By Kilian Rose Oud

By Kilian hits a weird spot on my wallet. I love their fragrances. Love that they have a more detailed than usual list of fragrance notes with their perfumes. But I’m not loving the price tag and I doubt very much that I would ever purchase a By Kilian fragrance. I just have yet to find one that I really like.

Rose Oud

In Bottle: Rose Oud is pretty much what it sounds like. I get a big rose and oud presence in the bottle and I can’t complain. This stuff delivers what it promises.

Applied: Heads in with rose, crisp and dewy like you dipped a rose in a cup of water. The fragrance wafts in a bit of oud, giving the scent that dark slightly sticky but very complex and very sophisticated feel and smell. As the fragrance ages, the rose turns into a creamier version of itself, combining with the oud to form a very grown up, very dense scent that speaks quite well for the powerful aura this fragrance seems to project. As the scent dries down, the oud gets a bit more woodsy and the fragrance warms up a bit with a hint of spices layering in with the rose.

Extra: Rose Oud was composed by Calice Becker, who has also composed such fragrances as J’Adore, Marc Jacobs Lola, and Tommy Girl.

Design: Rose Oud is bottled in much the same way as other By Kilians. A glass bottle with lacquered sides and sold in a box complete with lock and key. For the price they’re asking for it, you should expect nothing less than over-the-top luxury when it comes to the packaging.

Fragrance Family: Floral Woodsy

Notes: Rose, saffron, guaiac wood, agarwood.

So like I said before, I have a hard time justifying the price tag of a By Kilian because while the fragrances and the packaging is nice, the truth is the scents could be had elsewhere for less. Or if I wanted to go full-out expensive, there are other niche houses that I prefer.

Reviewed in This Post: Rose Oud, 2010, Eau de Parfum.