New Perfume Review: By Kilian Addictive State of Mind Intoxicated, Light My Fire, and Smoke for the Soul + Up In Smoke Draw

 

Klian hennessy

Kilian Hennessy of By Kilian

In 2006 Kilian Hennessy launched a line called L'oeuvre Noire, which he added perfumes to until there were ten. The line was controversial, since a prevailing theme is addiction.
.  Now,  the arrival of a new collection from Kilian Hennessy’s By Kilian line is a return to this theme. . The collection, Addictive State of Mind, is composed around the aromas of smoke.
Light my Fire, Intoxicated, and Smoke for the Soul is based on tobacco, coffee and marijuana.

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Cuban Women with Cigars, Photographer not known

Light my Fire, represents tobacco addiction,(a theme we know and love from 2009 Back to Black-Aphrodisiac).    Robertet perfumer Sidonie Lancesseur, who has composed several perfumes for By Kilian, used a Monte Cristo cigar as inspiration. The aroma of cumin and hay, deepened with patchouli, plays well with the sweetness of a bit of honey and vanilla. Wearing this, I feel like I am cozied up with a handsome man having a good cigar with a couple of friends, filling the plush room with sweet smoke.

Notes: cumin, tedded (laid out to dry) hay, patchouli, vetiver, honey and vanilla.

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Turkish Coffee Art, artist  not knwn

Coffee is definitely addictive; many of us cannot function without a few mugs in the morning. Givaudan Senior Perfumer Calice Becker. inspired by Turkish coffee, created Intoxicated, which makes me want a rich cup of coffee.. I love cardamom, and that is the reigning note. In that concentration, it gives the fragrance a solid push into a green masculine, which recedes with time while the more heated spices come forward.  The perfume has a solid lifespan and the spiced drydown is great.

Notes: green cardamom, nutmeg and powdered cinnamon.

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Artist not known; found at Cannabisculture.com

You can’t make a collection like this without a cannabis perfume, and Smoke for the Soul, composed by Fabrice Pellegrin, represents that particular inhalant. It is also a bit difficult of a fragrance. I enjoy the smell of dried cannabis, but Smoke for the Soul has eliminated the smell of the smoke and just mushed together a bit of damp vegetation. It’s just sour and unpleasant on my skin, straight through to the drydown. There are signs of complexity, and it should be tried, but it’s not for me.

Notes: cannabis, eucalyptus, grapefruit, cardamom and mate tea, plus accords of tobacco, birch and cashmere woods

I received my sample set from Sak’s Fifth Avenue in San Francisco. Each 50-ml. spray will retail for $270. Reminiscent of a vintage cigar holder, the scent’s outer box is of wood and bronze-finished metal.

Tama Blough, Managing Editor

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We have a draw for a sample set for a reader in the US. Let us know which one of these you think you would like, and where you live. Draw ends 9/18/2014.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

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27 comments

  • Cynthia says:

    I think the coffee one would suit me best, especially since it’s inspired by Turkish coffee and I leave for a vacation to Turkey tomorrow!!!! I very much like many of the By Kilian scents, and can find something to admire in the ones I don’t. Not too sure about cannabis, though. Thank you for the draw. I live in the US.

  • shannon says:

    Light My Fire would be my addiction of choice of these three. Even though I do NOT smoke, I adore the smell of tobacco.

    I’m in the US … thank you for the draw and the great review!

  • ringthing says:

    My choice would be Light My Fire, cumin and hay? Sign me up. This line is always worth trying. Thanks for the reviews and draw, I’m in the US Midwest.

  • Joyce says:

    Intoxicated sounds fantastic and the other scents so intriguing. This is a wonderful draw. I think I might have to try these anyway. Thank you for the review as always a very interesting read. I am learning so much about fragrance here.
    I am in the US

  • Sandi L says:

    Of these three Intoxicated sounds like one I would enjoy. Love a good Turkish coffee. The spices in this one sound very intriguing.

  • Fazal Cheema says:

    i may be most interested in smoke for the soul because there are not many with authentic cannabis smell though i dont smoke 🙂 the one that came closest to is Kinsky which i have. i am in the US

  • Cynthia Mc says:

    Dear Tama,
    They all sound amazing. I’m torn between Intoxicated, as I also adore cardamom, and Smoke for the Soul, with the cannabis and the eucalyptus, which is very Northern California. And, of course, there’s the cardamom. As a San Francisco Bay Area resident, I think that’s the most tempting for me.
    Thank you for a lovely and evocative review, and for the draw.
    Clearly, I’m in the U.S. 🙂

  • julesinrose says:

    Here’s one that surprised me. I dislike cannabis in all its forms and have bad associations with the smell. I have a sample of Smoke for the Soul, assumed I’d simply hate it and only tried it out of curiosity, assuming I’d be running to my strongest scrubber soap asap. Lo and behold – I find it intoxicatingly beautiful!! So much for notes on paper and expectations! Samples of all of them? Yes please. Honestly, I’d like a fb of Smoke for the Soul. The fact that I find it so beautiful is fascinating. And yes, it’s realistic, but I find the eucalyptus/thyme notes gorgeous together and the cannabis realism fades away in the dry down. I haven’t been so taken with a new frag in a while! In the US. This is proof of how differently we all smell fragrances, isn’t it? H

  • Nancysg says:

    I am intrigued by Intoxicated. I had started looking for a coffee fragrance before this release. Perhaps this is the one!?

  • jiminy says:

    Although the cannabis in Smoke for the Soul has me cringing a little, the rest of the notes listed scream “TRY ME!” at me. I am particularly intrigued by the birch, cashmere woods, and eucalyptus in the composition.

    Thanks so much for the draw. I am in the US.

  • Omer m says:

    Intoxicated would be my pick for sampling. Love green cardamom. I chew on it as a mouth refresher since its unique aroma and ability to fix bad odor. Fav. Cardamom fragrance is Cartier Declaration d’un soir.
    Thanks USA

  • mim says:

    USA
    Cardamom is one of my all-time favorite notes, so Intoxicated ranks first from the description. I’d love to sample them all–that’s the only way to really know! Thank you for the reviews and draw.

  • Monoatomic says:

    Smoke for the Soul would be the first choice, I’m always looking for a good tobacco scent. I’m definite interested in trying all though at some point. I’m in the US.

  • Barbara B says:

    Intoxicated intrigues me most because of the cardamom. I will eventually try all three because By Killian is always worth trying. I am in the US. Thank you for the draw.

  • Cynthia Richardson says:

    I think I would like Intoxicated because it is an aromatic spicy fragrance (cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and coffee) Mmmmm. I live in the US.

  • Lissette says:

    I’m from Havana, Cuba living in USA. I would love to smell this interpretation of a Monte Cristo Cigar.
    Cumin, vanilla, honey, vetiver… all sound like my lovely Old Havana.

  • Ginny M says:

    On a day like today, when I simply cannot wake up, I’d LOVE Intoxicated to get me moving! I live in the US.