Liaisons Dangereuses

According to Kilian, the notes in this perfume are as follows: coconut flesh, prune absolute, plum, black currant bud absolute, crystallised peach, cinnamon bark oil, ambrette seed absolute, Damascus rose, Bourbon geranium, Australian sandalwood oil, oakmoss extract, Javanese vetiver oil, clear woods and white musks. It is obvious, at first sniff, that this is a very high quality scent that spared no expense in its construction and is beautifully blended...Kilian says this is one of the two unisex scents in this line, but slightly on the feminine side of the spectrum. I tend to agree (at first anyway) as this begins very darkly fruity, sweet and creamy. Prune, plum and currants make it seductively sexy, the coconut makes it creamy and the peach adds a delicate juicy freshness-forbidden fruit is what comes to my mind...you know, the one that tastes the sweetest, but is not necessarily the best for you...very tempting. As this develops (and it lasts a VERY long time) the cinnamon warms it and makes it more sexy and exciting, and the gorgeous rose makes it sensual and so very intruiging. The geranium adds to the floral air but keeps it spicy and the ambrette seeds give it an almost musty air (like something precious kept hidden and treasured in a secret place), that is at once elegant and mysterious. Eventually, if only all liasons lasted this long and were this gorgeous, this dries to an elegant musky and earthy woody dryness-just superb!! Sillage: very good Longevity: excellent Overall: 4.5/5 The description on LuckyScent is just delicious-lovers naked in bed feeding each other juicy fruits entwined in loves embrace and then languishing in the afterglow and sexy muskiness of each other afterwards...this is not necessarily a "dangerous" scent as others have mentioned, but it does invite such a tryst for sure. It's seductive, sexy, sultry and just mysterious enough to make you want more-regardless of the consequences. This is dark warm passion, and the air of secrecy...that adds to the intensity and the pleasure! ;-) I'm a guy, albeit one who prefers other guys, but I think this is just awesome...and the whole locked box and key packaging adds to the mystery and luxury. Some may find this too fruity; but the spices and the basenotes do eventually, take the overly feminine feel from this, and make it more unisex. Not that this smells gender neutral-but this is where male meets femininity becomes lost in it and comes out of it more in touch with its sensual side, while remaining masculine and grounded...

Despite being termed unisex, I absolutely cannot imagine this on a man...it is entirely too sweet. I *almost* love it. I say almost because it is just a little bit too sweet, too cloying, too much of something I can't quite put my finger on. Heart notes blend together to smell like some kind of berry jam, but then the cinnamon kicks in and it's just not pleasant any more and my head starts to spin. After two or three hours, it's much more wearable and the dry-down is beautiful with a musky sandalwood, cinnamon, and just a trace of plum and rose. At this point it reminded me a little of Amouage's Lyric for women, which I adore. I really want to like this, but it just isn't well-balanced to my nose. If I hadn't only used a drop of it to test, I would suggest sampling again in a smaller dose...but I couldn't get much smaller than that. Oh well...guess that saves me about $225 USD! :) --------------------------------------- Update: Okay, I have officially eaten crow. I tried this sample again recently and fell in love with it. Maybe my chemistry was off that day or something, I don't know, but it sure works for me now! I dove in and bought a bottle... It's "lazily" sexy...imagine two lovers laying around nude with rumpled sheets, feeding plums and grapes to each other while sipping champagne. I'll also add that it smells more masculine on clothing and paper than on skin. It's much juicier and sweeter when applied directly to the skin. I was surprised to find that the lock and key in the packaging are fully functional...interesting, eh? I'll be able to lock it up and keep my step-daughter from using my expensive perfume...nice!!! ;)

Liaisons Dangereuses is like jumping up and down on the king-sized bed when you're not supposed to. It would be perfect for the girl who has everything, because it smells like a symbolic summation of everything she has. It's the irresistible beauty of youth, the freedom of wealth, and the gift of originality. The friendly and knowledgeable Kilian reps at Saks were so wonderful to let me try a sample. Thank you, Kim and Will! Liaisons Dangereuses opens with freshly sliced peaches, followed by delicate baby powder surrounding the crisp green leaves of one of the most gorgeous roses I have ever smelled in a fragrance! It literally made me see fireworks in my head. As it warms up on my skin, all of the notes fuse into an intoxicating translucent Summer hue, with the black currants really coming into focus in the dry down. It smells like the appearance of golden orange orchid petals or the scented powder my mom gave me before I had ever worn a perfume, making me feel indescribably pretty and sophisticated. It's like a young girl proudly tromping and wobbling through the house wearing her older sister's high heels. I don't care what the name is, or how much it costs.. I even forgot what I was supposed to be doing today. Liaisons Dangereuses takes you firmly yet softly and wipes your slate clean. Just like that. It doesn't last very long, but nothing of this caliber ever seems to. Would you even want it to? How would anything ever get done? All I'm really saying is, WOOOOO!...that's good stuff.

This is a departure from what I tend to like which are spicy, woody, incense and chypre. I realize this is classified as a chypre but I don't really get any oak moss, or do I get any discernible cinnamon from this. What I do get is just lovely. It starts off almost minty but quickly turns plummy. The mint hangs around and there is a fresh, juicy, moist quality to the fruit. Then it softens and gets a bit (just a tiny bit) warmer, perhaps this is the coconut. Rose makes her presence known and slowly builds and from there the perfume is very well blended and I have difficulty picking out any individual notes. The dry down is musky and here is why I voted for love with some reluctance, I wish it had a bit more in the dry down. More "oak moss" or whatever is used nowadays to convey oakmoss, or some woods. Luca Turin called this "rose jam" and I agree with his assessment. This is one of those cases though where rose jam and jam rose do not mean the same thing, much like yellow green and green yellow in a box of crayons. This is a rosy tinted jam, predominantly fruit not a jammy rose. All in all a lovely, bright, vibrant perfume which may have convinced me that fruity florals could have a place in my heart. If only I could think of an occasion that I would want to wear this for. A picnic or a glass of wine in my backyard with a good friend? It strikes me as a daytime/early evening scent but a bit fussy for something too casual and not dark enough to wear once the sun goes down.

I tried Liaisons Dangereuses after trying 20+ other perfumes. I was eventually looking for an Oriental, a totally different thing. But when I tried LD on, it literally STOOD OUT. After 20 perfumes they all felt the same, but LD was completely different. I didn't want to like it, but couldn't help it. It was unique, I was overwhelmed. I couldn't understand how it managed to be both sexy and romantic. Nowadays, it never happens.. LD is exotic (I feel the fruits, coconut included), exciting, passionate, sexy, mysterious, romantic and a little shy at the same time. What a magic... It smells like a temptation. I imagine an incredibly beautiful woman.. Dark wet long hair, golden skin kissed by the sun, wearing a casual sundress.. She's overwhelmingly sexy but doesn't even realize it.. And despite this, she is classy. Elegant, in a way. Sunny exotic fruits and flowers mixed with the innocence of the plum and peach, followed by the mysterious depths of the musk and the sandalwood. Who is she? Where does she come from? Is she hiding something? Does she want me? Her lips say no while her eyes say yes. This, exactly this, is Liaisons Dangereuses. Enjoy this. Everybody is asking me what I am wearing. But I'm keeping the secret.