Kismet For Women | Eau De Parfum 100ml | By Maison Alhambra

Product Information

Over time the sour notes faded and it smelled sweeter. But what it radiates from far was different from when I sniff at my wrist. It was an interesting experience. Needless to say that in about an hour not me nor the people around me could smell the "GGGB" that I had bought and sprayed for the outing. The development brings forward an almost spicy note, that turns again and becomes a more soapy scent. I thought this was the most delicious, sweet, sexy, slightly animalic white / yellow floral and I knew i wanted a bigger bottle. I couldn't understand the people complaining it smelled like "spicy hot milk."

I mean, those two notes together are absolutely lovely...but nothing near what the note listing said for this fragrance. I'm guessing the "Vanilla" in it makes it as creamy smooth as it is. I guess I shouldn't complain because this is a completely dapper fragrance and I'm gonna wear the hell out of it, starting tomorrow morning, but yet again...I'm completely stumped as to what the actual fragrance notes for this TRULY are. It's such a wonderful, warm scent, at the same time super comfortable and wearable, and very complex and elegant. It's very much an oriental fragrance to my nose, which is a category that usually leaves me cold, but Kismet is exceptional in every sense. Opoponax and labdanum are prominent from the very start; at first they're joined by rather bitter citrus notes, which is nice, but the magic starts to happen a little later on when the vanilla joins the party. It settles down deliciously powdery and sweet, but in a balanced way - the resins make sure of that, and this combination is really a match made in heaven, and executed to perfection. This balanced character makes it very versatile as well; I can imagine wearing this in almost any situation and even any type of weather except high summer, and never getting tired of it. It also projects just right, and lasts all day. For me, it falls into the category of scents I could imagine having as a signature if I were still that kind of perfume wearer.I would not splurge 200 € on for a 50 ml bottle of something I only enjoy for the first few minutes. I was really excited with my buy until I returned home, got prepared for an outing and sprayed the fragrance on me. In the meantime, I couldn't find anywhere the smells of the other "Killians" that I had tested. On my skin, the opening is a beautiful bouquet of fresh white flowers, enough sweetness, enough deepness without giving away the presence of wood. Petals everywhere. So far so good and bravo to Killian for putting on the market a brand that promises to provide a different kind of luxury, given the fact that he is the heir of a very long and quality industry of a totally different field - yet he chose to be involved in perfumery clearly because of pure love for it. I respect that.

Remember, microperfume vials come with a tiny dabber. You can miss out on some top notes when you don't have an atomizer. (important later) The tuberose note is reminiscent of salted meat and heavy cream, especially the moment when ghee (clarified butter) mixes with pork; it’s gourmand in the most unconventional way. A strange combination that is both attractive and repulsive to me. It’s like stepping into an Indian household after the owner had already prepared dinner and is now spraying air freshener to get rid of the scent.

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When I first tried Kismet I fell in love the same moment. I was in a store, searching for musky fragrances (it was (still is) my mission, to find the perfect musk- my favourite note. haven't found one yet) Fragrantica editors have allocated this to the "Floral" category; if you buy it on the basis that it's a floral perfume, you are going to be desperately disappointed. Kismet is an Oriental. It DOES bear similarities to Shalimar (allocated to the Oriental Spicy category); they also smell as if they're from the same era. It may even be that the original Kismet helped inspire Jacques Guerlain's Shalimar, as it predates it by four years or so. This Kismet is more "user friendly" than the current Shalimar. I'd love to get my hands on the original in that gorgeous bottle, to compare it to its current formulation. This is a dupe of Moustache EDP Rochas and I would say it's about 90-95% similar although it might get more similar with an aged bottle. In Kismet for Men, vanilla-vetiver-patchouli does a good job of giving an impression of the benzoin in Moustache EDP Rochas. The opening fresh & warm spicy notes last longer in Kismet for Men, but the benzoin in Moustache EDP is more swoon-worthy for those who don't go nose-blind to it. Overall, this is a pretty good dupe, but not better than the OG Moustache EDP imho, since the benzoin is my favourite part. Moustache EDP has better performance, but it seems that many people go nose-blind to both of these. Anyways, I randomly tried this one and big, stupid smile froze on my face. Like people when they are desperately in love over heels. To me, It's more freshie than gourmand...wasn't counting on that, but hey...it still smells fabulous!

I meant to write a review last time I wore this; I'm not wearing it at the moment so can't really do it justice. However... The price point requires true love for a committment, and while Good Girl Gone Bad is a beautifully blended floral, I also feel like it's too easy to replace with cheaper, probably nicer, equally performing fragrances.EDIT: Actually, layering this with "Ameer al Oud intense" is perfect! Boosts it's projection, longevity and sillage with a nice spicy vanilla woody base. Kismet is a great smelling fragrance, but made for more formal/intimate situations on it's own.

However, this perfume needs HEAT and SUNSHINE and that peppery top note fades within 15 minutes. And then you get all those creamy, fleshy yet fresh florals. This is one of my favorites. It's a little weird, but I like weird.

Then the warm mid notes and base pop out. The vanilla, opoponax and labdanum create that delicious waxy vintage make up smell, which i adore. Contrary to others, I have not observed any change due to masceration. Smells and performs the same as when I opened it. To be perfectly honest, I generally disregard claims about masceration, since there's no way to reliably know how long it's been since a particular batch was made when you're buying it. In addition, I expect a quality fragrance to perform out of the box - I'm not in the market for scent bonds that need to mature (and if it needs to mature, the manufacturer should mature it and sell us the finished product). This is a wonderful tuberose / white floral scent and for the price, I am really impressed with how amazing it is! I didn’t expect to like this. Fruity floral? I think I have not one perfume from the 90’s. Either before or after, but not that. I love spices and plenty of other things, but fruits so often smell teenybopper on me. If it’s a small dose of fruit hidden under some other things, maybe ok.