Love by Kilian Rose and Oud Special Blend 2022

This fragrance is excellent, very well crafted and original, I have nothing else like this in my collection. I tested it a while ago and I knew I had to get my hands on a bottle ! Just don’t be mistaken, the very well achieved oud accord here is strong and dirty, but slowly sweetened by the rose and Neroli essence that’s present in the original Love (which I also own). This fragrance lasts for hours on end on my skin, and evolves quite a bit throughout the first 2 hours of wear, so I do not get bored of it! At first I get mainly a blast of dirty oud, that quickly settles and begins mixing with the sweetness of the rose and the neroli; as time passes, the mix finds a beautiful balance that lasts for 8+ hours on me; projection subsides after the 4 hour mark. Calice Becker has done an amazing job with this release, I’m so happy that it’s joined in my collection! I dare to say that this is for the oud lovers only (otherwise you might dislike it), and I would recommend not to blind buy this one.

Let me just say, this perfume is such a dream! It's a bummer that it's always sold out every time I check it out at my local Sephora, but this fragrance is a MUST HAVE for me! First off, allegedly this is the scent that Rihanna uses, and who doesn't love Rihanna?! So many people mention how she smells of heaven, like hello! If I can smell of Rihanna and heaven, might as well! Anyway, this perfume just smells like marshmallows. But not that overly sick cheap marshmallow smell, that super beautiful expensive smell. There was a few times I would spray it on myself at the store, about 5 sprays, and that alone, oh my god, it lasts me like crazy! I kid you not, that day I had at least 5 girls stop me and ask me what fragrance I was wearing. And you know me, I will never gatekeep my fragrances! So, i'd say that this perfume is overpriced. But, it's to die for! At the moment, I'm not sure if this is a perfume that I'm going to invest my money on, but I want it so badly!

This smells like a beautiful horse wearing Love Don't Be Shy. It's fabulous, I love it.

A Rose and oud combo to die for ! A full bottle for sale if needed...

I enjoyed this perfume a lot. It's mostly rose and oud, and it's quite similar to other popular rose and oud combos, like the MFK Satin Mood. I agree that this perfume feels slightly "dirty" and animalic, due to the nature of oud being used. Due to that particular indolic, animalic oud, the perfume comes out as a little overpowering to some reviewers. I can definitely see it being even nauseating and "tooth-rotting" sweet to some. The base of this perfume is beautiful, however. It's a delicate Eastern sugary base with some smoky undertones. The projection is incredibly strong for me too.

I used the hair spray Love dont be shy. Its a very rich and sexy scent. My hair smell divine. Long silage.

If you are looking into this because you love the original Love, don’t. This is for someone who truly loves oud. This is not your rose & oud blend like Delina Exclusif or Matière Noire. This special blend smells nasty, the oud is very strong and fecal. Absolutely repulsive and literally made me gag and left me nauseous with a headache. I cannot imagine one occasion where this would be appropriate to wear. Terrible scent.

I think perfumes shouldn't smell like this lol...straight up barnyardy fecal type of oud that overpowers any other ingredients in this perfume, if you love oud this is your go to...

This is partly on me, I got the wrong sample (I wanted to try the 2019 or 2020 version), but equally it’s a confusing concept to have multiple fragrances under the same name. Ooh boy. This is an oud monster, quite a fecal barnyard type as others have mentioned (but not the worst I’ve ever smelt, looking at you le labo oud 27). There’s vague sweetness from the vanilla presumably, and the faintest whisper of rose. I was hoping for a deep and rosy version of the original LDBS (one of my all time favourites), but there’s absolutely none of that dna here. It’s just.. oud. And not the nicest oud either. Lasts forever too, I put up with it as long as I could to see if it would develop before attempting to scrub it - It. Will. Not. Come. Off. It’s a no from me.

I love the house of Kilian but this one is mess and smells like a layering experiment gone horribly wrong. A raunchy, cheesy smelling barnyard oud layered over LBDS. Really awful. Scent 1.5/10 Performance 6/10 Edit: after a 4-5 hours it smells passable as a skin scent.

I was so happy too sample this I was thinking what a dream combo, I smell Civet in here 🤮 It smelt so animalic and dirty I couldn't stand it I did not smell absolutely and ldbs notes in here none at all. Very horrible so disappointing.

I thought I was safe because it’s Killian & Love. Who on earth made this and why? This is an overpowering scent of pure horse feces. You will need to scrub in the shower to get it off. It’s horrendous & such an insult to Love.

I cannot find anything positive to write other than the smell doesn't go away. It nauseated me. Absolutely disgusting.

This one definitely got away from them. I don't have anything nice to say about it.

Smells like olive juice and feces 😭

I like (actually love) this layered with LDBS extreme. Is the oud strong? Yes but it goes through many changes throughout the day and becomes softer with time. There is one point where I get a lot of LDBS with a splash of oud, but that LDBS DNA is definitely there the entire time. Overall I like the fragrance, but I enjoy oud in general. I’ve had this for a few months now and it’s way smoother and well blended than it was when I first purchased it. The oud isn’t as harsh with that barnyard smell. I actually don’t really get that at all now. I look forward to seeing what this smells like in a few more months. The weather being warmer may have something to do with this as well. I just sprayed it and I’m actually getting a fun dip smell lol like the chalk stick with a lil bit of the red powder on it. There’s a Berry’ish/pink pepper’ish thing happening in the opening now compared to getting hit with that animalistic oud that it had when I first got it. I’m thinking it’s the rose because I get some of this with LDBS extreme as well. Soon after it mellows out to something that resembles LDBS more, but that pink peoper’ish smell stays around a lil longer when I layer it with the extreme version. It definitely smells like how that fun dip stick tastes mixed with LDBS and oud if that makes sense. That chalky smell makes it feel more airy compared to LDBS. If you have ever tried Roja Reckless (the purple bottle) its airy in that way...almost like a musk. This isn’t a fragrance that you can try out a few times in a few days. Like I said I’ve had this since it was released and it’s been different every time. It’s only been in the last few weeks or so that things became more well balanced and sweeter. Projection is amazing and it lasts forever. I would definitely give it a try if you like oud and LDBS (especially the extreme version). S/n: idk what made me write this review but I’m glad I did because Im definitely going to wear this today lol Coming back a year later 8/29/23. I just pulled this out while cleaning and wow! I thought it was Amber oud at first. I think that note I was getting in the opening was the neroli with rose. It’s more toned down now. It reminds me of the neroli in Jo Malone’s neroli and Jasmine body oil. That would actually smell really good layered with this. The oud is very smooth now. The neroli almost smells like marshmallow neroli if that makes sense. The marshmallow is a gooey melted marshmallow. I’m loving this, but the oud is definitely there. It’s not funky in a barnyard way...this is dirty like Initio’s AA. It’s sweeter than it was before. I almost get a toffee vibe with this. Gooey oud’y neroli with sweet vanilla is how I would describe this now.the rose is there but it’s not as noticeable

Ok, it appears that people are reviewing the standard Love on here, reviewing a Love hair spray, and bashing the Rose and Oud version. First off, this is nothing like the standard Love, or like a hairspray. Second off, if you want some basic, pretty, feminine thing like the original Love you won’t like this. This is a full fragrance, with genuine oriental ingredients and facets. Nothing generic or boring here. If you hate this, I must ask why. Have you never smelled a fragrance that has musky or animatic notes in it? It’s clear your experience with fragrances is ultimately pretty limited. Just because the inexperienced sales associate probably doesn’t like this one doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. With Love Rose & Oud you get genuine oud smothering the original DNA, allowing it to peak out now and then. Ultimately I get a marshmallow/grape soda/mulch/cigarette/sugary cereal/pastel chalk vibe. Very strong and bold. One or two sprays tops. I wear this specifically with a white button down shirt that has a slight pastel-colored check pattern. You’re smoking some kind of fruity thing while you do some art with pastel chalk next to a mulch bed that is full of brand new mulch. Of course it’s confusing, that’s why I love it. In these times of mass market boredom, this fragrance wakes me up and also shows everyone around me that I will wear whatever fragrance I feel like wearing. I wear whatever I enjoy, I am not seeking compliments from anyone.

Love's Special Blend is easily misunderstood, outspoken; yet gratifying. An eccentric personality like this is very much acquired taste. There is a raw, animalic opening compared to the essence of a barn or barnyard. This is due to the use of real oud, but understanding its nature can make this admissible. Synthetic or westernized ouds are often immediately likeable and skips the harsh stages. It's the ugly duckling of perfumery, but evolves beautifully when intermixed with specific notes. In this case, the vanilla, rose and white floral accord compliment the dark and murky oud. How is this different from the original blend? It is simply Love Don't Be Shy surrounded by a dense cloud of oud that eventually settles. Through the darkness the Love Don't Be Shy you know and love is still there, but bitter sweet. This is where perfume becomes art and the appreciation is found in the innovation and inspiration.

It's pleasant, but nothing amazing. I don't know why but on the test strip, it smells like a fruity oud to me. I'm not a fan of fruity scents but this has no notes to indicate that it's fruity so perhaps it's better to test this on your skin. I definitely get the rose in this which I love. I really like this perfume but the only reason why I didn't buy it is because to me it's more uplifting and bright whereas I have more of a taste for smokey, dark fragrances. I might come back to it one day but or now, I'll keep it in the back of my mind.

i own the "Love, Don't Be Shy - Special Blend 2020" and quite like it, although not as much as Kilian's "Straight to Heaven Oud & Musk - Special Blend 2021." i'm an oud-enthusiast, so maybe i'll quite like this, provided it's different from the 2020 version.