So, Kilian's Straight to Heaven, a review...

After this, no more mega posts, I PROMISE!!! But I feel it's my duty to post on this since it's available in only a few locations...

Well, I should start out by saying that my impressions today are different than yesterday and I'm learning how to wear this to exploit its rich, earthiness to the maximum... I have to spray twice on each location to really get the dirty patchouli note that made me fall in love with it the first few times I smelled it. I also feel that this will be enhanced in warmer weather, we'll just have to see... I love that soily, foresty note ANYWAY, and here, it is employed beautifully...

First, let's start with the press... because the published description is VERY accurate... "The leitmotif here is Rum, a sexy note blending the heat of Caribbean islands with Patchouli, hot and deep. The mystery of its aura is deepened by Nutmeg, Cedar and Brazilian Rosewood. This life-giving alcohol definitely leads us into temptation, an invitation to partake of forbidden fruit." Developed by perfumer Sidonie Lancesseur.

Ingredients (found at bykilian.com, a beautiful website where you can see the black tanks and BEAUTIFUL locking boxes the fragrance comes in, cradled in cushioned black satin): Martinican Rum Absolute, Dried fruits accord, Javanese Nutmeg Oil, Hedoine, Cedarwood accord, Indonesian Patchouli Oil, Ambergris, Vanilla Absolute, and White Musk.

So, with two sprays in the same location, this smells very earthy and laden with patchouli at the opening, but nowhere near the depth as the new Luxe from CdG... this is a somewhat sheer fragrance, that is, it doesn't hit you hard, but it is complex, and rich. It's not boozy in the traditional sense, but the Rum is most evident at the beginning, and it and Patchouli work together as a team, neither note dominating. The nutmeg is fantastic here because I smell the shell and the powder, warm, spicy, with an element of bark.

The woods in Straight to Heaven are fantastic, light, soft, beautiful. Cedar is listed as a note but it's not the cedar I've come to know. I don't really even want to mention it because I'd hate for anyone to think this has a cedar impression, because it doesn't. Perhaps the soft wood I'm smelling here is Rosewood. Whatever the case, the wood is gentle but masculine, as if touched with a light brush stroke of natural unsweetened vanilla...

It's a fragrance that wafts roundly and softly, somewhat dark and earthy. And the reason why I bought it is because besides making me swoon a little with every sniff, it combined all my favorite perfume elements, those being: dirt, food, and woods... So this is, technically, the first earthy/woody/gourmand I've met, and we are VERY good friends (Gourmand haters, don't worry... it's not what you think)...

So, yes, it's $225 plus tax for just 50 mL, that's ridiculous. BUT, you get that amazing box, the side of the bottle is textured in the most amazing pattern.. it feels so great in the hands (see website) AND what MOST people don't realize... WHEN YOU GET IT REFILLED IT ONLY COSTS $90!!!!!!!!!!! That's not ALL that bad! And I'll be getting this refilled. Plus, Bergdorf will send it to you, refilled, shipping taken care of.

Thanks for reading

Yes, I have, briefly. To me, STH is a bit more dense and compact. The similarities were noted on the blog Perfume-Smellin' Things as well though I'm not familiar enough with Idole to make a really accurate judgement. All I know is that I smelled both on my arm within 15 minutes of each other and I didn't remember the Lubin once I smelled the Kilian.

Thanks for the 'thanks' everyone... my pleasure!

I forgot to add, for whatever it's worth, that Kilian wears A TASTE of Heaven in the day and Straight to Heaven at night. Both are amazing

hahaha! Totally true! Well, he and I don't have that in common... I'm a wrist person because I like to have instant access throughout the day... so I guess that makes me a pretty girl

Hi scentsual. Yes, actually I play the bassoon in an orchestra (yes, it's true, it's not a joke hahaha) and they make them of palisander occasionally.. as far as i'm aware, it's the same wood, with a different name. I'm an easily influenced guy, so I don't know how this will sound but for some reason Palisander by CdG seemed "red" to me, whereas STH is more brown, with the nutmeg, rum, wood, and vanilla notes.

Wow, they didn't tell you that??? That seems like kind of an important detail! Yeah, you just bring your old bottle in and they dump more in... I'm wondering if they'll fill it with another one next time. I was really undecided between this one and A Taste of Heaven.

yeah it's hypey but once I smelled this, none of any of that mattered... i knew i had to have it.... this line also sits next to the Caron urns in Bergdorf Goodman, where I bought mine, which was kind of cool to me. And you know, there IS something Faustian about this line, something poetic. The don't really tell stories or highlight specific NOTES per se, but they are very poetic compositions, and I liked that. So, hype or not, STH smells heavenly to me. I also chose it after smelling about every niche offering in NYC, not saying it was better than those, but for what I was looking for, this really stood out. I sort of discounted the line based on the reviews, too, but reviews only tell you so much. Once smelling this I couldn't even look at the Malle line, and those are VERY well reviewed. So definitely give them a try.

Schachman... it was my pleasure!

moonfish.. I'm so sorry you found it boring... well, lucky you've got the Gucci then... (which I like as well, but it's to my nose a different fragrance all together.. i think that perhaps (only perhaps) the boring you get in the Killians is the milky, creamy, blond wood effect of rosewood, but maybe not and the fact that besides the nutmeg, there are no prickly spices in this, so it's quite a rounded, oily (patchouli) fragrance. This is in my mind a very brown, creamy color... there's no citrus brightening things up or spices carrying you away to far off lands or herbs... it's dense! but sublte... Just when I think it's gone, someone tells me how good I smell. That's a weird thing I've noticed about this, and it's uncanny.

we all often hold perfumes up to this odd double standard (I've found)... huge corporations, car companies, retail clothing, etc, spend billions on advertising and marketing. Furniture companies are notorious for marking up couches 200 or 300%, every pair of nice jeans has marketing and advertising and store ownership costs woven into every pant leg. This is a niche brand that is sold in two places in the United States, of course, one is going to expect to pay a little more, and one DOES know he or she is paying for the box and bottle because they are beautiful! But I personally smell a high concentration of oils in all of Kilian's fragrances, and VERY FINE ingredients. Anyway, It's not silly to pay more for a box, if that's what you want to do Like I've mentioned, the refill is more reasonably priced. (p.s. I actually keep the box locked so I have to unlock it every time and take the key out of its little case and all... yeah yeah, it's cute-sy and silly and maybe a little immature but, eh, these days, anything to put a smile on your face And I also pose this food for thought... Why can't a perfumer use modern influences in the inspiration for his or her creations? It's funny, in every ad we see for department store brands, it's something like, "for the modern man who desires something or knows something etc...." Why can't Kilian say he thought about Faust and Snoop Dogg? I'll admit, it annoyed me at first until I met the fragrances in person in the store.

As with so many fragrances, this is totally different sprayed than dabbed. The "dirtier" aspects of patchouli and cedar come through more... I dabbed some on the other day of a sample they gave me and it was a different "experience". If anyone orders samples of this, I'd order the mini-spray.

I also loved a taste of heaven (i don't know why but i get this sweet, yet resinous baked bread-y effect and reminds me of something that could be a part of the L'Artisan line, not so much Caron, but that's just me) perhaps the only piece of marketing they use that is worth anything is the modern vs. romantic/gothic effect... there is a definite nod to BOTH in these fragrances. The decision between the two was so hard to make I'm hoping they'll let me refill my bottle with the other one.
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The refill costs $90 US. I can't say for sure what would happen at Aedes (apparently many were sold there as it was sold out when I went to purchase it in December... they said that because of the holidays they really sold a lot of everything which made me very happy for them ) so I bought mine at Bergdorf and they said I'd just send the bottle, and they refill it (since I don't live in NYC) and send it back to me, all shipping and handling covered. I also asked for three samples of STH to give to friends, and they gave me Love on accident, so I called and they sent me FREE of charge, samples of STH as well as asking me if there was anything else in the store I'd like a sample of... now that's service I assume for as long as the fragrance exists, one can refill it.

I only did a quick sniff of TF Extreme, fly777... I wish I could get back to you on that one but I don't remember it well enough because I only focused on the initial impression.

Hi, kharisma92... I feel bad writing because perhaps people are thinking I want to keep this topic open and open and open but that wasn't the intent (actually now I feel a little weird about having written because my appreciation for STH was very personal and I know that sometimes I like things that no one else likes and I'd hate to think anyone wasted their excitement over a fragrance that was only great to me) but, since you asked.. I honestly, and I don't mean ANY offense, don't see anything similar between the two. Since TdH has grapefruit/bitter orange, vetiver, and flint notes, and STH has rum and vanilla, nutmeg patchouli, I can't make the connection but I know I've smelled things in fragrances that others would totally disagree with...

Schachman, the earthy I smell is patchouli, nothing like the earthy in, say, vetiver extraordinaire, french lover, route de vetiver, etc... . It's weird, I kinda lost it yesterday quicker than usual, and then I woke up and felt like i was really surrounded by it... weird... it's stuck in my sweater too...