Incense Oud

Perhaps I am simply drinking the Kool-Aid but I am in love with this fragrance! After searching high ‘n low for another "signature" fragrance, I decided to try By Kilian "Incense Oud." When I received my sample, I opened it in my car as I was going through the rest of my daily mail. I had forgotten about ordering the scent and when I sprayed the sample, it was love at first whiff! My first thoughts were, “Oh my-this is some beautiful stuff!!” Then, I glanced at the packaging insert and immediately thought, “Oh no-I hope this isn’t the stuff that goes for $405 a bottle.” Alas, it was and it is. The opening is warm, enticing and STRONG with definite spicy & floral notes including pepper, cardamom and rose. To me, the opening is almost like meeting up with an old friend or wrapping oneself in a cozy afghan or blanket. This fragrance simply smells special. After 30 minutes or so, a wonderful mixture of wood (cedarwood, sandalwood, oud), incense (patchouli?), smoke, and musk rises. Nothing I read about in all the reviews could prepare me for the dry-down or the base. Sitting very close to the skin and without much silage, there is obviously something in the sum parts and ALL the notes that makes this some pretty complex and incredible stuff. If I had to describe the dry down in a few words, it would be “smooth, relaxing, and almost meditative.” This is definitely not an over-powering fragrance. This is a sophisticated & subtle incense fragrance that is not at all reminiscent of being at High Holy Mass or in a head shop (characteristics that I ordinarily dislike in other incense based fragrances). Silage is not great & longevity could be better. I DID figure out that after purchasing the VERY EXPENSIVE original crystal bottle, one can get refills for a less expensive (still very expensive) price. This must be what Heaven smells like! I LOVE this stuff! Sigh...

One of the best scents I own and the best from by kilian line. It's been awhile since I shared my thoughts with this fragrance, so here's an update after many wearings.. I ENJOY IT even MORE now! The notes all come together in such a harmonious way, with a name such as incense and oud, two very strong notes, you may think this would be very strong, but it's actually very pleasant and easy on the nose believe it or not. I think it's the Rose that makes this fragrance. I am not a fan of Rose dominate fragrances or anything floral, but this is NOT like that at all. It just makes the incense fell fresh sharp and sweet. I've never smelled anything like this, it's masculine too. The silage and projection on this are AMAZING. You will get noticed. I find this so appropriate for the cooler days and nights of the year. There's no oud in this fragrance but it's ok, I don't want anything to change with this formulation bc it's perfect. The opening with Rose goes away after a little bit and leave such a well done sweet incense going on with a smoky and woody dry undertake Would I pay $400 for a 50ml bottle? No But, I found a 50ml bottle (not refill) on the grey market or $190 and yes, it's worth that all day long! The same nose that made straight to heaven made this as well. Two of the only by kilians I find full bottle worthy so far! Scent 10/10 Longevity 10hours plus on skin Projection 8/10 with 2 sprays Quality 10/10 Originality 10/10 smells nothing like you would imagine or have Rank in my collection - top 5 ever

Have you ever built something up in your imagination only to have it fall just short of what you had dreamed it to be? That is this fragrance. I wanted to try it so badly but it's discontinued and extremely hard to find. It's good, particularly in the opening (first 30 minutes) and late stage drydown. Incense, Oud, papyrus, geranium, cardamom and a bit of rose is what I get. It's balanced with grapefruit to keep it from going too dark. However, I can't help feeling that it's overpriced. I had built this up to be the end all, be all, incense and it falls a little short of the mark. I personally think that ELDO Rien takes the top spot for incense and this is probably 2nd or 3rd place. Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT experience, (I'm being critical due to price and my expectations) but not as good as it could be with a better, natural oud or perhaps sandalwood. But I'm not a perfumer and maybe it wouldn't have worked. All that said, the rose, patch, cardamom and incense all work well together. It's got a green streak from geranium which is cooling and adds to the experience. Scent 9/10 Performance 7.5/10 (good longevity, strong projection) Update: I am reaching for this one more than I thought I would, especially for a night out scent in the cold. It didn't meet my rather lofty expectations, but it's a very good incense perfume.

I searched hi and low to find a bottle of this again, I had to go outside the box and comment on a YouTubers vid to persuade him to sell it, thankfully he did. My last bottle ran out and it’s been discontinued. Sadly. This is the best thing Kilian has made in my opinion, and I find it crazy there aren’t a ton of comments left on this page. Incense is one of my favorite notes ever in perfumery. Rose I am super picky on, I do like POAL mainly bc the incense pops off on my skin, but the rose it to in your face. Rose is only an opening facet in this blend. Oud? I don’t really pick up on that, this is just one of the best incense fragrances I’ve ever smelled. Perfect amount of sweetness. You will pay for this stuff since it’s discontinued, I got lucky and got mine for $220, which isn’t bad considering I paid $190 in 2015. If you like incense, not the churchy or soapy kind, but sweet, resinous, gorgeous incense with some Portrait of a Lady rose in it, grab a sample of this. You will indeed smell like nobody around you with a discontinued masterpiece like this one.

All ouds are not created equally. . This is beautiful. That's it. Sweet oud. I'm not going to go on and on. I got 5ml sample surprise in the mail with oud noir by Versace . This is full bottle worthy I may add. This is the kind of fragrance that puts designer ours in their place. Damn, a blast of rose at first makes you wonder why so many rose and oud combos, but this one I see why, the Rose goes away only to bring out the incense when she is done. The aftermath of what you get after the Rose opening is what made me want to write this review, this house is really putting out of some super killer fragrances, only downfall... Price point. I got thousands of dollars wrapped up in my collection so it's kind of pointless to complain about price on one fragrance, but man $100 for a black shiny box... And $350 for 50ml...I dunno man..I got a couple kilian bottles but I have them for $180 a piece, I don't like going over that.., so with that said, please message me if you want to sell a bottle of this for a good deal...I'm in love with it right now