FRAGRANCE | Angels' Share EDP by Kilian: A surprisingly sweet treat (with a little booze)
The last quarter of 2020 saw the release of
The Liquors collection by Kilian, a duo of alcohol-inspired fragrances
that pay homage to owner Kilian Hennessy's cognac-making family heritage. The
fragrances are Angels' Share and Roses on Ice. To my delight,
they're priced a little lower than his standard offerings, bringing them a tad
closer to my reach financially. And since I love a good boozy scent, I was
instantly attracted to the idea.
I went for Angels' Share first since it features cognac as a note and
as such should be closer to Mr Hennessy's heart. The bottle's liquor glass
design is stellar, which admittedly was one of the reasons why I wanted one.
However, the actual bottle left me a little underwhelmed with its overreaching
use of acrylic. Although of good quality, the cap is all plastic. I could be
wrong but even the bottle feels like plastic. And that triangular label?
Plastic. For a $195 fragrance (50ml), the bottle just feels cheap. Even the
box is a letdown. Yes, it's made of hard cardboard but it doesn't hold a
candle to many of its contemporaries in the world of luxury and niche
fragrances.
The opening is expectedly boozy, infused with an intoxicating sweetness and a
minty accent. Within a few minutes, I could clearly make out tonka and
cinnamon making an entrance, providing some depth to the scent albeit at the
expense of the cognac's prominence. After a few more minutes, a delectable
praline accord comes in, followed shortly by vanilla. It's a delicious scent,
every element freely swirling around without fully homogenizing. However, the
development feels too rushed to be properly enjoyed. Curiously, I had the same
experience with another Kilian creation,
Straight to Heaven.
There's a woody undertone that's slowly felt after several more minutes while
the fragrance's boozy sweet profile remains. On the other hand, that faint,
minty facet relaxes momentarily but comes back later, not wanting to miss out
on all the fun. Everything here seems to be going up and down in terms of
prominence, as if each note or accord is represented by a pony in a rotating
carousel.
After about 30 minutes, a rather odd, rubbery smell emerges. I can't quite
place it but somehow it reminds me of that plasticky accord in
Bentley for Men Intense
or of that latex-like smell I get in Nasomatto's Nudiflorum (if my
memory serves me right) but to a much lesser degree. Thankfully it does not
dominate the scent, which still remains fundamentally sweet. I just wish the
cognac was a bit stronger here, considering this is supposed to be a tribute
to the Hennessy family. Either way, it's still delicious.
Angels' Share isn't a groundbreaking scent by any means but it's done
well enough to appeal to gourmand lovers. The bottle design led me to believe this was going to be a predominantly boozy scent but I was surprised with its choco-caramel-like sweetness instead, the booze but an added flavor. And where I was expecting it to be
masculine, it turned out to be very unisex, ideal for cold weather but
wearable enough in temperate climates. It's quite strong in its first 2 to 3
hours before a gradual weakening is observed. The scent lasts for hours on
end, so disappointing bottle aside, at least you're getting your money's worth
here. All things said, it still merits a try in my opinion.
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