2012 Winter Spotlight fragrances December: By Kilian "Back to Black" disucssion

[maxman]

2012 Winter Spotlight Fragrances for December
By Kilian "Back to Black"


A sweet tobacco fragrance from By Kilian.
Notes: Bergamot, Saffron, nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, raspberry, chamomile, olibanum, honey, cedar, oak, tobacco, patchouli, almond, vanilla and labdanum.
The nose for this fragrance is Calice Becker.

 

[jakespoppy]

Thanks Marc, I'm looking forward to seeing the comments on Back to Black, certainly one of my favorites!

 

[maxman]

Well this is the first time i've ever tried it.
I am very impressed. You can certainly smell the quality of the ingredients.
The tobacco off the top is very nice and aromatic. It's coupled with this sweetness that is not cloying nor light.
It's somewhere in the middle of the two.

I'm about 5 to 6 hours in to it and i'm getting a very nicely rounded scent.

This one's a keeper so far.

 

[musicman1951]

This is so warm and so sweet - but not in a cloying way. It smells rich (which may not be a surprise at this price). I like it from stem to stern - which is all day on me. Wonderful!

 

[mdevine]

I find Back to Black similar to, but definitely an improvement on, Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille. The opening berries and chamomile keep the tobacco from becoming overwhelming. There is a gourmand sweetness, but the honey never becomes cloying. There is something dark and rich about it. I wore it to work today, but it may be more suited for an evening out.

Mike

 

[BillC]

Love this one. When I concentrate it smells like chamomile tea and honey. When I'm not concentrating on it I register it as sweet tobacco. Good sillage and longevity on me too.

 

[imyourhuckleberryxx]

I have not yet made the leap to purchase Back to Black. Its definitely one that I want but there are just too many others to get first. Plus I am slowly working my way up to spending that much money on a fragrance. I haven't had to go above the $130 price range yet but eventually Ill get there.

 

[BillC]

You can get the travel refills for around $75 and put the juice into your own atomizer. Not 'cheap' but not outrageous for a quality niche frag

 

[maxman]

I'd have to say the key word for this frag is quality.
I have limited experience with Tobacco fragrances.
This tobacco is a very nice aromatic fragrance.
The floral notes, sweet notes and dry notes (as in the tobacco) work together so very well.

hmmm. I think I should sample some more tomorrow.

 

[Rev. Jim Ignatowski]

Huh. I'm wondering if I grabbed the wrong decant. What I smelled was a mixture of light powder, and "Gonesh Cones #6 - Ancient Times" incense before burning. These developed after three minutes on my skin. Nice, but no vanilla. Lasted about 12 hours easily. Gotta check on this again tonight.

 

[musicman1951]

Be careful. I used three full blasts from my descant and then we got in the car. Almost asphyxiated SWMBO! Powerful stuff. Now that I'm into the dry down it seems like the right amount.

 

[Rev. Jim Ignatowski]

Alright. Still no idea what I grabbed or if my smeller was disengaged, but last night I made sure it was Back to Black. Vanilla - most definite. Still had that incense but more complicated. Overall, very nice and would get more. Full bottle? Maybe.

 

[wagstaff]

I did an about face.... almost 180, anyway, on the Nov fragrance. So I'm trepidatious about saying anything now for the Dec. 2 wearings of Back to Black and so far I kinda hate it. The tobacco and vanilla notes are fine. Any notes I can pick out are fine. But it just seems like a complicated and random stew under all that. And it lasts forever. I was happy to have a late night shower, finally, to scrub it. I am perhaps a Philistine. I get that this is a pricey product with pricey ingredients, and more educated noses appreciate it. More wearings to change my mind? Maybe. But I will only try when I know a shower is only a few hours away, if need be.

 

[maxman]

I did an about face.... almost 180, anyway, on the Nov fragrance. So I'm trepidatious about saying anything now for the Dec. 2 wearings of Back to Black and so far I kinda hate it. The tobacco and vanilla notes are fine. Any notes I can pick out are fine. But it just seems like a complicated and random stew under all that. And it lasts forever. I was happy to have a late night shower, finally, to scrub it. I am perhaps a Philistine. I get that this is a pricey product with pricey ingredients, and more educated noses appreciate it. More wearings to change my mind? Maybe. But I will only try when I know a shower is only a few hours away, if need be.

You don't have to like it. We appreciate your input. All comments are welcome here.
I suppose the longeveity is a good thing only if you like it. I never considered that if you didn't like it you'd have to put up with it for so long.

 

[wagstaff]

Thanks, of course Marc! I'm still learning how to talk about this stuff. When I read basenotes, I see sometimes people will describe a fragrance as a "mess". Maybe to me, that's what Back to Black is. Good ingredients, but a mess.

Like I said, I did a most-of-the-way turnaround on last month's fragrance. So that's one thing that makes me a little hesitant to share this early. This one I'm less hopeful about, just because it seemed to pretty much interfere with my MOOD well before it was over. So I don't want to give it that many hours again... not without an exit plan!

 

[Cheeva]

I tried this in the Neiman Marcus store ,in San Antonio earlier in the year., I loved the lasting Tobacco notes
definitely asking Santa for this one.

 

[erickson]

Sweet vanilla ****, that's all I get. With vanilla a bit more prominent in the opening and the patchouli and chamomile coming forward during the drydown. Definitely a scrubber!

 

[musicman1951]

I just purchased 6 samples of this. A little too expensive for a full bottle. Love it.

 

[blantyre]

Only a very brief encounter - tried a spray from testers on 2 occasions. Definitely a well made frag. I liked parts of it but overall it was too sweet for me. Nice tobacco-vanilla notes but the fruity syrupiness just made it too much. A good quality nicely packaged product. Definitely try before you buy!