By the drydown, By Kilian BACK TO BLACK seems closer to Jesus del Pozo IN BLACK than it does to Tom Ford TOBACCO VANILLE (to which some people are comparing it). Well, except that the ingredients used in this composition are of significantly higher quality than those used in IN BLACK...
Initially the tobacco and honey notes see very dominant, but the saffron is also conspiring with the olibanum and woods to produce an odd rubbery myrrh-like facet. This aspect becomes more pronounced as the perfume dries down, and eventually reaches the point of reminding me of IN BLACK.
I realize that this may smack of heresy, given that Jesus del Pozo is something of a low-brow juice factory, while By Kilian is one of the hoitiest and toitiest of niche houses. However, it's important to bear in mind that Jesus del Pozo does enlist the services of good perfumers: Christine Nagel designed IN BLACK, and had she been afforded a "sky is the limit" ingredients budget, her creation would have been every bit as good as this one by Calice Becker.
