-like quality that makes the castoreum's animalic warmth all the more compelling through contrast. The oud settles into a leather-like sweetness, never overpowering but present enough to anchor everything with its resinous, slightly bitter character, whilst amber and styrax gently sweeten the composition without compromising its austere sensibility.
Gaïac wood dominates entirely, accompanied by amber's soft amber-vanilla tonality and residual castoreum providing faint animalic warmth. The fragrance becomes increasingly abstract and skin-scent intimate, the spice fading to memory, leaving only woody refinement and a subtle sweetness that suggests aged leather rather than confection.
Cruel Intentions Tempt Me arrives as a peculiar contradiction: a fragrance that promises seduction whilst whispering restraint. The bergamot-rose opening suggests classical elegance, but it's merely the velvet glove concealing something far more provocative beneath. What emerges is a woody composition that prioritises texture over volume—gaïac wood and vetiver create a sandpaper-rough foundation upon which papyrus adds an almost papery desiccation, as though you're handling vintage correspondence in a dimly lit library.
The true character emerges in the interplay between gaïac's creosotic smokiness and the oud's leathery sweetness. Rather than the heavy, animalic oud of contemporary fragrances, this feels restrained—a whispered suggestion rather than a declaration. The castoreum introduces something vaguely animalic and salty, though never quite mushroomy or unpleasant; it adds a tactile warmth against the skin, a minor-key sensuality. Amber and styrax provide sweetness without cloying, whilst the spicy accords (likely pepper or cardamom diffusing from the woody base) prevent any descent into mere prettiness.
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4.0/5 (189)