Review of Cruel Intentions by aad de gids

the name of this perfume immediately made me buy it. that, and the combination of Notes. with me that meant I was promptly in the Niche Perfumery in 2007. there were still the Mini Cognac Barrels out of which you could refill a Bottle if you desired so. and with the brusk and elegant flacon there was this wooden case with key. yet the most impressive was the perfume itself. it had an austere elegance and yes, it was that Dervishes Dance of Centifolia Rose and Oud. although I remember there were also perfumes with 'Oud-accord'. they had the Notes notated on sturdy cardboard leaflets on little wooden armatures. this was still in the beginning of 'By Kilian" and 'Maison Francis Kurkdjian'. with said perfume I was of course curious if the perfume lived up to its seedy name, and it did. Centifolia Rose, Oud, Castoreum. if the 'Prompt' read: "Beneath the pseudoinnocence displayed by Bergamot from Calabria, the seduction trap closes… courtesy of Centifolia Rose and woody heart notes. Papyrus, Vetiver from Haiti and Guaiacum Wood provide hints of mystery and elegance and then comes a grand finale of warm, sensuous Styrax and Castoreum." a Bergamot I can only smell in Creed and Citruses in Versace and Creed. Papyrus, unless it is the Grey Doom Mist of Cypriol-Oil, goes completely besides me. Vetiver, Guaiac, Styrax and Castoreum certainly plant a huge Impressum or Super Imposition in me. these along with Centifolia Rose, African Orange Flower, Violet & Vanilla for the Notes I pick up the best: the Flowers, along with the assured Woodiness (Sandelwood, Oud, Guaiac, Vetiver, [Papyrus]) and the resinous Castoreum, Styrax and Musk, or elsewise formulated, the Animalcy of Oud, Castoreum & Musk (which I neither can smell, although it astonishingly is not still clear if I can smell 'White Musk' after 60 years) gave this perfume a haunting and unique place in the 'By Kilian' Portfolio.