Calice Becker did Back to Black for By Kilian, their newest release. Made up of Bergamot, raspberry, blue chamomile, cardamom, coriander, saffron, cedarwood, vanilla, almond, vetiver, cistus labdanum, patchouli, and oakmoss.
I’m really most cross with Kilian. The first few fragrances I thought were fine, but other than the nifty bottles, I just couldn’t justify the price tag and could simply ignore them. The last two they’ve done, By Kilian Pure Oud and By Kilian Back to Black, I’m having to buy bottles of this stuff at $225 and up, and that really sucks. Really. Really. Sucks.
Honeyed, spiced smoky tobacco. This is the smell of my dad when he smoked a pipe, slightly sweet, rich, earthy, complex, comforting. Grain de Musc reviewed this already, as did Octavian here. You know what? I don’t normally like the smell of honey in any perfume, it usually just makes me choke up, but blended so perfect with the tobacco, incense, oakmoss and spice notes, it just purrs like I put my nose right into the honey jar – not that cheap store stuff, the comb honey we used to get on the farm – and came out with some on the tip. There’s definitely a gourmand quality to By Kilian Back to Black, but it just sorta floats out there as a component, not as the main feature. I swear, I’d just eat this stuff if I could.
You know what’s really fun? Put it on next to By Kilian Pure Oud. Yeah, I know I just dripped about $20 worth of perfume on my hand to find out what that was like, but I don’t care. It was so worth it to find out. I have no words to express how perfect these two scents lie next to each other and intertwine..
Okay, Kilian, other than price, you’ve completely redeemed yourself in my eyes with these last two releases. More, please. Now, I do know the price tag is a killer, $225 for 50 mls, and these have great lasting power (okay, the Oud is more, we won’t talk about that right now), but the refills are $115. So if you buddy up with a couple of people, and only one of you wants the cute bottle and packaging, it does bring it down to a more reasonable price. No, not cheap, but this By Kilian Back to Black Aphrodisaic is really amazing.
In my ongoing cosmetic procedures corner – I’m peeling. I can’t remember if March did one of these, but I settled in for my VIPeel, which is supposed to be fabulous, but you peel like a snake on days 3, 4 and 5. So I’m in hiding on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week and ordering in Sushi. They told me to expect some stinging at first. Well, my face is on fricking fire right now – two hours after – but cooling a little. It’s bright red. I’m hoping by morning it will be just slightly red so I can do yoga. I’ll give you guys the results next week when it’s done peeling. They recommended that I follow the peel with a photofacial at two weeks, which I am going to do, along with some routine filler upkeep. Anyone else done a peel of any type? Was it worth it, would you do it again? I mean, if my face stops burning soon and the results are great, I just won’t care.
The nice ladies at Hermes didn’t laugh too hard when I popped into pick up some perfume after the chemical peel, but I hadn’t hit the apex of redness then. Or they’re just too polite and didn’t want to say. Can we talk about the Hermes Mousseline scarves? I mean, just, holy, so wow. I have other Hermes scarves in the normal silk and in cashmere, but those lightweight gorgeous floaty ones just made me cry. I NEEDS one, and they’re over $600. How in the world can I justify that? I mean, I can justify anything, but it would be a lot easier if it were cashmere or something more substantial, but it’s all floaty and gauzy and sheer and delicate and so beautiful, it made me almost cry. Ideas on justification?
Chanel Rouge Allure Laque Luminous Satin Lip Laquer. Rocks. Srsly. I got it in Ming (pink) and Dragon (red). Dragon is the perfect red, and the Ming is a perfect pink for your lips. It goes on as a gloss, but smooths out to be more of a moisturizing lipstick, not really gloss at all, but sorta like gloss. It’s a weird effect. The lasting power is good, it doesn’t have that Chanel taste at all that their lipsticks have that I hate. Beautiful colors, but they need more of them.
I saw Julie and Julia at the movies this week. I’m completely smitten with Julia Child, dead though she is. So much so that I bought my first real pearl necklace.
We have covered a LOT of territory, y’all, for this Thursday!
Winners of the UFO samples are: hongongmom, Masha and Francesca. Click on the contact us button over there on the left, send me your name and address and remind me what you won, and I’ll get you out your sample!!
Winners of the Chanel Cristalle Eau Verte samples: Theresa, elizablue, Kim, Eva, Michelle H, ScentRed, Aubrey, Tarleisio, Dleep and Mariekel. Just follow the same instructions as for the UFO winners, click on the contact us and send me your name, address, remind me the sample you won, and I’ll get it sent to you.
You can get a By Kilian Back to Black sample at Surrender to Chance
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