Luxury niche fragrance line established by Kilian Hennessy, grandson of the founder of the Hennessy cognac company (which now forms part of luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy). Kilian Hennessy reportedly became interested in fragrance while studying at the Sorbonne. He interned at Firmenich and worked for a number of fragrance brands before launching his own line in 2007. Hennessy has noted that he wants to "put perfume back on a pedestal" and that he "he has no interest in the current trend of bizarre fragrance combinations".1
The brand was sold to Estée Lauder in 2016.
Recent fragrances from By Kilian
2007: Love, A Taste of Heaven, Straight to Heaven, Liaisons Dangereuses, Cruel Intentions & Beyond Love
2008: Prelude to Love
2009: Back to Black: Aphrodisiac, Pure Oud
2010: Love and Tears, Rose Oud
2011: Sweet Redemption, Incense Oud
2012: Extreme Oud, Black Oud, Amber Oud, Bamboo Harmony & Water Calligraphy, In the City of Sin, Forbidden Games and Good Girl Gone Bad
2013: Gold Oud, Musk Oud, Flower of Immortality, Playing with the Devil, Apple Brandy
2014: Eternal Oud, Imperial Tea, Sacred Wood, Intoxicated, Light My Fire & Smoke for the Soul, Vodka on the Rocks, The Art of Love
2015: Pearl Oud, Voulez-vous Coucher Avec Moi, Single Malt, Lemon in Zest, Royal Leather
2016: Moonlight in Heaven, Noir Aphrodisiaque
2017: Straight to Heaven Extreme & Good Girl Gone Bad Extreme, Black Phantom, Woman in Gold & Gold Knight
2018: Love The Way You Taste & Love The Way You Feel, Moonlight in Heaven Croisière, Dark Lord, My Kind of Love Adults, Boys, Kissing & Princess, Madly in Love, Do It For Love
2019: Love, Don't Be Shy Eau Fraîche, Love, Don't Be Shy Rose & Oud, Rolling in Love
Where to buy
The By Kilian line can be found in the US at Bergdorf Goodman, Aedes, Luckyscent, MiN New York, Ron Robinson and Saks Fifth Avenue. In London, try Harvey Nichols; in Paris, Printemps Haussman.
There are Kilian boutiques in Moscow, New York, Paris, Lugano Switzerland and Doha Qatar.
Website
Further reading
See all articles on Now Smell This tagged By Kilian.
1. Quotes via Women's Wear Daily, 7/13/2007 and W Magazine, 10/1/2007, respectively.