By Kilian Back to Black

Black the color can carry so much meaning it can be a portent of bad fortune, it can be a color of mourning, or it can symbolize the heights of achievement when it is the color of a belt in martial arts. Black is also the easiest of fashion colors. All women should own a little black dress and all men should dress up in black tie from time to time.

As I contemplated the use of the phrase “Back to Black” when considering the latest By Kilian fragrance, designed by Calice Becker, I realized it had a simpler meaning. After meeting Kilian Henessy at the opening of his By Kilian boutique in the Boston Saks Fifth Avenue and seeing him in a black coat and white shirt over jeans; Back to Black is emblematic of effortless elegance around the simplest of ideas.

Back to Black the fragrance is at first blush a simple tobacco fragrance. Upon further reflection it is a much more elegant creation than that and the more I wore it the more I came to realize how deceptively creative this “single note” fragrance is. One thing that lends itself to this understated complexity is the use of high quality ingredients. An initiative that I applaud By Kilian for is the listing of the recipe of every fragrance they have done. When I asked M. Henessy about this he spoke with a deep passion about making sure that consumers of his fragrances know exactly what they are getting in the bottle and that creates an authenticity around this line that makes it stand out.

It seems that I have come across a higher number of great tobacco accords in 2009, than in years past, and Back to Black takes its place among them. Right from the top the tobacco comes out full and narcotic on my skin. I am so enamored of this accord I asked M. Henessy what it was made up of and he told me that it was the following ingredients that make this lovely accord come to life: Laotian Honey. Atlas Cedar, Somalian Olibanum, Ciste Absolute, Indonesian Patchouli, and Blue Chamomille.

Once he told me how the trick was performed I spent many future wears teasing these strands apart. What I came to find was that Back to Black during the course of its development does that unraveling all on its own as the ingredients of the tobacco accord all take their place during the development and create a beautiful deconstruction of the central accord. The first strand to disengage itself is the Blue Chamomille as the softly floral character floats above the richer notes. The next to come is the Olibanum as the incense takes a turn in the olfactory spotlight. This is followed by Ciste which adds a ripe fruit aspect to the resins. Then Back to Black becomes a beautiful honey as the sweetness of that honey is a perfect complement to the sweet aspect of the tobacco at the beginning.

Finally the whole fragrance comes to rest with a rich patchouli that picks up the resins from before. Back to Black is an incredible piece of workmanship by Mme. Becker as she takes her “single note” and lets it slowly come apart in waves to create a memorable fragrance.
Back to Black has incredible longevity on me, well over 24 hours; and above average sillage. By Kilian Back to Black is a gorgeous piece of perfumery and this is a “black cloud” I’d be happy to have around me all the time.

Images: Mark Behnke, trazomfreak