Review: Kiehl's Aromatic Blends

Being a fan of many Kiehl's Skincare products, my curiosity was peaked when I learned the company is releasing four new fragrances. I attended a media event surrounding the release of these scents where I learned all about the creation process, the inspiration behind the fragrances, and how they are made. I was quite taken with the concept: simple, understated scents featuring only a few notes.

There are four fragrances in total, and accompanying each scent is a matching body lotion and shower gel. The body lotion is silicone free, and the body cleanser is sulphate-free.

Fig Leaf & Sage: This fragrance was inspired by memories of the perfumer's childhood in Provence, playing under a fig tree. Combining the scent of figs with the savory herb of Sage leaves, it definitely has a very Cote d'Azur French Riviera feel.

Vanilla & Cedarwood: The vanilla bean in this fragrance is sourced from a sustainable development project in Uganda, and these vanilla beans have a much higher quality than commercial vanilla (used for cooking example.) The sweetness of the vanilla combines with the woodsy cedarwood for a very unique combination.

Orange Blossom & Lychee: To achieve a very complex orange scent, many parts of the orange tree were used, not only the blossoms, but also the leaves and the stems. Combined with the lychee, this fragrance had an oriental, dreamy touch.

Nashi Blossom & Pink Grapefruit: For this Japanese inspired fragrance, perfumers used a complex extraction technology (instead of the traditional distilling method) to obtain the true fragrance of ginger to support the other scents of Nashi and grapefruit. This was my absolute favorite scent - it was extremely fresh and original, very revitalizing!

My personal favorite - as I already wrote - was the Nashi Blossom and Pink Grapefruit combination. It was airy, fresh, and citrusy, but still had a soft, feminine note. My least favorite was probably the Fig Leaf & Sage - I love to eat fresh figs, but I generally don't like perfumes with this note. There's something very strong and cloying about it that doesn't mesh well with my own body chemistry.

Above you can see the Vanilla & Cedarwood set - this one is very feminine and sweet, but the cedarwood adds an interesting touch that I haven't found in many other vanilla based perfumes.

I definitely recommend checking these out the next time you're at Kiehl's! They are very wearable, inoffensive scents that can be worn with ease. Have any caught your eye? Let me know in the comments which one you would try first.