Cry and Heart

Cry and Heart opens green and bright, with galbanum, petitgrain and a whisper of lavender setting the same dewy, just-cut-foliage stage that made By Kilian's Love and Tears feel like springtime. The dupe keeps that freshness but loses a little of the original's effervescent sparkle, reading slightly soapier from the off. The heart is the main event: an abundant white-floral bouquet of water jasmine, lily of the valley, orange blossom and ylang-ylang, romantic and lush though more uniform than the original's layered jasmine. The drydown is a soft mossy-woody close of cedar, styrax and oakmoss that grounds the flowers without weighing them down. Longevity is moderate and projection is gentle, so it wears clean and elegant rather than loud. A pretty, green-floral daytime pick for spring and summer.