In the City of Sin

I didn't expect to like this at all, much less love. But what happened was it leaked a bit, sO I got to smell it after about 24 hours of base time, & I admit I don't like the opening AT ALL, the base~ oh ~heaven!~. Has a hint of sinister & I can do without that part (a liiiiiittle bitter, maybe that is the cardamom) but what dominates is coconut~ with that other stuff in the background to give it substance and complexity. YUM. Reminds me of Michael Kors - which I love - but find way too simple to wear. I get sick of it too easily due to its' simplicity but love the smell on other people (as long as it's not for too long, just passing by). I definitely smell the roses. exQuisite. It's one of mY favorite smells but I can't wear it usually. Too sweet /single noted usually-not in this case. Coconut, beachy~, Roses, rich floral~ cool and breezy, with a hint of mischievous and naughty. I still don't fully "get" her, but willing to take the time, see where things go. Lovely. Signature worthy. Worth getting to know. For now - I do not like the name and disagree that it's unisex. I may change mY mind about the name once I get to know her but not about it having flowery tones. Not unisex, not androgynous. ...Peace... OK I'm getting to know her now. SINISTER IS Right!!! A very melancholic perfume. Femme all the way. Not evil. But sadistic. Watch out! UPDATE!!! OK!! I get her now! Devil’s cake- Transports you into a WORLD of sinfully notes Transforms u into ur own little city of sin ;) ooh

This is an enchanting rose-plum with supporting efforts from the patch and the woods -- it just works SOOO well. I'm not which came first, but this reminds me a LOT of the violet-rose trope, the way it's structured and supported, and so it was an instant YES from me, but for me the star of the show is the smooth cardamom chiming in to make sure this doesn't get too sweet and cloying. It's the kind of cardamom that you get in Marrakech Intense and a few others that escape me. Cardamom can be a little acidic, abrasive and acrid, but this is smooth and backs the rose-plum perfectly. I know this is discontinued, so I'm sure it fetches a hefty sum on the groups, but for me and mine, I'd like to keep this one... Love.

This was recommended to me at the Kilian counter and was one I hadn't tried due to my habit of limiting myself to masculine or unisex perfumes. The reason I do that BTW is not because of any aversion to them, rather that I would be opening a Pandora's box of female focused possibilities and financial decline. The odd one is okay and this was one I made an exception for. I really, really like fruity fragrances and In the city of sin is great to be honest. It's a wonderful fruity/floral, sexy musk scent which to my nose is only slightly spicy, nothing offensive. Easily unisex, not for me though more suitable for my girlfriend... she liked it too.

Kilian doesn't seize to surprize. For me, this is the best fragrance in the world that has fruity notes, especially plum. It's so diry and sexy, inviting you to wear it more and more. Like an obsession. From the first sniff I was amazed by the extreme quality of the ingrediends and the overall package - only Kilian knows how to make a good perfume and a following ambalage. Longetivity is good, sillage is great for this kind of scent - noticable, but not too much (you need to get closer). I get the blast of fruits mixed with cedar and heavy wood in general, then rose and incense which is so beutiful together. My rating: 10/10

Plum and cardamom is a really bewitching combo, IMO. The dark spiciness of that combo grounds and tempers the juiciness of the rose and berries. It's delicious. Like many Kilians, this is a scent I really love but I wish for the price it had more lasting power and projection. It sits fairly close to the skin but this is one that definitely has me sniffing my wrists all day long.

Update: Okay, so seeing as I’ve really only worn this probably about twice, I thought I’d give this a bit of wear tonight, I just thought when I got out of the shower I put a bit of this on for a change.... And to be honest, I do find this quite a calming scent although it has spices, it’s a close to the skin fragrance. Keep catching pretty little whiffs every now and then

A meditative scent, very spicy and sweet. It envelops you with sweet and mystical notes, making a statement. The perfume for those who love to stand out, definitely unisex in my opinion! What a discovery! Sillage: 7/10 Longevity: 7/10 Scent: 8/10 Overall: 8/10

I'm in love, love, love....Warm, spicy, fruity....and overly sexy, like warm, loving bodies. It reminds me of Shisheido Feminité Du Bois and the original Dolce Vita. Not similar, but still...It's lighter, more fruits and more playful.

Extraordinary perfume, very long last. Intoxicating and intimate at the same time which is very rare. Cardamom and pink pepper dominate.

When I think of the City of Sin, my mind will automatically go to the flash, glitz and the in your face over abundance of “sin-sations,” stimulations and temptations. But in tandem with that thought is the inevitable crash of reality leaving a shadow of the person that once was and where dreams and illusions are forever shattered. But Sin isn’t that at all. Yes, there is a brightness in it’s opening with the pepper and cardamom (which peaks in and out, like a nervous dealer). But instead of an over abundance of brightness that could blind, the plum and rose sweep in perfectly paired; keeping each other from getting too wild and out of control. Plum and rose take your hand in the guise of a gentle Madam that has played this game all her life. She is wise to the ways of overindulgence and watches over your journey with warm eyes and a guiding hand. She presents all that is offered in this tumultuous realm letting you taste and touch the incense and creamy cedar. And before you can be swayed any further she gently steers your journey into safer waters. Then you wake to the smell of a perplexing comforting sweetness. Ghostly wispy thoughts of something profound and satisfying linger, but alas it is out of reach. I find the opening of Sin moves very fast. I mean it passes almost too quickly. And it’s bright. I get the pepper, a smidge of bergamot and luckily for me the cardamom is very peek-a-boo, which I appreciate because I’m not a huge fan. But here I find it pleasant. I don’t really get any of the apricot. The plum and rose are really perfectly matched. It doesn’t lean overly fruity or rosy to me. I can still smell the pepper when the cedar and incense drift in. The cedar has a creaminess quality to it. It’s still woody but it’s smooth and mellow. The incense adds depth and really wraps around the whole fragrance and I think holds it all together nicely. Then it fades to a gentle sweetness. The plum and rose keep doing their job and keep the sweetness from getting stale and boring. And there seems to be a light musk underneath it all as well. I think it is wonderfully seductive fragrance and I am enjoying my sample a great deal. It wears close to the skin and I get about 3-4 hours before having to reapply. I did ask my husband what he thought of it. All I got was “it’s nice” and a shoulder shrug which translates to- this doesn’t do the same for him that it does for me. LOL. This also mean's enjoy my sample because i'm not forking out that kind of dough for, "it's nice." ;) ~q

This is my fav. of the 3, on my skin on first spray it reminds me of Christmas, which I know of course is coming from the pepper && cedar mix, but yes it reminds me faintly like a Christmas tree...only prettier if that makes sense like it hints at that smell just not with a sickening pine. Even though this is labeled for only women, I don't see why a man couldn't very well wear it to. Actually when I have it on I do find it to be more masc then feminine every now && then I would get the subtle-ness of the florals but the cedar && pepper are the real shiners which is why I guess it comes across to be more unisex to me. Longevity && Projection are pretty moderate it lasted a good 5 hours strong then it started to fade out a bit, && I could smell myself when I moved not saying if others could though. My Manager actually gave me all 3 samples b/c she signed up to receive the newest scents from Kilian. I'm going to save this one && where it on x-mas I think it will be perfect! I do really like this one I find it perfect for the fall/winter months, && would I spend 245 for it...yeah if I had the money && could bring myself to do that lol, I love! the packaging of this line! :)

Opens strong, peppery, then fruity and sweet-- bergamot with a spicy undertone. Then more sweetness, plum, apricot, cardamom, tiny hint of rose. The drydown is a soft fruit, balanced against a spicy background. The patchouli lingers over a cedar base. I don't get much incense, there is some smokiness but it is very faint and distant. When sprayed on fabric the fruity notes are more apparent and I don't get much spices at all-- almost like Forbidden Games. Performance is good on me. Sillage is moderate and longevity is moderate to long. Personally, I love the fruit and spice combination. It is a good balance of sweet and spicy. I wouldn't call this a gourmand, the apricot is far too synthetic to me-- but the spice is real enough. On me it develops as a very lush scent, lots of different facets in this fragrance. I have even been asked if I was wearing a man's cologne while wearing this, must be the patchouli & spices combo! I am considering a FB-- or most likely a travel set. Best bang for the buck, imho.

A warm and sweet fragrance with moderate sillage and good longevity. I was testing this fragrance this morning and had it on for four hours before switching to another fragrance. The scent of this fragrance never changed for the whole time I was wearing it until I took a shower. I did shower with plenty of soap and scrubbed my skin pretty well but there was still a very sexy musky scent lingering on my skin for hours (now 9 hours after first spray of this fragrance). I did not detect any of this note the whole four hours that I had this fragrance on full strength. I find it kind of interesting and guess I just need to give this fragrance a full day try next time to really see how it develops on my skin throughout the course of the day.

This reminds me of Serge Lutens Bois et fruit, and is a little like PK Juicy Fruit chewing gum! So many of the By Kilian fragrances are just so overly sweet. Of course, there are a few exceptions. Back to Black, Intoxicated, Light my Fire and Smoke for the Soul are the 4 better ones in my opinion. Meh, too sweet for me! Pass!

Smoky, fruity woody...reminds me of fragrances I wore in the 90s. I love it for its nostalgic properties...I need to give it some more time on my skin. So far, so good.

I also notice the cedar too chickenpotpie, you are right on point. It is noticeable in the beginning. I kinda of like it and will test it on my skin....

Not even close to CdG 2. This one is well... faceless. It’s one of those scents that are good for office, day, evening, whenever... whatever. To be frank all the white Kilian fragrances are for those who don’t want niche scents but want to pay extra.

I should know already that I do not like some spices, especially cardamom and cinnamon, but I stubbornly keep testing fragrances containing these notes... Maybe I’m just curious, maybe I still hope to find some perfume among them, that I like. Pity, but The city of sin is not this surprising discovery. It opens with the huge quantity of cardamom and it dries down in sweet fruity gourmand base. It reminds me of Kenzo Jungle and Mont Blanc Femme – I wouldn't like to wear neither of these and I must say the same thing about The city of sin.

Sin City? the good joke, the only sin i see is the greediness of the owner of this marketing shit. spicy plum pudding diluted in white musk...to compare this expensive uninspired thing to the amazing and much more cheaper Féminité du Bois is really a shame.

kilian top notes why why why 😭 the mid and base notes are beautiful as it dries down but the top notes... the pepper combined with the fruit and bergamot and rose makes the opening cloyingly sweet in an astringent way

the combination of cardamom n fruity undertone didn’t really work for me.

For the first 10 seconds, this was a beautiful, seductive, spicy scent. Not much long after, I was transported to a time when I used to be violated by the stench of body odour mixed with cheap fruity body spray in the school changing rooms. Really quite gross on my skin.

In the city of sin where no one is exempt from carrying out any act designated as sin Kilian wanted to try to point out lust and gluttony in the same perfume (it is my idea for how this distinctive perfume is developed. I got this Kilian a time ago and I must say that although it is feminine at first, the last phases are very unisex according to the person who uses it, it can transmit or modify the aura of this perfume, although I prefer more for "Love don "don't be shy" I must say that this is more of a fruity gourmand but with class since as a good lover of the Gourmand category it ended up convincing me (despite its price), although it has those tropical fruity tints that I don't enjoy very much; Since there are shampoos that are similar to women's perfumes that are so popular, I feel that it is not very practical because it can be confused with hair perfume. The fragrance is elegant, it has those notes of rose, and peach along with musk that give that feeling of intimacy or seductive personal perfume, on my skin at least those notes take on greater strength and on several occasions the plum comes to light in its ripening point that becomes juicy sweet that does not lose the acidity that is not hated, it smells very natural and with natural materials that are detected from the beginning. Regarding the performance of this one, I must say that like the other Kilian fragrances, it lasts longer than 10 hours on my skin, The trail of this one is not as large as those of the previous collection but it is noticeable, to give an idea it is similar to that of Lolita Lempicka, something that is perceived when walking but does not leave a trail for several minutes like Angel de Thierry. I would recommend it for special and romantic use in the Spring or Summer, it is very seductive but especially unique, since although sometimes you can find a similarity to another fragrance, it changes according to the period of its life and matures like the fruits that contain it, it comes in a case with a golden snake and in its eyes are small diamonds that capture the attention of anyone who notices them. Personal rating: 8.3/10 In my opinion, one more note should have been added to make it more sinful as its title says. If you find it Grab it!

In The City of Sin has a dry spicy opening. Pepper, cardamom, and incense float over resinous woods and warm muted fruit. The fruits are pushed down and restrained by the dry spices and dark woods. It is essentially, fruit in a cage. Thank you to the lovely Kilian reps at Saks, Kim and Will. They were wonderful to give me a sample of this. In the City of Sin is the experience of visiting something strange, dark, and complex in order to discover sweetness buried beneath. The dry mix of spices and dark woods are an excellent compliment to the Summer fruits. In the City of Sin does not project too much, but once it dries down and its cage of spices and wood evaporates, it releases its soft sweet powdery fruits and lasts for hours close to the skin. In the City of Sin is masculine and feminine. It is a little like some sort of spicy marinade at first, but give it a chance, and it undergoes a pleasant and unexpected transition or two, eventually drying down to a signature Kilian ambiguously fruity skin scent. This fragrance's lack of projection makes it appropriate for a wide range of situations, but it is certainly the most unusual composition of the three offerings from the In The Garden Of Good And Evil collection, so give it some time to develop before forming an opinion. Though I am not presently moved to purchase a FB of this, I also wouldn't write it off. I think it's about as noteworthy as Good Girl Gone Bad, though they smell nothing alike. I recommend this especially for those who like to keep their fruits on lockdown.

This is one of my first forays into the house of By Kilian, and I am sorry to say I don't like this as much as I expected to. In The City Of Sin begins as a very fruity floral, quickly drying down to a predominantly floral scent on my skin. I kept waiting for the greater breadth that patchouli and cedar would bring to the fragrance, but those two accords never arrived for me. I also see that my fellow reviewers mention spice, but the spike of spices never arrived for me, either. This is a pretty fragrance, but the price is very high for what seems not particularly remarkable to me, and one which eventually became a hint of faded flowers. With a name like this, I rather hoped for a fragrance evocative of a jaunt through bawdy houses and opium dens, but instead I get Lady Havisham. Then again, this effect may purely be a function of my pH with the accords in this perfume. This fragrance is not for me, but I'm open to the possibility that I would love the scent of it on someone else's chemistry. I'd call this one a definite try-before-you-buy.

Everyone seems to notice the cardamom except me. I love cardamom! This starts out as an extremely juicy floral fragrance. Seems more like white flowers than the rose that is listed in the notes above. The base is quite peppery, a bit of a nose-tickler. My first thoughts were of hot and sexy Miami Beach. I would definitely enjoy wearing this perfume if I lived there. Sillage and longevity would probably work in their hotter-than-hell climate. There is something glamorous about the scent too. I enjoyed this perfume much more than Back to Black, which was my first By Kilian experience. In the City of Sin seems much less synthetic in comparison. I can't agree with any comparisons to Feminite du Bois, which is dry and bitter woods. In the City of Sin is hardly woody, it is a sweet and fruity floral. They are nothing alike. Despite the fact that I like this perfume, I don't think it is phenomenal and worth the price tag. If it were $100 less it would make more sense.

Is By Kilian IN THE CITY OF SIN a reissue of LIAISONS DANGEREUSES? I ask because it has precisely the same (eccentric) effect upon me. I smell hyacinth very strongly in the opening, after which the perfume becomes more of an unsweetened fruity chypre. Where is the sin in this, for heaven's sake? I may be in the minority, but I never really connect the By Kilian market hype with their perfumes. In this case, the tag line is: "The temptation which leads to carnal desire." Huh. I have yet to detect a single animalic note in the entire By Kilian line-up, so either I'm anosmic to their erotic inducements, or we simply have wildly divergent views on what the word 'racy' is supposed to mean. Honestly, the snakes and all of the clumsy pseudo-erotic writing does nothing to make this composition anything more to me than a reissue of LIAISONS DANGEREUSES, as tame as plum pudding--but much less sweet. In the end, I am forced to conclude: I just don't get it. At all.

I don't see In the City of Sin By Kilian mentioned all that much online so upon receiving a free sample with my purchase from By Kilian, I didn't have many preconceptions about what it was like, nor does the name provide much insight into it. It does open with bergamot and pepper but the floral notes take over my experience of it very early on, and rose only seems to factor in as a small part of this. There seems to be another flower that mixes with the apricot to make for the feminine side of this, although it does have a dark side, too, in the dry down, with the patchouli, softened by the cedar. This definitely leans pretty feminine on me but while it's not for me, I imagine some men might find this enjoyable. I'm not sure I'd necessarily want to smell it on a woman, though, myself--it lingers awkwardly (not effectively) in between to me. 4 out of 10

[EDIT: I mistakenly did my original review for my "forbidden fruits" sample thinking it was "city of sin". In my opinion, "forbidden fruits" is the more superior one of this range] This one underwhelmed me, and I was so disappointed because I had rushed out and spent mega-bucks on a bottle. It is spicy and woodsy, with a lot of bergamot and cedar and spices. Slightly masculine, rather than feminine. The rose is barely whiffable in this one, or the plum note. I get a herbally feel to it, and sadly does not last beyond a few hours. Sillage is very low. Stays close to the skin. I do not know why, but I had high expectations given the black bottle range, however for some reason, these white bottles are seriously underwhelming for the money that you pay for them.

First, this does not smell anything like Lutens' Feminite du Bois. I don't know where anyone is getting that association. Lutens and Sheldrake wouldn't be caught dead near this trainwreck of a fragrance. There are some interesting topnotes that seem to hold some promise and then it all dries down to an everlasting cedary, patchy funk that reminds me of Old Spice or some other old school men's traditional fragrance. Another disaster, IMHO. Are any of the Kilian fragrances any good? I have only found 2 to be vaguely acceptable- Back to Black and Amber Oud, which actually has no oud in it that I can tell. I don't know who is buying these scents but they must be anosmic or love sweet gooey scents that someone mistook for sexy.

I'm not sure in what City of Sin this carnal desire comes from, but it's none I have ever visited. A sheer sweetish spicy wood with a little Calone thrown in. Despite By Kilian's contention of using the best possible ingredients, the rose here is a polite and synthetic tea rose (try Creed's soon to be discontinued Fleurs de Bulgarie for a wallop of real, dirty, earthy rose). The transparent substrate of all By Kilian's scents (excepting the Aouds, to a degree) prevents them from ever living up to their exotic and naughty monikers. If anything, this is a well-done and pleasant floral with spice and some light wood. Decent longevity, but, like all By Kilian scents, poor sillage.

This one is not bad, reminds me just a bit of an Interlude Woman by Amourage, in certain areas in the beginning, but overall It's nothing to write home about, it's just an OK fragrance. ( sorry Kilian, never thought I'd say that about your fragrance ) All though, I noticed that all fragrances from the house of Kilian seem a bit simple in the beginning, but that is just an illusion, later they become more complex and you begin to realize the true beauty of them, except for Playing With The Devil ( from the same collection ), that hasn't happened for me yet, even though I've tried it probably about 6 times, still smell a bit of rotten fruit.

The sweetness oozing and emanating from almost-rotting fruit in the sun, just at the turning point of decay, shot through with the sort of decadent incense that makes you think of carnal bacchanal "celebrations" at ancient temples thousands of years ago, it is absolutely WONDERFUL! As someone who tends to run away from most fruity-florals, this one actually made me SWOON. It is so voluptuous and sinister, ancient and modern, masculine and feminine all at once, this is what Venus would use to perfume herself in the 21st century. Totally divine!

refreshing scent, although it seems rather light at first, one should not underestimate the power of this scent. I sprayed way too much with my sample and felt a bit nauseous and had to sneeze...it is a nice scent with medium sillage and ok-ish longevity especially for such a light, citrusy scent (3-4h...I have bone dry skin..so this is good for such a scent). Love the pink peppery note with bergamot. Nice dry down with a soft rose. However, not worth the price tag. Did not wow me enough but office safe, spring, summer suitable kind of scent.

This is a dark, spicy, stewed fruits kind of fragrance. You definitely get the pink pepper and cardamom, but I'd also guess at something like cumin or paprika, as well as star anise. The spices are layered on cooked syrupy stone fruits and a wine-y rose. There's patchouli and cedar, and a tad bit of vanilla. Weirdly, it doesn't wear like a heavy fragrance. Lingers awkwardly between genders. Discontinued and not much missed, it seems.

Its juicy, the fruits are spiced up with cardomon, like stewed fruit. The incense note is in this is very present but its gentle. Notes that stand out to me are: Plum, cedar, red pepper, spicy Rose, cardomon, hints of bergamot & apricot. If you like the gourmand-spicy-incense style fragrances you may like to try this, ....even if its out of curosity! This is well done, but its so similar to a few others out there.

I thought this was a unisex frag?? Not one of Kilians best for me. I tried city of sin on one hand and forbidden games on the other. I thought COS was pretty strong at first but after 1 hr it faded badly. After a few more sniffs later on, I thought it smelled familiar, then it came to me - Creed Millesime Imperiale. Don't rate FG either, there's nothing that warants such a high price tag. I'll pass on these!

@ultrasilence ummm...so have you tried them all or?? Because I really haven’t smelled anything like this scent in designers or celeb frags. So I’m not really sure what you mean. This is a very unique spicy fruity fragrance. It’s kinda sour but in a very interesting way. More natural fruity sour than anything. I have a sample of it but I may need to get a full bottle soon. This is so good.

Fades out after one hour, but it's something different and interesting. Is more like exploring something new, than using it as my perfume - I can't think about wearing such a funny scent. It just can't fit in any mood, situation, position, weather or outfit. It's more like - smell it, feel it, try it and... that's it.

Buttered suede and tuberose? Not sure where the rest of the notes are. I get Butter and leather and tuberose with a faint dirty-body note. It’s a jarring melange where nothing blends and the elements I do smell aren’t good. It’s not a total scrubber with screaming and panic, but it’s nothing I want on my skin.

I'm truly in love with this Kilian, it's a fine, sophisticated, smoky rose scent with the company of cardamom, pepper, cedar, and some sweet, juicy fruits. Perfect for the everydays and even for rare occasions. Please let me know, if somebody's got a flacon for me to buy, thanks! (e-mail: [email protected] )

I feel like there's a bit too much spice in the opening. Once it settles down its more balanced, but the pepper has a sharp, nose burning quality right at the start that is pretty off putting. I think I would let that go if it weren't so expensive, but at this price it really should be better blended.

Fruity-woody-spicy, somewhat loud, and a little synthetic. Imho, there are much better perfumes in the same genre out there and at a much better price - the noteworthy Feminite Du Bois, for example; or try Keiko Mecheri Ume for a bit more plum. As for this one, the only noteworthy part is the bottle.

Definitely spicy, like a spiced rose scent, dry, intense, so for me not something I would like, it is though more complex and more interesting Than Good Girl gone bad, it is exotic, it is like a scent from a faraway asian place, so yes lovers of spicy scents will enjoy it, not for me.

This one opens up very smokey like Sweet redemption in a way, then it turns to a really good spiked punch to my nose. It does not excite me but I do enjoy this. It induces what spiced fruit smells like, which is right up my alley in scents. I would not spend the money however.

If you came to this City looking for Sin, you won't find it. Just a nice, tame floral with some fruity undertones that would work well in the spring. Anyone can wear this but I'm sure that most would say it leans in the direction of what's typically considered "feminine".

it is very spicy at the begining reminds me a bit of hermes gentiane blanche ,is kinda fresh doesn't have any sweetness that i can detect , is very peppery and citrusy , reminds me of chili cucumbers a popular snack in mexico

received a sample of this scent today. it reminds me a lot of neela vermieren trayee. it is not as intense as trayee. i see they have cedar and patchouli notes in common. this scent is nice, but i'm not in love with it.

I found it's mostly a rose note on me. Pretty linear, unless I'm amnosic to it. It was a nice, spicy rose, but since I have other better rose scents, and Kilian is so expensive, I'll stick with the others.

in case if i am going to buy a niche perfume for my wife,i will try to find something with good longevity and projection to deserve my money, i can't find these things with this perfume. 0/10