Playing With The Devil

Gabriella sold me this in Kilian’s Greenwich Village boutique after testing about a dozen fragrances at the bar. I was looking for a signature scent that I could wear to the office on a Friday before a night out dancing in Brooklyn. I was considering Moonlight in Heaven, Bad Boys Are No Good But Good Boys Are No Fun, and this. Playing with the Devil is exactly as advertised. It ensnares with a ripe fruitiness reminiscent of Kasugai gummies. If they offered an assorted pack with lychee, mango, peach, and muscat, it would be exactly like this perfume— powdery coating, chemical off-gas, foiled cellophane, and all. There's a photorealistic juiciness that manages to remain restrained enough for adults. When you get in close, the slutty base notes stop you in your tracks. I remember smelling myself while particularity horny and understanding the animalistic depth here. “Woody” and “patchouli” don’t cut it. “Salacious” and “writhing” seem more appropriate. It's all very French. Playing with the Devil is a witches brew on my skin. Capsicum and peppercorn alchemize with sweat and sebum. It turns me into a hungry venus flytrap that feeds on blood and sings. Like a lot of other Kilian scents, this varies tremendously from one body to another. I remember after a fever once, my natural funk was off. Maybe because my skin pH was different– but this scent smelled like stale cat piss on me that day. I had to scrub myself down because the resultant aroma was unbearable. Smelling it on paper is a different experience, too. I think that’s just the nature of this brand. I remember walking into Kilian looking for a particular set of notes. The big boss walked out from the back to say, “We don’t sell notes. We tell stories.” I totally agree. I’m reminded of a Tribeca lawyer I once hooked up with from Grindr. His sweaty crotch emitted a pheromone softened by the laundry detergent of his just-washed bedsheets. He was the kind of old money gay that sees his every purchase as a poem instead of hedonistic consumption. I was young and naïve and desperate for attention. We both got what we wanted that night, but I left none the wiser. I didn't yet understand what it meant to have to pay for one’s desires with one’s soul. The Devil is, after all, a businessman. Use sparingly.

I can’t pass by anything in a black bottle or that has a word “black” or some “darkness” in its name (I have a black bottle))) This frag is mysterious, rich, delicious, juicy, luxury and complex. I would even say extraterrestrial. Very sexy! It definitely has goth vibes and is very unusual. I sniffed the bottle cap and blotter in a store among other Kilian frags and this one stood out immediately. I brought the blotter home and it kept the smell for 3 weeks! I bought a used 50 ml bottle soon after on Poshmark and don’t regret a second. It’s LOUD!! Be careful and don’t spray too much! One drop is a lot for this thing! I spray a bit in the air and then step into the cloud and it’s enough at least for half of my day! (I don’t like my perfume to be loud and “Playing with the Devil” is very potent! )) It works the best in cool weather when I can clearly smell the woody base - that’s when the tart and juicy blackcurrant sounds the most spectacular! Yum!! UPD after using Playing with The Devil for 3 weeks. Every day a different note is prominent - sometimes I can smell pure musk (even though it's not listed as a note), the other day it's all about tonka bean. Sometimes it smells really green and fresh crushed blackcurrant leaved. Love this reference a lot!

Sometimes I think, "Okay, I have enough peach scents." Then I smell something like this and I think, "Nope. I need another one." If you love peaches this is SO good. It's a very sweet peach with the lychee (which I love) and the currant (which is honestly not my fave but here it really works - it adds such a juicy sweetness). It's a fruitchouli, yes - but done so gorgeously IMO. I want to smell this on a summer night. I get more patch than others seem to - I definitely detect it in the background, but not so much with the pimento. Surprised it's not listed higher in the notes. Interesting that some people say it smells like BO on them. That doesn't happen to me, but I actually can see why people think that - something about the drydown is slightly reminiscent of a not-really-dirty armpit, but one with deodorant on. So not a full funk but maybe someone who should jump in the shower at the end of a long day... I dunno, I think it's sexy. I want a full bottle of this one!

This opens up with a refreshing and sweet blast of fruit, on my skin its mainly peach for the first few minutes of the opening, then the main fruity note I get is Lychee, however the top notes fade on my skin mostly within the first 10-15 minutes, with only the lychee remaining as a prominent back note, that being said, this is mainly a Spicy Patchouli kinda scent with hints of vanilla and a smoothness that completes it all. I honestly like this a lot more than I expected to be honest, longevity for me is around 7 hours with medium-strong projection for the first 2ish hours, its Unisex but definitely leans feminine, mainly due to the opening and early drydown, good for all seasons but definitely leans to the warmer days and/or months. Worth a try, especially if you live near a store when you can try 'By Kilian fragrances' Final Verdict 8.5/10

I must have gotten a different bottle than everyone else. There is nothing fruity in this scent to my nose. This scent is dark and gritty and has a Gothic vibe. This is something Morticia Adams would have on her vanity. At first sniff it was a hell no for me but that's what I get for blind buying this. After about 45 minutes I felt like I was brunching at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills while my Bugatti is in valet. You have to not only be a confident WOMAN to pull this scent off but you need to be dressed to the 9's. Trust me, you will turn heads so might as well give them something visually alluring to match the quality of this scent. It's not sweet but it is somehow indulgent and unapologetic. This scent is so bad it's good.