I had the pleasure of meeting a visionary in the perfume industry last week at Saks Fifth Avenue in Tysons Corner. Kilian Hennessy, heir to the Hennessy Cognac and grandson of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy founder, gave Washingtonians a preview of his parfum label By Kilian exclusively in Tysons Corner. The perfumer is in a league of his own as he launches an eco-chic collection that is on the radar of fashion’s elite. Kilian’s first collection is dubbed L’Oeuvre Noire, a collection of ten perfumes is inspired by three themes: ‘Love and its prohibitions’, ‘the Artificial Paradises’ and ‘The Temptations’. The collection isn’t yet complete but the eight fragrances offer a choice for different personalities and preferences, whether pleasure, love or pain.
What sets By Kilian is that the designer has chosen to use essential oils from the rarest and most expensive flowers to create his perfume collection. Kilian told me he wants his perfumes to speak for themselves; they last longer, smell more potent and are devoid of all the chemicals other perfumes now are polluted with. One whiff of each scent in the collection and you know you’re smelling a premium fragrance. There is a perfume for everyone, both male and female. Choose from Liaisons Dangereuses or Cruel Intentions, Love or Beyond Love, A taste of heaven or Straight to heaven.
Kilian has been in the perfume industry for years. Our brief conversation shed light on his motivations and passion for creating the very best scents to represent his themes. Each of the eight scents fit neatly into one of the three categories; and each smells heavenly. I didn’t test any of the perfumes on my skin but smelling each of them made me want to take a vial of each home with me. What I really loved about the By Kilian perfumes is that the bottles are made to be refilled. Once you are done with your bottle, simply return it to the Saks Fifth Avenue for a refill for half the price, saving you money and helping the planet.
