Dark Lord by Kilian

Dark Lord is a part of ‘The Smokes’ collection by Kilian. I’ve had a sample of this for probably over a year, at this point, just sitting in a box waiting to be tested. Well, I finally got around to putting this fragrance through its paces, in order to do my full review. How does it smell? When should it be worn? Is it actually worth a try?

What does Dark Lord Smell Like?

Notes include: pepper, jasmine, vetiver, leather, bergamot, rum, and more

Click here to try: Dark Lord

My Full Review

Tried Dark Lord? Leave your own rating and review in the comments!

Let’s see how Kilian describes this: DARK LORD ‘EX TENEBRIS LUX’ is a gentleman of the night. Meet him in the most surprising of circumstances and his mystery slowly unfolds: A head-twisting mix of shadows and light…

Dark Lord opens up with a fairly dense and intense aroma. Bergamot gives it a bit of bright citrus up top, but this is offset by peppery and smoky rum, and a rather dirty-ish leather that permeates through the entire wear.

The booziness of the rum is there, but it isn’t a completely soaked feeling during the wear.

Jasmine, however, may be the strongest player in the opening stage of Dark Lord. It sits right in the middle flanked by the other notes, giving Dark Lord an early floral scent.

For me, the spiciness, is really only in the opening act. From there, it takes on an earthier and woodier quality for the rest of the wear. Kilian says that the pepper is one of the key notes, but on my skin at least, that’s not the case.

In fact, I get a lot more vetiver, cedar, and other general woods than I ever do the pepper.

As we move forward, the jasmine will start to lose its position within the composition. The leather and vetiver become pretty strong here and I’m still getting the smokiness sans the spice.

Dark, earthy, and has an herbal or medicinal sort of finish to it.

The latter stage is leather, cypress, vetiver and the faded remnants of cedar and jasmine. Cypress really climbs the ladder and contributes towards the tail end. It really doesn’t do all that much for me early in the wear, then, it’s basically the same weighting as the leather.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Whoa, this fragrance really packs a punch. It’s a room filler, but not the most insane levels that I’ve come across, though it gets up there.

Dark Lord is an example of a little going a long way. Scent trails will be left for sure and the projection from the skin  while you’re just standing there can be picked up from far away.

Not ever going to be mistaken for a weak scent.

The longevity is also top notch. On my skin, it has gone for at least 11 hours, each time that I have sampled it. Other times, a few hours further than that. The real strength of Dark Lord seems to be its performance.

Seasonally, I’d save this one for autumn and wintertime. I couldn’t imaging breaking this Kilian cologne out in the summer heat.

It’s also one that’ll be best served for the nighttime. Lounges, bars, maybe dates…for the right type of guy.

Office wear? No. Younger guys wearing to school? No. This is a masculine beast. Confident and bold, not a daily wear for confined spaces.

Is it sexy? There will be those who find it sexy. This kind of  fragrance can really go either way with the reactions. Some will detest it, while others swoon for it.

Overall Impressions of Dark Lord

Overall, do I like Dark Lord? Somewhat. This isn’t the type of fragrance that I particularly enjoy wearing, on a personal level. That being said, this is a pretty good example, and wasn’t something that I hated wearing.

The opening is pretty intense and is probably my least favorite aspect. I like Dark Lord more so, when it settles, and the leather takes more control. That with the woods and vetiver is nice and smooth.

It reminds me in some aspects of Ombre Leather (the jasmine and earthiness), though I enjoy that one way more. Also, Gucci Guilty Absolute is a pretty close comparison.

This isn’t a mass appeal sort of fragrance, though. Those who dig this sort of scent are going to love it, but a good percentage of people aren’t going to feel the same way. But, if you like Dark Lord, it will reward you with performance.

To me, it’s not a must buy at Kilian prices. More one that you should sample first to see if it appeals to you. Then, commit to making a full purchase. Otherwise, you might get stuck with a sparsely used paper weight on your table.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.