I’ve had zero luck with By Kilian “In the Garden of Good and Evil” Collection. They’re all “nice” fruity-florals but they lack personality. Or maybe I’m being really harsh because I expect more from luxury brands. And I expect more when a perfume costs a lot more than I usually pay.
Forbidden Games opens as peach blossoms and apples. It’s a fruity sweet fragrance with rose. My notes while sampling this one say “styling mousse“. I’ve had this complaint before with fragrances that do the floral/apple thing. It smells like mass market hair products. Pantene. It wears as fruity florals during the heart. With time it becomes a floral vanilla…the fruits are traded for a vanilla-musk. The base is a sweet honeyed vanilla with slightly powdery florals.
Overall, Forbidden Games reminds me of other stuff on the market that retails for much less. It’s a nice fragrance, not a scrubber or anything, but it’s a unremarkable fragrance in my opinion because it reminds me too much of drugstore hair products.
I can say that the packaging is prettier than drugstore shampoo.
Notes listed include apple, peach, plum, cinnamon, Bulgarian rose, geranium bourbon, jasmine, vanilla, honey and opoponax. Launched 2012. PERFUMER – Calice Becker
Try Forbidden Games if you like fruity florals. Or if you like perfumes like CREED Aqua Fiorentina, Tocca Giulietta, DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom, A Dozen Roses Shakespeare In Love, Jessica Simpson Fancy Love and/or Burberry Body. So really the only games being played here is giving us a Macy’s perfume at 4 times the price (OK, that was harsh).
I find projection and longevity average. I find the copy more ridiculous than average.
The 1.7 oz EDP retails for $245 at Luckyscent. Samples are also available for purchase.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Fruity-floral with vanilla. Not impressed. At all. This collection is lame.
Want more reviews? Try…
Fragrantica – Member reviews
Hey Victoria,
thanks for the link love and yes, I am with you 100% Forbidden Games is nice. No one will get hurt from you wearing it and you may even get a bunch of compliments while wearing it. 4 x the price of designer niche, 40 x the price of shampoo.
I bet it’s selling like crazy and that the people who love it will defend it to the death. Forbidden Games is such a misnomer too.
Portia xx
People should wear what they love. And all I can say is that I don’t love this.
I admit that I have issues with apple/florals. There has to be a drugstore shampoo that does that because that is all I can associate that combo with! Maybe if I didn’t have these associations, I’d like it? Oh, well.
Totally agree with you on this collection. It’s not worthy of Arabian Nights or the L’oeuvre Noir collection. I didn’t actually like anything from Arabian Nights (me and oud are not buddies) , but I appreciated the craftsmanship.
I live in South Florida (first home of the second home) and when I go to art shows, there are rows and rows of booths selling paintings of beach scenes in pink, coral and mint colors, calculated to work with senior citizen condo decor. That’s what this collection brings to mind.
YES! And the paintings are “sofa” sized! I totally think that analogy works with this collection.
Have I mentioned that when I was in Vegas a few years ago that everyone was buying Kilian. The packaging is luxe and the scents are approachable. Two months later this collection came out with “sinful” names. Hmm…
i WANT to like By Kilian. i DO! i’ve tried several and none of them seem to be worth the hoopla. in fact, Good Girl Gone Bad was more like “Girl Eats Salted Popcorn in Bathroom.”
i want to believe this House has something special and mind blowing behind their fancy bottles and outrageous rent-like prices.
but there’s just not. *le sigh*
I have not bought any bottles (including travel) of By Kilian. Many I like but they don’t make me part with my money. when I see the price and then try the fragrance again, I realize that there is something else that better suits me that I want (and it is always cheaper).
Anyway, the packaging is truly gorgeous with this line. And I can see why people *would* buy them. And honestly, I’m not crying over me disliking a $300 perfume. My bank account is happy by this.
[…] It mainly wears as a sweet jasmine fruity-floral which actually reminds me very much of By Kilian Forbidden Games. And then it dries down to a generic base of vanilla, musk and […]
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate your efforts
and I will be waiting for your further post thank you once again.
[…] had an experience with the same functional scent that I have, you may like it. And I mean, By Kilian Forbidden Games is one of these “clean hair” perfumes and people seem to like that […]
[…] Daisy, Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh, Tocca Simone, Chanel Chance eau Tendre, Burberry Body, By Kilian Forbidden Games, Banana Republic Wildbloom Rouge and/or any of the Lancôme Trésor flankers. It’s a good […]