It’s hard not to think someone would be successful when their family’s last name makes up the H in LVMH but Kilian Hennessy has worked hard and paid his dues and now has a wonderful new fragrance collection to show for it called By Kilian. He became interested in fragrance while studying at the Sorbonne and took classes at the Cinquieme Sens, a fragrance school in Paris, and later interned at Firmenich, a fragrance house where he trained with the best noses. Later, he went on to create and market scents for major fashion houses. It was only last year that he decided he wanted to create his own scent using the highest standards of the craft and “to put perfume back on a pedestal.”

His collection of six scents is darkly romantic and has been deeply influenced by his love of literature. The packaging is beautiful as well. Each bottle is nestled in it’s own handsome wooden box that actually locks with a key. Of course, this is not without expense. The perfume retails for $250 but later you can just pick up a refill for $95. Bergdorf’s carries the Kilian line and so of course I had to peruse the collection and they all smell heavenly. According to Hennessy, “perfume should either be a shield, to create an environment of ease, or else a weapon of seduction.” Sounds like my favorite, Liaisons Dangereuses might be of the latter persuasion. Check them out for yourself at Bergdorf Goodman or Aedes de Venustas.