By Kilian In the Garden of Good and Evil - In the City of Sin

By Kilian In the City of Sin is from the In the Garden of Good and Evil collection which debuted in Fall of 2012. Revolving around the Myth of Original Sin, which has been used in art since caveman first drew on a wall, Kilian Hennessey takes a whack at the Garden of Eden, exploring decadence, sin, betrayal, and the never-ending tension between good and evil.  In the City of Sin is the perfume that is meant to open this collection, the city where everything is possible and the roads to get there are seductively arranged to pull you further in. The rich notes of spices and fruits are exotic and plush, symbolizing the allure of The City of Sin, where there are no boundaries - it is a Very Attractive Handbasket.

Kilian Hennessy launched By Kilian in 2007.  Yup, the Cognac Hennessy, grandson to the founder of Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Group, he followed his interest in scent, writing his thesis on the semantics of odors.  After spending time with leading perfumers, he launched By Kilian with the Collection L'oeuvre Noire (Black Masterpiece) series.  There are now 10 fragrances in that series.  The over-the-top marketing copy drew a lot of criticism in the early part of his launch, but the gorgeous packaging - black lacquer boxes and black bottles - started to win us over, as did the artistry of the fragrances.

By Kilian In the City of Sin Reviews

From Fragrantica -"A very melancholic perfume.  Femme all the way.  Not evil.  But sadistic..."

From Basenotes - "The cedar was quite strong, and reminded me immediately of Tam Dao EDT. Just as I was beginning to think "Is that it?"', the cedar faded away and was replaced by a pungent, mealy spice - I guessed cumin, because of that slightly dirty, dusty aspect it has, but I see that I am wrong, and that it is cardamon. The cardamon here does not feel lemony-woody to me as it usually does, though. Whatever the spice is, it adds this lovely skanky, dissolute air to the whole thing that I appreciate. Oh! I just got the reference to the sin in the name, I suppose. I like a light touch of cumin in scents, especially in fruity floral scents like this, because it adds a raunchy undertone that contrasts nicely with all the pretty flowers and fruits."