Old Southern ladies like to say things like “Oh, this rain is playing the devil with the arthritis in my knees!” and stuff like that. So when I heard of this new By Kilian perfume, Playing With the Devil, I thought about my great aunts’ grouchy old friends and one of their favorite phrases, “playing the devil with“. This has nothing to do with this fragrance but it’s funny how you forget something like that and then some niche perfume makes you think of ladies in frosty coral lipstick smoking Virginia Slims and listening to Marty Robbins while gossiping on a porch swing…
Lychee is prevalent in the top notes of this fragrance. Now if you read the note list of Playing With the Devil, you probably expect a fruit salad as the scent is inspired by “forbidden fruits”. It is fruity but there’s more than just juicy fruits. Even in the opening I get hot spices. The spices are pepper, slightly fruity pink pepper and pimento but they are fiery! I think this could help soothe arthritis vs. playing the devil with it…. Crème de cassis and lychee are the most noticeable fruits. The heart is a voluptuous spiced jasmine and a fruity rose. Playing With the Devil actually smells “rouge” to me. The dry-down is a slightly powdery, clean musky floral but has a sharpness from cedar and other “dry woods”. The dry-down is rather subdued and more abstract and well, frankly, generic.
Out of the fragrances in The Garden of Good and Evil Collection, Playing the Devil is the one I like the best. However, it’s not completely “novel” as it reminds me very much of vintage Dior Poison. It’s not exactly like vintage Dior Poison; it’s had some updates like lychee and the florals have been sanded down but it does have the same sultry character as Dior Poison. Like many of the By Kilian perfumes, this one does smell different from a distance (because it projects). I pick up on lots of its spice and warmth; however, others around me tend to pick up on the fruitiness. I honestly don’t notice this as much once the lychee fades after the first 30 minutes of wear. David did ask me while I was testing this if I were wearing “a perfume for little girls”. He says lots of whack stuff but for some reason this bothered me because I honestly do not think of this one as “little girl”. To me it’s more spoiled 18-25 year old with money to spare. Oh, well.
Notes listed include blood orange, black currant, peach, lychee, pepper, pimento, cedar, sandalwood, patchouli, rose, jasmine, tonka bean, benzoin and vanilla. Launched in 2013. PERFUMER – Calice Becker
Give Playing With the Devil a try if you like fruity floral perfumes. Or if you like perfumes like Dior Poison, Escada Magnetism (By Kilian’s is not as sweet), M. Micallef Rouge No. 1, Elizabeth Arden Pretty Hot and/or Lacoste Touch of Pink. Playing with the Devil is more feminine to me as it reminds me of other perfumes marketed to women.
Projection and longevity are above average. Even the more muted base has sillage. And of course, the packaging is gorgeous (and of course, you’re paying for that).
The 1.7 oz bottle retails for $260 at Saks.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Fiery fruits over a rather classic floral base. I said this is the one that I like the best from The Garden of Good and Evil but that isn’t saying much (I’m not the collection’s demo). I may like it but that’s only in comparison to other recent Kilian launches. I do not love Playing With the Devil and at this price, I must love it. I’d rather wear Dior Poison. And that’s what frosty-coral-lipstick-wearing, Marty Robbins-listening-to women should wear.
See, I tied my memories with this review. Playing With the Devil could be called Devil Woman…and Dior Poison could be Maria…
Want more reviews? Try…
Eau my giddy aunt.
“This Kilian is playing the devil with the money in my wallet”
I have also heard women say that as well as “this is a bargain if you look at it as buying an evening clutch.”
Jordan River recently posted..The Quantum Coffee Accord
It sure is….I think I go into testing Kilian fragrances defensively. I don’t want to fall in love with them because I can’t afford to fall in love with them!
I like their logic as I do think the packaging is stunning. But, who needs an evening clutch? Isn’t that what your date’s pockets are for? 😉
LOL! I loved your review. I don’t know what it says about me that I’m a fan of both Playing with the Devil (the first By Kilian perfume that really impressed me) and Marty Robbins. To be fair, I’m a lot more familiar with Marty Robbins because I only smelled Playing with the Devil briefly in a boutique in Rome, but I thought it was gorgeous!
OK, I’ll be off now to swipe on some frosted coral lipstick before joining the rest of those old Southern gals on the porch. 😀
I like this one and I like that it is like a “modern” powerhouse fragrance; however, that price…I got to love it. I still have 2 samples and I think I’ll use them up, just don’t think I’ll end up with a bottle.
After posting this, I’ve been listening to Marty Robbins all afternoon. I forgot how much I love that guy.
I need to try this again, sniffed it last week and thought it was unremarkable, all I could get was weak blackcurrant (mind you we’ve had a lot of smoke from bush fires down here so my nose has been not so good). Mind you I adore Dior Poison! 🙂
All I get is lychee for the first 30 minutes…so I don’t doubt that you only got blackcurrant. That opening is real fruity and oddly doesn’t wear off that quickly.
Those bush fires have to be nerve wrecking. I hope all of that gets cleared up soon.
I LOVE Poison. But, it’s one of the few that I don’t wear because hubs claims it gives him asthma attacks. Psshh…it didn’t kill him, why is he whining? So, I only wear Poison when he is out of town but oh, I love it. – And it’s cheaper than this 😉
[…] Give Exclamation a try if you like powdery fragrances. Or if you like perfumes like Lancôme Trésor and its flankers, Jo Malone London Peony & Blush Suede, Burberry Body, Michael Kors Sexy Amber, By Kilian Flower of Immortality and/or By Kilian Playing with the Devil. […]
[…] perfumes like La Prairie Midnight Rain, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Calvin Klein Forbidden Euphoria, By Kilian Playing With the Devil, Taylor Swift Wonderstruck, and/or Givenchy Absolutely Irresistible. I think of Moreta as one of […]