TRehf

Honestly, I don’t get the hate that this fragrance received at its release. It was ignored by many and others put it in the cheap girly grocery store scent department.
I couldn’t disagree more.

Is it beastmode? No.
Is it completely unique and groundbreaking? No.
Is it complex and challenging? No, but it doesn’t has to be.
Is it easy to wear and enjoyable? Yes.

I understand that fragrance is a very subjective hobby. We all like certain kinds of fragrances for different reasons and we all wear fragrances for different reasons. But just because a fragrance doesn’t fulfill our criteria for being purchase-worthy doesn’t mean, that it’s a bad scent. It just means that it’s not made for us.

But now let’s come back to the fragrance. I’ve had the chance to test it a few times during this year. It starts with a blast of fruits. In the opening, I actually get more citrusy notes (grapefruit) than berries. Nevertheless some sort of berries can still be smelled easily. As it dries down the fragrance becomes a bit fresh and green. That’s also why I feel very comfortable wearing it as a man. The fragrance is a bit tart and very enjoyable. In contrast to Happy Hour from Dior, Rouge Trafalgar doesn’t turn sweet at all on my skin. At the end the fragrance remains fruity-green-musky.

Now depending on your skin, the development of the fragrance might be different but as mentioned before, I felt pretty confident wearing it myself. Sure, it is not that typical aquatic woody type of scent that you will find in any blue-ish men’s cologne but I see it very unisex.

Performance-wise you cannot expect a beast. This fragrance is intended to be worn in spring and summer and in warmer weather it projects nicely for about 2h and stays on skin for about 6 to 7h. That’s alright for this kind of scent.

The presentation is like any other Maison Christian Dior presentation, so you can find various videos of it on YouTube.

Getting back to the scent. The scent is simple and straightforward. If you look for complexity like Xerjoff offers, you won’t be happy with this scent. Otherwise, with increasing complexity of the scent often the wearability decreases. And I pretty much appreciate the wearable of this scent. It is easy to like and easy to wear.

Considering the pricetag, it’s up to you if you consider it being worth 200€ (125ml). Sure, there are fragrances much more expensive but 200€ seems steep for a scent like this and it’s the only reason why I haven’t purchased it yet.
I don’t know if I’m going to make a purchase in the future (maybe in 2021).
But I really wanted to point out, that this fragrance is not as bad as some said. So at least give it a try.

I remember when I smelled Alexandria II for the first time. Back than, I didn’t really know what to think. Alexandria II was and still is one of those BIG names in the fragrance community that almost everybody at least has heard of. I was just wondering „This is it?!?“. Maybe my nose was already saturated or I just wasn’t ready for this type of scent.

Now that I’m talking about my very first impression of Alexandria II, it sounds like this happened years ago. Actually, it’s only a few months ago and things have changed a lot. I finally have a bottle of it in my hands.
To me, Alexandria II has become a reference point for what a scent has to be. It’s this 10 out of 10 benchmark that every other scent has to compare with.
It’s smooth yet complex, mysterious, creamy yet aromatic, woody and so much more. It just captures all the facets that a scent can incorporate. In addition to that the performance is great, projection and sillage not overwhelming but clearly noticeable. The presentation is the best that I’ve seen so far and I got several Kilian Paris fragrances in my collection.

It is a fragrance that smells like class, status and success without being arrogant and derogatory to others. The lure is great to use it as a signature scent, but it’s too pity, it’s made for special occasions.

I would never suggest anyone to spend 400€-500€ on a 100ml bottle of fragrance. Yes, it is expensive. Sanity cannot justify spending that much money. But It’s weird because somehow I even find this pricetag justified.

If you haven’t already, at least try it once in your life.

Since there is no other review of this fragrance, let me be the first reviewer.

Smell: 9/10
This fragrance starts citrusy-minty. There is a faint trace of coconut in the background but unlike VIW from Creed, the note of coconut is not dominant and hence I can imagine people who are not liking coconut still liking this fragrance.
After a few minutes the mint note becomes more present on my skin and is the dominant note. There is a very creamy undertone in the fragrance which comes from the amber supported by something woody. I also get the Ambroxan/Ambergris.
The fragrance stays relatively linear during its lifetime.
All in all I can say that this is a perfect summery scent (if you like mint). It is mass-appealing.
The best way to describe the scent is: imagine PdM Layton with its fresh-minty opening but without the sweetness from the vanilla. Nevertheless I still find the fragrance very unique.

Performance: 9/10
The longevity is 9h on my skin.
The fragrance projects heavily for the first half of its lifetime, afterwards it sits closer to the skin but you can still smell it around you.

Packaging: 6/10
It’s okay but nothing special in my opinion. The atomizer is fantastic.

Background story:

Around Christmas, I was in Munich on a shopping tour. I went to a parfumery to try a few fragrances that I had on my (try-)list and which are usually not easily accessible where I live. On this list happened to be two fragrances from the house of Kilian as well: Back to Black and Black Phantom. After already trying a number of different fragrances, I finally put my nose on both Kilian fragrances and actually, I liked Back to black from the first second that I smelled it (and decided to buy it soon) but I wasn’t so sure about Black Phantom. Nevertheless, Black Phantom aroused my interest, so I sprayed it on the back of my hand and let the magic begin.
The scent on the back of my hand always kept me smelling it again and again. I was intrigued by the complexity of the fragrance. Notes are easily distinguishable while the whole blend is still very smooth (which may sound odd). I love it and as time went by it even surpassed Back to Black when it comes to my favorite fragrances.

Things about Black Phantom that in my mind:

- Rich, Sweet, Dark, boozy, sexy, delicious, chocolate, caramel, coffee, almond
-autumn and winter time, preferred evenings
-special occasion only, too pity for daily wear
-3-4 sprays
-if you like gourmands, definitely give it a try
-smells much better on skin than on paper, give it a chance to grow on you

Scent:

-starts off as a coffee with rum and caramel syrup, „cyanide“-note from the almond is definitely there but very much in the background
-Chocolate starts to become more present during the dry down, rum and caramel become less present

Subjective Rating:
It’s not only my favorite Kilian but also my favorite gourmand scent.
10/10

Objective rating:
I see people loving this if they have a sweet tooth and/or generally like gourmands. Although the scent never turns too overly sweet in my opinion, if you cannot stand sweet scents, this one (and the Kilian house in general) is probably not the right one for you.
8.5/10

Longevity:
Longevity is not overly impressive for a sweet gourmand but still in the 8h range on my skin.
8/10 (1p per Hour)

Sillage:
The scent bubble around you is intimate but strong. Scent leaves a nice trail. Projects for 4h.
8/10 (1p per 30min)

Bottle/packaging:
In my opinion are Kilian packagings (casket) the best on the market, especially the box of Black Phantom with the skull on top. It is a matter of taste, if you like the skull design. There is nothing that reaches similar values when it comes to packaging in my opinion. Bottle design is excellent as well. Big thumbs up for the eco-friendly refillable bottles.
10/10

Background story:

I have to admit, I'm a fan of those modern classic gentlemanly scents in blue bottles that were released since 2010, starting with Bleu de Chanel followed by Dior Sauvage, Versace Dylan Blue and so on... Although they share similarities - in the end - all of them stand on their own feet and became very successful scents, due to their mass-appeal and modern scent character.
With those thoughts and some notes of Elysium in my mind from previous online research, I sat on my chair on an Emirates flight to Dubai where I browsed the on-bord-shopping magazin.
I discovered the following offer: 100ml + 7,5ml travel atomizer Elysium for ca. 850AED (= 210€ = 230$). "Nice Deal", I thought to myself, "what a pity I haven't tried it before. If I'd liked it, I would buy it now".
While I was watching a movie from the inflight entertainment, adverterising scrolled through the screen "20% off inflight shopping, today online". I thought it was a sign, so I blind bought 107,5ml Elysium for 180€ in 36000ft height.
Arriving at the hotel, of course the first thing i had to do was checking my new fragrance...

Things about Elysium that come in my mind:
- citrusy, fruity, woody, masculin-gentlemanly yet modern, refined, complex yet easy to wear
- Can be worn in all seasons but preferred in spring and summer
- 5 sprays on average, 7 max.
- for professional and casual wear
- is in the same genre like the other fragrances mentioned before but not redundant to any of them. Smell ist much more refined, complex and natural to me. As some other reviewers mentioned before, I do see the most similarities with CREED Aventus as well but even in direct comparison, they are not sharing the same scent character but the same vibe.

Scent:
- starts bright and citrusy, very natural and complex
- after 1,5h citrus opening tones down and vetiver-woody notes become dominant
- some fruity notes (apple + blackcurrant) are detectably for the whole lifetime
- comparisons to Aventus might come from the ambergris + blackcurrent note, which are not overly dominent but clearly perceptible

Subjective rating: 9
I just love the complexity of this scent combined with its easy-to-wear character.

Objective rating: 8,5
I do think that it is very hard to dislike to the average person. I think most dislikes will come because it doesn't have enough niche character to justify the pricetag. But I got it in a very good deal and it is still cheaper than most Roja parfums.

Longevity:
It scratches the 7h mark on my skin, which is really good for a fresh scent. The much more expensive Parfum version of Elysium might last even longer but isn't worth it in my opinion.

rating: 8.5

Sillage:
The scent is not overly shouting but sillage is there for 2,5...3h. The scent leaves a nice trail behind you during that time.

rating: 7

Bottle/packaging:
The packaging is not on the same level like by Kilian. But Elysium comes in a very solid box with a sliding case. The bottle itself looks gorgeous.

rating: 9