Fleurs Narcotiques

Forbidden Games 2012

Forbidden Games by Kilian
Bottle Design Carré Basset
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7.0 / 10 182 Ratings
A perfume by Kilian for women, released in 2012. The scent is fruity-sweet. It is being marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Fruity
Sweet
Floral
Fresh
Gourmand

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
PeachPeach BlackcurrantBlackcurrant HoneyHoney Laotian cinnamonLaotian cinnamon
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Bourbon geraniumBourbon geranium Bulgarian rose Orpur®Bulgarian rose Orpur® FreesiaFreesia Night-blooming jasmineNight-blooming jasmine
Base Notes Base Notes
Bourbon vanillaBourbon vanilla Laotian honeyLaotian honey OpoponaxOpoponax

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
7.0182 Ratings
Longevity
6.9143 Ratings
Sillage
6.4150 Ratings
Bottle
8.8166 Ratings
Value for money
6.252 Ratings
Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 02/10/2025.
Interesting Facts
The fragrance is part of the "Fleurs Narcotiques" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
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J'adore Eau de Parfum
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Cassili
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The Musc
Sublime by Simone Cosac
Sublime
Ananda (Eau de Parfum) by M. Micallef
Ananda Eau de Parfum
Rising Life by Oriental Style
Rising Life

Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions
6
Scent
Sherapop

1239 Reviews
Sherapop
Sherapop
Very helpful Review 9  
Niche Nelly Apple Bottoms?
Earlier today, PBFriend mentioned in a review that there are some houses she just "doesn't get". In my case, the big fat question mark is nearly always hovering above the house of Kilian, or is it "By Kilian"--not sure whether they finally realized that the preposition was a silly idea and have omitted it permanently from the name, or only from the sample set folio of the "In the Garden of Good and Evil" collection. Perhaps they were testing the waters: all other things kept the same (type of rhetoric, etc.) do consumers buy more perfumes from houses whose names are not preceded by prepositions? Honestly, I sometimes wonder, believe it or not, whether (by) Kilian might be an elaborate marketing experiment being conducted by the gurus at LVMH. Perhaps you think that I jest.

My first issue with this house is the radical chasm spanning their hyperbolic pseudo-erotic texts and symbolism and the incredibly genteel and polite quality of their compositions. FORBIDDEN GAMES offers yet another example of what I'm talking about. Here is the marketing text for this perfume:

...
"When going beyond the boundaries has never been so exciting and dangerously attractive."
...

Let's see: what boundaries would those be? I ask because, to my nose, this perfume smells an awful lot like Nelly APPLE BOTTOMS: a sweet apple blossom in a clean resinous musky base with a few embellishments thrown in, but overall a high-quality fruity-floral fragrance. So naturally my first reaction upon donning FORBIDDEN GAMES was: what is supposed to be "forbidden" here? According to a well-known folk adage, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." So apples are healthy. Why would they be forbidden?

The only sense which I have been able to make of this involves a possible biblical allusion to the Garden of Eden, and the temptation to bite into the apple which led to--or was it constitutive of?--The Fall. That is a coherent interpretation, to be sure, but I still find that the quality of this fruity-floral fragrance is so innocent and juvenile that it is very difficult to associate it with any form of vice, least of all those of the "adult" kind.

In fact, it's not even possible to commit the sin of gluttony in the case of apples, because they contain so much water and fiber, that it's not humanly possible to exceed one's RDA of calories through overindulging.

Am I giving (by) Kilian too much credit here? Perhaps. This is an apple blossom perfume, and I believe that in a blind side-by-side test with Nelly APPLE BOTTOMS there are few people who would be able to pick out the haute niche from the mainstream offering. The quality seems very similar to me.

I did not want to rush to judgment on this matter, so after donning FORBIDDEN GAMES this morning, I decided to dig out my small bottle of APPLE BOTTOMS. I haven't worn that perfume since I reviewed it, so it took about ten minutes to find, but once I did, I confirmed my initial impression that the two compositions are very similar. Perhaps this should be viewed as a compliment to APPLE BOTTOMS rather than an insult to FORBIDDEN GAMES?

Which brings me to another gripe. "Jeux Interdits" [Forbidden Games] is the name of a justly celebrated film directed by René Clément in 1952. I realize that words belong to everyone, but come on, Kilian: why choose the title of an incredibly famous anti-war film? What does it have to do with a fruity-floral frag?

I don't want to blame Kilian himself for this conceptual mess, my best guess is that we have LVMH to thank, yet again.
2 Comments
7.5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
10
Scent
Rosecat

14 Reviews
Rosecat
Rosecat
Helpful Review 4  
Forbidden Games : Creamy fruit
Firstly I do love Kilian creations so far, this is also a love. Imagine warm lightly stewed apricots, plums & granny smith apples topped with whipped cream and a dash of vanilla! This is it, gourmand lovers would delight in this. Its sweet, very creamy, syrupy ..almost jammy, however its slightly fresh too, must be that apple note. It stays relatively linear, though at times, like waves the apple note will come up, then down again. I want full bottle now! Yes it does smell familiar, and this type of formula has been done before, but I would still prefer this over a cheaper type fragrance, but thats me. If you dislike fruity floral gourmands, maybe best to stay away.
0 Comments
10
Bottle
2.5
Sillage
5
Longevity
5
Scent
Drseid

821 Reviews
Drseid
Drseid
Helpful Review 4  
Save Some Dough And Buy Banana Boat Tanning Oil Instead...
Forbidden games opens with a plum-laced peach that can easily be confused with a tropical coconut and banana vibe. The overall opening accord is very reminiscent of many of the low-end tropical suntan oils you smell at drugstores. A somewhat sharp artificial apple note joins the party in the early heart, joining the peach as the plum recedes. After the opening and early heart, the scent turns quickly into a skin scent consisting of the remnants of the peach now mixed with a very subtle artificial smelling rose undertone floating on a very quiet and just slightly sweet mundane vanilla base. Projection is poor (with the exception of the open) and longevity is average.

Forbidden Games is definitely a disappointment. It smells good, but the smell is really so similar to Banana Boat Suntan Lotion that one just feels cheated with this composition by Becker who is capable of so much more. The dry-down is no better, as the vanilla used here is so generic and subtle it just comes off as a cheap cop-out that you might expect from a scent selling for 1/10th the price of this one at $245 for 50ml. While the fabulous container housing the juice is worthy of a scent with that price tag, its contents should be sold in the same drugstore as the suntan lotion it has cloned. One of the worst releases from By Kilian, Forbidden Games earns a disappointingly average 2.5 stars out of 5 outright, merits a value score of 1. Avoid this one and buy the Banana Boat oil instead as it provides much better bang for the buck...
0 Comments
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Scent
RoseAmbrette

17 Reviews
RoseAmbrette
RoseAmbrette
4  
Make up your own mind
I stayed away from many Kilian fragrances because they seem to have low ratings here. The notes for Forbidden Games look lovely and I like Calice Beckers work so I blind bought an older bottle. OMG!
I didn’t expect to love it this much. The opening is sweet, realistic ripe peaches with vanilla. Honey dripping from the yellow and red tinged flesh. The rose, jasmine and freesia are in the background but they never take over and they keep everything clean, balanced and sophisticated. The siliage is above average and I’ll comment about longevity later as it’s only been 2 hours. I’m in a divine scent bubble. This is very sexy to me. It’s been a total of 6 hours, it’s sitting closer to the skin but I still smell it when I love around.
The dry down is more floral but the peach is ever present and it’s still creamy. Not creamy in a lactonic way, smooth, silken.
It reminds me a lot of Chanel Allure EDP but here the fruits are riper, the base more vanillic and less polished more vamp.
I don’t get potpourri, I don’t get generic, I don’t get boring. Don’t go off the reviews and try it yourself
0 Comments
Hayven

74 Reviews
Hayven
Hayven
2  
too schweet
The Saks online shop sums up this perfume with one great descriptor: potpourri. This is a mix of apples, peaches, plums, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It works great if it were a candle or a room freshener; but I do not feel like it was meant on my skin. For a fruity perfume, the longevity is great--about 7-8 hours. But I don't want to smell like a tart warmer.
0 Comments
More reviews

Statements

6 short views on the fragrance
BiancaTiBiancaTi 1 year ago
Very fruity and very peachy and not a long lasting scent.
0 Comments
TombbbTombbb 5 years ago
8
Scent
This is such a beauty! Very fruity and sweet, but not in a gourmand type. The flowers present a good counterweight for sweetness. Joyful
0 Comments
JasminenicoJasminenico 1 month ago
Fruity, dollhead, potpourri
0 Comments
KnickyKnicky 5 months ago
10
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
8
Scent
verbotene spiele -ein duft,der fruchtig & vanillig zugleich ist. eine wunderschöne komposition, die eine gute haltbarkeit aufweist. I‘m ready to play!
0 Comments
RoseAmbretteRoseAmbrette 6 months ago
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Scent
Stunning! Ripe peaches dripping with honey. Creamy vanilla and expertly balanced Florals.
0 Comments
ScentwitchScentwitch 4 years ago
7.5
Scent
A good daytime scent, fruity and colorful. I don’t find this scent to be sexy, though it’s nice.
0 Comments
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