Back to Black Kilian (2009)

Bottle Design: Carré Basset

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7.9 / 10 586 Ratings

Back to Black is a popular perfume by Kilian for women and men and was released in 2009. The scent is sweet-gourmand. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.

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Perfumer

Calice Becker

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Bergamot, Raspberry, Chamomile, Cardamom, Coriander, Nutmeg
Heart Notes	Oakmoss, Honey, Patchouli, Vetiver, Frankincense, Cedarwood
Base Notes	Ambergris, Labdanum, Bourbon vanilla, Bitter almond

Ratings

Scent

7.9 (586 Ratings)

Longevity

8.7 (434 Ratings)

Sillage

7.7 (408 Ratings)

Bottle

8.5 (395 Ratings)

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 10.10.2019

Interesting Facts

Back to Black is part of the collection "L'Oeuvre Noire".

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Reviews

10/06/2019

10.0 8.0 9.0 10.0/10

TruuMax
0 Reviews

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TruuMax

Helpful Review 5

Beloved tragedy

Wobbling cherries included of honey and light cigar smoke.

If a Lana Del Rey album were a fragrance, it would surely smell like this.

Lived and loved tragedy and melancholy. The fragrance makes me think of lost love, legendary evenings with friends and loved ones. The most wonderful girl I have ever met in my still young life, the mistakes I have made towards her, grief for people close to me and the happiest moments of my existence in one. I'm not just wearing this scent, no, I'm wearing a cloud of memories that won't go out until it disappears again.

Surely something that not everyone can wear. To be so sweet and gloomy in one is for many a toxic mixture, but it reminds me of... Me. Similar to Midnight in Paris, only that Midnight in Paris has a nice tongue and Back to Black is relentlessly honest.

I love the extremely feminine note in it, it makes it special and makes the whole construct seem so fragile but closed.

The Sillage is a good cloud that spreads strongly but not overwhelmingly. The shelf life is 8 hours+

I wish I could put into words what Back to Black is doing in me, but even the greatest poet wouldn't be able to do that.

3 Replies

10/05/2019

8.0 6.0 6.0 9.5/10

Luxery66
0 Reviews

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Luxery66

Very helpful Review 7

My Winderdate

The Back to Black is my constant companion in winter every year. I like to wear it on weekends. Whenever you are together with family and friends on quiet evenings, warming up with a cup of tea and listening to each other's conversations
Exactly on such evenings, when I myself am a little reserved, rather listen than actively participate in the conversations and recover from the efforts of the working week, Kilian's Back to Black is always with me. He obviously shares my reserved nature, even if one clearly perceives his presence.

Evenly and consistently it radiates its light, honey-sweet scent, underpinned by woods and fragrant spices, and nestles close to me. The light honey and vanilla note lets me relax, while the woods and spices, especially the frankincense, warm and keep me warm.

He occasionally shows himself to his fellow men, but remains at my side. After a few hours he gets tired and slowly slips into a quiet, dreamless sleep, only to be woken up by me on another evening for a few hours of togetherness.

3 Replies

08/16/2019

9.0 8.0 7.0 8.0/10

Rosie88
0 Reviews

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Rosie88

Helpful Review 4

1:1 Comparison Back to Black with H-100 Anniversary

Well you know me slowly - I love scent comparisons ;-P
Back to Black and Jubilée are great for a comparison, because they are really very similar ;-)

....Let's go, left the anniversary and right the B2B:

--> Jubilée starts spicy and slightly resinous with "shy" honey - a short bitterness or a light scratching is noticeable - but that only takes a few seconds and I like that somehow very much, that's the character of Jubilée ;-P
After that the "shy" honey becomes really brave! The honey has the colleagues "caramel", which is absolutely fine and not sticky, the colleague saffron, which is slightly restrained and very filigree, the dear Tonka bean and the friend vanilla in tow...
A great troop, I think... they harmonize absolutely perfectly with each other.... Jubilée is "honeyy- sweet," yet absolutely non-sticky and not edible..... An absolutely round thing, very high-quality ingredients and wonderfully processed together......
The listed Oud is hardly recognizable for me, at most very fine to guess and with cedar together responsible for the great hold....
Fragrance: 9,5
Shelf life: 9,0
Sillage: 8,0
Flacon: 9,0 (for the limited collector's flacon ;-)

--> The B2B starts without scratching or biting... One immediately recognizes a tender sweet honey melt with strong character..... the honey is accompanied by a warm chamomile, tender fruity raspberry and some spices, which do not speil however all too long with the honey.....
....The honey moves on.... down the cellar, from there it takes some oakmoss, cedar and incense with it.... He has a lot of fun with them.... The honey becomes more interesting, a slightly earthy component brings the oak moss, the cedar provides a stable soil and incense envelops the quite round composition.... A little bit of vertiver can also be seen from time to time, but really very discreetly..... B2B is now a slightly earthy-smoky honey composition, very warm, tenderly melting, sweet and strong... I like that very much...
Later, warm golden amber and a fine portion of vanilla are added to this....
Compared to Jubilée it is a lot sweeter, earthier and for me a bit "artificial-synthetic"......
Fragrance: 8
Shelf life: 7.0 to 7.5 (at cold temperatures probably better than at heat)
Sillage: 8,0
Flacon: 9,0

In summary, both - if you like honey - are really dreamlike.... We personally like the anniversary better because it is a little more unconventional and edgier than the B2B.
B2B seems to me slightly synthetic to what means for me a point deduction.

Highly recommended for honey mouth :)

Well then.... happy licking ;-P

4 Replies

06/12/2019

10.0 7.0 9.0 8.0/10

DerDefcon
0 Reviews

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DerDefcon

Willi fell in the honey pot.

Maya the Bee should be something for everyone. She is the adventurous, friendly and above all diligent bee who always has her best friend in tow. This is called Willi and is rather the exact opposite, namely sleepy, lazy and above all addicted - addicted to honey.
As Obelix fell into a cauldron full of potions, so did Willi. However, this was not a pot with a magic potion that would have turned Willi into a fighting bee on steroids, but a pot full of honey that was always filled by our busy bees. However, this pot filled with honey is something very special. Our bee colony last received a delegation from the Orient, which was richly packed with spices. These spices included nutmeg, cardamom and coriander. All these components gave a portion of spice to the balsamic-sweet and especially soft honey, which ensured the supremacy of the bee colony in the regional honey trade.

As far as our greedy Willi is concerned, it can be said that even though he is used to a lot of honey quantitatively, the dive in the honey pot was not too good for him. Caused by a shock of sugar, even our lazy Willi couldn't just laze around anymore, couldn't lie around somewhere and relax. A tremendous urge to move spread through him, causing him to fly around like a bee on meth, completely disoriented and wild, crashing in the end due to sudden exhaustion. But our Willi should be lucky and crash over a terrace, where pensioners left the pack of vanilla ice cream open during their coffee klatsch. Since the majority had already melted here, our spicy honey bee landed softly in that ice. Since the sugar shock had long since subsided - after all, the crash had occurred - Willi was ready again for the further intake of sweet delicacies and he felt at home in the creamy-sweet vanilla ice cream. What could be better for him than sweet-spicy honey with delicious creamy vanilla ice cream?

Now, eat everything up before you get blown.
And now a little bit of pragmatism towards the end:

As far as the durability and charisma of the fragrance are concerned, it can be said that both points are not bad. The pleasant thing about such a balsamic honey sweetness is that it is not as extremely sticky as many other sweets found in sweet Gourmand scents. We have no sticky, penetrating sweet tonka bean, no exaggerated use of toffee or anything else, but a very natural and discreetly used honey, which dominates the whole fragrance process, despite the spices and vanilla. There should also be a good rating for this authenticity and high quality, but this is not a fragrance that I can imagine on myself. I would imagine him in a woman rather than in a man, but that is my personal opinion.
Finally, I must say a few words about the bottle. Although I have only purchased a 2 ml filling via the souk, I know one or the other bottle from Kilian. These are extremely high-quality and simply true art, if you take a closer look at the decorations. This may be something you can expect measured by the truly high price, but it should not be mandatory. Other brands are much more "spartan" on the way.

1 Replies

10/21/2018

8.0 8.0 10.0 9.0/10

Basti87
0 Reviews

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Basti87

Cuddly Honey-Smalliser

A small filling of this fragrance I have been lying here for quite some time and I have tested it several times. Now for the coming autumn and suitable for the dark season a few lines from me.
Kilian is an interesting brand, even if it is less my price range. Nevertheless, especially this Back to black I wanted to test. The name, the fragrance pyramid, the comments here. The price is the only deterrent. Even a small filling was not cheap.

The prices for 50ml are from 200 Euro upwards. Already very steep for 50ml. I haven't found a bigger size. There is a mini bottle with 3 small refills of 7.5ml each. But then you don't have this beautiful bottle.
The bottle is like all Kilian's very valuable. The processing, the label, the writing. Everything extremely chic and noble.

On the bottle there is aphrodisiac, which is true here. The fragrance is from the first moment on extremely high quality.
There's no sheet music here that's bare. The composition harmonizes from the first moment on and I don't find anything really disturbing here. The star of the composition is clearly honey. Not as sticky sweet as real ordinary honey, but very sweetish noble with a high cuddling factor. In addition there are spicy and gourmand notes. Beautiful nutmeg and cardamom are also present here and provide a great spice, which goes well with the honey and gourmand notes. Here the spices fit well and are not too killing. Just like the vanilla and the honey. Even if it is a heavy fragrance, it is not too heavy and too killing. There are many sweet and spicy bombs like Tobacco Vanilla, which are simply too much and rather cause headaches. Not here. The Sillage is also perfect and envelops the wearer well in the colder months of the year. As far as the performance is concerned it is top anyway. The durability is in the two-digit range, which one must expect with this price also.
All in all a fragrance that I can highly recommend. The unisex category is also totally justified. A fragrance that comes in handy at cold temperatures during leisure time, in the evening and for nocturnal activities. Since he is very cuddly and sensual is also a great date scent.
The only drawback is the price. But worth more money, especially since it is very unique and gives few comparable twins and similar scents. This investment would definitely not be money thrown out.

2 Replies

07/05/2018

9.0/10

Mustang69
0 Reviews

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Mustang69

Helpful Review 16

From you

I have
a picture of you
in front of your eyes,
but now,
as part of the whole
makes relief
itself broad
in me.
The past terror
melts into
Sweetness
and you're here
and yet
not
there.

7 Replies

02/10/2015

Platinum1
59 Reviews

Platinum1

~ Life is Like a Pipe ~

~ I have always admired a fellow gentleman who smokes a pipe especially one with the sillage of sophisticated cherry tobacco aroma in the air. As a nonsmoker my initial impression of BtB allows me to share that very same mental image in my mind and in reality on my wrist. I easily evoke myself in a high back chair in my own private library with it's well polished shelves and classic leather bound books. This is a fresh out of the pouch opening dab of raspberry and saffron followed by a long lasting perfectly sweet honey and smooth tobacco that I puff on for many enjoyable hours as I read chapters from Dickens or Hemingway. I find this more of a comfort scent than an aphrodisiac perhaps a seduction scent for the mind only? If this is genuinely inspired by or a tribute to the late Amy Winehouse song "Back to Black" then it is very fittingly so. "....And life is like a pipe. And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside"
Kind Regards, Plat ~

06/26/2014

7.5 10.0 9.0/10

Veserdar
19 Reviews

Veserdar

SOFT ANGEL

?nitial spray; I get raspberry and tobacco honey mix.For me this is not feminine at all and sensually very effective.At a certain point it really deserves the l'aphrodisiac name.After a while there is powdery smell in a good way.it is not as heavy as tobacco vanille and more appropriate even for daily use.Till now, it is the only creation of Kilian that I really respect and like.Usually tobacco honey mixes are very heavy , but for this one, it is like a soft angels touch.

06/26/2013

10.0/10

Sfonativeboy
18 Reviews

Sfonativeboy

"I Need You Like A Drug"

Highly addictive I kept applying a bit on my wrist .. just to smell it!!
...stealing private "scentual" moments to myself .. while riding the bus...!
To breakdown and pin point all of this fragrance's complicated notes
belittles it somehow....

but this is my impression...

fruity at first ...
Raspberries ..a touch of honeydew melon...
then it settles to a sweet candy ...could that be the honey and the olibanum, everybody mentions...
settling in a combo of ...
vanilla,amber and light tobacco.

To quote Claudia
from Interview with the Vampire
"I want some more!"

02/04/2013

Yourfoxiness
14 Reviews

Yourfoxiness

Fb worthy for classy gourmand lovers

I first was able to test a vial of Back to Black, and despite the little dabs I was able to get, it went straight to the top of my want list. A year or so later, and I'm happy with my purchase! On a quick side note, I love the fact that you can buy a sturdy purse spray, and then use any Kilian refills you want in it. Very convenient for me, as i love to carry fragrance with me. Now for the scent. I'm getting to be picky about sweet scents, having owned far too many of them before finding better things were out there. This, will stay in rotation as my sexy night out fragrance! Cured pipe tobacco, wild honey (I mean real, spicy, wild honey!), juicy, tart berries, and then the fragrance goes into dark territory.. Here lie the woods, resins, & incense, the dark heart of a fragrance that could have gone sticky & syrupy. This is not for wallflowers! Back to Black is without doubt a sensual fragrance, people tend to want to follow it, and you will be noticed wearing it! Is no groundbreaker, true. But for those who will buy what they love, love for me is sweet, sensual, Back to Black!

12/27/2012

8.0/10

Drseid
671 Reviews

Drseid

Honeyed Tobacco...

Very nice fragrance that opens with a hint of chocolate. From the brief chocolate opening, it quickly transitions to a very natural smelling tobacco and honey combo that is quite nice and is on par with the also excellent Tobacco Vanille from Tom Ford. Longevity is only average, so with a price as high as this one, you will need to decide if it is worth emptying your wallet for. As far as the scent goes, I like it... a lot. 4 stars out of 5.

04/15/2012

9.0/10

Awesomeness
247 Reviews

Awesomeness

If for only longevity ...

Absolutely incredible fragrance! If only the longevity matched this wonderful scent.

I adore this slightly fruity, slighty sweet tobacco scent, which I received in a Kilian sample pack. It's a dark fragrance which is perfect for evenings and fall wear. Definitely NOT in the mold of mass market fragrances or in the mold of modern rose (of which Kilian's Dangerous Liaisons is one that I love & own).

Even with longevity that falls short of its price tag, Back to Black just shot to the top of my full-bottle wishlist, and maybe Santa will get it for me this year. Until then, I am wearing JDP's In Black which a cherry-tobacco fragrance that is similar to Back in Black. Although the JDP is not as good as the Kilian, it's only about 1/10 of the price of the Kilian on a per ml basis. For now, JDP will do ... at least until Santa comes. :)

03/20/2012

7.5 7.5 7.0/10

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

Helpful Review 3

What Christine Nagel's In Black Might Have Been

By the drydown, By Kilian BACK TO BLACK seems closer to Jesus del Pozo IN BLACK than it does to Tom Ford TOBACCO VANILLE (to which some people are comparing it). Well, except that the ingredients used in this composition are of significantly higher quality than those used in IN BLACK...

Initially the tobacco and honey notes see very dominant, but the saffron is also conspiring with the olibanum and woods to produce an odd rubbery myrrh-like facet. This aspect becomes more pronounced as the perfume dries down, and eventually reaches the point of reminding me of IN BLACK.

I realize that this may smack of heresy, given that Jesus del Pozo is something of a low-brow juice factory, while By Kilian is one of the hoitiest and toitiest of niche houses. However, it's important to bear in mind that Jesus del Pozo does enlist the services of good perfumers: Christine Nagel designed IN BLACK, and had she been afforded a "sky is the limit" ingredients budget, her creation would have been every bit as good as this one by Calice Becker.

01/22/2012

10.0 10.0 7.5 9.0/10

Njdeb
63 Reviews

Njdeb

Helpful Review 6

Spicy gourmand perfection

Swoon. The initial blast of this is just unbelievably good. Back to Black is a heavenly spicy/smokey gourmand fragrance in the vein of Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille and Serge Lutens Fumerie Turque, a genre I admit to loving.

Of the three, Back to Black is most definitely my favorite. I also find Back to Black to be the most feminine of the group (although certainly still unisex). The top notes are particulary delicious. Although I don't see any flowers listed, I get a bit of a floral feel here (maybe the bergamot?) along with jammy fruits, honey and spices. It truly smells good enough to eat.

Supporting the delectable top notes are the classic oriental perfume ingredients of amber and vanilla. Bitter almond provides a nice twist on this classic formula, adding a subtle powdery sweet note. Patchouli makes an appearance as well, and when combined with the fruits, adds an element reminiscent of modern fruity chypres such as Badgley Mishka. Back to Black pretty much takes the best aspects from several perfumes I admire and rolls them into one fabulous, well-blended fragrance.

Since this is frequently compared to Tobacco Vanille, and having a decant of Tobacco Vanille, I thought it might be interesting to compare them side by side. At first spray, I find Back to Black to be more honeyed fruit and amber and Tobacco Vanille more of a boozy vanilla. Both have that smokey element, but Tobacco Vanille is more in your face about it. Tobacco Vanille is also more blatantly spicy and stronger in general. Back to Black just feels softer and more nuanced. I also find Back to Black to have more layers of development (as I've descibed above) than Tobacco Vanille. Tobacco Vanille is pretty much just what it says it is, a smoky vanilla, and the aroma of Tobacco Vanille remains very stable throughout the life of the scent. On the plus side for Tobacco Vanilla, it's sillage and longevity are superior to Back to Black. If you're looking for bang for your buck (ok, lots of bucks), Tobacco Vanille wins hands down.

Unfortunately, I do not have any left of my sample of Fumerie Turque, so I can't compare that directly to Back to Black. I'm fairly certain, though, that I would find Fumerie Turque smokier and more leathery than Back to Black. No doubt, because of that, I view Fumerie Turque as more masculine than both Tobacco Vanille and certainly Back to Black. It would probably be my first choice for a man.

For me, Back to Black is the ultimate spicy gourmand and destined to become one of my very favorite perfumes