Reviews of Liaisons Dangereuses
by By Kilian

Liaisons Dangereuses opens with an amiable fruit accord – a little exotic… somewhat fresh… a bit tropical… extremely smooth. The accord is beautifully balanced and refined, so much so that I can’t separate out the individual notes in the silkily smooth accord. I don’t get much of the cinnamon or the ambrette seeds that are listed: I mainly get peaches and cream with a touch of coconut for a slightly exotic touch in the fruity silkiness. I can't find the geranium, but it could easily be there doing its thing in the smooth matrix. The Damascus rose stays somewhat in the background, so the heart notes come off as a pleasant fruity / slightly rosy accord that has become a little strained… a little stretched because of lack of augmentation... but it remains an excellent accord that would be improved simply with a stronger rose note: I don’t often ask for a stronger rose note in a fragrance, but for this particular rose note I’m making an exception. The drydown essentially escapes me except for remaining as a soft skin scent that retains the creaminess of the opening, some of the rosiness of the heart notes, and adding the base’s offering of some moss, some vanilla, and more than some white musk. I don’t care for the drydown primarily because I am always unimpressed by white musk accords. The opening and heart of this fragrance are accords that I admire and would soon learn to love, but the white musk drydown is anti-climactic and comes near to negating the entire experience of the superb opening and heart. Reluctant thumbs up. (Edit of 30 April 2009 review)

By Kilian Liaisons Dangereuses

Notes: Coconut flesh, prune absolute, plum, blackcurrant buds absolute, crystallized peach, cinnamon bark oil, ambrette seeds absolute, rose Damascus, geranium bourbon, Australian sandalwood oil, oakmoss extract, vetiver java oil, clear woods, vanilla extract, white musks (from luckyscent.com)

Liaisons Dangereuses is a feminine rose done with a twist. The fragrance starts sweet and powdery, with a floral vanilla vibe that recalls pretty dusting powders that ladies of yore always had at their dressing tables. And yet, LD seems completely modern and fresh, rather than being heavy or musty. Joining the vanilla powder accord is a delectable fruit and rose accord which is so juicy and jammy as to make ones mouth water with the anticipation of tasting it. Despite what sounds like it could provide a high-octane sugar rush, LD is actually quite mellow and controlled. There are no shrill notes screaming out of control. There is no heavy handed spice or wood. There are no "fad" accords or notes to speak of. The fragrance is in perfect balance--the sugar well tempered with the right amount of acidity, fruit and bitterness. In the later development, LD becomes more spicy, woody, tannic and dry--a lovely finish that is a great counterpoint to the top and mid notes. The drydown accord allows a different, more sombre side of the rose come forth, a welcome respite after all that came before. Overall, LD has a wonderful classic sensibility that is complex but not dated, and a modernity that avoids being trite, minimalist or simplistic.

The notes that I was able to pick out are coconut, blackcurrant, peach, rose and some other flower, woods. I wouldn´t describe it as a fruity floral, it´s very well balanced and not as loud as what I´d normally expect when I think of fruity florals. I think it´s more oriental, or woody than floral or fruity. It reminds me of Cedre by Serge Lutens with fruit. It´s a nice skin scent, it doesn´t have a lot of sillage power I think and it lasts moderately. If you are looking for something very pretty, feminine, well balanced but still interesting that you want to wear for yourself I would recommend giving this a try.

I was carrying a single rose and dropped and in my haste to turn around and pick it up, I stepped on the bud, crushing it under my shoe. This smells like a crush rose under a shoe. Way too perfumey and harsh not to mention "fake" and trying to hard not to be a perfume. It so makes me want a martini because there's just so much of alcohol smell.

Liaisons Dangereuses was, to be honest, a letdown. The only other By Kilian I had smelled previously was "Cruel Intentions" which was an oddly fascinating ever-changing perfume slideshow. In contrast, Liaisons Dangereuses was a boring fruity plum chypre perfume that never really developed into anything complex or piqued my interest. I did not catch cinnamon which is supposedly one of its key notes. Fresh's "Memoirs of a Geisha" is quite similar smell-wise to Liaisons Dangereuses and blows it away in terms of creativity and sillage. And of course, price. Also, for some reason, 06130's Yuzu Rouge came to mind when smelling this and I liked Yuzu Rouge better.

Here are the notes of Liaisons Dangereuses, per The Perfumed Court: plum, geranium, cinnamon, sandalwood and musk.

Oh my gosh, I love this. It's got that buttery, complex base that I love, and that I smell in the Indult line. Also similar to Indult, it stays very close to the skin-you're in your own little force field of loveliness. This fragrance is very refined and elegant, yet stunningly sexy, kind of like Grace Kelly in her day....all cool elegance on the exterior, but smoldering sexuality just beneath the surface. When I wear this I can't keep my wrist away from my nose-I look like I've had a permanent spasm! I can't pick out many notes and don't care to. I just love the whole "milieu" of this fragrance. I want to bathe in this. I want to have it wafting in front of my nose all day, like a horse following an apple, I want it piped in through the vents at work......you get the picture!