Gold Incense

Upon applying Gold Incense, I IMMEDIATELY noted similarities between this perfume and By Kilian "Incense Oud." Initially, I was super-excited because to date, Incense Oud has been out of production for at least a couple of years. IMO, Gold Incense is VERY similar to Incense Oud, with perhaps a few minor exceptions. So, take a look at the notes profile for each fragrance: By Kilian Incense Oud: Top Notes: cardamom, pink pepper, Turkish rose, geranium, grapefruit Heart Notes: cedarwood, patchouli, Indian papyrus Base Notes: incense oil, incense absolute, sandalwood, oakmoss, cistus labdanum, musks Carolina Herrera Gold Incense: Top Notes: bergamot, cinnamon, Angelica seed, marigold Heart Notes: cedar, labdanum Base Notes incense, vanilla caviar, sandalwood So, yes Incense Oud may be somewhat more complex, more floral, dirtier, bolder and overall "fuller" than Gold Incense. However, Gold Incense is intoxicating in its own right. Gold incense is exotic with an initial, full blast of cinnamon & smooth (not fizzy) citrus. Within minutes, IG develops a beautiful smoky & slightly resinous incense note that seamlessly meshes with emerging sandalwood. While not as deeply resinous, or dirty as By Kilian Incense Oud, Gold Incense develops a beautiful dry-down with smooth incense, light vanilla, effortless florals and more sandalwood...I also detect amber. As incense fragrances go, Gold Incense is quite wearable because it doesn't approach the linear levels of "church incense" type fragrances, say Comme des Garcons Incense Series. Yes, the churchiness (think frankincense, myrrh, some woods & green) is present but any one of those notes blends well with other emerging notes. TBH, about 5-10 minutes in, the incense note is temporarily shrouded by emerging middle & base notes. I am not a fan of vanilla based fragrances and fortunately, Gold Incense never smells sickly, cloying or bakery sweet on my skin. In MANY incense forward perfumes I've tried, where balance of the smokiness and churchiness of the incense is attempted with sweet notes, the fragrance turns gourmand and cloying...sometimes to the point of nausea. Oftentimes, in an effort to smooth out deeply resinous notes, a perfumer washes out those notes with sweetness (or in some cases, florals...usually rose). Not so with this fragrance! Gold Incense is beautiful, it truly is. I definitely see this fragrance as unisex, yet it actually leans feminine IMHO. Longevity is pretty good at 6+ hours, silage is moderate. And I should be ecstatic that I can walk around smelling this spectacular-smile since Incense Oud is unfindable. But it seems after wearing Gold Incense for a few days, I may have moved beyond this type of fragrance. I still adore incense forward fragrances when they are blended well with other interesting notes. But at the price point of Carolina Herrera Gold Incense, I'm not yet ready to purchase a full bottle. For fans of Nasomatto Black Afgano, Tiziana Terenzi Gold Rose Oud, The Merchant of Venice Vinegia, Tom Ford Women's Oud Wood and to a lesser degree, Chanel Coromandel, Gold Incense is DEFINITELY worth a blind buy! This perfume is awesome.

This beautiful perfume was a nightmare to find but I finally found Arab seller on EBay who had several bottles of this collection I bought. Perfume held by customs for inspection but I still received it in less than a week. Packing sucked but perfumes are worth the hassle! This gold incense perfume is exotic with smoky incense and sandalwood. On my skin no citrus or other notes show up. This is a beautiful scent that smells expensive and not like a church incense. It leaves a nice scent trail and lingers on my skin fading nicely. This can be worn in heat as long as you don’t overspray otherwise you risk choking people with too much scent. This perfume has a deep rich smoky scent unlike any other perfumes I have with the same notes. This is worth blind buying.

This fragrance is all about the drydown, which is a beautiful incense-y, resin-y, animalic soft glow. The opening, to me, is medicinal and that bergamot note strikes me as a very synthetic fruity smell, almost like a bathroom cleaner smell. But it fades into something really beautiful and rich after about 30-40 minutes and that bergamot note disappears. While GI is lovely, it's not worth $300. I'm positive there's something as good as this, if not better, out there for $200 or less. If you really love this scent, be sure to do some poking around and sampling of other similar fragrances first.

Dad's perfume this time, took from him, didn't mind. But he really missed out. a nice, cinnamon, scent. literally smells like how the bottle looks, so damn good. As it dries down, the vanilla and sandalwood pop out, and it's rather soft, it's not overpowering, nor is it too weak. It's so incredibly expensive, but it is so worth it if you have the chance. 7/10, price steep, may not be for everyone, but very nice buy if you like it.

I love it. The marigold note is very appealing and one not often found in fragrances. And the combination of humble marigold combined with angelica underpinned by incense, vanilla, light spices, and woods is utterly satisfying. The bottle and overall presentation perfectly represents the soft luxury vibe of this perfume.