By Kilian Addictive State of Mind is the newest series released fall of 2014 by the Grandson to the founder of the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Group, Kilian Hennessy. It consists of three perfumes – By Kilian Smoke for the Soul, Light my Fire and Intoxicated. Yeah, it’s another year, so it’s another Kilian line. Not that I’m complaining. But has anyone else noticed there seem to be a record number of new niche releases this fall? How to get a fraction of them reviewed is beyond my grasp.
Worse yet, I am trying to figure this out while my arm/shoulder/back are still recovering from an injury I don’t remember inflicting on it, except maybe in my sleep? It’s been about 3-4 weeks, and my chiro appointments are slowly resolving it, but damn… for a while it was 3 Motrin every three hours day and night for about 10 days before I got it through my head that this wasn’t some normal “Fall pressure changes are setting into a really old shoulder injury” pain and went and got help. So these will be reviews in brief still until I can type more than 10 minutes without screaming. Naw, it’s not that bad, really, it just sounds much more dramatic than saying “it gets all achy and stuff.”
[pullquote]”Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
Emily Dickinson[/pullquote]
By Kilian Addictive State of Mind line has three perfumes at launch.
By Kilian Smoke for the Soul-
Notes of Eucalyptus, grapefruit, cardamom, mate tea, tagete, thyme, tobacco, birch make up this scent created by Fabrice Pellegrin. It’s an unusual pairing of tea, birch and lighter citrus/minty notes. It’s not exactly mint in your tea, it’s more than that. I wound up liking it much more than I thought I would because of the contrasts it has, and it doesn’t feel too heavy of clunky, the citrus and eucalyptus lifts it out of the dark. I like it, and this is coming from someone who loves my tea scents all black and smoky and smoldering choking tea notes at me. Hey, it’s a nice switch-up for a tea scent.
By Kilian Light My fire –
Notes of Patchouli, cumin, honey, birch, tonka bean make up this fragrance created by Sydonie Lancesseur. This leans heavily into the patchouli and honey on the open and has a nice skank bump from the cumin. The birch gives it some interest and the tonka smooths it all out. The heavy patchouli on the open almost had me backing away from this one, but I stuck with it and wound up liking it much more than I thought I would. At times it got a little muddy as it transitioned into another phase. It has a great hay-like feel to it that wound up charming me completely. Skank and hay are just not something I have much resistance to. Further into the drydown, the hay wasn’t as prominent, nor was the skank. So love turned to like. Not hate or dislike, but the first 15-20 minutes were the most fun I’ve had in a while.
By Kilian Intoxicated –
This, I predict, will be the big seller of this particular line, it has all the elements to make it the next Kilian Back to Black. Calice Becker crafted this addictive thing with notes of Cardamom, mocha coffee, cinnamon, tobacco, vanilla, patchouli. Yeah, seriously, that is my idea of perfume heave right there. Perfect for the winter months, it oozes warmth and comfort, wrapping the cinnamon-laced coffee and tobacco around that somewhat narcotic patchilla (yeah, I ‘shipped these two notes together, and???). The promise in the line’s name – By Kilian Addictive State of Mind – comes closest to being realized in Intoxicated. It is addictive. As the cold winds blow and I’m snuggled up in my new unicorn slippers and red fox onesie for the winter, this one will be billowing out of that onesie, trust me. The nicest thing about it, for all the heavy notes, it isn’t overwhelming and oppressive. Back to Black, much as I love it, can sometimes be too much, especially if you’re in a tight space with a lot of other people around. Intoxicated doesn’t seem to have that problem. For all of its heavy notes, it fairly lilts in the air. Nice waft.
Winner of the Serge Lutens L’Incendiaire sample – Eloquaint and Andre Gooren. Contact us by clicking on the Drop us a Line at the top of the blog, send me your address, remind me what you’ve won, and I’ll give you a quick confirmation that I got your e-mail instead of it floating aimlessly down my spam filter, and then I’ll get your sample sent out to you. I hope you love it!
AND! a Giveaway! If you comment on the post or share it on Facebook or Tweet it, you’ll be entered in the drawing for a sample set of all three perfumes. I’ll give away four of them. So what do you do for entertainment when you have an injury that stops you from doing all the things you love? Did I mention I haven’t knitted more than 4 stitches for the past almost month? I mean, how many books/movies/ceiling staring seshes can a person do?
I really like some of the By Kilian stuff, but the prices prohibit a FB purchase. Thank goodness for the sample sites. Intoxicated will be on my next sample order for sure! Please enter me in the drawing, as I’d LOVE to sample all three. Thanks!
A couple of years back I ripped my calf muscle.
I could not go out of the house for a couple of weeks. At the time, I really needed a rest (not the pain!).
I tried to enjoy the peace and calm of being at home, slowly doing several ultra light re-arrangements.
Veeeeeeery slowly………….. No……., ………slower …………….than ……………………..that…………………………………………
It was spring and it felt fantastic, actually.
I love Sweet Redemption and Love by Killian, would love to try this new series.
Thanks for a fantastic giveaway!
When I cannot move like I want or when I need comfort Foreign Films always provide a happy and colorful escape. Amelie, Monsoon Wedding, City of God are a breath of fresh air.
Intoxicated sounds amazing!!! Cant wait to try it. I totally understand about shoulder/ back pain. Have you tried soaking in Epsom salt?
Well, I had 3 pinched nerves in my back, and with chiropratic and massage (my daughter is a massage therapist) help it seems better, but I did spend a weekend binge watching Boardwalk Empire and Masters of Sex. I hope you feel better soon. I would love to win any of these, but Intoxicated sounds the best to me.
I have a wrecked shouder too-judo accident, 1997. I reinjure myself in my sleep routinely if I sleep on my left (bad) side, or even if I sleep on my right side without clutching a pillow to my chest to support the arm, which dangles as my muscles relax and yanks on the tendons.
And I started writing perfume reviews in earnest at Fragrantica after I broke my toe in late May and had to keep off my feet!
Oh no – injuries are the worst. I haven’t been injured in a while, but pregnancy kept me off the volleyball court (probably for not as long as it *should* have as I couldn’t make myself stop playing!!) and I kept myself busy by delving into the world of perfumery! And cooking. And gluten free baking (hubby has celiac). Because what’s better than amazing food (other than possibly amazing scents?!?!). I’ve never had the opportunity to smell anything By Kilian – though it all sounds amazing. I think I’m afraid to fall in love with something I truly can’t afford! Thanks for the draw – I’d love to try all of the scents!!
Haven’t been immobile in quite a while, always used to be movies and books. If it happened again there’d be perfume too this time 😉
Mysterious injuries suck. Sorry Patty. Feel better soon. Back to Black was the most recent Kilian that prompted me to spring for a bottle. I thought Imperial Tea would be up my alley, but it didn’t work for me. I enjoy A Taste of Heaven , from his first collection, for its high quality lavender. I do appreciate how this line offers the travel sizes and refill bottles, as an alternative to the (gorgeous/pricey) luxury packaging. These sound fun to try. Thanks for offering the draw. -Gail
So sorry that you’re on IR. A few years back I had rotator cuff surgery on the right shoulder and was helpless and chair bound for longer than I liked. I watched Food Network from morning ’til night and had my husband cook some of them for me. Since I had pain pills it wasn’t so bad! The new By Kilian Intoxication sounds wonderful – thanks for the drawing.
So sorry to hear about your injury! When I had some serious eye issues earlier this year I was out of commission for reading and had to minimize TV time. Audiobooks are the way to go. I found it slows me down and I really enjoy the books more that way.
Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.
Oh, and thank you for the draw! these really sound interesting to me.
*Le Labo. Dratted auto-correct!
Oh! And I just blew my perfume budget on Le Labor! Intoxicated sounds right up my alley, and Smoke for the Soul sounds interesting as a tea fan.
Hi! When I am injured or out of commission I love to read and write in a journal that I keep for my daughter! She is only 8, but I’ve been writing in journals for her since she was born. What I should do is organize my photos and maybe actually print some photos from my computer! Lol! Hope you are feeling better!
Not being able to knit would be frustrating (or any kind of needlework). I spin so when I’m not up to other handcrafts due to whatever, etc. I can usually prep fiber for spinning. Or just poke through my yarn collection imagining what I’ll make next or reorganizing it. I spend lots of time reorganizing my collections when I’m on down time. Ravelry.com and crafty things on Pinterest are seductive when I have the desire to keep creative but can’t physically. I like doing “find” missions; new recipes, craft projects, etc.
Walks are nice…I love places that have natures centers. Can enjoy the flora and fauna without too much exertion (or weather interference) 😉
Never heard of rolfing, will have to check that out more. I do find acupuncture and massage to be very helpful when I’m having issues with wrist/elbow. Or other bodily stresses.
And of course, sniffing various and sundry samples and such always is fun…:D
Please count me in, these sound heavenly!
Hope you feel better soon.
I usually listen to music and eat lots of chocolate and drink lots of tea. And try to enjoy perfume!
Chronic pain interferes with my ability to concentrate, and read, and communicate. Even stupid TV shows are often too much input, but when I can manage it I watch funny things like Broad City and Brooklyn 99, and happy-place shows like Pushing Daisies. Sensory ethnography documentary stuff is great too. Also I take walks or sit outside. Looking into Dragon, smartphone voice-to-text because ow typing.
Now if it were something fun which caused this, you would at least be able to giggle over the cause. Get better quickly. Put my name in the pot, please, Intoxicated sounds wonderful! Speaking of that, I think I’ll make a lemon drop martini!
Ouch, I feel your pain. Quite literally, actually. I’ve been suffering from a bout of bursitis in my right shoulder for the last few weeks. I can’t do anything involving my right hand because I can’t grasp anything, so most of what I normally do for amusement is gone. I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix, looking up classics I haven’t seen in a while, binge-watching tv series, etc. Also lots of music and some audible books.
I’ve been playing with Dragon speech-to-text software, too, so I can try to get some work done. It’s not perfect, but it’s much better than I imagined and really helping me keep on top of emails and reports.
Ack, I’ve done something similar—the mysterious shoulder injury that you’re not sure how you got. I hope it’s better soon. (And I second the binge-watching others have suggested.)
I’m looking forward to trying all three of these By Kilians eventually, especially Intoxicated. A better-behaved Back to Black sounds perfect.
I’d love to try them. All three of them sound delicious!
I would love to try these. While BK makes one of my all-time favorite fragrances, Sweet Redemption, many others in the lines have left me sort of “bleh”. I’m still trying to find another I love as much as SR.
I can also feel your pain. My back has been out for several days. I’ve mostly been laying on the couch and binge watching Netflix. Best of luck with your recovery!
My best friend had surgery two weeks ago and says she has had enough movies and books for a long time. Four more weeks to go!
I myself would like to try it lol. And I would like to try all three of these scents because they sound right up my alley!
Oh! (sorry for boardhogging) Sudoku! Lumosity dot com. Addictinggames dot com. Kongregate dot com.
Well, I had another idea. Google “pandemic preparedness” and start making lists of what you’d need to get in case this ebola pandemic goes global around the first of the year. Just figuring out what food things to get can chew up a couple mornings. Then, when you’re better, get started on actually buying the things on the lists.
My husband had an injury like that. No idea but it happened, but ended up being the cuff and had to get physical therapy for it. Have you seen someone for it?
I’ve had a lot of surgeries….lots of down time. Besides movies, books, and petting playing with cats, I’m not sure what else there is. Does it hurt too much to take slow walks? Fall is such a nice time of year for that….in between storms anyway. Maybe google “top 100” of whatever you tend to enjoy and seek out those few movies or books you *haven’t* seen.
So sorry to hear about your injury Patty. Sounds like you have a pretty bad pinched nerve in your neck. The MD in me can’t help but ask if you have had an MRI? If I were laid up I would probably go back and forth between catching up on reading (paperbacks, because hardbacks get very heavy when your neck is out of sorts) and re-watching Meg Ryan movies like “When Harry Met Sally,” “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail.” I suppose I should re-watch “Gone With the Wind” sometime, too. Right now, I am too busy unpacking in a new house (but not too busy for perfume!). 🙂 Thanks for the drawing. Intoxicated sounds just my speed, but the other two sound intriguing, too. Feel better!
I would be the last one to scoff at your shoulder injury. I did something similar last month: the waking up and feeling like a gorilla had yanked my arm out of its socket thing. Also did the ibuprofen thing and went to the doctor. We finally determined that the cause of all my agony was, get this, mopping my hardwood floors. That’s right. Mopping. Wow, am I a wimp or what?! 🙂 Hope your pain goes away quickly. Thanks for the good reviews on the Killian scents.
Would love to try these. Mostly when I am injured..I loll around and read all day 🙂
I would love to try these. So sorry about your shoulder problem. At this very moment I’m sitting in the surgical waiting room waiting for my second hip replacement so that once again I can take long hikes. While waiting for the surgery, I’ve been reading on theories in psychoanalysis that I’ve always wanted to know more about. Oh, and buying WAY too much perfume.
Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery!
After I gave up smoking, then had to quit drinking, and then had to give up most of the food I like, I became obsessed with perfume. Does that help?
I’m with the binge-watchers. The Wire, Supernatural (try starting with the first episode of Season 4–you’ll either be in or out), whatever shade of real-estate porn on HGTV appeals to you (my sister loves Love It or List It; I can watch hours of House Hunters International, and yes I know it’s mostly phony), British detective series; really, why does anyone ever leave the house?
I feel for you and your shoulder. It’s one of those body parts that you don’t realize you’re constantly using until it hurts when you do almost anything.
I’d love to try this line. When I’m laid up I watch old movies and catch up on my reading.
I like to read, take walks (firm believer in the anti depressing properties of exercising under sunlight) and watch silly, really silly, wife swap silly tv shows. The high brow- low brow contrast feels good to the brain, keeps it running.
Thank you for the draw, Patty, and get well soon!
By the way, I won the Wood Sage and Sea Salt sample (yay! ) and wrote you, but didn’t get your answer. Did I get caught in your spam filter?
I feel your pain. Literally. For the last 8 months. Changed the mattress, left small fortune at pharmacy and chiropractor, realized the latter was making things worse. Now my next step is going to be PT. My pastime when it gets bad-bad is watching British TV series on Netflix. You just have to find a pose in which it hurts less.
Get better and be kind to your body!
I’m so sorry you’re going through this too. Have you tried rolfing for yours? Once I finish the chiro treatments, because mine is really in my spine and shoulder blade, I’m back to my rolfer to fix all the soft tissue problems that remain, the stuff chiro and pharma really never help. I had left her out of the budget for a lot of months because overall I was feeling so great until this. Now she’s back in the budget.
I am a huge Killian fan-( tho my wallet is not)-his fragrance are so unique-would love to sample these new ones!
I usually organise my decant/sample boxes and do a giveaway or two to get rid of the unloved ones (and hopefully make someone else happy).
My favourite non-perfume-related activities are crosswords and sudokus (in addition to books of course). I also love drawing and will definitely try zentangles now! So glad I read the other comments too:)
Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Smoke for the Soul sounds great to me, but I usually like my scents on the lighter side.
I have no good suggestions, unless there is a nearby garden that you have been meaning to explore. I adore gardens.
And, I really enjoyed the suggestions that others gave, especially Zentangles and de-cluttering. Think how proud you’ll be of yourself!!
I tweeted this giveaway 🙂
When I have big stretches of time to myself I do a lot of writing. Daily journaling, letters and email, random thoughts, whatever. I hope your writing shoulder isn’t the one that’s hurting.
I like to go through my phone directory when I am recovering from an injury. I call everyone I haven’t talked to recently. I delete contacts I no longer need or want.
When I have downtime I like to empty out one drawer in the kitchen/bedroom/bathroom, throw out the junk, organize what should be kept, and then repeat on another drawer whenever I feel like it.
I also go on de-cluttering binges. I like empty counter tops and tables tops, so I tackle them one at a time over weeks or months.
Or how about re-organizing your perfume samples just for fun? *ducks to avoid flying decants and samples vials*
Hope your shoulder is on the downhill side to a speedy recovery. 🙂
Great article! I’m wearing STH now and love Pure Oud and Incense Oud. Light My Fire sounds perfect, almost APLS Absolu with the sweet notes, honey, and cumin. I’m very curious to try this one! 🙂
I’ve never tried Killian before, and would love to dive in now 🙂
I agree with Recovering Perfectionist – binge watch all those series you missed. I made very good use of my Amazon Prime a few years ago when I had a bad knee injury followed 6 weeks later by a very bad ankle sprain on the other side. Blech!
Anyways, thanks for the sample draws. I am interested to try these – I haven’t found much from Kilian that I have liked the past few years so these sound good.
I am sad to hear about your injuries. Have you tried self-hypnosis as something to do with your time? visualizations? I will do some series from beginning to end, that’s what I do. I hope this helps.
Thanks for this giveaway!
Sorry about your hand — must be terribly frustrating! I recommend a Netflix subscription and binge-watching of your favorite long-running sitcom, or maybe audio books?
Sorry to hear about your injuries! I have just had a teensy cold for the last week that has sapped my energy, and even that much sitting on the couch has me super restless so I can’t imagine what you are going through. I usually find myself having to rotate between activities to keep my brain from zoning out-this weekend it was hot chamomile and mint tea while watching old Star Trek episodes, alternating with catching up on the Economist 🙂 I hope your back/shoulder feel better soon.
Thank you for the opportunity for the draw, and so sorry for your injuries! I never seem to tire of movies/tv series so I’d take the chance to catch up on all the stuff I never seem to get a chance to watch while laid up. Sleep, too!
Absolutely! Our Netflix queue is so long. When I was on maternity leave before giving birth last year and slightly laid up, I caught up on a few things (glad I did now there is no time for it now!). And there are still tons of series we need to finish or even start – The Wire, Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Dexter, Orange is the New Black, Downton Abbey, Supernatural. And then movies too – I would be busy for a long long time. Though all day everyday might be a bit much.
You have my utmost sympathy. Seems the older I get the more parts I have where the warranty is running out. The first thing I do is get cranky. hmmm… not helping. If you can’t use your shoulder, perhaps walking might be good therapy; get out of the house to mitigate that “shut-in invalid” feeling? I like Zentangle as well – the great thing is that you can’t mess up. I’ve heard people suggest occasionally using the non-dominant hand (arm) with it, which presumably is the one that isn’t hurt. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
I would love to try them. I like patchouly a lot. Sorry about your bad arm/shoulder/back. Get better sooner.
Sorry about your lingering injury, Patty. Glad you got it checked out and that the chiro treatments are helping. I have my physiotherapist and chiro on speed dial since stuff like this seems to happen to me too.
To help pass the time, I do Zentangle doodles in a sketchbook. I find it meditative, and one can be done in 10mins, or longer, depending on how much time there is. There are a few websites with the patterns and introductory steps, but I prefer flipping thru zentangle books from the library to get ideas.
Get well soon!
Oh you poor thing! I know how you feel because last fall I had a retinal detachment and had to be face down with my head in a glorified padded toilet seat for 22 hours a day for a full two weeks! talk about going batty! I found my iPhone to be a very good friend during that time- listened to music, downloaded a bunch of apps that contained audio books, NPR audio broadcasts etc.
Your mind is your best friend and your worst enemy! I did everything I could to keep mine occupied, which was tough for me as I am a big time reader, beader, and net surfer- all of which were out of the question.
Good luck with your shoulder =)
Completely forgot to say “thank you” for the By Killian draw- all of these sound right up my alley =)
OMG, OMG, that sounds awful!!! Yeah, my iPhone has been with me all the time, it’s about the only thing that hasn’t been bothering me. Thank goodness I go tmy new IPhone 6Plus a couple of weeks ago. That bigger screen lets me troll Twitter way more than I should. Maybe that’s the upside of it, I did finally figure out Twitter. Or that could be a downside. 🙂
BOO HISS to being busted up, sure hope you feel better soon.
Thanks for the draw, Intoxicated sure smells wunnerful!
Dang, Intoxicated sounds right up my scent alley….
And I was going to suggest knitting… until I read your last couple of sentences. My sincerest sympathies.
Yeah, the “no knitting” part of this is the wooooorst. I’m pretty good at entertaining myself, but the pain radiates down to my elbow, and fine movements just make it worse. Even holding a book for a while bugs me. This is my suckiest injury I’ve ever had. I’ve had ones that were more painful, but this is persistent and affects every single thing I like to do. Even walking. My arm hanging by my side and swinging becomes painful. Okay, I’ll stop whinging.
I had something similar after pulling too hard on the bedclothes while making the bed. (Yes, really.) My remedy is to go straight to my wonderful Pilates coach, describe the pain and the area affected, and then do whatever she tells me to. I swear, it’s magical. I can’t say enough good things about her, and the whole Pilates-as-therapy thing in general.
Kilian “In the Garden of Good and Evil” *thrilled* me last year. Fairly positive “Smoke for the Soul” will spark similar.
I’m so sorry for your how-the-hell-did-that-happen injury…. Crocheting has always been good therapy for me, when I’m down for the count. Also, thank you so much for this opportunity, dying to sample these. Feel better soon!
I become an even more avid reader when not doing much. New Yorker magazines are great reading in bed. Although, if muscle relaxants are in your healing regime, I found sleeping to be overwhelming. Intoxicated has all the notes I love and can’t wait to give it a try.
Congrats, Eloquaint and Andre Gooren.
Patty, thanks for another fantastic draw. These Killian fragrances sound addictive indeed.
What a nasty injury you have! No advice about entertainment, but I sympathize. Get well soon!
Hi Patty
I feel your pain! I’m recovering from a knee replacement right now and going batty!! Between the pain and being laid up I want to go nuts. At least I have my perfumes to lift my spirits. The Intoxicated sounds yummy to me too! I’d love to check these out. Thanks for the draw and I hope you get to knitting soon!
Ugh, feel better!!
Kilian was my gateway drug and my Pacino…. Would love to try these! Thanks for the draw!