Back to Black, aphrodisiac
Kilian (2009)

After purchasing the Back to Black, aphrodisiac fragrance by Kilian, my impression turned out to be average. Although I expected more from this fragrance, it didn't quite surprise me. It has a rather heavy and intense scent, which, in my opinion, may not be suitable for everyday wear. However, I appreciated its depth and intensity. Overall, if you enjoy fragrances with rich, sweet notes, this one might appeal to you, but I would recommend testing it first before making a final decision.

Calling itself an aphrodisiac is a bit much, but it is a very nice sensual leaning scent. Don't wear this one to the office!

A nice touch of sweet... honey, cherry. There is tobacco, but it's a romanticized tobacco. Probably considered largely masculine but a lot of women could rock this one all night long.

I recall when this was one of the darlings of Basenotes after its introduction in late 2000s. It came out after Tobacco Vanilla, but it always seemed to me like Back to Black inspired more imitators. Maybe not..

I like it, but it takes just the right mood to spritz this one on. Sits nicely on skin. A terrific "walk by" kind of waft to it. Lasts pretty well.

Oddly, my mother was obsessed with this one. Out of nowhere she started asking me about it which made no sense. I can only figure she saw a glossy ad for it in a fashion magazine. So Basenotes boy had to gift her some.

I now have her last bottle of Back to Black and my dad's last bottle of Jaipur Pour Homme.

This is a warm honey tobacco scent. When it dries down for me, this is still honey scented. As a scent layer-er, I find that pairing this with TF Tobacco Vanille or Argus Triumph of Bacchus makes this scent superb! (TF is a true tobacco Vanille fragrance while Argus is very cherry tobacco forward.)

Back to Black can be worn alone, just make sure you understand it is both sweet AND honked with little deviation. Personally, I am unable to wear this scent alone but I cannot/could not live without it in my collection.

Happy sprays!

I want to like B2B, but it's just too sweet and powdery (baby powder) for my liking. I love tobacco scents, but too many other offerings cover this in a much more sophisticated way - Naxos is my favorite. The sweetness in this seems highly synthetic and gives it a more cherry cocktail quality that detracts from the richness I like in tobacco fragrances. Definitely not for me.

This one is a real shape-shifter, like nothing else I've ever experienced. Sometimes it comes across as a dirty raspberry and honeyed tobacco, masculine and sexy. Other times it goes to straight baby powder, smelling authentic to the actual product. And sometimes ... sometimes it strikes a perfect balance of the two, both clean and dirty at the same time, and that's when it's at its best for me.

Back to Black is a sweet honey tobacco scent. I don't know if I get everything that's in the notes list. I mostly get honey, tobacco, cherry, and tonka. It's a bit powdery and insubstantial, would be much more enjoyable if it had gone a bit richer and deeper with the honey and cherry.

In the world on honeyed tobacco scents there's this, Mugler's Pure Havane and Xerjoff Naxos. I haven't tried Naxos yet. The scent of B2B itself I think is a bit better than Mugler's Pure Havane, but the performance is worse. When you consider that Pure Havane is about a tenth of the price the comparison is a no-brainer. But, my rating stands on the basis of the scent alone. Back to Black is still pretty nice in that regard.