Kismet

Prada l’eau ambrée fans beware! The opening of this perfume is an abstract and weird blend of citruses, it doesnt feel sharp or zingy but it doesnt feel juicy either. It feels like a medicinal tea with some form leatheriness (probably from the bergamot). Sounds exactly like Shalimar, but its nothing like Shalimar at all to me. Shalimar’s opening is bergamot heavy to the point where the first minute basically smells of bergamot extract with lightly spicy touches. Kismet however opens exactly like the opening of the discontinued l’eau ambrée... which isn’t shocking, as theyre both citrus rose opoponax fragrances. It is warm but not too warm, it is resinous yet sheer and translucent and it is medicinal without being green. And there is 0 spiciness and 0 sweetness. Very different from other ambers. Kismet starts off like l’eau ambrée, but that perfume lacked depth and layers. L’EA quickly becomes a thin and sheer skin scent and fades quickly too. Kismet however decides that it’s time to give the underrated resin opoponax some love. Resins like benzoin or frankincense are rather common in perfume for different reasons. Benzoin is more caramel vanilla-y, with sometimes a hint of funk that only i seem to pick up on. But it is used in a lot of modern perfumes because of vanilla’s popularity. It is also a rather simple note. It blends really well with other things and that is beautiful as well, just less special than opoponax. Frankincense is a typical church incense which tends to be more cold and bitter smelling. It works in a lot of green perfumes but also typical churchy incense forward perfumes. Who even uses opoponax anymore? It isn’t an easy note to cram into note pyramids because of its duality. I find that opoponax blends the sweetness/warmth of benzoin and bitterness/spirituality of frankincense amazingly, striking a perfect balance of something powdery vanillic but also medicinal and bitter. And that is exactly what kismet focuses on. The opoponax in here is opoponax in its fullest; a warm medicinal resin that is never too sweet but also never too dry. It is strong, powdery and elegant. But never overbearing. This is a very transparent amber, which doesn’t mean that its not noticeable or that the longevity is bad. On the contrary, its one of the most longest lasting things i’ve smelled. But it behaves like a veil of amber. A golden brown sunset on a late summer night. And i’m very happy about that. I have been searching for an opoponax perfume that actually focuses on opoponax instead of using it solely as a base note or an addition to something else. The opoponax here is indeed supported by a rose in the beginning, but they’re not separate notes. I dont smell rose + opoponax. I smell opoponax with a rosiness. The vanilla is not sugary sweet or really that present, it once again blesses the opoponax. It really reminds me of the diptyque opoponax candle, which is a good thing as i’ve been looking for something that smells like it. Shalimar???? I dont find these two similar at all. Shalimar is elegant and sparkling but also bold and edgy. The opoponax is only there in the far drydown and the texture is much more grainy. Kismet is much more spiritual... maybe even cerebral... and ancient. Without being overly complicated or high brow. Kismet is far more airy for sure and definitely has no strong bergamot opening or leathery smoky animal nuances like Shalimar. Less complex maybe, but still exactly what im looking for. Might even be my favorite perfume of this year. We’ll see! One of my favorite perfume YouTubers(Eloise scents) said that kismet might be redundant for someone who owns shalimar, but I think theyre different enough to warrant owning both. Or maybe layer them if you wanna he an opoponax bomb!

Kismet is well named, at least as far as my own experience with it is concerned: based on the note list I never would have picked it out for myself, and when I got my sample I was quite ready to place it in the category "good, but not my thing" - but instead it ended up broadening my definition of "my thing", because I really fell in love with it. Reading this page of reviews, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, because it seems like I'm far from the only one who feels this way about it. It's such a wonderful, warm scent, at the same time super comfortable and wearable, and very complex and elegant. It's very much an oriental fragrance to my nose, which is a category that usually leaves me cold, but Kismet is exceptional in every sense. Opoponax and labdanum are prominent from the very start; at first they're joined by rather bitter citrus notes, which is nice, but the magic starts to happen a little later on when the vanilla joins the party. It settles down deliciously powdery and sweet, but in a balanced way - the resins make sure of that, and this combination is really a match made in heaven, and executed to perfection. This balanced character makes it very versatile as well; I can imagine wearing this in almost any situation and even any type of weather except high summer, and never getting tired of it. It also projects just right, and lasts all day. For me, it falls into the category of scents I could imagine having as a signature if I were still that kind of perfume wearer. So I've found a new indisputable love - I mean to get a bigger amount of this as soon as I can, and I definitely see a full bottle of Kismet somewhere in my future. This is my second sample from Lubin, and the second one that's a big hit with me; I have to dive deeper into this house as soon as possible! Also, I've never given Shalimar much thought, but if it's anywhere in the vicinity of this one, I guess I'll have to remedy that...

TFW you order $75 worth of samples from luckyscent and a wild card turns out to be a love. I have already ordered a bottle. I thought I didn’t like opoponax, but it turns out I just hadn’t met the right opoponax because I love it in Kismet. Kismet opens with sparkling lemon & bergamot. Next, a creamy vanilla & deep opoponax accord with a touch of herbal patchouli, with the citrus top notes in the background. It’s really beautiful. As the top notes fade, the vanilla becomes powdery. I don’t really get that much rose, maybe just enough to round things out. Edit: I have a white blush rose called Earth Angel in my garden that has just begun blooming. Earth Angel has a fresh lemony scent, and I can now see the rose in Kismet’s pyramid. Kismet reminds me of Sublime Vanille by Creed, but so much better! Kismet is more complex, has superior longevity and sillage, and doesn’t cost as much as down payment on a house. I see also comparison to Shalimar...I haven’t smelled Shalimar in a million years, but I remember it being leather and incense laden, and so to me the two are very different. It’s like people who point out that Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin are both British bands that originated around the same time, both playing doomy blues rock. Yes they are contemporaries in a similar style, but they are still very different. Speaking of longevity and sillage, I sprayed my sample onto a T-shirt yesterday. Tonight, my boyfriend smelled it from a couple feet away and told me he loved it, that it was sexy. Did I mention I’ve already ordered a large bottle? ;) Update: although a lot of folks feel the opoponax resin & vanilla accord of Kismet denotes winter time, I have been wearing this in late May and don’t plan to stop until I can’t stand it. Kismet hasn’t turned heavy or cloying, and the citrus is seasonally appropriate.

I LOOOOOOOOVE this perfume. I meant to write a review last time I wore this; I'm not wearing it at the moment so can't really do it justice. However... Having drifted to this page, I felt compelled to mention that Kismet is stunningly beautiful. Fragrantica editors have allocated this to the "Floral" category; if you buy it on the basis that it's a floral perfume, you are going to be desperately disappointed. Kismet is an Oriental. It DOES bear similarities to Shalimar (allocated to the Oriental Spicy category); they also smell as if they're from the same era. It may even be that the original Kismet helped inspire Jacques Guerlain's Shalimar, as it predates it by four years or so. This Kismet is more "user friendly" than the current Shalimar. I'd love to get my hands on the original in that gorgeous bottle, to compare it to its current formulation. Finally, I do wish people wouldn't think that "Reminds me of..." = Dupe. Unless a company (Alexandria, DUA, La Rive, Armaf etc) is going out of its way to produce a dupe, the designer and niche houses strive to bring something new to the market, albeit in line with current trends. Niche houses - obviously - are often more experimental. Producing dupes of other fragrances (in the same price range as the original) would soon force companies out of business. For example, no one would be interested in buying the same fragrance from Dior when it was available from YSL for the same price. The reason Armaf etc are thriving is because they produce - what are often - very good quality dupes of high end products at a fraction of the £££$$$$£££.

This is Shalimar-esque-- most resembling the eau de cologne version-- but I find Kismet to be slightly better. There’s not so much vanilla or incense, so it comes across more harmonious and citric. Opening is clear bergamot, like earl grey tea, then dries down to a powdery scent. I’m at a point in amber sampling where most feel more sour and spicy than sweet, and opoponax is the lime to benzoin’s lemon. The rose being listed here surprises me, because this doesn't have a distinct rose note, instead having some rosy qualities: cosmetic, fresh and delightful, if a little dated. The more modern twist here is a lack of animalics, setting it apart from similar scents like Musc Ravageur or Labdanum 18. Personally, I can’t get enough of this soft sweet citrus, and it makes me want to try more on the gourmand side of the aisle.