I think I made my first frag purchase in November / December 2024, and until then I was relying on a 30+ year old bottle of Polo Green given to me by my father-in-law back in the 1990s. In 2025 for some reason (GLPs, I think) my interest in fragrances was all consuming. I've bought niche, designers, clones with reckless abandon. Some purchases were brilliant, some not so much... I don't need to tell you what I'm talking about. In the middle of the summer I decided that the only answer to this newfound obsession was going to have to be a trip to the motherland of Middle Eastern fragrances, Dubai. Anyway, we're leaving this Wednesday (?, maybe Tuesday...) and my wife has finally come to the realization that I'm going (ever so slightly) overboard to get questions answered. Besides, I want to see what the heck it's like in that part of the world. You guys have GOT to check out this video. If this isn't what I'm looking for, I GIVE UP! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DR7_qCCDN33/?igsh=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA%3D%3D

Today, I stopped by the Kilian booth inside Macy’s at the Wayne, NJ, mall and met a great Kilian sales associate named Frank. We ended up talking about fragrances for a while, and the conversation eventually drifted into what Kilian has coming down the pipeline. That’s when he let me in on a quiet preview of an upcoming release called Her Majesty. Frank described Her Majesty as a modern floral chypre with a bright, fresh opening and a grounded, mossy, woody base. He mentioned that it’s rumored to be composed by Caroline Dumur and inspired by Kilian’s trip to Kyoto, Japan. After some conversation, he sprayed it on my arms and walked me through the notes. Top notes include peach with a light aquatic freshness. The heart centers on sakura (cherry blossom) and rose. The base settles into cedar, ambrette musk, oakmoss, and cypriol nagarmotha. On my skin, it leaned softer and more traditionally feminine, but I can absolutely see a confident man pulling this off without hesitation. It has that quiet confidence vibe rather than loud masculinity. Frank mentioned it should be released mid-January, so definitely keep an eye out. I didn’t find Ginger Dash this time, but getting a sneak peek at what Kilian has coming made the visit more than worth it. Ps: They once had a really hard-to-find fragrance, Sacred Wood.