Kiste

I'm a newcomer to Kiste. I don't have the fortune of knowing what "old Kiste" smelled like, thus, I cannot compare this newest iteration to it. "New Kiste", "Black Cap Kiste", "Winter Kiste", "Kiste '22", or whichever moniker will catch on and last through the ages. That's what I'm reviewing. So I simply offer my independent take on...Kiste. The juice is red. Perhaps this is affecting my opinion, or perhaps, my lack of familiarity with Kiste Through The Ages affords me a fresh, objective take. I expected tobacco absolute and ripe peaches, though that isn't what I get. In the opening, I get a melange of fruit. Red fruit. Stewed, dried, and jammy red fruit, much like a compote or a reduction. I can spot peach, but it's a dense, saturated, jammy peach preserves peach. That 100 year old jar of peaches that Zero finds in Holes, and calls "Splooge". Yikes... While nothing relating to "splooge" comes to mind whilst smelling Kiste, it does remind me of that scene, and *that* type of peach. In addition to this, I get a prominent cranberry-cherry note, which evokes rather festive, wintertime associations. Jammy, reduced cranberry, cherry, and peach compote, along with just a kiss of dried apple rings - lightly spiced with some festive flair, lending some cozy warmth, which is accentuated by the darker, deeper character of the tobacco. Tobacco, which, to my nose, trends much more dry and leafy - like a fine unlit cigar, rather than the sweet, sticky burley absolute that Jeke may call to mind. I do not pick up on anything that makes me think of vanilla, though I do get what I believe to be a thread of tonka bean - that sweet, soft, almost powdery spice nuance, which I think helps dilute the tartness of the fruit, and draw further attention to the tobacco element, which remains rather subtle. There's a honeyed sweeteness at the heart of this, but as much as I know and love honey in perfume, I simply do not pick a ton of honey up here. What I do find is a dense, golden, almost liquid sultana facet that reminds me more of sweet mead, than honey itself. As if the foody, syrupy, familiar aspects of honey have been fermented out, leaving behind the stencil outline. So what DOES it smell like to me? Boozy! If everything I have just described could be boiled down to the essentials, much like Kiste seems to be boiled down to this delicious jammy reduction, it would read: A rich, sweet, concentrated melange of jammy red fruit and peach compote - steeped in a boozy, honeyed elixir, and lightly spiced with some festive flair, settling into to a warm, gently woody base, with some soft, subtle dried potpourri facets, and a dim halo of dry leafy tobacco sitting atop. Christmassy, cozy, sweet, and comforting, with an alluring pull, and a subtle reminder of late summer's golden rays, shimmering above the top end. A far cry from my expectations, but a beautiful perfume nonetheless, and one I'm most pleased to have and become familiar with.

All is right in the world if art like this continues to be made. I feel generous wearing Kiste so I will share a little secret of mine: I recently changed my method of application for extraits: I give one true spritz to the back (hairy-side) of my left arm about 6 inches above the top of my wrist and "cross dab" on the corresponding spot of my right arm. Why apply this way ? -Hair provides more surface area for the materials to cling to -Unlike the wrists which rubs everything - keyboards, table edges, the insides of pockets - the back of the arms hardly sees much friction/rubbing -At work or at dinner, I can casually rest my face in my palm and discreetly smell my fragrance of the day wafting up my sleeves -Some fragrances like Kiste highlight different facets on either arm - weird, i know, but true for me Anyway. Everyone has his or her own methods, and I have a few more that give me different experiences - PM me with yours I'm genuinely curious. With the above method of application, Kiste has been going for 17+ hours and is now hovering about 2 inches above my skin. Regarding the experience of wearing Kiste - where do I begin? In short, Kiste will make a synesthete out of you. It paints several vivid pictures, conjures up feelings, ghosts of flavors on your tongue, and is transportive. I'm sitting on a porch at dusk, smoking a pipe, eating peaches and bread and honey-butter. I'm very new to this, so the only other fragrance I know of which paints such vivid images is UNUM Opus 1144 which teases you with a lemon/lime custard dessert you can drool over but never eat. The first few hours surround me in a honeyed, burnt orange halo. The *almost too sweet* peach opening gives me a pleasant lurch in my stomach and makes me reckon with the perfume. I cannot shake the image of sniffing a fine cigar and then chewing on the end. I am surprised no one has mentioned this, but the whole fragrance has a slight salted butter texture/smell/taste. The cigar dances just out of reach for the first hour, then you catch it, pin it down and crack it open down the middle (sacrilege!) and then clean out the tobacco contents and unfurl the inner wrapper (you know what I mean ;-)) and take deep whiffs. See you later. 17 hours later, the tobacco persists, the peach is gone, there is a boozy after taste. Overall, this fragrance is a presence. It does not wear you and you do not wear it. It accompanies you throughout the day crooning, with its voice like black molasses, "you are not alone...".

I had Black Orchid from TF and I'm sorry, but this is no where near it. Worth pointing out I'm not compatible with BO and passed it on after several attempts. Kiste is a drunk peach. A peach that has been ripening for so long in the sun that it became alcoholic and honey sweet at the same time. Backdrop of Patch keeps this far far away from being a girly fruit candy scent. Plus the sweet pipe tobacco...probably the tonka influence. It is peculiar and beautiful. A bit balsamic. I'm between Kiste and Sadanne. They are both the alcoholic fruit offerings from this house. Sadanne being the strawberry in heavy white wine. Besides these two my fav is Ore, the smokey delight maybe more tipical for this house, but at the moment I have plenty of other similar frag so it will have to wait. But to go back to Kiste. This is for someone who has lived. Someone who has experience. Someone who has walked the wild side, but has managed to play it wisely. You need to know who you are and what you want for this perfume. I find it potent, confident and erotic. Yes sweet, but also drunk, mature, powerful...even sinistre. No innocents can wear this. Suitable for year round use, day & night. On a hot summer day maybe go light on the nozzle & use it only for a night out. This is not your usual peach frag with a dash of flowers to be worn lightly... This is a heavy dirty peach. I like heavy scents, orientals & incense. I'm usually bored by watery, fruity scents. Do no care about greens. Love woods thou. This is the type of fruits I have been after. Super projection & longevity. Do not need much of this. I feel it is wise to sample first. EDIT: I tried the Viktoria Minya Hedonist and Kiste is a heavier, stronger, drunker & dirtier big brother. Very similar I have to say. Hedonist is purely feminine I feel, as Kiste is absolutely unisex. Love them both, but I do not need both full botles at the same time.

As I write this, a bowl of peaches—probably the last of the summer—sits behind me, ripening on the kitchen counter. That earthy, sweet, rich fragrance is all here in Kiste—not one element of the listed notes is neglected or out of place. This is a sticky sweet peach and tobacco scent, thick and heavy but a little dark and deep, especially as it ages on the skin. As others have mentioned, it seems perfect for the waning days of summer and into fall, with its burning, shimmering amber hue. It's a little melancholic, but still sensuous. There's a moment of unpleasant booziness in the very beginning, but it does fade after a bit, for which I'm thankful. I usually spray my chest, and as such the scent clings to my shirt (I'd never risk spraying any Slumberhouse directly on clothing... seems like you're asking for a stain). On skin, this develops into a soft patchouli, but where it lingers on fabric it retains its peach brightness for much longer. I had been trying to decide between Baque and Kiste and in the end I decided to buy both... Not my most frugal decision, but not one I regret, either. To spend just a moment to discuss their differences, since their descriptions share a lot in common (tobacco, stone fruit). Baque is even more tobacco-forward, and a lot richer—the vanilla replaces the honey and really amps up its cedarwood backbone. Its fruity but not as intensely so as Kiste—apricot being a bit more subdued than peach anyway. Texturally, its fitting, though, as the salty-dry drydown of Baque's ambergris makes it a more savory affair. In full disclosure, I prefer Baque, but they're both amazing and beautiful compositions, and very different from one another. My bottle of Kiste will not go neglected. (9/10)

I'm absolutely not a fan of sweet and fruity fragrances. Usually everything sweet just makes me nauseous. Despite my preferences, I wanted to sample as many Slumberhouse perfumes as possible including Kiste. That being said, I was absolutely blown away when I first applied this on my skin. I've had tested Robert Piguet's Visa earlier on the same day and, because of that, my first thought was "Oh my god, this is Visa on steroids". Of course the first impression vanished as I realized they're very different fragrances and that, in fact, there's nothing like Kiste. I've never smelled anything like it before and I love it when that happens! To my nose, Kiste smells like fruit tea with lots of honey. And pipe tobacco of course. Slumberhouse has the richest and the most realistic pipe tobacco notes I've ever smelled. It's so hard to actually describe the smell of Kiste with words, because ahhhhh it's just so pleasing synesthetic experience. Like I was bathing in comfortably warm lava that smells and tastes like the most delicious peaches and honey and there's pipe smoke rising from it to the sky like fog and there's dark blue starry skies. Everything is round. Suddenly it's very hot and it's summer, I'm a child again and I'm in countryside laying in hay but the hay feels like silk and there's fermenting fruits on the ground and the farmer, who is a friendly old man with a heart of gold, is smiling and smoking his pipe. This scent just makes me happy. I don't even know if it suits me, but I like it and I'm going to wear it whenever I need comforting. This is the best sweet fruity scent there is. Very realistic and beautiful.