Playing With The Devil

Playing With The Devil, inspired by Kilian Paris Playing with the Devil (2013)

Fruit leads here, but it is tart fruit: blood orange and cassis (blackcurrant) with a sour-sweet edge, plus the lychee mentioned in Kilian's own description. Pimento berries, better known as allspice, add a peppery spark that fades fairly quickly. Rose sits underneath and gives the fruit a petal-like roundness. By the drydown everything has blurred into a hazy, slightly powdery fruit accord over sandalwood.

About the original

Calice Becker created Playing with the Devil for By Kilian, with pre-orders opening in August 2013. It was the fourth scent in the house's In the Garden of Good and Evil series, following In the City of Sin, Forbidden Games and Good Girl Gone Bad. Some databases date it to 2016, which is a mistake. Since the brand became Kilian Paris it has been filed under The Cellars, where it is still sold. Today's official note list is shorter than the 2013 one, which also named peach, patchouli, tonka bean and vanilla.

Our version

Ours is an independent eau de parfum made to evoke the same character. It is not Kilian Paris (formerly By Kilian) stock, not an official relaunch and not the original formula.

Who it suits

Cassis fans will find plenty to like, since blackcurrant is one of its most prominent notes. That same note is the main risk: people who dislike cassis may struggle with the opening. Once the spice has gone, what remains is a soft, faintly powdery fruit haze over creamy sandalwood.

Related scents

• By Kilian Forbidden Games
• By Kilian Good Girl Gone Bad
• By Kilian In the City of Sin

Notes of the original fragrance, as published by the brand.

Top notes: Blood Orange, Blackcurrant

Heart notes: Pimento Berries, Rose

Base notes: Sandalwood

Blood orange and blackcurrant arrive together, tart and a little bitter, with pimento berries adding a brief peppery kick.

Rose comes through as the spice recedes, rounding off the fruit without turning the scent into a floral.

Sandalwood forms the base, smooth and pale, carrying a faint powdery fruitiness to the end.

Is Playing with the Devil a women's perfume?

Kilian presents it as unisex. We list it under women's perfumes, but the fruity, spiced profile suits anyone.

Is it very sweet?

The opening is tart rather than sugary, led by blood orange and cassis. It then settles into a soft fruity haze over sandalwood.

How does it relate to Forbidden Games?

Both belong to By Kilian's In the Garden of Good and Evil series and both are by Calice Becker. Forbidden Games is built on honeyed peach, while Playing with the Devil is tarter, centred on blood orange and blackcurrant.

Inside the EU, delivery is free on orders of €49 or more. Below that it is a flat €4.99. Outside the EU, delivery is a flat €4.99 on every order. We send every order in 1 to 2 working days. It arrives in 3 to 7 days across the EU and in 7 to 14 days outside the EU. You have 14 days to return an unopened bottle.

Kilian and Playing With The Devil are trademarks of their respective owners, and all rights remain with them. Parfumour is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or connected to Kilian in any way, and no business relationship of any kind is implied. Our product is an original interpretation created to evoke a similar scent profile, and the trademark names are used purely for honest, descriptive comparison, so that you can quickly identify the style and fragrance family you are looking for. We make no claim to sell the original product, and we do not use the same ingredients or formula. Any similarity lies in the overall impression of the scent as interpreted by our own perfumers, not in the source materials.