Promises, Promises

If Lucifer wore a fragrance, this would be it. Dry. Sweet. Smoldering. On first spray I’m hit in the face with a lovely assortment of robust resinous incenses like myrrh and frankincense, all supported by a dry, powdered, and sweet vanillic, musky backbone. Then as it dries down, and for a majority of the fragrance, the vanilla gets sweeter and begins to costar and fight for dominance with the smoky and thick incenses, all the while a fuzzy and sexy musk ties it all together with a lovely bow. Eventually, it settles into its final stage as mostly vanilla focused fragrance, with slight smoky and musky nuances, very reminiscent to the far dry down of “Sweetly Known” by the house as well. I am a huge fan of John’s work, and I truly believe that he followed through on his promise to make an amazing vanilla perfume. And while I do think there are hints and nods to his previous work - “Sweetly Known”- this takes it away from the cozy, caramel drizzled, seductively spicy, and ever so slightly sultry feel to a dry and resinous vanilla that would make an excellent addition to anyone looking for a day to day vanilla they could wear pretty much anywhere. Don’t get me wrong though, this is still very very sexy, but in a more subtle, cunning way than most other popular syrupy or brown sugar vanillas on the market right now. Very well done. Very very good longevity as expected from Kerosene, lasts an easy 18 hours on my skin; but much more understated in terms of projection than some of his other works, only getting real good projection in the first 3 or so hours. 9.5/10. Signature Scent Worthy. Song vibe - Party and Bullshit by The Notorious B.I.G. TLDR - A fantastic dry, musky, resinous, and slightly smoky vanilla that’s casual, professional, and sexy all at the same time. As many below me have stated, a fantastic vanilla in a the sea of redundancy that is vanilla focused fragrances.

Bleak grey bright sky. Ethereal. Concrete. Asphalt. Skyscrapers. Metal and glass. Slightly salty, maritime, animalic amber. Clean musks. Suede. Dry cloudy polluted vanilla coming out of a motorcycle tailpipe. Metropolitan. Industrial. A city plagued with addiction, but instead of heroin people are smelling this on their arm. This smells simple, but it's a facade. There is a story here. We keep getting promised a better future, but you look at that bright grey sky and know that its just promises promises. You quietly choose hope. This scent is beautiful and bleak. Hollow and yet somehow full. A dry smoldering amber cityscape with an airy vanilla sky by day that fades into an arctic dry amber desert under moonlight. You swear you smell incense from a local bookstore. You've never been there before, but you have nostalgia that isn't yours. An airbag of amber deploying with the promise of life in the midst of a would be devestating car wreck. The air filling the bag is a dry chemical reaction of vanilla happening quickly. Like a match being lit. The seats are new leather trim. The metal of the car creaks and groans. Its not the best of circumstances, but at least it smells like this. You should have been watching the road, but you were contemplating the scent. The car wreck is actually happening. This has been your jumbled amber vanilla memories of life flashing before your eyes. You expire. Your soul an amber white wisp. You haunt the street. Passersby smell this scent as they feel the temperature drop.

Finally sampling one of the two 2024 releases by the house of Kerosene – Promises, Promises – a sweet, spicy, resinous vanilla, a mix of vanilla, amber, and musk as listed notes. For me, it walks the line between familiarity and uniqueness in that I don’t think any fragrance quite smells like it but there’s a comfort and coziness in the vanilla blend that’s not too heavy, spicy, or overwrought. I think it’s potentially a perfect match for those looking for a vanilla fragrance that haven’t quite been able to find theirs and for fans of vanilla fragrances looking for something a bit different. There is a heartiness to its resinous with an abundance of balsam or smoke, almost a wheatlike golden resiliency that’s not too heavy. Quite easily lovable even if not among the most stunning of the house’s releases. As with the rest of the line, this is EDP concentration, priced at $152 at 100ml and sold via the usual points of sale, including the house site and US boutiques like Luckyscent and Ministry of Scent. And as with pretty much any fragrance in the line, the performance is outstanding. This remains a top brand in terms of quality, reliability, creativity, performance, and affordability. Really a stellar US brand if others haven’t checked it out. My very favorite of the house and an all-time favorite is Blackmail, but I love a number of perfumes in the catalogue. Overall, I think this is quite outstanding and I’d strongly consider buying a bottle. 8 out of 10

In a market overflowing with vanilla fragrances, this one stands apart from the crowd. Promises, Promises is unlike any other vanilla perfume in my collection (and I own and have sampled no small number of vanilla-heavy scents of all varieties). Unlike many of the market's current offerings, it's sweet without being tooth-achingly saccharine. The amber here gives the composition warmth and depth (and, luckily for me, does not seem to contain any of the "trendy," modern amber aromachemicals that have taken the perfume world by storm in recent years). Any musk that may be present is neither animalic nor laundry-clean. Everything feels balanced. For what sounds like a straightforward and simple scent, it's deceptively complex and intriguing -- an almost-but-not-quite-caramelized vanilla. And then there's the smoky aspect, which is what I feel makes this fragrance so special. I would describe Promises, Promises as an "industrial vanilla" with an edge -- this vanilla isn't afraid to get its hands dirty. It is no stranger to late-night, solitary walks on desolate city streets. It occasionally frequents backyard bonfires. It regrets nothing. As with most of Kerosene's offerings, this one is no slouch when it comes to performance. I don't need to spray excessively, and the scent remains detectable all day. I've been able to wear this in multiple seasons and in all types of weather and locations.

I've never ordered a full bottle as fast... A sample from Lucky Scent arrived today and while it wasn't love at first sniff, Promises, Promises grew on me over a space of an hour and then I was fully sold. I knew Kerosene + Vanilla would be magical. I first got an animalic note which took me by surprise. So glad it's listed in the notes here or I was imagining things. Then I realised this is in line with raw vanilla. If you've ever split open a vanilla pod then you'll be familiar with that slight animalic funk. That raw vanilla stays for a while and then the sweet, smoky vanilla comes through. The dry down is definitely sweeter but it's no where near as sweet as the usual suspects of the vanilla world. Promises, Promises could be called the cousin of Sweetly Known but there's no cardamom or burnt match. You can own both without feeling like you've wasted funds, I feel. Especially as Promises, Promises dries down, I find it a lovely, comforting fragrance to take to bed. If your idea of vanilla leans towards extreme gourmand (Escapade Gourmand, Tihota, Bianco Latte or anything Jousset) then yes, you may be disappointed by Promises, Promises. For me, it's a unique take on vanilla and probably the first where I've likened it to an actual vanilla pod as opposed to an edible vanilla item. Like most Kerosene frags, performance is great. Can't wait to play around with it more tomorrow.