Manassé Dangerous Passion

If I was pressed to name the best new perfume line of the past five years Kilian Hennessy’s By Kilian fragrances would be one of the few contenders. One of the things I have admired about the By Kilian fragrances is M Hennessy has a unifying vision of fragrance which has always been evident in every fragrance in this collection. In 2007, the first six fragrances of L’Oeuvre Noire were released and since then we have been treated to three more additions, one each year. Now I am told in the press materials that we are at the end of the L’Oeuvre Noire with the release of Sweet Redemption, The End.

 

Kilian Hennessy and Calice Becker

One thing that has helped this collection retain a cohesive vision is there have only been two perfumers who have worked to realize M Hennessy’s creativity. Sidonie Lancesseur did two of the earlier fragrances, Straight to Heaven and Cruel Intentions. The majority of L’Oeuvre Noire was composed by Calice Becker. Mme Becker has been a successful partner throughout the process and it seems only fitting that she is the perfumer to compose Sweet Redemption, The End.

Mme Becker has brought this collection full circle as Sweet Redemption is the lightest and brightest By Kilian fragrance to date and it reminds me a bit of a sweet floral version of Le Labo Gaiac 10. When I first wore Sweet Redemption it kept feeling like it was on the verge of disappearing but it stayed on my skin and lasted until the next morning. For a fragrance centered on notes of orange blossom, vanilla and resinous notes it felt like a diaphanous veil of scent which dipped and swirled around me.

 

The orange blossom is Mme Becker’s opening gambit and it holds that uniquely sweet and green aspect that the best orange blossom accords have. It is like leaning close and breathing deep and feeling enveloped in the fragrance. Vanilla accentuates the sweet aspects of the orange blossom and there is a point where I was reminded of an orange vanilla creamsicle and since I like the sweetness of that combination it appealed to me very much. What appealed to me more was the sweet takes a turn towards the resinous as myrrh with its slightly honey-like sweetness transitions to the base of frankincense and benzoin. Sweet Redemption is a fragrance which accentuates the first word but not in a cloying or distracting way.

Sweet Redemption, The End has outstanding longevity, even though it seems like it is always on the edge of fading away. The sillage is below average; Sweet Redemption is a treat for the wearer.

 

Painting by Dino Valles

I admire those who know when to bring something to an end and M Hennessy has allowed Mme Becker to create something unlike any of the other nine fragrances in L’Oeuvre Noire and it brings this collection to a very successful end. For those of you who think this is The End for M Hennessy fear not he is still working on the Arabian Nights oud collection and he has promised the first fragrance in a new collection starting in January 2012. So Sweet Redemption, The End only signifies the end of a cycle and hopefully it is just the beginning of many more collections to come, each as successful as L’Oeuvre Noire and Sweet Redemption, The End.

Disclosure: This review was based on a preview sample obtained from the By Kilian counter in Sak’s Fifth Avenue Boston plus an additional sample provided by a generous reader who was in France.(but you can order from www.MinNewYork.com)

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor

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Editor's Note: "A breath of wind from the wings of madness.”-Charles Baudelaire

"People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that's bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they're afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It's all in how you carry it. That's what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you're letting society destroy your reality".-Jim Morrison

Art direction Michelyn Camen