Back to Black, anyone?

I ordered samples. Should arrive Monday the 24th. I'll report back.

I wouldn't mind trying this. I tend to like noir theme scents but I can't stand the name. Sounds like a rap song. I've also tried everything but Prelude to Love and hated them all, though Liaisons Dangereuses was decent, but I'd never buy it.

I received my sample yesterday. Maybe due to the heat and the humidity it was all about the honey. It is not the bad kind but sweet and delicious with a hint of tobacco. I should save the rest of my sample for a cooler day. It is a skin scent and I could smell it almost 12 hours after I first applied.

Made me think of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT8ZOB0MIV4&feature=fvst

Fade to Grey by Visage.

not quite rap but it is the name of an Amy Winehouse
song, and the scent is a homage to her and her song apparently

Perhaps. But of course, AC/DC did Back in Black after Bon Scott was found dead from booze. Maybe Kilian Hennessy's next overpriced fragrance should be a boozy homage to how lousy AC/DC was after Bon Scott died.

TJ

Absolutely love that song and video - so nostalgic.

There's a music video/segement you might enjoy from a show by Flight of the Conchords that's inspired by it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z5jU5nrlAo

I've got a sample of Back to Black on its way to me any day now - I'll post my first impressions about it as soon as I get it.

The box looks like a perfume coffin! Munsters inspired

I love the opening, but the drydown reminded me of baby powder, I have a sample that aedes gave me so I will resample it again

It did last at least 8-12 hours from what I recall

I thought I would report back after sampling two days. If you remember I was less than enthusiastic about Pure Oud.

Back to Black is a different beast all together. BTB takes you on an olfactory journey weaving in and out tobacco, slightly oudish, at times gourmand, hints of floral, and always a constant powdery accord. Calice Becker works her magic with the oddest combinations of notes. BTB is the best Kilian release to date IMO. Whoever heard of a tobacco and powdery mixed in the same frag. Only an artist could achieve such a glorious combination. One minute it's a sultry evening scent and the next minute it's a barbershop office friendly scent.

I give it a solid 4 stars+. Longevity is 8-12 hours. Sillage is fairly close to the skin making it office friendly for those who don't get to close. For those who give you hugs at work, they'll be coming back for more hugs and neck smelling.

BTB is full bottle worthy even at the going rate of $225.00 for 50ml. An absolute treasure.

Thanks for reporting back thebeck, denec, and arwen_elf. I've been really curious about this.

oh wow, seriously honeyed baby powder... had trouble scrubbing it off. a complete anti-aphrodisiac to me.

Ive yet to try anything By Kilian and really want to , there really seems to be such a love hate thing for the house here on BN

I tried this today, and it's very sweet.. almost amber like.. it reminded me of a very old perfume I used to get a few years ago.. It's far to sweet for me though. It does kinda smell narcotic for sure.. This would suite women better then men in my opinion.

I like powdery and sweet stuff so I'm getting a sample. And instead of full bottles, I'm actually considering the By Kilian Travel Spray. $70 for 4 x 0.25 oz refills seems a more viable option to me. But By Kilian's bottles and packaging are droolworthy!

Agree. Sweet, honey, tobacco. That's it. Not exciting at all.

I ordered a sample last night.

The jammy berry opening was fabulous. It has a great heart too. I thought I'd even want to buy a bottle. The problem for me was that it moved into the honey rich base similar to what you'll find in Miel de Bois. Unfortunately, that also smells a lot like urine... and it lasts 24 hours.
Didn't work for me.

I received this as sample and I loved it. Very unisex, sweet, deep, velvety and somewhat incensey . Excellent staying power .

I think you're a one percenter. I love STH. I think it's the best in my collection.

Same here i still think it is the best By Killian scent

Back to Black smells like a combination of TF Tobacco Vanille and ELdO Rien. Mix these two half and half and you get Back to Black. Both TV and Rien are sweet and very dry masculine fragrances. Sweet but not too sweet when coupled with the tobacco, leather etc. Tobacco, leather, vanilla . . . I like BtB. Don't know if I'd buy a bottle, NOT sure if it is worth the price, but it HAS character and I like the smell of it.

>snerk<


I was all excited to try this out until I hear there is honey and sweet fruit. Curses. I was hoping for wood, amber, leather, etc, with no sugar.....Dream on, I suppose. (You know, back from before Aerosmith took the suck train....)

When a bunch of us sampled this yesterday at the Meet-Up, it was interesting how differently it played out on different people. On rogalal, I got tobacco and spices with some sweet honey, and on me it was a nicely rounded, complex but very dominantly honey scent. I got lots and lots of honey for about 12 hours, and only late in the dry down (6+ hours after application) did I get more of the tobacco that was so apparent on the men right from the get-go.

I'd highly suggest sampling this before buying a bottle. It's just "okay" if you ask me. Some people might dislike it altogether.

Are you sure you have not received a misslabelled sample by any chance ??? (Was it from TPC or Luckyscent ??? For they have been known to do so, more often than they should???)

For STH smells absolutely nothing like coconut ! ... (Killian does actually have a scent that smells "coconutty", but it certainly aint STH !). ... I mean, dislike at all you like, for sure (but make sure you are disliking the correct scent, at least ! ) ...
If however it does turn out that you are actually smelling the correct scent ... then that is very very odd indeed ! (For I've certainly never heard of anybody else smelling anything coconutty in it ???)

Indeed- Beyond Love (I think... I should sniff before I post) is something that I may be able to see coconutty connotations with- but StH?!

Blissful rummy goodness to my nose

Ooh I was really interested in the sound of this ... UNTIL ... you have just gone and frightened me right off it ... with mention of that dreaded word : Miel de Bois ! ... Aaaaargh , that's more than enough to have me running in the opposite direction ! ...

What a pity, I was really looking forward to that ! ... Though, thank you very much "jrd4t" ~ Just what I needed to know !

Don't run too fast! I may be turning around on it. I put it on again, but more of it, and really enjoyed it. I think perhaps my meager application the first time didn't let it do what it needed to. I'm not saying I'm convinced, but it at least has my attention now.

Luke - good luck with the samples. I'm sure you got the correct ones the first time, so it sounds like you'll end up a happy owner of Back to Black soon!

Oh damned, it's looking like I'm gonna have to go "Luckyscent" me a sample, after all. And ultimately find out what it decides to do on my skin. As it's starting to look like it's quite changeable in this regard ??? .

I sampled about 8 fragrances today, my last full day in NYC on vacation. Out of all of them, Back to Black is the one that is getting my attention the most. It takes the Tobacco Vanille / Tea for Two honey/vanilla/tobacco concept and pushes it even more luxuriously into a skillfully blended creation. I'm really wowed. Will I buy it? Not sure yet. But it's really, really lovely.

I also agree about the TV. I am sampling it now, and find it less intense or cloying as TV can be - at least on me. Could be a winner!

I received this today along with the oud fragrance from Kilian and both of them, of course in my initial day getting to know them, remind me of two Bath and Body Works products. Now, just wait...

So, Back to Black reminds me quite a bit of B&BW Sensual Amber products (I haven't tried the EdT of Sensual Amber but the general scent profile of the fragrance used to scent the soaps and creams is quite the same, I mean, I've reapplied Back to Black three times and sometimes I think "WOW... that's a dead ringer!)... almost powdery sweet ambery (honey in B to B's case) and I mention this just so that people will have a general idea of the fragrance. Of course Back to Black is richer, and the sweet powdery sensation is really interesting.

Pure Oud reminds me very much, once the fragrance comes into focus about a half hour in, of a candle/oil available at B&BW which I own called Firewood. I think it's by the Slatkin Company. At any rate, so that you might get the general idea again of the fragrance from something more accessible, I relate it quite a bit to the sweet, smokey woodiness of "Firewood". It's uncanny really.

Both of these Kilian fragrances are interesting, good even, but honestly, I was surprised. I find Back to Black so intensely reminiscent of Sensual Amber that I'm almost negatively taken aback. I'm curious to see how my opinion either intensifies or changes on getting to know this more.

So you're probably thinking, "well that's awfully convenient and strange that these BOTH remind him of something from B&BW... what an idiot" and I would probably think the same reading this, but... I just can't help the fact that my brain made these associations instantly to products which I've had in my home for long periods of time and gotten to know quite well. Anyway, I just thought I'd try to help by making some more easily accessible scent associations because based on the notes of both, I absolutely would never have guessed the fragrances that came out of the vials I received today. I'll report more when I get to know these better.

I'm quite intrigued by nthony's notes. I've been enjoying both of the BKs lately. I haven't smelled Firewood in about 2-3 years, but I remember loving it. I don't recall them being that close, but 2+ years is too long to be able to draw the comparison for me really.
I may have to swing by this weekend and pick one of those candles up. Part of me hopes it is super close to Pure Oud, just so my room can smell fabulous and cost a 0 less.

I hope so, too jr4dt Whenever I make these little mental associations I recall all the times I've read others' similar associations here on basenotes and have thought "huh? not to me" but hey, these are just initial thoughts. I actually have a little oil vial of Firewood that burns on the top of a warm metal thingy. I mean, they are similar to a degree I'm not saying they are interchangeable. Same with Back to Black and Sensual Amber. There are moments when I think, "crazy! very similiar!" and further into the development, not so much. Anyway, jr4dt... whether you think it's similar or not, get the candle again! It's worth it...