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.

Playing with the Devil is a play in three acts. The first one is all juicy fruits, smiling sun and silky touches. Cassis, peaches and citruses play hide and seek in the gardens of Versailles, their velvet dresses rustling in the bushes. Yet something ominous is lurking in the shades. And is soon revealed to be the hunter, quickly approaching his delightfully giggling peaches. An excellent tracker, his pimento can do no wrong. This hot and spicy phase is truly something to behold. I love it. The third act is warmed woods, milky red, and the breathless satisfaction of a game well played. *****

This gave really big Passion Fruit. Given how conceptual some notes are I find it baffling that passion fruit is not listed as a fragrance note. Appreciate it might be composed by listing other notes but why not cut to the chase and say it like it is. I loved it, erm, fresh tangy Passion Fruit. Unfortunately the OH likened it to cat pee 😂. He never critiques let alone criticises fragrance I wear beyond ‘nice’ or...’really lovely’. So, with respect for his view I’m not going to buy. I have too many anyway. Now my goal is to find a tolerable passion fruit fragrance 🤣

I just love this scent. It is a little bit bubble gumish, but I don't even care. It is sweet, soft and feminine. It makes me happy to wear and the dry down is lovely and very intimate, there is nothing garish or loud about this scent. I originally thought it might be a date night scent, but it doesn't have that kind of depth, it is more of a daytime, fun day at the amusement park scent. I do wish the longevity was more for the price, I think that rather than get another bottle this might be one that I settle for a good knock off of.

This one surprised me in the best possible way. The opening is a BIG, juicy burst of sweet fruit and warm spice — properly attention-grabbing. Then it eases into this beautifully blended, smooth fruity-spice mix with no harsh edges at all. The dry down is soft, cosy, a little mischievous, and it lasts for HOURS on my skin. An unexpected strong love, and honestly a really lucky successful blind buy for me (it was a great price point), but unless you are really brave or very flush, I'd recommend a sample first.

SO unique in my opinion. I don’t get much soapiness from it at all. For me this is a perfectly executed fruity and spicy combo. Sweet fruity peach and black currant with that very interesting pimento pepper. The opening is very playful and innocent but gets very...eerie and mysterious. Dark and a little brooding, solely from the pepper. Exactly how the name sounds. You’re teasing that lurking evil underneath a sweet exterior and it comes out in the dry down. Such a unique and fun scent.

Wearing this a lot lately , high quality fragrance . Beautiful patchouli scent , fresh with a kick. Classy , a little spicy , rose dominating patchouli scent. Yes there are some fruits like peach and litchi as well as black currant that are quite strong as well. All in all a classy , gorgeous ,expensive smelling fruit- rose- chouli fragrance that will never fail to get you lots of compliments. “Fresh, spicy and soapy “ sums this one up ! Has some masculine elements which I love.

Fresh, peachy, fruity, bright and feminine. If you like fruity (but not sticky sweet) fragrances, you must try Playing with the devil. I can detect all the fruits, the peach, cassis, blood orange and lychee. The rose is present but is subtle not overpowering This is how fruity fragrances should be done. Thumbs up!

I tried it at my local kilian store I was trying a lot of different fragrances but this one caught my attention with the strong blood orange opening and the dry down is a perfect mix It smells like a nice summer evening on the country side eating fruits with your grandma and younger siblings I love it.

This is sooooo good fruity spicy, but it last nothing on my skin, max 2 hours... total disappointment. Not unique, so we can find some alternatives in Kajal house, mmmm Portofino 97 for me is more musky citrusy ambery and powdery in my opinion. This is more like a sweet grapefruit, nice

Im a man with a interesting nose i think i like some wierde stuff and i dont like female frag but this i dont know how to say it its 10/10 for me nice peach note and blod orange i feel fresh everytime i were this feel like u just shower in a jacuzzi with fruits love it

I'm writing this review just as a reminder to myself that I liked it, I haven't tested throughly. Scent is outstanding to my nose, particularly the lychee, and would make a great gift for a woman.

The opening smells almost exactly like that gummy candy that has the white bottoms, the best ones❤️🍭🍭🍭

Tried this at the store and love the lychee note and couldn’t resist purchasing it. Very refreshing.

It is the best woman fragrance I have ever encountered, bravo 👏

I would want to buy it for my future wife

Okay, so the first time I tried this was when I blind bought this and I really wasn’t the biggest fan of it due to. I found it a little bit soap Bar-ish and being a little bit of an old leaning scent.... I’ve had this for a year now and I’m just spraying it on my arm, too describe what I’m getting... So after the first spray, I’m getting a watery soapy peachy blast, it’s very pretty, and is turning a little peppery, but fresh and abit spicy. 1 hour : okay, so the s soapy has gone and allI’m getting is a peachy patchouly, it’s very subtle and very pretty, and now I’m starting to get a tiny bit of a creaminess it’s not an obnoxious/offensive fragrance at all. It is also still very fresh to my nose 3 hours : I have seen reviews saying that some people think this smells a little bit of body odour ,in my opinion I don’t get a body odour scent , but what I do get is a dirty fresh scent, as if it’s been worn over time and it’s turned into a skin scent I get a skin scent while still being fresh, not a body odour scent! This is basically a fruity spiced freshy I generally don’t use this in the colder weathers. I think it really peaks in warmer weathers but not summer because I think it’s a little bit too much for the summer. I said it is a transitional from winter to spring and spring to summer.

I have the white bottle of this. At first I get a whole load of ripe, juicy fruit, probably lychee. 5 minutes later it’s more peachy. Another ten minutes and the fruit has a bitter edge to it, and I can smell warmth and pepper too. So far so good, safe, inoffensive, spring and summer scent. Edit: the dry down is warm and a bit softly spicy, but still has a fruity vibe. It lasts all day, like ages on my skin. Kilian perfumes and I get on very well. Very nice, happy to have a full bottle in my collection. Edit 2: hours later and this is warm and spicy and intoxicating. One of those chameleon scents that completely changes from start to end. It lures you into thinking it’s a safe and fruity little number but then there’s a definite bite in the tail. Love it. P.S. spraying this on clothes makes the blackcurrant note much more dominant. This is definitely one for on your skin if you want to avoid the sharp blackcurrant note! Update, I wore it for an important meeting at work. It was perfect, subtle enough to not offend, but nice enough to smell good in the early summer. And it lasted all day, I could still smell a lovely warm woody scent on my skin and lightly wafting after 8 hours.

I didn’t appreciate this fragrance in warm weather because it really smelled soapy and didn’t come across as pleasant. I couldn’t pick out any specific notes except for some abstract citrus and pepper. However, in cooler weather, it’s a completely different story—or rather, a different scent 😄. Here, you get beautiful citrusy notes; I’d even say it’s more grapefruit than blood orange. Lychee also makes an appearance, adding a lovely, slightly strawberry-like nuance. And the soft pepper note is very pleasant as well. The composition is quite complex and can’t be broken down into all its individual notes because it’s quite multidimensional in its character. The base is also very well done, revealing a pleasant, soft resinous benzoin and a hint of woodiness. Cool autumn and winter are definitely the perfect climates for this fragrance, in my humble opinion.

No unholy gamble for your soul here. Maybe a lively game of crazy eights with the devil played for candy cigarettes and noisy kisses on the cheek. The top notes open with a juicy burst of fruit, as if gleefully smashed by a hammer, a bit of astringent peach, a spray of lychee nectar, and some musky black currant splattered in your hair. Alas, such spontaneity is not sustainable, and it soon settles into a mouth-puckering, sour sweet, vaguely rosey, smoky fog, as if one of those candy cigarettes had indeed been lit and is perfuming your room like an incense stick. This stage reminds me of when a game is done, and you still feel a little giddy, but also nervy, with an encroaching sense of melancholy, looking for the next thing. And the next thing. And the next.

Nice, but underwhelming. I expected so much more from this fragrance with a name like that. I thought this would be a sexy, seductive night time perfume, but instead it is a light, airy scent. I get the peach note in it which makes it a very spring/summer fragrance. The type you might wear to work or for a coffee date on a sunny day. It's inoffensive, probably because it's so light. I managed to get about 5-6hrs out of it before it became a skin scent. I could smell it on my clothes the following morning and very, very faintly on my wrist. For me, this is a pretty scent but not full bottle worthy. Edit: 19/09/2025 This is now on my wishlist. This isn't sultry or sexy like I wanted it to be, and like I generally like, but it is very pretty and easy wearing.

I like this, but there is a LOT going on with this perfume. Agreed w/ others here it takes on kind of an alcoholic quality on the dry down. It reminds me of a spiked peach iced tea with a bit of pepper around the rim?? Very pleasant but it’s an experience for sure. It could be a second cousin of Tom Ford Rose Prick IMO. Replace the rose with peach and you more or less get Playing with the Devil. All Kilians are beasts on me - my skin chemistry and his perfumes are a match made in heaven. 10/10 Sillage (but not TOO strong) and 12+ hr longenvity.

this smells like twirling around in a wonderland of oversized peaches (fuzzy and just a touch soft) while the grass is scattered with peppers. it's warm and cuddly with a spicy kick, it's intoxicating and enveloping (maybe it's those florals in the heart notes!), the feeling of a good girl playing at being a seductress, sweetly but not altogether successfully. i'm pretty smitten. on my skin, this lasts forever --12+ hours, with low key projection but a feeling of being in a sensual, cuddly cocoon.

Top notes are really fruity. Lots of peach and citrus and litchi. Sweet, but not bubblegummy. Like a fruity cocktail. Happily, it gets peppery in the drydown. Nice, but a little too fruity to be my thing. To be honest, it's way too similar to In the City of Sin for me. Maybe if I smelled them side by side I'd see a difference, but my first thought after sniffing was, "I've smelled this before". Won't scrub it off, but doubt I'd buy a bottle.

So, so, soooo good! Very fruity, fresh yet creamy with a beautiful lychee note in it! Reminds me of - Fun things always happen after sunset, which is also a lychee heavy top note perfume, but Playing with the devil is more versatile and you can wear it in the day time/night time... while After sunset is more of an evening type of perfume.

I don't get any of the fruity notes outside of the blood orange citrus. Its fresh, bright, clean, lightly soapy and soft spicy. It's nice, I don't love it, but I do like it. Moderate sillage and 2 hr use on longevity for my skin. About 3 hrs on clothes. Can easily be unisex leans slightly feminine.

A nice fragrance, I definitely agree that there is a fair bit of patchouli, but it is still a dominantly fruity perfume. It doesn't smell like good girl gone bad, but I can picture this as a more masculine counterpart while still being unisex. It is a very Kilian perfume!

have this fragrance, I will not buy it again. Fruity, very tasty, bright, but too expensive. There are more interesting and cheaper perfumes

A burst of fruit that melts into a patchouli / grapefruit hybrid. One of Kilian's more sophisticated offerings. Very nice. Must try.

Мне все же кажется он более мужественный, на вечер, самое то!

Anyone has a sample to swap, sell?

creamy rich florals warm & peachy

Beni takip ettiğiniz için teşekkür ederim. Amouage markasını bitirmiş bulunmaktayım. Bugün ise By Kilian parfümlerini ve bende neler çağrıştırdıklarına bakacağız. Yeniden tekrar ediyorum, parfümlerimi kendim üretiyorum. esans birimi olarak en az %38 ile %50 oranlarında sık kullanıyorum. elinizde edt'' formülünde üretilen parfüm bende extrait olarak bulunur. haberiniz olsun. By Kilian Playing With The Devil '' Tam bir İngilizce - Türkçe Öğretmeni parfümüdür... Uzun toplu dizine kadar uzanmış çizme giyen, 2 yılda bir hamile olan , ya da hamile gibi bira göbeği bulunan, 30 yaş üstü ağır kadın parfümüdür. Koku oldukça tok , doygun, dolu dolu hissettiren , ultra performans modu olan, sulu meyvelerin en yoğun halidir. yüzde yüz meyve sularından saf bir şekilde üretilmiş temiz bir koku fakat oldukça katı bir parfüm ve tenime hiç yakışmadı. biraz bunda değişiklik olarak ravent eklerdim. Çok kızgın sinirli meyveler bunlar. kirke gibi hiç değil. kirke benzer koku değil. Tam bir niche parfüm ama eşime dostuma asla önermem. ama koklaması hoş çalışma: 10/9.1 Koku: 10/6.2

Intriguing blast of fruit in the opening. That fades out all too soon and what I'm left with is a pretty monotone cypress/evergreen accord, which isn't bad, it just lacks depth for me. I just wish the top notes would stick around longer. Probably worth trying at least a couple times cuz some commenters say different notes pop with different wears. I think it's unisex.

this is definitely a spicy fruity scent, but it almost goes a bit fermented after it dries down? not that it smells rotten, but it has an alcoholic quality. reminds me of a long island iced tea that's made with peach tea or something. i'm typically a fruit lover, but i think this goes a bit too "brunch mimosas with your mother-in-law" for my taste personally.

A clean, spicy patchouli number. The spice is actually its most defining note once the fruity accords die down, though overall the entire composition is extremely well-balanced. I'd expect to smell this on a put-together, sophisticated woman who knows her signature scentboard and has never worn a powdery fragrance in her life.

So confusing as a scent not what I expected, is it boozy-green? is it spicy? is it fruity? Unfortunately there is not one note for me that stands out to make it memorable or addictive :/ there are so many more fun scents to reach out than this when you have been collecting perfumes for a while.

I'm a Calice Becker fan and so I did very much want to like this fragrance and given the notes, I should. But there is something here sour that is off-putting and the fragrance overall seems dated. No devil, just the Avon lady.

Opens very peachy but not complex. Dries down into a laundry sheet /white musk. It’s not bad but does not wear like a perfume of this price point on me.

Clean fruity tea. A cheerful feminine cologne but overpriced for what it is.

I get the BO smell at the opening as well. After about 30 minutes it seems to dissipate. When I first sprayed it I laughed because it smelled so bad/naughty....I just had to try in on my skin. So, the BO smell isn't of the musty/funky type, but reminds me more of how the underarm area of my jacket smells if I have been wearing a sleeveless top and have been perspiring a bit throughout the day. Light sweat and deodorant....yeah, that's it. I feel like they bottled my sweaty smell and are charging for it. Needless to say, I will not purchase a full bottle of it.

It actually didn't take me all that long to place from where I knew this scent--alas, PLAYING WITH THE DEVIL is familiar because it smells exactly like the "Pink Medicine" you had as a kid. A pink bubble-gum looking medicine with a cooling note is what you find in this fragrance. To be clear, I'm not suggesting that it smells like bubble gum. No, it's the "pink medicine." Please don't kill this messenger! It's true!

Review from a sample: Opens with pee/BO note (I'm guessing it's blackcurrant) and a very synthetic litchi, then tries down into a cedar litchi. I do smell a hint of blood orange but it's not that clear and certainly not enough to balance the litchi. I don't get any spices at all, it's just very very sweet and synthetic. For me, this one is my least favorite in the Garden of Good & Evil collection.

The fruity opening is great but this becomes too sweet, soapy, and powdery on the dry down. I do see the laundry sheet comparison. Very woody as well. Not masculine at all. Longevity is very good.

this one is really awful, very old fashioned unpleasant smell. can't believe it's from kilian, but then it has some similarity to good girl gone bad (which is still better than this mess)

It does have the fruit and floral notes listed and they're all pretty realistic, but the masculine woody base notes overtake the rest of the scent.