KILIAN
ANGELS’ SHARE PARADIS

2025

PERFUMER
Benoist Lapouza

raspberry liquor
Bulgarian rose
Cognac
praline accord
tonka bean absolute
oakmoss absolute

‘The ultimate interpretation of Angels’ Share in an intense Extrait de Parfum. An irresistible ode to the finest spirits. With its deep amber hues, the juice captures the finesse and intensity of exceptional cognacs, while the precious wooden cap pays tribute to prestigious oak barrels (…) Inspired by the finest aged oak-barrel cognac, Angels’ Share Paradis captures the Maison’s incomparable savoir-faire and founder Kilian Hennessy’s legacy. The emblematic cognac essence of Angels’ Share unveils a new, daring intensity with tantalizing raspberry liquor and exquisite Bulgarian Rose Oil Orpur. A lavish dose of Praline Accord, enriched with warm amber notes of Venezuelan Tonka Bean Absolut, blends seamlessly to linger on the skin, leaving a captivating, sensual trail.’ – Neiman Marcus

Angels’ Share Paradis has been one of the most hyped niche releases since it was first teased. I didn’t wear it side-by-side with Angels’ Share, but I had worn the original again about a month prior, so I had a solid memory of it. Angels’ Share is good and one of the better Kilian, but still not really one of my favorites; I think I may prefer the later Old Fashioned slightly, which was a nice surprise and the best Kilian release since at least Angels’ Share in my opinion. So can the brand keep that momentum and can it live up to the high expectations that come with an Angels’ Share flanker?

The short answer for me is, yes. The long answer, you will read below. As often with these reviews, I’ve only worn it once and resprayed it the next day to re-live the opening, but given that there’s such a spotlight on this release, I’ll try to dive into as much detail as I can based on that wear.

Basically, I quite easily prefer Paradis over its predecessor, but not at all in the ways that I was expecting, based on the previews and first impressions that I’ve seen of it online.

There was a lot to do about the raspberry, but I find this almost completely irrelevant. The fruitiness is the same artificial airy raspberry that you get from pretty much any raspberry fragrance. I feel like there’s too strong a focus on it leading up to the release, because on my skin, it’s just a minor touch and very very fleeting; I didn’t smell the fruitiness after several minutes in.

What stands out more perhaps is the rose… I think? I’m not quite sure what it is I’m smelling in this opening. It’s kind of green and spicy, like a fresh rose, mixed with some cardamom is how I perceive it. However… this too is not as long lasting as I wanted. I was expecting this to be fruitier, more floral, fresher or more tropical overall. If you’d only smell this off a test-strip in-store, you may be fooled into thinking that, but I don’t feel that’s the direction this fragrance goes in at all.

That being said, while still very much unisex, there is a distinctly more feminine leaning vibe to the first hour here, so I assume the fruity and floral accords are playing their part, but they are not standing out as notes for more than a few minutes for me.

Paradis is more mass appealing and easier to pull off than Angels’ Share, but that’s because of the sweetness and lack of ‘daring’ components. This fragrance is significantly more vanillic and sweet to me. It is less boozy and most importantly, I feel like it ditched almost 100% of the smokiness of the original, making for a much cozier and gourmand-leaning wear. When I revisited the 2020 Angels’ Share, it was less gourmand than I had in my memory and it was smokier and darker, almost like a tobacco fragrance. That side is all but vanished in Angels’ Share Paradis. The vanilla takes over quickly, mixed with that typical boozy-woody-sugar vibe that reminds me most of Nasomatto Baraonda.

Why I like this Paradis flanker best, is the texture. After the opening, it’s smooth, it’s almost creamy at times and specifically, I’m reminded of buttery iris and sandalwood scents. It’s the same sweet wood shavings scent found in many fragrances, but I think it’s at its most buttery here. I feel like I’m getting a supple iris ‘make-up bag’ leather vibe in this, although iris isn’t listed in the notes,. To me that buttery and more vanillic direction feel tons more relevant than the rose and especially the raspberry.

Obviously, you get some of the Angels’ Share DNA, but with the added smoothness and sweetness, I feel like it ties into Old Fashioned as much. The opening, I’ll have to revisit, I didn’t dislike it at all, but I was underwhelmed with how quickly the potentially interesting fresher, sourish differences faded. Instead, I really enjoy the creamier sweeter hours in the heart of Paradis. Longevity seemed excellent, when I took a shower after 22 hours, I still clearly smelled it off my skin, albeit it smelled purely of the sugary ambroxan-esque Baraonda base at that point.

Overall, a worthy successor in my book, just with different facets highlighted than I anticipated. A lot of flankers in recent years have gone sweeter and more mainstream, usually to their detriment, but in this case, I’m on board. I think it made a good fragrance, an at least as good, but more accessible fragrance.