WHAT I SMELL: Ambra de Venezia opens with a soft delicate floral citrus in gauze-like sheerness; it feels like perfume that’s sitting upon fluffy light cotton balls. Hidden beneath the cotton balls is a warm sandalwood that after around 10 minutes becomes lightly soapy. Thankfully, around this same time, the projection pick up steam because in the first 10 minutes I almost felt like this was going to fade away on my skin. After another 15 minutes, it begins to project some more and the soapiness has for the most part, left the scene. What exists now is a lightly spiced jasmine warm floral that’s really very pretty. And here your journey ends…the fragrance stays in this pretty floral warmth for the rest of the ride.
Ambra di Venezia Notes: a blend of French narcissus, jasmine, mandarin orange, mango, lime and sandalwood.
The Gondolier, Venice – Guy Rose 1894
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A Venitian gondolier ride at the end of a lovely summer day.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE AMBRA DI VENEZIA: soft, uncomplicated, semi-radiant
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AMBRA DI VENEZIA: Nathan Branch
BOTTOM LINE: A very nice perfume when you don’t want to wear something that’s going to be a roller coaster of a ride. There’s not a lot of projection in play here so it would be a great office scent because it’s not going to offend anyone around you. My review is based on the parfum extrait version, but there’s also an eau de parfum that is almost as pretty, but lighter and without the depth of the parfum extrait version.
INTOXICATED – WHAT I SMELL: Intoxicatedopens with a boozy burnt coffee note that is sweet, yet flattened. It feels like it’s been sprinkled with dry nutmeg and it has a rather marshmallow thickness consistency about it. It makes me want to fire up my espresso machine, because this would make for a nice after dinner drink to go with a hot cup of coffee. As Intoxicated starts to develop, it becomes a bit nuttier, richer and it begins to rise and jump off the skin, growing with projection each minute. There’s a nice herbal quality that rests like a haze on top the layered fragrance and a bit of sweet and light caramel emerges giving it more dimension. As time progresses, the light booziness retreats, but the roasted coffee and nuttiness remains. After around a half and hour, a light vetiver appears, bringing just a bit of sharpness into the mix. As it keeps developing, it turns from the gourmand to a more woody creation. But the great thing about the by Kilian fragrances is that they are so supremely finished and silky smooth so that the different variations in the fragrance make the notes hard to define and pin down.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The most luxurious S’more with a lightly sweet refined cocoa’d chocolate with the finest of graham crackers. And when you’ve finished eating the lovely concoction, the warm, sweet and fired remains of the treat linger in the air.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE INTOXICATED: smooth, delicious, suave
LIGHT MY FIRE – WHAT I SMELL: Light My Fire opens with this dry hay like tobacco and honey. Quickly, a cumin notes comes in along with the patchouli. It’s dry and a bit sour. The honey isn’t thick, but more like a dried and crackled glaze over the hay. It’s rather comforting to me, as it’s a bit dusty too…as if the perfume has been stored in an old barn. Along with the honey, there seems to creep out a bit of a brown sugar note. There’s a tender sweetness about the fragrance that’s very muted which I find quite nice and heart-warming. After around 10 minutes, a putty note appears giving Light My Fire a bit of thickness. At this point, the initial hay that brought in the dryness begins to be filled instead with a more woody note which isn’t quite as devoid of moisture, but it’s still rather dry. Light My Fire doesn’t transform all that much, but it’s such a nice and relaxing fragrance, the kind that’s good for soothing one’s soul. Don’t get me wrong though, as relaxing as this is, there is still some power and projection behind it.
Light My Fire Notes: cumin, hay, patchouli, vetiver, honey, vanilla and tobacco
Late Day, Late Summer – Jan Schmuckal
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A late summer day, where the ground is rather dry as you lay under a big tree while the sun streams all around you.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE LIGHT MY FIRE: peaceful, contented, contemplative
SMOKE FOR THE SOUL – WHAT I SMELL: Smoke for the Soul opens big with this warmed eucalyptus topped by a nutty tobacco. It’s quite thick and a bit chewy and somewhat burnt around the edges. After a bit, it begins to dry and it becomes more burnt, like the sticks of wood are actually firing up on your skin. A birch note begins to appear almost as if the already flaky bark is falling off of the perfume exposing a more sharpened cannabis note that’s quite pungent and sour. The fragrance then dries out and becomes pure wood. However, the wood continues its slow burn with a slight smoky and sharp finish sitting above a vetiver base.
Smoke for the Soul Notes: eucalyptus, grapefruit, tobacco, mate, birch, cashmirwood, cannabis and cardamom
burnt twigs
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: burnt twigs
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SMOKE FOR THE SOUL: crackling, aromatic, burnt
BOTTOM LINE: With the by Kilian name, you’re getting luxury not only in a scent, but also in the packaging. This new collection is no exception as each perfume comes in a case designed to look like a luxurious cigar holder. Intoxicated and Light my Fire are really smooth, refined and perfectly finished and live up to the by Kilian brand. Smoke for the Soul plays “which one of these is not like the others” with the other two. It’s nice, but it just doesn’t feel like it fits into the mix. In any case, overall, a very nice collection.
Expense: $270 for 50ml Eau de Parfum (each sold separately)
WHAT I SMELL: Mojave Ghost has a sweetened and slightly sour tangy opening that’s bright and slightly warmed, like the warmth from sheets drying on a clothesline in the sun. There’s something very sheer and clean about the fragrance and it’s also relatively sweet but in a floral sense, not in a sugary way. There are no distinguishing notes that I can detect as it’s blended seamlessly. As it develops, the slight warmth that was once present, disappears and instead a coolness, like a subtle breeze moves in. After around 30 minutes, Mojave Ghost starts to lift in its projection, but only in the way that it starts to slightly swirl off the skin as if you’ll catch a whiff as another breeze comes through. The musk, combined with a lightest of amber make for crisp base for the pretty florals. Mojave Ghost doesn’t transform or change much, but it is a fragrance that seems to swirl off the skin like it’s lifting to greet you like a desert spirit. Longevity is good, but this is a skin scent that is primarily meant for you and your inner shaman.
In the xeric wilderness of the Mojave Desert, trees and vegetation more ancient than many civilizations defy conditions that prey on human vulnerability. The Ghost Flower is a rare species that dares to bloom above this baked, hard ground. Despite its arid surroundings and inability to produce nectar, the Ghost Flower or Mohavea Confertiflora, maintains its perfect, majestic beauty and thrives year after year. In an astonishing feat of ingenuity, the flower uses mimicry to attract the pollinators of a neighboring plant species by developing markings that resemble those of a female bee genus attracted to its subject and duping the male bee into following suite. This moving human-like behavior and captivated tale of survival lies int he foundation that inspired “Mojave Ghost,” an homage to this most bewitching flower.
Mojave Ghost notes:
Top: Ambrette, Jamaican Nesberry
Heart: Violet, Sandalwood, Magnolia
Base: Chantilly Musk, Crisp Amber, Cedarwood
Mojave Desert Morning
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: For me, this perfume is named perfectly. However, this is not the Mojave Desert of high noon. Instead, it’s the desert as it quietly awakens from a cool evening, ready to once again spring to life.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MOJAVE GHOST: windswept, delicate, haunting
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MOJAVE GHOST: No reviews found thus far.
BOTTOM LINE: Mojave Ghost is different from anything else out there. It’s a clean, sheer and pretty floral that although light, isn’t dainty or feminine. And the name, Mojave Ghost, is perfect in its naming convention – in two words, it clearly sets the tone for the fragrance.
WHAT I SMELL: Ambra de Venezia opens with a soft delicate floral citrus in gauze-like sheerness; it feels like perfume that’s sitting upon fluffy light cotton balls. Hidden beneath the cotton balls is a warm sandalwood that after around 10 minutes becomes lightly soapy. Thankfully, around this same time, the projection pick up steam because in the first 10 minutes I almost felt like this was going to fade away on my skin. After another 15 minutes, it begins to project some more and the soapiness has for the most part, left the scene. What exists now is a lightly spiced jasmine warm floral that’s really very pretty. And here your journey ends…the fragrance stays in this pretty floral warmth for the rest of the ride.
The Scented Hound 