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Post by Ainslie Walker

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By Kilian has finally graced Australian shores, exclusive to Harrold’s Sydney and Melbourne. By Kilian was originally launched in 2007 by Kilian Hennessey.

Kilian hails from a long heritage of cognac makers and gained his interest in perfumery through a curiosity of “the angels share;” the mysterious percentage of alcohol, which disappears during cognac’s aging process. He studied with perfumers Jacques Cavallier, Thierry Wasser, Alberto Morillas, Calice Becker and worked with perfume houses including Dior, McQueen and Armani.

Luxury and beauty is the core of the brand but there is an edgier side too exploring daring themes such as forbidden pleasures and addictive states of mind. With Kilian citing “perfume should be a messenger who opens a thousand doors in the memory” we can sense his passion. He believes a great perfume is firstly a great story, which evolves into a fragrance, comparable to film making, in that a director cannot make a film before first writing the script. Packaging states “Perfume is an Art” but Kilian says it should also have a conscience, therefore all bottle a are refillable and can be kept and reused for a lifetime ecoluxe philosophy:

By Kilian Launch in Harrold’s Sydney

I shimmied into Harrold’s, Sydney to have a long awaited sniff. The shelves looked gorgeous in black and white while packaging glistened opulently, obviously inspired by art deco.

First smelling Straight to Heaven and Liaisons Dangereuses, both florals from the L’œuvre Noire collection. These contain the highest quality and most expensive raw materials in perfumery today. The goal was to create a collection with no limits to imagination or price. The scents are inspired by art and literature working around themes of love, its prohibitions and temptations.

Asian Tales collection is a spiritual olfactive journey inspired by traditional Asian folklore. The red adorning the bottles and boxes salutes Chinese culture and considered a lucky color. The silver coin amulet with eight letter k’s engraved on it, dangling from a red tassel is intended to bring success to the fragrance wearer. I smelt Bamboo Harmony, the only citrus fragrance from the brand.

In the Garden of Good and Evil explores carnal sin and is supposed to manifest sexually charged desires. A jeweled clutch featuring a snake protects the bottles and doubles as an evening bag, even fitting an iPhone! I smelt woody In the City of Sin, floral Good Girl Gone Bad and floral oriental Forbidden Games.

The most recent released collection, Addictive State of Mind nods to the highs of olfactive dependence and give a sense of escapism. Containing ingredients such as coffee, tobacco and sugar Intoxicated, Light My Fire and Smoke for the Soul are all classed as wood fragrances and are all so tempting!! The packaging is a heavy and solid keepsake and reminiscent of a vintage cigar box.

Have you been down to experience the collections? Have you tried them before? Tell me some stories of your encounters with By Kilian brand!!