Services
From makeovers to personalized skincare consultations
From makeovers to personalized skincare consultations
Get inspired, play with products & learn new skills
Exciting launches, parties & more
Explore what's hot in your store
Ask questions, join challenges, and get recommendations from people like you
Discover topics tailored to your beauty interests
Add your photos and get inspired by fellow beauty lovers
View activity, savings and benefits
Redeem items, samples and more
View and track online orders
Reorder it from in-store and online purchases
View saved products
Recommendations from your store visits
Manage your services, classes and events
Complete your beauty traits for personalized recommendations
Payments, contact info, addresses and password
View activity, savings and benefits
Redeem items, samples and more
View and track online orders
Reorder it from in-store and online purchases
View saved products
Recommendations from your store visits
Manage your services, classes and events
Complete your beauty traits for personalized recommendations
Payments, contact info, addresses and password
Ask questions, join challenges, and get recommendations from people like you
Discover topics tailored to your beauty interests
Add your photos and get inspired by fellow beauty lovers
From makeovers to personalized skincare consultations
Get inspired, play with products & learn new skills
Exciting launches, parties & more
Explore what's hot in your store
I know there are a few of us on BT that are fragrance addicts, so I thought it would be nice to have a dedicated place where we can share our thoughts.
This is not to take away from the lovely What Are You Wearing Today, Fragrance Edition thread, but more a place to post longer reviews, chat about new brands or releases, and just shoot the breeze on anything good and smelly 🙂
For me, I recently acquired 2 new decants that I've been anxiously awaiting. Ever since Lachaton mentioned that MMM was releasing a new scent called By The Fireplace I've been itching to get my hands on it. My decant arrived yesterday, so I'm looking forward to marinating in it this weekend. Secondly, I recently picked up a tiny sample of Shiseido Nombre Noir. Supposedly it is one of the most expensive failures in perfume history - made by Serge Lutens for Shiseido back in the 80s. Of course, with a backstory like that, I was dying to get a sniff 😄
What's new on your scent radar? Do tell!
I got a sample of TF Fougere Platine recently and have been testing it out for about a week or so.
I'd noticed a fair number of people on perfume forums and whatnot mentioning that it bore similarities to Vert d'Encens (which I own and love) so I was quite curious to see if that was true.
Wearing it alone it does briefly remind me of d'Encens but when I tried putting one on each arm and wearing them throughout the day, that's when I really noticed how similar they are.
The opening is where the most overlap can be detected. Both are woody, slightly incense-y scents at their core. As they settle and wear, Platine is a bit drier, twiggy and has the coolness of lavender, while d'Encens is slightly sweeter and more resinous. I find Platine smoother once it settles, while d'Encens is a bit more aggressive although the sweeter notes make it seem the more feminine of the two scents.
I typically don't wear d'Encens in warmer weather so I think that may have coloured my opinions on how they compare and contrast but I do think if you already own one, you probably don't need the other. If you lean a little gourmand, d'Encens is probably more your cup of tea, but if you like more straightforward wood, Platine is a good place to start.
Vert d'Encens notes: incense, pine, balsam fir, heliotrope, wood notes, boxwood, wood resin
Fougere Platine notes: bergamot, clary sage, artemisia, olibanum, cedar, tobacco, wood notes
@MochapjThat's interesting! I didn't find VE and FP to be similar, the former being coniferous, earthy and smoky and the latter being more medicinal than smoky, I but didn't smell them side by side. And it's been ages since I smelled VE 🙂
Which fougere did you like more?
@pocketvenus I haven't spent much time with my Argent sample, yet.
The SA slipped it into my bag when I asked for a Platine sample and though I opened it for a whiff, the initial impression didn't immediately entice me to try it out. Whereas I found Platine in scent and wear to be quite unisex (I am a lover of fougeres and other more traditionally 'masculine' notes so I don't have any issue wearing them) my sniff of Argent was an impression of distinct masculinity.
I might like it on others, but I'm not sure I'll enjoy it on myself, especially since I often dislike orange notes. Will let you know once I've tried it out a few times.
@Mochapj, I can see what you mean about leaning masculine. It's not a traditional fougere either, I think if I didn't know the name, I would have classified it as a lavender oriental. But yes, would love to hear your impressions 🙂 🙏
@pocketvenus just noticed this new V&R scent is iris and ink based;
Thanks @Mochapj! I tried the Sage one in Saks in the US and sniffed some of the others, not sure if the line has hit Canada yet. I found them too pretty for me ha ha
Estée Lauder’s By Kilian Seeks Growth With Millennial-Friendly Fragrance Line
The brand hopes to attract younger consumers with the introduction of a lower-priced fragrance line, launching exclusively with Sephora.
By Kilian, the Estée Lauder Companies-owned fragrance artisanal brand known for its heady, layered scents and elaborate cases, is launching a lower-priced line at Sephora in August.
The beauty giant made introducing lower-price fragrances a condition of its 2016 acquisition of the brand, founder Kilian Hennessy told BoF, and he has been working on it since. The new scents were designed to reach a new audience of consumers priced out by By Kilian’s main line, which averages around $300 per bottle. “My Kind of Love” includes four scents at prices ranging from $30 to $135.
By Kilian's new line will now be sold in 900 Sephora locations in the US, France, Italy and the Middle East as part of a broader push to widen distribution for the brand Hennessy describes as artisanal because of the quality of the raw materials and the time spent developing new scent formulations. Since the acquisition, By Kilian has started selling the main line through more multi-brand retailers and online, where Sephora.com is its third-highest performing point of sale. The brand is also preparing to launch on Alibaba’s Tmall in China.
"By Kilian is the perfect example of how we have invested in building a high-end artisanal fragrance portfolio of brands that create bold, emotional experiences and connections with consumers," said John Demsey, the Estée Lauder Companies' executive group president, in a statement.
“My Kind of Love” takes inspiration for its names such as “Kissing Burns 6.4 Calories a Minute. Wanna Workout?” from the tongue-in-cheek sensuality of popular makeup brands like TooFaced. In Sephora stores, shoppers will be prompted to choose a flavour of love which corresponds with the different scents: fun, sparkling, hot and sweet. It will be supported by a digital video-centric global media campaign.
Hennessy, whose family's cognac business is now owned by LVMH, founded By Kilian in 2007. It stood out in the fragrance market as more consumers started searching for unique, artisanal scents instead of the more readily available luxury house options or celebrity-backed lines. His most popular regions after the US are Russia and the Middle East.
Hennessy recognises the importance of reaching younger millennials, the fastest growing luxury consumers, with a more accessible price point. He said he plans to raise the prices on the main line, which he previously focused on keeping below that of many of his luxury competitors, which can average around $500 a bottle, to be more competitive.
“We put a lot of money into raw materials,” said Hennessy. “Even at the $300 price point, I’m not making the margins that Estée Lauder wants — not even close.”
Estée Lauder acquired the Paris-based brand for an undisclosed sum as part of its efforts to diversify its fragrance offering, which is dominated by Jo Malone and Tom Ford. The conglomerate bought two other small luxury fragrance brands, Le Labo and Editions de Parfurms Frederic Malle, in 2014. According to Euromonitor International, the global fragrance market was worth $48 billion in 2016. Estée Lauder’s fragrance category grew 10 percent in fiscal 2017 to $1.6 billion.
Speaking about luxury artisanal fragrances in the most recent call with investors, the company’s chief executive Fabrizio Freda said, “We have chosen really to leverage that piece of the fragrance market, because we believe that's where a lot of the future is, and we are making great inroads there.”
Freda also highlighted the fragrance category’s growth in travel retail, which Hennessy said accounts for four of his brand’s top twenty points of sale. “That’s an element we have tremendously accelerated as being part of [Estée] Lauder.”
“[Distribution] is a critical element,” said Hennesy, recalling a visit to a Bloomingdale’s before it opened in the Middle East and realising that, despite his brand’s popularity in the region, he was stuck in the back after the conglomerates claimed their retail floor spaces.
“That’s when I knew it was time to join forces [with a strategic partner],” he said. “It’s hard for the independent ones because [Estée] Lauder in the luxury department stores has 40 or to 50 percent market share.”
“My Kind of Love” isn’t By Kilian’s only new launch this autumn. In September, Hennesy is releasing a new perfume inspired by Bergdorf Goodman’s women's fashion director and senior vice-president Linda Fargo, a longtime friend and business partner, entitled “Do It For Love.” It will be available exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman and By Kilian’s eight boutiques.
“While I am launching two sets of fragrances that represent two visions of love, it could not be more opposite from distribution standpoint,” said Hennesy. "There is so much more to come."
___________________
I sincerely hope Sephora starts to carry more of the original fragrances. By Kilian has around 60 fragrances to choose from, yet Sephora sadly only carries a total 8 different fragrances along with their travel sprays.
-Vmaster
@Vmaster @pocketvenus I find it interesting that they're adding a diffusion line to the brand.
This in particular concerns me, re: future quality:
“Even at the $300 price point, I’m not making the margins that Estée Lauder wants — not even close.”
EL began churning out so many new scents and flankers under the TF line in the last 2 years (last year I think I counted around 15) where the composition and quality seemed to be markedly lower than older releases that it has me wondering if the same is about to happen with Kilian's brand.
Personally, I've always found a lot of the names in the current line a bit cringey; not in an offensive way, just that they always come off like they're trying too hard. In that sense, I feel like the My Kind of Love names fit with the brand's vibe, but I still find them a little too over the top and silly. However, at 37 I'm probably not the younger market they're after 😄
Yes, @Mochapj, the new TF releases have been coming out at a blisteringly fast clip compared to previous years and some were really unnecessary. Did we really need two metallic fougeres? It has, unsurprizingly, made the house more hit and miss. I will keep an open mind about Kilian but it is also easy to envision the house starting to crank out scents of declining quality. I'd rather see a house aim lower than higher though at this point. The prices some houses are asking for have become completely detached from reality. Without naming any names, we are seeing a lot of niche and independent houses helmed by people with no formal training charging ludicrous amounts. Or "niche-ish" releases by major brands that are charging TF prices but are fairly pedestrian. The whole industry feels very inflated.
I'm also noticing pressure on EL's houses like Le Labo and Malle divert resources into developing ancillary products like shower gels, soaps, hair sprays, candles and so on. I think we will see more of this flogging of these hit scents in yet another form and less of a new, innovative or creative fragrance. Thankfully Malle seems to have escaped the new release churn although they are coming out with new bath products all the time now. It makes me sad to think but I'm not sure if Malle could release something like a Noir Epices or a La Parfum de Therese today. I've enjoyed the newer releases like Superstitious but they've all been more marketable.
That is the huge pitfall of selling your company (soul?) to a publicly traded company. It is no longer about the fun of creating and experimenting with new fragrances, it's all about appeasing the parent company's stockholders and churning out as much as possible and using cheaper ingredients, because profit.
Thanks for sharing this, @Vmaster! I totally agree, I think Kilian’s Ouds are lovely Western/synthetic ouds and wish Sephora carried them along with some of the other scents. I do not think they are worth $500 😮 😮 but that is another story. As it stands, the Kilians are not affordable for most people and I’m really happy to see a “diffusion” line of Kilian scents, sort of like fellow Lauder house, Tom Ford. With pricing as low as $30, I’m guessing smaller sizes are in the picture and as someone who doesn’t have a sig scent, I reallllly love my rollerballs and travel sprays! Or even better, I am a total sucker for adorable mini bottles ha ha.
But I am also so, so torn. These names. These names are so terrible. They feel out of step, like an old auntie trying to be hip. I also find them gender conforming and vaguely condescending. Some Millennial women are in their late twenties and thirties now. Some Millennial women identify as bisexual, lesbian or queer. Peer houses like Byredo, Le Labo and even the overtly sexual Tom Ford are more with it with their unisex focus in their more affordable offerings.
I’m sorry if others find the names fun or clever, I don’t mean to make anyone feel bad. And I know some people will probably think I’m taking this too seriously but if it’s not obvious at this point, I am very serious about perfume ha ha. As a perfume lover, I will try them when they’re available and will do my best to put my misgivings about names aside to give the actual perfume inside a fair shake!!
LOL, I'm with you on the names @pocketvenusUnidentified!
I can't say I wouldn't try them anyway, but I think the names are too long and geared towards a much younger audience (and yes, I'm one of those 30 something millennials you mentioned 😎)
Interesting article @Vmaster. I've shied away from Kilian because of the price point. I hope Sephora starts carrying more of the original line for you!
Sounds interesting, especially as I love inky notes! Although a fragrance for paper makes it sound like it's for stationary 😄 I will definitely have to try this. Thanks for sharing, @Mochapj!