Let’s show some brotherhood love this valentine weekend. Everyone probably has that one member of BOS who influenced them the most and added fuel to their fragrance passion. For me, the answer is obvious. @Julio Gutierrez is the one who truly kickstarted it all. Who’s that person for you?

I finally got my nose on By Kilian Angels’ Share, mostly because it made such a strong run in the Booze War and I wanted to understand what made it so appealing. Is it really as great as many have described, or does it push you to a dupe, leaving you feeling less than satisfied? This one’s made the rounds here more than a few times, so most of you know it well, but for anyone who hasn’t had their nose on it yet, it opens with a rich cognac note, warm and slightly sweet, then moves into a spiced heart of cinnamon, tonka, and oak before settling into a cozy base of praline, vanilla, and sandalwood that feels made for cooler weather. That first spray of my decant stopped me in my tracks. It was one of the most beautifully complex openings I can remember smelling, with so much happening at once that it felt almost suspended in time. I’ll remember it as me sitting on my enclosed porch, watching the snow sparkle in the sun as I took it in. The setting was perfect, and maybe that was the problem, because nothing really is. As it began to move and settle into its richer, more familiar form, all I could think was that I wished it had stayed right there, not because what came next was bad, but because what it was felt rarer than what it became. I get why this one has its following, and I also get why some of you bounce off it. By the time it settled into that rich, spicy, woody character, it hardly resembled the sweet warmth of the cognac that opened it. Had that initial, beautifully complex impression remained, this one would have truly commanded its price tag. For me, the experience was less about liking or disliking it and more about realizing how much I value those fleeting moments when a fragrance feels impossibly alive before choosing a direction. That said, since it doesn’t match my clean-and-fresh scent profile, it’s not something I’d typically reach for to wear out. But as a decant and a curiosity, I’m glad I sprung for it, and I don’t regret the experience at all.