Straight to Heaven

Today we're going to church with By Kilian's Straight to Heaven. What a name for a fragrance, and what a way to set expectations. With a name like Straight to Heaven, I'm expecting a "nectar of the gods" type of experience. Something that smells so good that it transports me, well, straight to heaven. Let's get into it and see if it lives up to the name; Scent: The opening is woody, boozy, and earthy. The primary notes I get are Virginia cedar, patchouli, rum, and dried fruits. The strongest of the notes are the Virginia cedar and patchouli. The Virginia cedar spearheads the opening with a massive dose of woodiness. It is dry with a bit of the "pencil shavings" accord that cedar notes can have. Upon smelling it, I was immediately reminded me of the lumber section of a hardware store; but in the best possible way. Right underneath the Virginia cedar is the patchouli. This patchouli note leans heavily into the earthy side of patchouli, and blends with the woodiness of the Virginia cedar to create a very naturalistic aroma of being outdoors in a forest. Up next is the rum and dried fruits. The rum offers a distinctly sweet booziness nuanced with more woodiness. There is a touch of "burn" from the rum, but it's not overpowering or off-putting; it just makes the rum note more realistic. Lastly, the dried fruits add some additional sweetness and fruitiness in the background. I swear I smell coconut, but that could just be me. The dry down is sweet, boozy, and woody. The primary notes I get are Virginia cedar, rum, vanilla, and patchouli. The strongest of the notes are the Virginia cedar and rum. The Virginia cedar still has the same dry and "lumbery" woodiness from the opening, just a bit softer. Meanwhile, the vanilla has emerged in the dry down to provide a creamy sweetness to contrast the woodiness from the cedar. This is followed by the rum and patchouli. The rum is still very present in the dry down with the same boozy sweetness, and it still has a touch of that "burn" from the opening. Lastly, the patchouli has moved to the background to provide just a hint of the earthiness from the opening. Performance: Initial projection within the first hour is very strong and can fill a room. Sillage matches that strength with a heavy scent trail. After a few hours the performance was largely unchanged. At the 8 hour mark the projection was still about 4-6 feet and the scent trail was lighter but still noticeable. The fragrance lasted about 10-11 hours before becoming a skin scent. When to wear: Straight to Heaven is a fall/winter fragrance best suited for evening wear. Like most of what I have experienced from the house thus far, this is a special occasion fragrance that should be reserved for use in settings like date nights, weddings, anniversaries, and the like. For obvious reasons, this is not something you want to wear to the office. Unless you want to smell like you just came back from having a drink (not a good idea). Blind buy: Straight to Heaven smells great, but it's not what I would consider a safe blind buy. It's not mass-appealing, and some people will not get along with the strong, boozy rum note or the "dirty" and outdoorsy combination of cedar and patchouli. Still, if you like those types of notes this is worth a sample. Final verdict: Straight to Heaven talked a big game with its name. The question is, did it live up to it? For me, the answer is yes. I love the naturalistic opening with the earthy patchouli and lumber-y cedar notes, and I loved the boozy and sweet dry down in equal measure. The dichotomy between the opening and closing is more stark than I imagined it would be, but it makes for an interesting journey through the fragrance. When it comes to performance, as per the course for the house, it was strong. Very strong projection and scent trails for at least the first few hours, and sticking around for about 10-11 before fading away. Mass-appealing is not what this fragrance is made to be, so it doesn't score high in that category. Likewise for versatility, it's made for special occasions during cold nights and that's about it. In conclusion; I think Straight to Heaven is a very well crafted fragrance that will appeal to a particular niche of people. The type of niche that I find myself in. I will probably end up purchasing a bottle of this, but it will be after I pick some others from the house that I enjoy even more. That is unless Straight to Heaven Extreme is much better, which I will be reviewing next. I guess we'll see. Scent: 9/10 Longevity: 8/10 Sillage: 10/10

Let me start by saying out of all of the reviews I've been going over in my head, I think I've wanted to review this one the most. I throw it on so much nowadays and every time I wear it I experience something new and new memories are made. To any perfumer, if you accomplish that, you nailed it. Memories, feelings, capturing lightning in a bottle for a brief moment is exactly what I got from this. My FAVORITE By Kilian, I can now say with 100% confidence. I've sampled everything on the men's lineup and there were a few that grabbed my attention but Straight to Heaven will always have me for the end of days. Smell: The smell is very unique in the sense that the minute you spray it, it pulls you to another time period and a different location. It's like you're in the distillery with the booze the casks. It really captures that imagery very well. By Killian really nail their vision while putting out a good product overall. I love my woody, amber smells and if you can make the booze fit, that just takes it to another level.I will say, boozy scents aren't for all but for those who gravitate toward it for a special occasion or a clubbing scent, just trust me and give it a shot. Rating: 8/10 Projection: So I've worked a 12 hour shift as a nurse and I'm now writing a scent review.I began the fragrance journey with a very strong scent cloud but it didn't maintain that strength past the 3 hour mark. It felt like it was close but when I would go help my patients, I could immdiately catch huge whiffs of it and I couldn't help but grin, knowing it was still there with me. It does suffer by turning to a small bubble scent but with what they're going for, I think that's a success. This scent isn't about putting itself out there to grab your attention. It's to pull you close and make them want to smell it more, then more again, until it can't stop. A truly intoxicating scent. Rating: 8/10 Price: One size only folks which is the MO for Kilian Perfumery. 50 mL bottle, $295 dollars ($5.90 per mL). You can get the travel refills and they'll go a LITTLE bit cheaper but don't be praying for miracles. Doesn't go much lower than that I'm afraid. After giving remarkable scores thus far, I believe it will be my lowest thus far. Rating: 5/10 Versatility: This is my go to when I want something that will work in just about anything. It's not overbearing so I can wear it to a meeting, a dinner, errands, whatever the case may be. I've worn it in just about every scenario and it was such a good feeling knowing it gave me such confidence. Any weather? No problem. Any situation, whether it be meeting up with the family for dinner or taking that special person in your life out to eat, it will excel and do it well. As versatile as they come, top marks. Rating: 10/10 Final Rating: 7/10. My objective rating for STH is a 7. For me personally, I'd say it's sitting at a high 8. I could easily see myself rebuying another bottle of it. To me, it's grown on me. Those first few months of testing were not fun. I despised it because of the booze. I said in the beginning that if it were just a woody musk, I could get behind it and wear the hell out of it. One day, I randomly wake up and I smell my colognes on my shelf. I hit Straight to Heaven and pause for a good 10-15 min. I realize that nothing I have smelled all morning caught my attention like this. It's truly art and I feel like it's worth the try. If you like boozy, woody, and amber scents, this is you in a bottle. Test it tons!

Unisex (leaning male) Fragrance story: “Smoldering with addictive sensuality, a burning splash of rich dark rum defines the opening, its sweet gourmand chord is softened by creamy vanilla and dried fruit. Spicy patchouli pairs with the fresh, woodsy scent of cedarwood to finish, finding animalic harmony at long last.” (From website) My thoughts of this scent Addictive sexuality: I find this perfume really sexy. It’s really seductive and amazingly unisex. Rich dark Rum: Rum is really soft and well blended. It’s like from very old barrel making boozy note luxurious instead of harsh cheap Rum. It’s boozy but not in the sharp way. It makes this perfume interesting. Nutmeg and Vanilla makes Rum to linger in sophisticated way and even if it’s listed in the opening I can get sensual Rum vibe all the time. It’s sweet gourmand: There is just right amount of sweetness to make this blend a pleasant experience but this definitely is not sweet like mostly gourmands are. I don’t even think this as a gourmand. Vanilla makes other notes soft but it’s so well blended there that I don’t detect it as gourmand way. Finding animalic harmony: Since I’m a big fan of animalic scents this is definitely not animalic. There is Musk but it’s rather soft Musk in the base together with Patchouli and Cedarwood so don’t be afraid of any animalic vibes here. The only animalic thing which I get here is that if my husband wear this I feel an extra animalic, addictive, sexual attraction to him. 💁🏽♀️😅🔥 I highly recommend to sample and this maybe needs time to grow on you. I had many samples, didn’t like it first but I took it once again and since that I have loved this scent so much.❤️🔥 Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

''By Kilian Straight to Heaven'' Bugün itibari ile ''By Kilian '' parfümlerimin sonuncusudur. İlerde devamı gelir diye düşünüyorum. En iyisini en sona sakladım. Bu parfüm benim için duygusal olarak bir bağ kurduğum ilk parfümlerdendirç Geçmiş ve geleceğin ötesinde var olan bir parfüm.. Kullanılmış olan bütün notaların hepsi 1300 lü yıllarda da rahatlkla bulabileceğimiz var olan köklerin ve akorların hepsini 21. yüzyılda üretmek , geçmiş ve geleceğin var olan zihinsel kavramların birleşimidir. Size ilk şunu açıklık getirmeliyim ki bu parfüm genel beğeni parfümü hiç değildir. Hatta bu parfüm ile tanıştığımda dedim ki '' bu sanırım ultra niche'' kategorisinde yer alıyor diye düşündüm. Bu parfümü %50 esans oranında kendim ürettim. Bu yüzden var olan üst nota kavramları benim daha uzun süreli ve daha silajı yüksek. 🍀🍀🍀 Kokunun başlangıcında en çok hissedilen kuru meyveler, paçuli ve rom. Bu paçuli yorumu olan parfüm hiçbir şekilde topraksı yönü olmayan bir paçulidir. Kullanılan paçuli acı bir yeşil akor veriyor. Bunu törpüleyen ise kuru meyveler. Bu kuru meyvelere örnek vermek gerekirse şeker oranı yüksek olan meyveler( incir, kayısı, ve biraz havuç tohumları algılıyorum.) Daha derine inildikçe bu paçuli arka plana kaçıyor ve meyvelerin şekeri yüksek doz vuruyor. ( gourmand parfüm değil). 🍇🍑☘️ Sene 1500 lü yılların ortalarında var olan bir İstanbul parfümüdür. Osmanlı genelde kurutulmuş meyveler ve baharatları fazlasıyla sergileyen bir millettir. Ve aralarından seçilen olgun meyveler ve 2 avuç dolusu paçuli ile rom ile içilmiş. Rom burada keşke daha ön planda olsaydı diyorum. Sadece paçuli bitkisinin şekerle karıştırılmış halini seyreltmek için kullanılmış. Özenle seçilmiş bu kuru meyveleri ahşap oyma bir kabın içinde rom ve ile shake haline getirmişler. Kokunun kendisini sevmiyorum ama 10/10 çalışma.. 💞

I got this in a discovery set with LDBS, Angel’s Share, and GGGB and this is the only one that smells like what has been traditionally marketed as a “masculine” scent, and yet I really like it on me! It reminds me of By The Fireplace but a little less sweet and with à heavy patchouli note. I know there’s no smoky notes here but I think the woodiness—especially wood notes like cedar and cypress( Hinoki= Japanese cypress) —have an element to them that remind me of smoke. This low key reminds me of a cologne my uncle used to wear in the 80s but I haven’t the slightest clue what it was. I might layer this with something sweet, floral, ambery, or gourmand to “feminize” this à bit more, but I think I might give this to my hubby along with the Lattaffa Attar Haakem I have thats supposed to dupe this. Mind you, I’m a woman who wears anything from Dirty Hinoki and Gaiac13, to Valaya and Pink Sugar, to Initio Psychedelic Love and ELDO Soul of My Soul—-my tastes run the gamut because I really try to avoid limiting my olfactive experience and keep an open mind to different scent profiles, so I’m not surprised I really like this manly scent even though it’s not marketed to me. I can’t wait to smell this on my husband, he needs a good evening fall and winter scent. Update: So I gave it to him and he keeps on thanking me every time he wears it because it smells amazing and works incredibly well with his body chemistry. I also gave him my bottle of Attar Haakem for layering and they both smell amazing on him so I’ll get him Straight to Heaven for Xmas, I think. He deserves it. He’s a good husband who gives me the world.