KINSKI - Love and hate baby

[KimmyMcG]

Hey guys, so I bought Kinski about two weeks ago at Scent Bar. Now you have to bare with me because I am NO where near as smart the lot of you that I have been "talking" to about fragrances, BUT I'm going to try. I have used it four times and now I'm a little more confident about giving a review.

Kinski Notes
Cassis, juniper berry, schinus molle (Peruvian pepper), castoreum, marijuana acccord, nutmeg, plum, orchid, magnolia, orange flower, rose, benzoin, vetiver, cedar, patchouly, styrax, cistus, costus (ginger), musk, moss, ambergris

Kinski is odd and confusing and I hate and LOVE it all at the same time throughout the journey that it takes me on. This is a very bold complex textured scent. If you don't like woods or Vetiver, then I would pass, but I LOVE both.

The first five mins of putting this on I think to myself, "What the hell is this smell?" It's so completely different and I have no words. I will say last night I put it on and sat on the couch next to my perfect adorable Boxer Marley and she literally sat up and started to smell my arm, then started to lick me, LOL. She has never done that, now I know she's a dog and not a beautiful woman, but that had to be a compliment right, LOL. Anyway, the first 5 mins, I'm confused and think I hate it, but I believe it's a love hate thing, because from then on, I'm TOTALLY in love with Kinski. It has longevity and takes you on a multifaceted journey.

"Kinski begins boldly as cassis and juniper are met with a mix of castoreum and vetiver. The castoreum adds an early animalic touch and the vetiver seems like the vetiveryle from Escentric Molecules 03, full of smoky intensity. This is a mix of top notes which are better together than as their separate parts. This is slightly sweet berry over strongly dark notes to comprise a study in yin and yang. The heart is a quartet of floral notes; rose, magnolia, cistus, and orchid; which again provide a yin. The yang in the heart comes from nutmeg, pepper, ginger, benzoin, and styrax. Hr. Schoen accentuates the prickly, piquant nature of the latter set of notes, much like Hr. Kinski’s famous temperament. They are layered over a traditional floral beauty, much like Hr. Kinski’s acting talent. The base notes are the only thing in Kinski which are straightforward as Hr. Schoen gives my overworked olfactory receptors a break. Patchouli, musk, and ambergris are the surprisingly soothing finish to this fragrance."

XOXOXO!

[hednic]

Haven't tried this yet, but am looking forward to.

[Akahina]

Ah, found your review! Really need a sample of this one...

[Marais]

Great review. Sounds intriguing, must get a sample!

[KimmyMcG]

It was a good review? Thank you so much! I'm still really a newbie at all this, all I really know is that I MUST smell amazing at all times!

Scent Bar (LuckyScent.com) does samples of this.

[Tappio]

Sounds great, thanks for the early review! I don't think it's uncommon to be conflicted about a scent during the first few minutes of the opening; I've come across quite a few that have bizarre or unbalanced openings only to ease into a wonderful scents rather quickly. Really excited about this one!

[Bigsly]

I can't imagine it being more compelling to me than several of my favorite vintage ones (and I don't like castoreum). The reason is that they new ones like this tend to seem "thin" by comparison. Some "niche junkies" enjoy one note or accord being really "amped up" in a niche frag but I don't, so that kind of frag doesn't do much for me either. It's too bad SB does'nt have samples of those so you could compare and render an opinion.

[mikeperez23]

Maybe your dog smelled the castoreum, which can smell quite animalic.

This stuff sounds definitely sample-worthy. Although (a minor point), I'm not too fond of the bronzed, science-fiction font/packaging of the bottle.

[Beranium Chotato]

From time to time, I read on here a description of some long lost classic Guerlain that evolved for days, full of surprises at the second hour, the fifth hour, etc. I was certain I would never get to experience this quality in a fragrance because they just don't seem to build them like that any more.

Enter Kinski. I had sampled it from a vial previously, worn it for an hour or two, and enjoyed it very much. I found the citrus peel, smoke, hard wood, and marijuana notes to be very well balanced: skanky, elegant, and wry all at the same time. What I did not expect when giving it a full and proper wearing today is that, at hour three, it sheds the skank as a very handsome vetiver-wood composition emerges (not unlike Itasca). At hour six, it has transformed AGAIN. Its twilight is a damp, salty vetiver...I want to use the word "chasm" because its depth suggests absence as much as substance. At this stage, I don't think a comparison to Sel de Vetiver is off the mark. Kinski actually tapers as an aquatic, which in this case is not dismissive; it's a cold, inscrutable thing riddled with brooding and loss.

The whole experience has been extraordinary. It gives the impression of a fire being slowly extinguished. Or the sun falling into the ocean. I am in awe.

Update: Hour 7, and the dampness is trading places with a dry smoke. Inky midnight. It is dying on my arms as Encre Noire.

[MonkeyBars]

Too floral and fruity for my taste, although certainly not feminine per se: the heavy base and animalics darken it considerably. An admirable effort into dense richness. Somewhat reminiscent of Salvador Dali pH's dense weirdness without the heavy birch tar if my memory serves.

[SculptureOfSoul]

Brian, you make this sound VERY tempting. And Monkey, your reference to Dali PH only ups the ante! I'll definitely be sampling this in the future, maybe it'll be the first Schoen creation I enjoy.

[Marais]

Very disappointed by this one. I found it to be a grim, greener, mustier encre noire, all shade and no light. Admittedly I did not allow it to get to the far drydown; after 4 hours I'd had enough.

[rhaybans]

I enjoyed this review of it.

[DuNezDeBuzier]

Very disappointed by this one. I found it to be a grim, greener, mustier encre noire, all shade and no light. Admittedly I did not allow it to get to the far drydown; after 4 hours I'd had enough.

Encre Noire like was pretty much my experience based off the sample I went through yesterday. I like EN and, similarly, Kinski is a good, masculine scent. Owning a bottle of EN, I won't be pursuing a full bottle of Kinski. And yes, like EN there is that prominent iso e super... or similar synth. Wish I got the weed and animalic accords, but I didn't. Just the EN vibe for me.

[Buysblind]

Tried Kinski today...

I really don't see any similarity at all to Encre Noir, but what I get is a strong, very Kouros-like castoreum-musk note underneath a green, lightly spicy vetiver, and something that could be compared to fresh cannabis, though not exactly the same. As it develops the cannabis note gets stronger and the muskiness remains.

I didn't like this at first, the opening is kind of nasty, but I'm liking it more as it develops. Think about a Kouros base with a green, vetivery top and sticking your nose in a jar of weed.

The juniper is also pretty evident.

What this actually reminds me of a little bit is Itasca Vetyver de Lubin, however that doesn't have any animalic musk to speak of.

Although it's not something I can see myself buying, it's an interesting one, and at least worth sampling.

[Fragmeister]

Great actor. Bad fragrance.

[MonkeyBars]

What this actually reminds me of a little bit is Itasca Vetyver de Lubin, however that doesn't have any animalic musk to speak of.

Good comparison and accurate thoughts all around

[Sandy]

It's a really great scent. I don't see the comparison with Kouros, nevertheless.

[Sniffers]

got a sample and loved it...then got a decant...
I get the transition of almost 3 scents in 1...
1...an animalic in your face blast of smoky ganja
2...mellows out to a very masculine flower accented
semi aquatic feel
3...dries down to a smoky incensy woody vetiver

like a lot of scents I find little differences every time
I wear it...
If I could work it into my budget I would take the next
step and get a full bottle...

[Kielecki]

I like it but wish longevity would be better

[treeman5823]

I like Kinski. Initially it's pot. Then it's Tzora.

[deadidol]

I just tried it today, too. Definitely strange, musky herbal, and not something I'd personally want to wear.

[Sandy]

I like it but wish longevity would be better

I have still just a sample, based on that I feel the same, too. I hope that spraying from the bottle, applied generously, would result in better longevity. I think this is the kind of scent which is hard to over-apply.