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Nehachuha – :
This is beautiful and I’m intrigued by it, but I’m not sure if it’s for me. I love the earthiness, I love the vanilla, and I love labdanum, but I go back and forth of falling in and out of love with the patchouli and dirt notes. On me, to be very frank, it smells like dank weed, which isn’t a bad thing, but considering I am wearing this to work and this is a new job, it’s not a good work scent. I’m hoping no one jumps to conclusions and makes me take a drug test. But seriously, I am wondering if maybe this is one of those that is very dependent on temperature and body chemistry? I wish I could get the deep green vanilla notes, but no. Just sweet dank weed. I guess I’ll keep trying and hope something clicks.
Silos – :
This is an incense, patchouli, vanillic amber scent with some herbal element that creates a bit of an “edge” that offers nice contrast. I have at least one other scent that is similar, perhaps Pretty Woman (Barbara Orbison), but I wouldn’t mind obtaining a bottle of this one too. However, because I don’t wear these kinds of scents often, I won’t buy a bottle. Since it is quite strong, my official sample might last me a few years or more!
yrra – :
This is a divine fragrance! I’m almost done with my sample and then I’m buying a full bottle.
The opening is so different-so herbaceous. At one point shortly after spraying it, I get this marijuana smell that I’m not fond of, but thankfully it doesn’t stay around long. It’s not bad like skunkweed, but you can definitely tell.
I just can’t seem to stop smelling my arms when I’m wearing this. I feel like a dog trying to catch each and every scent from the beginning to the end. It changes so much throughout the process. Definitely not linear!! The dry-down is warm amber and vanilla ecstasy.
Full bottle worthy for sure, but not a safe office scent. More like nights and dates.
FriendAaron – :
Had a sample of this last week whilst in Hong Kong. A captivating oriental with quite a strong medicinal opening. I can see how it could garner many fans, because it’s quite solidly beautiful in its own way, but not my kind of fragrance.
EldeldEmbomia – :
I’m a big fan of Chantecaille fragrances. I use Frangipane for my winter flower and Petale for summer. I was gifted Kalamantin by accident for Christmas. I’m choosing to keep it and give it a try. I’ll get back with a review after wearing it for a few days. I personally would never have bought it, but I do often use a special amber oil during winter and get many compliments on it. I believe that things happen for a reason, so let’s see what happens! To be continued……
KiliMna46 – :
This fragrance is amazing. Less than an hour into my first sampling of it, I was on fragrantica reading reviews and had started scouring eBay/google for a full bottle. On first spritz, I was hit by a blast of vanilla which quickly settled and was met with the patchouli and incense. It reminded of something I had smelled before and it took a while for it to hit me – Dior mitzah – must be the incense/patchouli; to my nose, it’s a sweeter version of mitzah. Beautifully done and I will be violating my no-buy yet again. I must have a full bottle of this!
артем20 – :
After reading all the rave reviews here, I asked my SA at Nordstrom to include a sample with my recent order. She generously gave two, so I felt I hit the jackpot… The next day I tried a light dab on my wrist (turned out to be enough for both wrists) and immediately Coty’s Emeraude came back to me. As a teenager I was gifted Emeraude, which was a much too mature fragrance for a teenager. ‘Really seems the same. And I do not like it. Hardly a change in the dry down. I’m 55 and asked my mother if she liked it–and she likes almost any fragrance. But no likey. Oh, how can everybody love this?! I’m sure it was a fresh sample, and I really don’t think it was an issue of my skin’s chemistry, as I feel I got a scent that was vibrant, though not to my liking. All I could do was scrub it off. Seriously, if you like this, save a lot of money and consider Emeraude at Walgreens ($25).
StasuK – :
Hey guys and gals. So, i walk by the counter at Nordstroms. I take a sniff of few of these scents, thinking which one my wife would like. I narrowed it down to kalamantian, and vetyver. I then spray a bit of each on my left n right hand. At first, meh, jus ok. But still i asked the sales lady for a sample of each. She gave me 2 empty vials, she told me to prepare my own sample, as she was bizzy with a customer. Ok, no prob with me. I started to make my sample of kalamantian, and being a goof ball, i got that stuff dripping all over my hands, down my forearms, dripping onto my shoes, and into my bag of clothes that i had set on the floor. Basically i made a mess. But,…after i made i made my samples and walked away, this scent was just AMAZING!!! Kalamantian is quite the scent. Who cares if its for women, a guy could easily rock this too!!! I mean, this is very very sexxy, dark, very gourmand!!! Definitely for cooler evening wear. As i walked around the beach, i got 3 compliments. I sprayed it at 4pm, and lasted till next morning!!! This stuff is hands down awesome awesome! Reminds me of coromandel! Although i dont like coromandel. But this has a bit more sweeter floral, just devine. Previous people said this had some church like incense feeling, i agree. Like old wood, incense inside a very old cathedral. Reminds me of christmas time and going to late mass on a saturday evening, and the priest had the incense burning. Very cozy feeling.
alixandir – :
This review is going to be short and sweet. Chantecaille Kalimantan is simply the sexiest cool weather evening fragrance ever created for les femmes. Kalimantan isn’t just a pretty face – she performs well too! I would say it has beastly performance in that it lasts 20+ hours and fills a room for the first 3-4 hours. So east on the trigger. Moreover, besides the sexy way the name of this fragrance rolls off one’s tongue, it leaves one of the thickest scent trails I have ever smelled…one can literally follow the scent trail through a crowded mall to find the strong, confident, beautiful woman wearing this heavenly scent.
gmlntwdczu – :
Chantecaille’s scents are all rich, heady and luxurious, each exalting a flower or rare essence for us to appreciate. In Kalimantan, Amber is the note exalted in a more or less traditional oriental. The meeting of deep, resinous labdanum and beautiful facets of vanilla and benzoin pervade the entirety of the fragrance which is dotted with guest appearances, most notably by agrestic herbs in the top to mid notes and cedar wood in the fond.
With excellent longevity and mid-to-high level sillage, Kalimantan makes for a good signature fragrance, as I’m sure its devotees would agree. It may not remind me of Borneo but its aspirational name aligns with its character in at least one way: Kalimantan promises mystery and endless discovery, with unexpected notes peeking from behind a beautiful cloud of amber like strange creatures in the inland rainforest.
Reader – :
ladies version of polo supreme oud without the harsh opening. yummy. After 24 hours it is still going strong and i have a hard time finding scents that last on my skin.
CTAKAH99 – :
Intoxicating, mysterious, challenging, sensual, magical.
Stunning.
What a roller coaster, and worth all the adrenaline.
After years of being a bashful lurker on this site, finally this perfume is the reason I am writing my first review. I bought this fragrance based entirely on the reviews here. I was terribly excited by the description; it sounded like exactly the combination of effects I was searching for in a signature scent. I couldn’t wait for it to be delivered.
When it finally arrived, I confess that at first I was appalled, to the extent that I decided to send it back– it was far too expensive (I thought) for me to not love it madly at first sniff. And I certainly did not love it. I was horrified.
To put it mildly it was not at all what I had expected and I went back to read all these reviews again, and a bunch on other sites too, trying to figure out “what did I miss??” This fragrance was unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before and certainly did not, initially, seem to even have any of the qualities I love. Worse than that, it was actually unpleasant at first sniff– I recoiled, a reaction I never have to any perfume (I can always find something to love in any perfume. Not this one though……… not at first.)
I wish I could explain what happened; what changed, and why, and when. I can’t! All I can say is that I decided, almost against my better judgment, to spritz some on me before sending the fragrance back.
I am SO GLAD I DID. At first it was sharp, intrusive, even acrid on my skin– and then suddenly– something happened to it. Magic, is what happened. Something about my chemistry and or the warmth of skin, catalyzed some gorgeous alchemy or final-step in the process or something, I can’t explain it properly. I don’t have the educated and refined nose that seems to be the norm here (I wish!)
All I know is that this eau de parfum hit my skin and everything changed. The “incense” note evolved in mere seconds from acrid smoke to sacred woods, the cedar went from medicinal to earthy, and the sensual vanilla started to rise up through the smokiness like a butterscotch benediction, curling around and through every other note, sweetening and deepening them.
Here is my conclusion, now that I am deep into a hopeless addiction to this stuff: the incense notes speak to your spirit, the eternal part of you that yearns for something holy, while the vanilla beckons you to return to earth and turn your attention to more carnal matters.
I am torn. I want to have it both ways. I want that mystical union of the spirit and the flesh. The older I get (now 52) the more impossible it is to feel forced to choose between the holy and the carnal. With this fragrance I don’t have to choose.
It is intoxicating. I am drugged by it, I must be, or I would never have dared graduate from lurker, to reviewer. My descriptions cannot do it justice. It’s just magic. Shocking and challenging and magical. It’s not for everyone. I was certain, upon first smelling it, that it absolutely was not for me. I am so glad I was wrong. This is a perfume that makes me feel when I am wearing it that I am capable of greatness, that I have been slacking and have not been pushing myself toward my full potential. It’s that inspiring. I have never had anything like this kind of emotional and spiritual reaction to a fragrance before in my life; the closest would be when my mother let me wear her Joy perfume on a trip to Rome when I was 12. I felt transcendent, as if I had become somehow deeper, wiser, and older just from smelling it– to be wearing it was just beyond expression. That experience was the closest to the transcendence I feel when wearing Kalimantan.
Update, July 29, 2016. A few hours after posting my review July 16, I woke up in the morning with catastrophic, total, and, I am told, irreversible hearing loss. That sudden. Not to downplay the gravity of my situation (and I know I am still in shock) but the fact remains that I put this scent on every day, several times a day, whenever I need a hit of courage, and it never fails to have that effect on me I describe above: when I smell this on my skin of course it does not restore my hearing but it enlarges my vision, for myself and my future, and for my work. I started to “see” possibilities and scenarios spooling out before me like a path through the forest, possibilities I could never have imagined for myself previously. I am an artist but events in my life including an assault 2 yrs ago had conspired to kind of…. kill my spirit and certainly my artistic drive.
But something about the way the elements in this fragrance combine, and the heights to which this combination catapult me… it’s like, after some dark years, now I am higher up than I’ve ever been before and I can see a vista before me I couldn’t see before. This is the effect the perfume has on me. My creativity has exploded out in interconnected directions I had never even considered. I know it for a fact, that the timing of finding Kalimantan
when I did was a blessing. Though intended for one of my senses– olfactory– it did something magical to another– my “sight.” I can see connections I didn’t see before, and follow them to new places in my work.
I am certainly still frightened of what my life will be like in many ways with no or little hearing; I am daunted when I consider the (re)learning curve I have ahead of me… but I can’t unsee the things I am now seeing every day in my work. Kalimantan’s effect on me is a blessing I never saw coming, and it came just in time. I know my experience of this perfume is out of left field, but I just couldn’t *not* share it.
bgu083Diobtetty – :
Amazing. Spicy, elegant, confident and alluring. Reminds me a bit of “costume national Scent intense”. In my imagination, I would envision Jacqueline de Ribes or Catherine Deneuve wearing this in the evening. So beautiful…has an inscense and peppery vibe; what opium would have been if more demure. I love this. I can not get enough of it.
qbb507speagoessenda – :
I haven’t sniffed this perfume, but since it bears the name of Kalimantan I really hope it smells amazing because I was born in this amazing island and I’m proud of it.
Гроссмейстер – :
How dare anyone of this world tries & smell
this way. No person deserves to smell like
this. This belongs in a temple or castle. Be
humble enough to forego this, yet dignified
enough to scent certain things with it. I use
this to scent Kleenex, the inside of my bag,
lampshades. Humans – unworthy. …Peace…
UPDATE: It’s the middle of a bone chilling
winter and I couldn’t resist wearing this just
to keep warm – to sleep of course & alone!
And the dry down is something that every-
perfumista HAS to experience. It’s totally
unexpected, unrecognizable, and insanely
supernal. I even thought that I was smell-
ing things I wasn’t smelling i. e. I literally
couldn’t believe mY nose. WOW would
be an understatement. I stand by when I
had said that humans beings (humanity in
general) = unworthy to smell this way, but
there’s nO harm in sneaking once in a willy
when the weather’s sO chilly is there? This
right now is mY confession ;-). …Peace…
ара – :
I completely agree with Roge’s comment about the name of this fragrance alone being luxurious. To me this is by far the most epic fragrance name I have come across so far! And one thing I can confirm to you is that this scent itself is also stellar. It’s sexy, sensual and luxurious. If you don’t know who Olivia Chantecaille is, just google her and you see what she is all about. And this fragrance definitely represents her sensual, stunning and luxurious beauty. Upon first application you get a spicy cloud of the Thyme and Rosemary and a bit of incense. But after an hour or so the dept of this fragrances rises up to steal the show. And the soft Oud with vanilla, styrax and benzoin brings up this gourmandish luxurious scent with spiciness still keeping the show together. This is a fragrance I’d encourage everyone to try / sample, this is really amazing.
The only problem I have with this fragrance is myself :-(. For some reason fragrances with Oud in it just don’t click with me. Even though this is a stellar fragrance, I for some reason can not “work it” it just doesn’t fit with my personality. Apparently I just can not pull of the “sensual luxurious” appeal. And that is SUCH a bummer, because I have stolen myself the opportunity to tell people I am wearing Chantecaille’s Kalimantan!
490010 – :
I agree with sweetnspicey, this is very much an ode to coromandel , coromandal being a reference to a type of wood from a land that is no more, a highly sought after antique wood. As we know Kalimantan is also named after a woody region, just as Serge Lutens Boreno is also a woody patchouli. Boreno being the island in which Kalimantan (all located in Asia) is located on. So yes I have no doubts that this is very close to Coromandel…it is fresher and more easily worn by men, (I believe) than coromandel….but still just as easily worn by women. I love and agree with this reference and the comparison of coromandel being made inside a temple and Kalimantan outside amongst fresh air and woods. The same but at opisite ends of the spectrum. The longevity is excellent and the sillage is light..not close to the skin but moderate, and how can I forget to mention how insanely beautiful this bottle is. Especially in person 🙂
just had a thought. Coromandel is often used now in reference to antique wood but namely it’s mostly wooden boxes. Makes sense that coromandel smells more like inside of a temple (or box) and Kalimantan outside amongst nature :)?
magnat777 – :
Really Lovely. Heavy on the amber and spice. Similar to Ambre Fetiche. (VERY). A bit more pepper kick to this. I don’t know how one could not like this bottle. It is hefty, feels good in the hand, has a great cap, and the glass is textured where the flowers and name label are. I have back up bottles of this. It is great by itself and great layered. Heavy. Some may find it too heavy for any time but winter.
docentsur13 – :
The initial impression is a potent one: a herbal blast of thyme and rosemary which softens after about an hourwhen the amber base takes center stage. It is here that it most resembles other orientals such as Oriental Brulant and perhaps even the spicy ambery base of Opium. 8+ hours later, the amber smells a tad more generic, similar to other ambers that I own, such as Blue Amber by Montale. It is a dry scent, the patchouli blends wonderfully with the woods, it is well-balanced and definitely unisex. As an oud-avoider I am relieved that I cannot detect it at all.
The downside: I find the packaging surprisingly tacky given the hefty price tag.
Lovers of patchouli and rich, ambery orientals, scents with a dry herbal-spicy kick such as Ambre Sultan, won’t be disappointed. I don’t see the similarity to Coromandel and to me, it only resembles Oriental Brulant in the drydown phase when the herbs have faded significantly.
zezug – :
The message below was from me. The website timed out…Dear Fragrantica, you really have to fix this issue.
There is nothing better than the feeling I get when telling someone that I’m wearing Chantecaille Kalimantan. The name alone sounds luxurious. The fragrance itself is equally stellar. Kalimantan is forceful, intense, sweet, balsamic, buttery, mellow and rich. This isn’t just unisex, it’s unisexy! Be prepared to allure almost all vanilla fans to your presence; it’s that good! 100% not a summer fragrance, best used in cooler weather. If too much is applied, this can become very sticky and cloying. This is not for everyday use and certainly something you would want to be in the mood to wear.
Valero_o – :
Kalimantan is just sublime. I received a sample from one of my dear Fragrantica pals, MoKa, who compared this perfume to Coromandel. She is spot on!
When I smell Kalimantan, it’s unreal. It’s the scent of plumes of smoke rising above a green canopy of trees during a sacred ritual high in the mountains. The scent of wood is so comforting and natural. The herbs are a welcomed touch. The oud is very easy to love. I can’t get enough of the gentle, creamy vanilla.
In comparison, Coromandel is the same ritual, but it takes place inside a dark temple instead of outside among the trees. They are similar perfumes; but they are two different experiences. I love them equally and endeavor to add Kalimantan to my collection.
asso2210 – :
I tried a sample spritz yesterday at Neiman’s. It’s a dead ringer for Bois 1920 Real Patchouly… which I love… but no staying power… Kalimantan has great staying power AND sillage…
radeon-radeon – :
One of the very best fragrances I’ve ever bought. If they ever discontinue this one, I think I’ll cry…
pammiks – :
I agree with LookGoodSmellBetter!
I have this gem and man…..It is a friggin BEAST!!
bobosers – :
How dare the women try to monopolize this exquisite gem of a fragrance?!?!
Braver2012 – :
Unexpectedly with Kalimantan I almost had an out of body experience. When I just sprayed it on the test card and smelled I have realized
First: I have never smelled anything like this before in the perfume store.
Second: I knew exactly what I was smelling and where I was.
As Alice in Wonderland, I was transported inside of the fury rose hip.
There are several types of rose species that are known to have larger hips, such as Rosa Canina, Rosa Rugosa Rubra, Rosa Rugosa Alba, and some others.
In my childhood I used to open the ripe hips of these roses, clean them out from the fury inedible part inside and eat the skins that would be rich in Vitamin C, and the taste of them is very pleasant and unique.
Kalimantan is sweet without sugar. For me, it’s mouthwatering. When I smell it, I feel that my mouth fills with the rose hip syrup.
Another sensation I have with Kalimantan is that I am breathing in freshly brewd rose hip tea. I would attribute it to the very special quality of cistus labdanum resin that was used here.
It’s so so wonderful, that all ingredients of this fragrance put together amount to a precise olfactory drawing of something altogether different.
Update:
Today is a cold, but not freezing day, 1st of December.
Couple spritzes of Kalimantan layered with Rose 4 Reines cream make the lipsticky vanillic rose jam with addition of vodka or gin with oily wood swirl in the air around my face. This is a very subtle lipsticky Rose I was craving all this time and finally found. This is extremely polite fragrance in the sense that I easily see people working in the highest offices and top positions wearing this fragrance at work. Long lasting too.
My favorite lightly alcoholic drink I make sometimes for Holidays. It includes water, cranberries, freshly grated citrus pill(orange), some vodka, sugar, vanilla.
It gives an aroma somewhat similar to Kalimantan.
It does not work for warm weather, unfortunately.
martkr – :
I am happy to see so many other folks discovering this gorgeous fragrance. It has everything I love, spices, woods, amber, a bit of vanilla. Great reviews tortoise and CourtrightHer.
Someone asked about the others in this line. I have tried them all so will try to describe. This is the only oriental- the others are florals.
I love the Frangipane. Love that flower and the scent is just beautiful. Tiare is a tropical flower and that perfume is a pretty scent, very white floral, would be great for a tropical vacation. Petales is another pretty floral but neither of the last two had enough depth for me to want to wear them. I think I’ve done reviews of all the Chantecailles that would at least give you some idea of them if you feel like looking them up. You can often find samples of these scents on Ebay, surprisingly. I got some to use when I’m travelling.
labotryaz – :
This was one of my first perfume buys. I was madly in love with Andy Tauer’s 02 Desert Marocain and Annick Goutal’s Ambre Fetiche… so somehow, wandering around Fragrantica loving on those two led me to this. This is a true gem. I have been lucky enough to find two backup bottles (used and nearly full) on ebay for under 70 bucks)… While this is intense, I do like to layer it with a sweeter frag… something crazy, like Flowerbomb! yeah, I’m weird. Anyways, yes, this is a super secret sleeper of a hit for me. A quality product. And I do love the bottle. I’d like to try the others in the series.
replicae56823 – :
This is a hidden gem! Perhaps it smells similar to other gourmand-ish ambers, but it’s incredibly pleasing nonetheless. The rosemary and thyme top notes are refreshing and attention-grabbing, but they don’t remind me of cooking as a previous reviewer mentioned. There is a bit of oud reminiscent of By Kilian’s Pure Oud in the middle notes, but it’s definitely a sweetened woodsy oud with no trace of Band-Aid (which, for me, is a bit of a relief). The dry down is definitely a vanillic labdanum/patchouli/benzoin mix, but it bears nothing in resemblance to cotton candy “nillachoulis” like Estee Lauder Pleasures Delight or Angel. It makes me want to eat my wrist, quite frankly.
Kalimantan is definitely an unexpected and most welcome find, and perfect for fancy dates and cooler evenings out. It’s not scandalous or skanky, but it manages to be romantic and comforting at the same time.
LESLYS – :
Wow, did not see this one coming! What a most excellent scent! Why has this not been discovered?
Kalimantan straddles senusal, mysterious, earthy and exotic all at once. And, yes, some Mary Jane too! No celeb frag here. This is bold and out of this world. A West Coast vibe is apparent in the air here.
This scent envelopes you from the onset. Bergamot is a fave and it is right on here. Going to Scarborough Fair? If so, I’m good to go.
Believe it unusual (is it?) to have patchouli in the heart (works for me). Love!
The base brings us to the woods. Rich and deep. One can almost get lost in here.
When to wear: Definitely not office (unless you own the office! lol). An afternoon tryst, yes! And the night time is the right time to unveil this and cast your spell.
Sillage and longevity, great. Gorgeous bottle which does not reveal what’s coming your way! And the price, worth it.
pasha_k – :
I bought this fragrance a while ago and it was my first niche perfume buy. I wanted something incensy and with some wood and vanilla and felt that my old fave Guerlain orientals just didn’t smell the same anymore.
At first this fragrance scared me a little bit. It comes on initially like a freight train so be ready. It’s smoky and intense and I smell pepper in the initial seconds, too, even though it’s not mentioned as an ingredient. Thyme can be peppery so that is probably what I am getting. After that first initial “whoa-wow” factor it moves pretty quickly to a super spicy heavy on the vanilla (at least for me) mid-note phase. Then you get notes that are literally ‘meaty.’ It smelled like Christmas roast in a spicy sauce cooking slowly, getting ready for a sensual meal for two. If you have ever had ropa vieja or Moraccan dishes with cinnamon and herbs mixed with a red meat you know it’s a good smell. Reminds me of Christmas pudding. Yum!
Then this wonderful scent moves to a totally “Christmas on your arm” phase where you just want to munch on your arm and all you can think about is mulled cider, incense at midnight mass and cedar Christmas trees.
In the final drydown,after about 12 hours you smell mostly sandalwood, and incense with a tweak of vanilla still there. I love this phase of the perfume and it stays on your clothes after you take them off.
While this is a very sophisticated evening perfume for sure, I don’t limit myself to when I wear it. I had on leggings all day cleaning house and blowing leaves off the yard and I wore this scent and it made my day much easier. This is not just for special occasions, IMHO.
For the price, wear it all the time. Release your bonds, ladies, free yourselves to feel fabulous every day!! I spray this scent on the bedclothes. I go to sleep dreaming of Santa and the elves and gingerbread and trees and handsome men in velvet smoking jackets… ummmmm. It’s worth the price- can you tell?
Beessoche – :
LOVE! This is the perfume I’ve been longing for… Smoke, incense, wood, slightly sweet, and leather. Sophisticated, mysterious, a perfume for a grown up. This is one of those fragrances that I never want to be without.
Vadim81 – :
I simply LOVE this perfume!!! I think it is feminine, but probably some guys can wear it too. It takes only one spray in the morning to smell heavenly all day. It totally worth 175 dollars. I agree with Soutty123 – it goes nicely only with particular look. If you wear some sweat pants and no make up this is not what you should spray on you. The scent itself very expensive.
givalex – :
I finally broke down and paid the $175 for this. I’ve been harping on it ever since I got samples months ago. Love,Love,Love! And it last hours. It’s so complex and multi demensional that every time I smell it, I pick up a new layer. Not overly frilly or flowery, just lovely!
Lopatinvit09 – :
I have two Harrods samples of this one.
The smell is warm and mysterious, very grown up. I detect some leather in it, though it is not on the list. Unfortunatley it has this medicinal note that I don’t want to smell on myslelf. The drydown is great and worth waiting for.
Sillage – good
Longevity – awesome
Dima98 – :
This is so unusual. It smells very expensive (and is very expensive at £150 per bottle!!).
I love warm perfumes but I’m not into anything too spicy (eg Opium/Cinnebar) nor anything too sweet (eg Pink Sugar/Fantasy/Shalimar). If this perfume were to remind me of any perfume at all, perhaps it would remind me of Coco (one of my favourites for evening) but without any sharp edges at all. It doesn’t smell like Obsession (my absolute favourite) but it has some of the best qualities that Vintage Obsession had on the drydown eg muskiness, sweetness, amberiness.
This is an evening perfume for when you really want to wow. It says little black dress, it says black silk stockings, it says killer heels and curves but most of all it says Purrrrrrrrrrrrrr. This is not a perfume to wear to pop out to get milk when your hair is a mess and you haven’t got your face on.
Some people have commented that it’s a little masculine. I disagree. It certainly isn’t a cotton candy,coconutty or flowery perfume. It isn’t girly. What this perfume is is womanly.
darkshadow409-06 – :
Heady and exotic, opening with bergamot, fresh, earthy herbs and a hint of sweetness.
Labdanum really warms this up with its musky, amberlike sensuality. Patchouli is also prominent but then is overshadowed by incense.
Clean, woody, resinous and sweet with a little dryness in the background. I still get a lot of incense in the final phase, perhaps a little too much for my preferences
Kalimantan is almost like two layers of perfume simultaneously on the skin where you can smell some dry patchouli and woods wafting up from the ground floor and spiraling incense at the top. Interesting in its construction and tantalizing to wear.
IcerWeertymar – :
Your mileage may vary, but this is the best and most unique new fragrance of 2010 that I’ve tried! It’s not just a travel-themed fragrance for Westerners (not that there’s anything wrong with that) or olfactory “impression” that evokes images of Borneo; it uses all-native ingredients. I do love the concept, and it’s all the more exciting that Kalimantan’s could have been close to the actual scents permeating the jungle air when explorers trekked through the “island of the clouds,” visiting Dayak longhouses and sampling their exotic wood fragrances. It also has a hint of a very unique woody undertone, which fits the theme of exploring and “discovering” an island that holds wonders previously unknown to one’s countrymen – possibly an unusual agarwood or an unusual combination of notes?
It’s perfect on me; the incense and patchouli are balanced and it doesn’t get too heavy and dark for everyday wear, or too sweet (which I can’t stand).
I picked up a sample that I’m still eking drops from and want to buy it as well. But I don’t want to get tired of it – every time I put on a drop, I can’t stop sniffing it on myself.
sathack2009 – :
This fragrance is unique in smell. The woody scent reminds me of high quality marijuana after it has been smoked and the sweet punginess lingers in the room. This is a more masculine scent. I liked it so much I bought it. It is the scent of Acapulco Gold from the 1960’s, one of the greatest marijuana herbs to come out of Mexico. I doubt if Olivia Chantecaille was trying to duplicate it but she accidently nailed it. Acapulco Gold was known for the sweet fragrance that filled th