Category Archives: Perfume

Kayali Yum Boujee Marshmallow and New Perfume Rankings

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I’ve made it no secret here that I don’t enjoy reviewing perfumes because of how subjective this sort of thing is. So, for me to be interested enough to post about Kayali’s Yum Boujee Marshmallow is very telling!
Then, I thought about the additional nine unreviewed Kayali perfumes I tried since my previous ranking…but I still don’t want to review them!

At least not in the traditional sense.

If this is your first time visiting this blog, Welcome! I am fully disclosing that I am not affiliated with this brand. The Kayali and Mona Kattan accounts on social media are very active, so I’ve gotten likes and/or comments on my Kayali related Instagram posts, but that’s the extent of any communication I have with them. All of my Kayali and Huda Beauty products have been purchased by me with my own money and all opinions are my own.

In order to make perfume reviews a bit more fun to write, I try to inject a little more humor (no matter how corny) and try not to worry so much about objectivity while still being thorough.

Kayali Yum Boujee Marshmallow | 81

The key notes for this fragrance are “Strawberry, Pink Marshmallow, [and] Whipped Vanilla.” Anyone who doesn’t like one or more of those notes will not enjoy this perfume because everything else takes a backseat. My first thought when I sprayed this was that it smells like a Strawberry Cheesecake Blizzard, my favorite ice cream from Dairy Queen!

I instantly get the strawberry and sweet creamy vanilla notes. It isn’t until a few hours in that I can actually smell marshmallow. Real marshmallows don’t have a strong scent to begin with, so the fact that it ever registers as something more than just generally sweet is impressive. I understand why it took the brand 81 iterations to nail!

So, in the opening it’s a strawberry candy, light baked vanilla dessert, and ice cream kind of smell. The strawberry only lasts a short time, which is unfortunate because it’s delicious. Hours in, it morphs into more of that marshmallow and toasted coconut kind of smell. For the rest of the day, I’m a walking vanilla milkshake! This fragrance is supposed to have the fruit notes “Pink Lady Apple and Italian Lemon,” as well as floral notes of “Freesia, Nectarine Blossom, and Orange Blossom Water.” However, I can’t detect any of that. Perhaps they’re in the background adding to the overall sweetness, but this scent is purely a gourmand dream on my skin! To me, it’s never heavy or sweet to the point of being sickly. I think that’s the “fluffiness” people keep referring to, with it smelling more like a whipped cream less like a fondant.

This is so close to being my favorite Kayali perfume, but Yum Pistachio remains the queen. That fragrance is so different from anything else I’ve ever owned. The soapy and powdery aspects add a little more complexity. I think people who might normally not like gourmands could be swayed over by Yum Pistachio. However, Yum Marshmallow is for the people who want to smell like they belong on the counter of an upscale bakery. Yum Boujee Marshmallow brings all the boys to the yard!

Regarding the sillage, I need to give myself at least three spritzes in order to continue smelling this on myself all day long, and it stays within my bubble. The only time someone can smell it is if I’m in hugging range. This is unlike my other top 9 Kayali fragrances that have a wider projection area from just 1-2 sprays for several hours before it becomes a skin scent. I prefer having the shorter waft range in exchange for having it last until I’m ready to shower at the end of the night.
My husband is quite sensitive to smells, to the point that he finds Yum Pistachio and other Kayali favorites to be too overpowering in the first 1-2 hours. It’s the “cloud of sweetness” as he refers to them from just one spritz. One time I literally had to put my sweater in another room when I was with his family because I had sprayed it (just once) 45 minutes prior with Yum Pistachio and it was too strong for his family to handle. With Yum Marshmallow though, my husband still finds the three sprays to be strong, but not overwhelming.
The reason this is important is because I’ve seen people online practically bathing in their perfumes, spraying at least six times every few hours. If this perfume requires me to use double or triple the amount I usually do, I’m not sure if it’s going to be strong enough to satisfy heavy perfume wearers. Although my bottle is frosted, I can see that I’ve already used as much of Yum Marshmallow in a week as I’ve used of Eden Sparkling Lychee and Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar over the course of months.
This doesn’t bother me because I can’t ever finish a perfume before it goes bad (which is the whole reason I only buy travel sizes anymore), so I don’t mind the idea of making a repurchase for once if needed. However, I acknowledge that’s not everyone’s situation, so it was important to note here.

Also, I just wanted to add that the only layering I’ve done is pairing both Yum fragrances together. Pistachio with a single spritz still overpowers Marshmallow and is admittedly too potent of a combo for me.

Eden Sparkling Lychee | 39

Prior to Yum Boujee Marshmallow, this was my short-lived second favorite Kayali Fragrance. Dessert-like gourmands are my favorite smells, but then next in line would be fruits. Of the fruity notes, I don’t really pick up anything specific. I can smell tartness (perhaps from the black current and lemon) and candy-like sweetness, which register sensorially as “juiciness.” I’m not sure if it’s that juiciness, tartness, or the actual red apple note that puts this within the Eden scent family, or if it’s all of the above.

Even more than the fruits, is the overpowering sugared violets smell. Thankfully, I love the smell of violets, so I think this is my favorite part of the perfume. The only disappointing bit is that is has lychee in the name, yet I can’t detect it. The rose adds a nice brightness to the perfume. The overall scent makes me think of a Girls’ trip or vacation.

Photo Credit: A Glam Lifestyle

One spray is plenty for me. It can’t be smelled across the room, but it’s enough to smell across a table for at least three hours. It fades a little, to the point that it requires someone to be within a foot of me to detect it for an additional six to seven hours. After that, I can smell it on myself for a few hours more before it’s gone.

Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar | 42

I was a lot more into this fragrance when I first got it, but as I started comparing it to other scents from the brand, it dropped lower for me. I obviously love the sweetness. I can smell the pear, vanilla, and unidentifiable florals (likely ylang ylang and jasmine). There’s a milder violet smell than what is present in Eden Sparkling Lychee. In the beginning hours, instead of rum, this smells a bit like an aging perfume type of alcohol smell. Thankfully, that doesn’t last the whole time. It unfortunately also has patchouli, which on the rare occasion I can tolerate, but in this fragrance I can tell it’s there. Luckily for me, the sugary aspects mostly overshadow it, which is why I continue to give it a chance and wear it on occasion. Essentially, parts of the day I love it because of the fruity-sugary drink vibes, and some parts of the day I wish I wore something different. However, most of the negatives aren’t as much of a factor if I layer it with something else. I try to judge perfumes based on how they work as a standalone product. I will also say that this is something better sprayed onto my clothes instead of my skin because then I don’t have to deal with my body chemistry tainting the patchouli. Times I spray it on my clothes is when I have the best experiences with it.

One of the biggest positives Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar has going for it though is that it’s quite long lasting on me, and it’ll fill a room for several hours before becoming something only I can smell on myself.

Vacay in a Bottle Discovery Set

  • Marrakesh in a Bottle Orange Blossom | 24
  • Capri in a Bottle Lemon Sugar | 14
  • Maui in a Bottle Sweet Banana | 37
  • Maldives in a Bottle Ylang Coco | 20

Right off the bat, all of these are personal/skin scents with very little sillage and lasting power on me. I fell in love with Capri Lemon Sugar, but even after three sprays it’s just gone within several hours. It doesn’t matter if it’s on my skin or clothes, this just doesn’t want to last and I’ll never be the person who carries perfume in her purse to do touch ups. The travel size set was too expensive for me, so I was glad when they released them individually, but even more glad the discovery set tester pack was an option. I would have been so disappointed otherwise!

Capri smells just as I would expect from the name. It’s a better lemon sugar for me than Fresh’s Sugar Lemon perfume. The only thing that matters regarding spraying my skin versus clothing is that this smells amazing on my clothes from start to finish, like vanilla–lemon cupcakes. On my skin, it reminds me too much of antiseptic and takes a couple of hours to start smelling better, which is unfortunately a few hours before it ends up disappearing. If this had better longevity, it would have been a winner.

I expected to hate Maui because I’m really not into banana scented things, but it is surprisingly nice! I get a bit more of the coconut cream and vanilla though than banana. It’s lightly sweet and a tiny bit floral, but then disappears into nothing. This is one that only smells good on my clothing. On my skin, it smells way too grown for me. Like…geriatric.

I like the orange smell from Marrakesh, but it disappears quickly. If I reach for a citrus scent, I want to be able to smell it for at least a few hours, not minutes.
I also like the spiced peppery exotic smell from the rest of the notes, but the perfume is overall too floral for me and the smell vanishes the quickest of these four. On my bare skin, it especially takes on a more herbal-green scent from the mix of pink pepper and cedarwood rather than sweet-floral from the Turkish Rose that I can only smell if it’s sprayed on my clothes. So, I prefer this scent on my clothing too, but I’d rather just not wear it at all because it’s not a “me” type of fragrance.

Maldives Ylang Coco was the one I was most concerned by because I feared it would be a repeat experience of Utopia Vanilla Coco (that so many people love and I despise). On my clothes, it’s better than I expected, but I don’t appreciate the herbal nature that it turns into on my skin, and I can only smell fruits (starfruit and lemon) in the beginning. I like the smell of rosemary, but it’s awful on me. Maldives Ylang Coco has a slight sweetness throughout (probably from the coconut milk), but this one just isn’t my kind of perfume.

Something about these vacation fragrances mingling with my body chemistry just…goes wrong. The best of the bunch for me is Capri, which is miles above the others.

Wedding Velvet Santal | 35 and Wedding Silk Santal | 36

Kayali Velvet Santal is quite the departure from the primarily feminine fragrances. I sometimes enjoy a unisex or masculine fragrance, like Replica’s Jazz Club. However, this one is just not for me. It has some pleasant notes like jasmine and white musk, but it’s strongly leathery, which I assume is from the benzoin. I don’t mind leather, but it’s a bit much. I can also smell the woody notes, but the website described it as a “creamy sandalwood” with warm cedarwood. I was expecting it to make me think of taking a pleasant walk through a forest…not stumbling through a lumbar yard.

Photo Credit: Nabilak and Conner Industries

I wouldn’t call this bad, but it’s just really not my style. I’m glad I only bought the trial vial, but based on the notes, chances were low that I’d like it anyway. I figured I could give it to my husband (then-boyfriend), but he’s not into it either.

The photo above is the best interpretation I could find of the feeling Velvet Santal envokes. It’s not light enough to be what I consider a “clean” fragrance, but there’s something smooth and streamlined about it. It’s simplistic. It smells like an object. It’s like I spent too much time in someone’s woodworking and leather-working studio (the cleanest one in existence), and the smells from there naturally rubbed onto me, not due to a perfume. There’s not much projection and not much longevity either.

Moving along…

According to reviewers I saw prior to the launch, they called Silk Santal a mixture of Vanilla 28 and Deja Vu. I wanted to love 28, but the patchouli ruined it, and I liked Deja Vu, but not enough to want a travel size. So, the fact that this doesn’t have patchouli and Silk Santal is like a combination of the other perfumes I wanted, I was sold! I took the chance on the 10ml bottle.

On the bright side, this smells alright, but I certainly wanted more out of it. It has a tame sweetness mixed with florals. It’s an unoffending vanilla-floral, which feels “safe” and a bit boring. It’s more of a skin scent for me, but it lasts between six and eight hours. I can’t recall if I just didn’t bring it with me or if I actually gave it away. It’s good enough that I don’t mind owning it, but how could I ever reach for it when I have the Yum ones in my collection that make me way more excited to put it on and bring me much more joy?

Mona and her husband mentioned that these fragrances represented them, which is why it’s totally fine that it’s not really for me or my mister! Silk Santal is more of a spring-summer kind of scent, which is quite far from the vibes of the chilly winter wedding I had!

I can’t remember what I wore on my wedding day, but my best guess is a combination of Yum Pistachio Gelato and Lovefest Burning Cherry because that’s my favorite. The only other possibility is Invite Only, because my husband was more into that one at the time and I don’t know if I picked that to be safer. It’s actually possible that I wore Invite Only on the second day instead when we took additional photos at a different location.

Elixir | 11

I waited so long to try and get a mini or travel size of this in the US, but it had been out of stock for well over a year. When I moved to Germany, I was excited to see it was actually available! Neither the US nor Deutschland had the trial samples in stock, but I was too curious not to take a chance. So, I got the 10ml travel size!

I don’t know if this will be discontinued, so I’ll list all the notes from the website: Red Apple, Rose de Mai Absolute, Jasmine Sambac Absolute, Patchouli, Vanilla, and according to the website images, there is also musk.
I never thought of myself as a rose fan, but however the perfumers concocted or extracted it is just wonderful! Apparently Rose de Mai is supposed to be quite special in itself.
The combination of the apple with the rose and jasmine somehow registers to my brain as citrus-like, which I love (some people say they smell grape instead)! Perhaps what I’m actually smelling is a certain kind of patchouli that when balanced with the rose is having that effect. It is easier to say I hate patchouli because 90% of the time it ruins a fragrance for me. I’m a perfume novice, so I don’t know a lot of specifics, but apparently there are many things that effect how patchouli will smell and most especially what it’s paired with. I think nearly all are bad on my body, but the ones that work were formulated a different way or the combination of other things changes it enough that I won’t mind it.

Musk can be an iffy note for me too, but the musks from Kayali are great. So, the combination of everything in Elixir just works for me (at least in the beginning). It’s got a depth/richness to it. It’s sexy and dark. The florals keep it from leaning too masculine and too heavy. If you’re more interested in the apple though, just know that it creates a synergy with the other notes and doesn’t stand out as distinctly apple on its own. To help the apple stand out or to smell fruitier overall, I would suggest pairing it with Juicy Apple.

One spritz keeps Elixir within a more intimate cloud around me. Unfortunately for me, after an hour, most of the sweetness disappears and I’m left with more of the musky-earthy kind of smell. I’m grateful for the vanilla to help it along. At this point it’s still not bad, but it’s a lot less intoxicating than how it starts.

By two hours, I can only smell this if my nose is pressed up right to my skin. This perfume is supposed to be incredibly long lasting, but only the patchouli lasts all day. Four hours in, every other note is undetectable.

The photo below shows how much of my perfumes were used prior to starting this review. I like Elixir, but I almost never use it! However, I think with this scent profile combination, it was intended to be layered with other fragrances. For example, there’s vanilla in here, but it’s not as pronounced of a note as it is in other Kayali fragrances. I assume it’s there to help branch Elixir with other Kayali perfumes together without being overpowering. So, I expect to have a much bigger dent in it this year.

Previous Kayali Review and Ranking…

  1. Yum Pistachio Gelato – S tier
  2. Lovefest Burning Cherry – A tier
  3. Invite Only Amber – A tier
  4. Vanilla Royale Sugared Patchouli – A tier
  5. Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper – B tier
  6. Eden Juicy Apple – B tier
  7. Musk 12 – B tier
  8. Deja Vu White Flower – B tier
  9. Vanilla 28 – C tier
  10. Utopia Vanilla Coco – D tier

NEW 2024 KAYALI RANKING

  1. Yum Pistachio Gelato – S tier
  2. Yum Boujee Marshmallow –S tier
  3. Lovefest Burning Cherry – S tier
  4. Eden Sparkling Lychee –A tier
  5. Invite Only Amber – A tier
  6. Vanilla Royale Sugared Patchouli – A tier
  7. Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper – A tier
  8. Elixir – B tier
  9. Capri in A Bottle Lemon Sugar –B tier
  10. Eden Juicy Apple – B tier
  11. Musk 12 – B tier
  12. Deja Vu White Flower – B tier
  13. Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar – B tier
  14. Maui in A Bottle Sweet Banana –B tier
  15. Wedding Silk Santal – C tier
  16. Vanilla 28 – C tier
  17. Marrakesh in a Bottle Orange Blossom – C tier
  18. Wedding Velvet Santal – C tier
  19. Maldives in a Bottle Ylang Coco – C tier
  20. Utopia Vanilla Coco – D tier

S tier essentially means that I would repurchase it if I ran out and might even consider buying a larger size bottle if my fragrance collection was smaller.

A tier is for the perfumes that I like enough to be happy if I was gifted a bottle, but not enough to repurchase myself (purely because I would want to use up the S tier ones instead).

B tier has the scents I like when I’m in a particular mood. They aren’t scent profiles I wear that often, but I will still enjoy them while I have them.

C tier falls into two groups: the perfumes that are nice yet boring or the perfumes that don’t contain enough good notes to outweigh the ones that either do nothing for me or I even dislike.

D tier is for the perfumes that I really don’t like. It might start off nice but dries down to something I despise. It’s more common for me to come across a D tier fragrance as a free gift with purchase sample that I didn’t choose. Usually, if the notes are to my liking, the worst it ends up at is C tier. Utopia Vanilla Coco is the rare unexpected disappointment.

F tier is for the perfumes that I find to be vile. It would be something I’d have to immediately wash off my skin or to change my clothes. Since I always look at notes before I buy I perfume, it’s likely I expected an F tier fragrance to work for me, but it somehow didn’t. In this case, chances are high that it just didn’t mix well with my body chemistry and is unlikely to be universally disliked by everyone. A perfume rarely gets into F tier for me, but an example is every Juicy Couture fragrance. I tried at least five and they always smelled amazing on my friend, but terrible on me.

Over time, my preferences have slightly changed. My perfumes have had time to mature. Seasons change. New memories and scent associations have occurred. So, it’s only natural that the order of my Kayali perfume favorites shifted a bit.

On a final note, I just wanted to share that for the Huda Cyber Craze event this year, I bought a notebook and the fragrance case that is supposed to hold three 100 ml bottles. It’s listed as rose gold, but to me it’s more like a rosy bronze. It makes for a very secure makeup bag with the two dividers inside. Naturally, it’s way bigger than the Yum Pistachio Gelato Fragrance case that I’m using a bit more as intended by holding all my trial and travel size perfumes. I just wanted to share pictures and comparisons in case anyone has been interested in getting those from the website. I tend to like Huda’s non-makeup merch too.

That’s all for today! Thanks for reading!

-Lili ❤

10 Kayali Fragrances Reviewed: Yum Gelato, Sugared Patchouli, Lovefest, and More

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I like some of these fragrances so much that even though I said I wouldn’t do a perfume review again, I felt compelled to share my utter enthusiasm for some of these discoveries!

DISCLAIMER: Perfume is the most subjective category within the beauty industry. I do not consider myself a fragrance connoisseur. I can only relay what my personal experiences with these perfumes have been based on how they performed on my body and clothes with my sweat glands, my sense of smell, my preferences/tastes, the air quality around me, etc.
So, I’ve decided to have fun with this review and make it a little entertaining, while still doing my best to provide all the information I can of my experiences, whether those coincide or differ from public opinion. I bought all of these myself with my own money. All links in this review are regular standard non-affiliate links. For the sake of giving photo credit, I also provided links to the locations of the images I used to help demonstrate the vibes of these perfumes, so that does not mean that I support or endorse the content provided on those websites.

My journey with the brand really kicked off when I purchased the Kayali Discovery Sampler Set from Sephora. Because I enjoyed so many of them, I ended up purchasing additional travel sizes after that and I consider Kayali to be one of my new favorite perfume houses now.
What this brand has done, that I think is aiding in their popularity, is offer the ability to purchase 1.5 ml sample vials from their website. It makes trying everything from them more accessible. Someone could find, for instance, their perfect vanilla scent out of the many options with that note available. If I were to only buy a few travel sizes blindly, it would be one or two at most and if those weren’t to my taste I would have likely stopped there. However, in buying a sampler of 7 and liking 5 of them, I ended up purchasing more travel sizes than I expected and I plan to get more if I actually end up going through the ones I have. That results in them getting even more money out of me than would have happened otherwise.

Kayali just released the limited edition The Wedding Silk Santal and The Wedding Velvet Santal fragrances, but I don’t believe I’ll be purchasing those…

So, we can proceed with the newest three to my collection before we get to the discovery set!

Yum Pistachio Gelato 33

Photo Credit: Wilton

There have been several standout perfumes I’ve smelled in my lifetime that I’ve obsessed over, but Yum Gelato has had the strongest hold over me. I have wanted to wear it every day since buying it, but had to force myself not to because my boyfriend did not share the same enthusiasm for it in the months I was visiting him, and when I returned to the US, I still needed to properly test the other perfumes.

This brings me to the most important thing I hope to get across in this specific review: Yum Gelato is something you have to try for yourself. Perfumes smell differently when mixed with everyone’s body chemistry, but it’s never been more apparent than with this one. This fragrance is extremely polarizing because all of the notes are not detectable on one person at the same time, and the notes one might be looking for most might not be the ones that come through on the skin. For instance, I’ve seen some people say it’s not as sweet as they expected, whereas it’s insanely sweet on my skin. Like, an overload of vanilla-frosting goodness that those same people would probably say were at sickly sweet levels if they smelled it on me. In addition, the reason some people might dislike this fragrance could be the exact reason another person loves it. The sillage is also super strong with this one, so you might want to consider how those around you will feel. For instance, my boyfriend says it’s like being bowled over by a sweet cloud if he comes around me within the first hour or two of spraying it.

If I keep it to a single spritz, it’s still too intense for him within the first half hour. After that, he doesn’t mind it. Of course, that’s not the enthusiastic reaction I want to get from him, but I love this perfume so much that I’m willing to compromise. It’s too good not to wear for my own enjoyment!

The scent profile has a ton of notes listed according to Fragrantica: Top notes of pistachio, ice cream, bergamot, hazelnut, rum, and cardamom. Middle notes of Lily-of-the-Valley, pear, peony, jasmine, geranium, raspberry, and white peach. Base notes of whipped cream, marshmallow, cotton candy, Turkish Delight, Tonka Bean, sandalwood, cedar, and cacao.

On me, the majority of the time I just smell the whipped cream, marshmallow, cotton candy, and Loukhoum/Turkish Delight. I don’t get the ice cream or gelato as the sweetness isn’t creamy or milky or a rich custard. That’s why it reminds me more of a frosting, like from powdered sugar since it has a strong sweet powder smell. I can very faintly smell nuttiness (though never actual pistachio) early in the wear time after the initial dry down. Every so often when I wear it, the cardamom makes itself known, and occasionally the rum. However, I never get a single whiff of floral or wood notes. I don’t ever smell bergamot or citrus either. It’s always just super sweet vanilla with a powdery edge to it. That’s why I felt a straightforward dessert photo perfectly represents how this fragrance smells on me.

I’ve heard some people call it soapy, say it smells fresh like shaving cream or aftershave. I can somewhat see the connection. Regarding longevity, it’s one of the most projecting fragrances I own since I can smell it on myself for 3-5 hours (depending on one spritz or two) without needing to put my nose right up to where I sprayed. However, even though I stop smelling it at that point, I’m told it can still be smelled on me for 6-7 hours. Putting my actual nose up to it, I can still smell it up to 8 hours. This is quite a lot considering I normally have to put my nose close to where I sprayed after 1-3 hours for everything since in my daily life I only spray myself once or twice.

Although it can be disappointing that the pistachio isn’t very prominent, as that’s one of the few consensuses with this perfume, this is still the ultimate gourmand scent for me.

My one complaint is that every marketing photo I’ve seen shows the travel sizes as being the same color as the big bottle, a gorgeous pale green. However, below is what it actually looks like. In order to get the color I wanted, I cut the box packaging into the shape of the edges and taped it to the back (seen in the group photo at the top of the page). The full size presentation was partly what I was drawn to as well, so now my 10ml bottle is prettier and I’m less disappointed.

Also seen at the top is the fragrance case for the full-size bottle. I was so drawn in by the color and I love quilted patterns, so I got it to hold all my Kayali sample and travel size vials, which this holds comfortably. I can even fit the discovery set box in there.

Vanilla Royale Sugared Patchouli 64

Photo Credit: HowSweetEats

If you’re familiar with my blog, or me on a personal level, you know I despise patchouli. So it’s quite reasonable anyone would be confused why I’d go out of my way to buy a 1.5 ml vial of this. The answer is Influencers! I heard people say this could convert a non-patchouli lover into a fan. Of course, I was doubtful, but the other notes in this perfume are such absolute favorites of mine: vanilla and tonka bean, crème brulée, brown sugar, amber, and even rum. It was advertised as being sweet, warm, and spicy which sounded delectable enough for me to give it a try and hope that it would surprise me. Wow, did it ever surprise me! I really am astonished by how much I like this fragrance! Delicious, cozy, and captivating are some words I’d use to describe it. It’s still patchouli forward. There’s no ignoring it. But in a strange way, it works. If this scent could be described as the start of a novel, it would be about a sweet wholesome girl dragged to a nightclub by her “riskier” friends and making eyes with a certain someone across the room. He’s dangerous. She knows she should stay away from him, but he’s too hot to ignore. He awakens a spicy passion inside her while she’s simultaneously bringing out the softer more dependable side of him.

I’m not sure if others would agree, but this leans a little masculine. Perhaps it’s the rum or leather note that makes me feel that way, but this gives me similar vibes of Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club even though they only really have rum and vanilla notes in common. I’ve long been a fan of Jazz Club, so the association is a good thing in my book.

Just like Yum Gelato, this one is labeled as an Eau de Parfum Intense. However, Vanilla Royale has the shortest wear time on me of all ten Kayali scents in this review. I get 5 hours of wear time maximum, and the sweet and spicy profile doesn’t change in that time either. How it smells at the start is pretty much how it remains until the end. I even bought a second vial to ensure that it wasn’t just my particular sample that was off. That’s the one I could get up to 5 hours with, whereas my original was 4-5.

As much as I like it, I would normally only wear this on very specific occasions and with how much of my budget goes to makeup and brushes, I can’t afford to add perfumes to my collection that are not for everyday use. However, I will enjoy the 1.5mls until they run out, and after that point I will consider getting the 10 ml in the future.

Lovefest Burning Cherry 48

Photo Credits: Lounge, PanAmericaSeed, and WonkyWonderful

Prior to Yum Gelato, Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry was my scent obsession. I had the sample vial but could never justify spending so much on the travel size, let alone full-size (especially when the scent fades so fast). I was ecstatic when the tart deep rich syrupy cherry smell I loved from Lost Cherry was present in Lovefest, though mixed with other notes to make it extra tantalizing. When I smell this perfume, it gives me a primal reaction. This sensation stems from my gut and this feeling that I want to sink my teeth into something delicious comes over me.

I really need to finish watching Nanatsu No Taizai/Seven Deadly Sins

It’s a deep sensual perfume. The photo inspiration represents three positive triggers for me: the florals, the edible nature of it, and the sexiness. Being in a curtained off private section at a club or lounge with soft red velvet couches and being up close and personal with my significant other is the type of image Lovefest evokes. It fades fast after six hours, which is still better than Lost Cherry on me. Besides the cherry, the other notes I pick up are the praline (for that slight sugary nutty element), rose, and jasmine. Florals usually bring a fragrance down in my books, but the rose combined with the cherry is an especially successful combination. There are wood base notes listed for this perfume, but I’m not familiar with what things like Palo Santo or Guaiac Wood smell like. I honestly can’t distinguish what Peru Balsam or Vetiver Haiti Essence in the base notes are supposed smell like either. Perhaps they’re adding to the complexity of the fragrance or enriching them, but the simpler scents I can detect are the main players. There hasn’t been a time when I’ve smelled it and thought, “what is that unidentifiable wonderful note?”
I enjoy bergamot and raspberry scents, which are both listed as top notes, but I’ve yet to notice them in this perfume.
My one complaint is that for a brief time in the day, I can smell the patchouli and that twists it slightly into a direction I don’t like it to go. Thankfully, it’s not enough of a bother to ruin the fragrance. Perhaps the notes that are unfamiliar to me are what keeps the patchouli from eclipsing the others. So, I still very much consider Lovefest a favorite, even with that unwelcome element.

Vanilla 28

Photo Credit: PinkyPiggu

According to the brand, “Vanilla Royale Sugared Patchouli is an intense take on Vanilla 28.” I know so many people love this one, but I only like it in the first hour. I much prefer Vanilla Royale because it has everything in 28, plus extra notes for extra complexity. One downside to Vanilla Royale is that I wanted there to be less patchouli. In Vanilla 28, there are less competing scents, which gives patchouli the opportunity to be even more pronounced.

The key notes in Vanilla 28 are vanilla orchid, tonka bean, brown sugar, amber woods, and musk. The wear time is average among my Kayali fragrances at 6 hours, but it has a wider range of projection than some of the others.

The photo I selected was based on the colors: orange walls for amber, the white floors representing the vanilla, the flowers and plants for the jasmine and patchouli. This location is a bakery, which ties in with the gourmand theme.

Even though this fragrance isn’t resonating with me like the others, it’s a decent perfume. It’s yummy and edible in the beginning, but as I continue wearing it, the notes I don’t care for as much start to dominate the remainder of the scent. So I like it less in the later hours. It starts at a high B grade but drops to a C grade by the end of its wear time.

I plan to use the remainder of my sample to pair with some other perfumes to heighten the sweetness in them, and see if that fixes the issue. Vanilla 28 is the type of perfume that I’d expect to be good for layering.

Musk 12

GIF Credit: BriJohnsonStudios

Every time I smell this perfume, I instantly think of my mother. For the first decade or so of my life, my mom only wore Avon’s Odyssey (the original formulation that launched in 1981). Then Avon reformulated it and she didn’t think it smelled the same, so for the next decade of my life she mainly wore Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door until that was ultimately changed too. So, from my entire childhood into young adulthood, I associate the combination of musks and florals with my mother. Kayali’s Musk 12 has lotus and freesia as top notes, musk and jasmine as middle notes, and vanilla and sandalwood at the base. Odyssey doesn’t have the same florals, but it has the musk plus lily-of-the-valley, magnolia, and mimosa. Red Door has fruits and other florals too, but it has musk, sandalwood, jasmine, and specifically freesia. It makes sense that mom is the first thing that comes to mind. This also means I typically consider this type of scent profile to be a mature woman’s perfume, to put it nicely. It doesn’t stay that way though once it has time to settle. There’s something fresh and airy about it, which is completely counter the idea of “old lady perfumes” being a heavy floral or powdery smell. This musk combination is lighter and brighter. I was quite surprised that I liked it so much considering the hero note (musk) is one that I don’t mind having in a fragrance, but it has never excited me. For that to be the headliner, and like it, was something I never would have guessed. This is especially the case because my mom and I notoriously have opposite reactions to perfumes. She doesn’t like what I love and vice versa. Of course, I had to have my mother smell it and her face lit up. She loves this fragrance!

Musk 12 has an average wear time of six hours on me. The most interesting part is that between the first hour up til the end of wear, it takes on a very soapy quality to the scent. I don’t know if that has to do with the aquatic element in lotus bringing that out on my skin, but it’s like the creamiest soap smell (perhaps even the creaminess from the sandalwood). I love that part about it, though I haven’t heard it described that way by anyone else. Might be a me thing!

I like this, but considering how many of Kayali’s fragrances already have musk in it, it’s not necessary for me to buy it in a larger form. However, I could see this being great for someone who wants it for layering purposes and to pair it with a different Kayali fragrance to amp up the musk presence. Actually, I think I will end up purchasing it for my mom this coming Christmas!

Déjà vu White Flower 57

Photo Credit: BestHDWallpaper
Photo Credit: HGTV

There was a point in time where I really loved white florals. Although, I don’t consider myself a fan of floral forward scents, white florals have the highest chance of being something I’d like.

My first impression was, “oh this smells amazing! This is the kind of floral perfume I like,” but once it dried down it smelled like boring regular gardenia in the forefront. Then, I thought I was tripping because 20-30 minutes in I noticed fruity smells that I was not expecting, but pear and nectarine are notes that are listed. An hour in, it leaned stronger into the floral-sweetness from those orange blossom, tuberose, and jasmine notes. The base notes are Tahitian vanilla and sandalwood, though Fragrantica also lists patchouli and cashmere wood. However, out of those base notes, I can only smell vanilla added to the mix with that extra bit of sweetness.

In the times I’ve tried it since then, it’s lasted around 7 hours. I like this one, but I’ve used it the least times so far, surprisingly even less than Utopia. However, I will continue to wear this until the vial is finished. There’s something both cozy and wistful about it, which is why I very much wanted a white window with those white flowers looking out into the distance as the embodiment of this perfume in photo form.

Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper 25

Original Version Photo Credit: People

Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper and Gucci Guilty are both floral perfumes with pink peppercorn and bergamot as top notes and share patchouli, amber, and musk in common as base notes. So, even though they don’t smell the same, I was instantly reminded of it, and used a Gucci Guilty ad shoot photo edited with a pinkish tint to represent what I think when I wear this fun and flirty perfume.

It’s pretty impressive to me that when I smell the fragrance, I think, “Pink.” They nailed representing a color in a scent form. I think this is mainly due to the rose notes: Bulgarian Rose and Rose Centifolia. The full top notes are pink pepper, bergamot, royal lily, and saffron. The bergamot gives it a brightness that’s intoxicating, at least for the ten or so minutes that it lasts before being overshadowed by the florals. The middle notes are the two roses, along with magnolia, and vanilla orchid. The base notes are sandalwood, patchouli, musk, and amber.

Pink Diamond takes on more of an amber and sweet vanilla mixture towards the end, from around 5 hours onward. I can smell the pink peppercorn and rose almost the entire time though, which is between 6-7 hours, but the sillage is on the weaker side. Since florals can easily be nauseating or headache inducing for me (and others) if they’re too strong, I prefer for it to not project as far instead of having the opposite problem.

This is another hit from Kayali that I like, but I keep debating with myself as to whether I like it enough to buy it for the occasional enjoyment. I love some of the others far too strongly to take time away from using those on a regular basis. So I might or might not end up adding a travel size of this to my collection.

Utopia Vanilla Coco 21

Photo Credits: Institute for New Economic Thinking and SomethinSpecial

When I initially spray this, it smells fantastic. I get the coconut and citrus element from the Italian Lemon. It’s instant vacation vibes. But as soon as the air settles, I can’t smell it on me. Even after two sprays to the same spot, this just doesn’t project or I have some olfactory issue that keeps me from being able to smell it without putting it right up to my nose.

In putting my nose right on it, very quickly, the honeysuckle and pear blossom take over and combine with the milkiness of the coconut to create a milky floral scent. Sounds fascinating in theory, but I don’t like that. I like milky scents, but not smelling like actual straight up milk. This perfume makes me think of sunscreen or rather this very specific oil product from Avon that I owned as a teen that was supposed to give a golden glow to the hair and skin that I cannot remember the name of. While it succeeds in making me think of an aesthetically pleasing relaxed beach setting, it’s simultaneously unsettling. It’s like if the island from the movie The Menu took place in Hawaii. The setting would be different but the outcome would be the same.


Then comes the jasmine, gardenia, tuberose, and ambrette. Again, white florals aren’t so bad for me, but it improves the scent only slightly. It’s followed by the base notes of vanilla bourbon, patchouli, sandalwood, and musk. It’s a final mix of likes and dislikes. I can smell it on my skin between 6-7 hours, but it’s probably for the best that I can’t if it’s not literally an inch away from my nose.

As for the opinions of others, my boyfriend doesn’t care for it (I think this is the only one he’s ever flat out said he didn’t like). On the flip side, one of my best friends (who likes coconut plus florals) could smell it when we hugged and she commented that she likes it. Funnily enough, I wore it that day specifically because I knew she’d probably like it. So, I guess you have to really love florals and coconut combined to enjoy this one. And out of all the Kayali ones I’ve smelled, this is the only one I dislike.

Invite Only Amber 23

Photo Credit: Banyan

This is the predecessor of Lovefest. The cherry that I’m consumed by is in this fragrance too, though not the complete star of the show. In the beginning, the sourness from the cherry, the sweetness from the honey, and smokiness from the tobacco work together to deepen the smell and hit multiple scent trigger points for me. There’s some chocolate in the top notes, but it’s barely detectable compared to the others and just adds to the overall gourmand experience. Just like with Lovefest, the cherry and rose combination with the vanilla kicking in at around two hours is a lovely balance. The tobacco continues to provide the smoky element for the remainder of the wear time, combined with the presence from those base notes. They’re listed as being oud oil, cypriol, musks, amber, benzoin, sandalwood, patchouli, and vanilla.

This is another Eau de Parfum Intense, which explains why it lasts longer than usual at around 7-8 hours on my skin. I like this, but I love Lovefest, so it wouldn’t make much sense for me to purchase another size of this one. I am tempted though! Just like with Lovefest, I get a visceral reaction to the scent.

It’s so good!

Eden Juicy Apple 01

This was my first Kayali purchase. I bought it blindly two weeks prior to getting the discovery set last Halloween. I wish I knew the discovery set existed before I bought it because I would have purchased one of the other Kayali scents as a travel size instead.

I enjoy the apple scent, but after 15 minutes it morphs into a vague fruity smell similar to Minute Maid’s Mixed Berry Juice, the type that no specific note stands out besides apple and some variety of berries. Eventually, the apple disappears and the unspecified berry smell is what remains, along with jasmine and rose. The official top notes are red apple, blackcurrant, pink grapefruit, and lychee. Middle notes are wild berries, raspberry blossom, jasmine, and rose centifolia/may rose/cabbage rose. The Kayali website lists dry notes as vanilla flower, amber, sugared moss, and sensual musk.

The photos I took from one of my trips to Germany embody how I feel about this perfume because the apple (wrong color but still serves a purpose) is camouflaged here. I considered posting a picture of an apple core instead to represent the severe lack of apple in a fragrance with apple literally in the name! The note is there, but it doesn’t have much presence beyond the first 30 minutes. The story behind the berry bush photo is that none of us were certain what type it was. The best guess was elderberry or something akin to that. So it matched the vague mixed berry element.
Thankfully, I love fruity scents, and berries are among the top, so this fragrance is still one that I like. However, there are elements to this scent that reminds me of Mugler’s Angel Nova. They share the raspberry, lychee, and rose notes in common, but Angel Nova does it better. There was a point in time that I was addicted to the scent (I left my bottle behind in Germany), but Eden Juicy hasn’t elicited that same reaction out of me. Angel Nova’s downside is longevity (though it clings better to my clothes than my skin), but I get a slightly longer wear time of 6-7 hours with Eden Juicy. Then again, how well it lasts and the decent sillage doesn’t matter if the scent doesn’t excite me as much as the others.

My all-time favorite apple scented perfume was quite niche and sadly discontinued. It’s one of those fragrances that people either loved or hated: Pretty Rotten No. 33 Tokyomilk Dark by Margot Elena. It was cloying in the best way, dark, tart and sour yet with honeyed sweetness, and with rose in the background. Oh, how I loved it! This kind of apple is one I yearn for again, but I also like a bright fresh apple scent too. This one just doesn’t fit me as perfectly, even though it contains notes like these that should have been a slam dunk for me.

That’s all 10 reviewed! As it stands, if I were to rank my favorites based on the scents alone and not the longevity, sillage, or other factors it would be…

  1. Yum Pistachio Gelato – S tier
  2. Lovefest Burning Cherry – A tier
  3. Invite Only Amber – A tier
  4. Vanilla Royale Sugared Patchouli – A tier
  5. Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper – B tier
  6. Eden Juicy Apple – B tier
  7. Musk 12 – B tier
  8. Deja Vu White Flower – B tier
  9. Vanilla 28 – C tier
  10. Utopia Vanilla Coco – D tier

Spots 5-9 fluctuate all the time, depending on my mood. The perfumes are so close in rank that there could be several ties on the list! My only confident answers are my top 1-4 and the last place winner.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this bonus post for the week! Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

One Size, Terra Moons, and Other April Purchases Reviewed

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Welcome to my fourth low-buy check-in! This month’s three biggest hauls were due to Sephora’s Spring Savings Sale, me redeeming my points at Ulta for $125 worth of products, and the weakening of the YEN compared to USD enticing me to make several purchases from CDJapan and and Fude Japan. Most of these products were reviewed in posts prior to this one, and will be linked to open in a new browser tab, but there are still plenty to review for the first time here today.

SEPHORA COLLECTION Microsmooth Multi-Tasking Baked Face Palette in Captivate

This is allowed in the Low-Buy under the face product category. I am so glad I finally bought this because it makes for a fantastic travel palette! There are two versions available from Sephora and I heard wonderful things about the deeper palette called Captivate, but baked products can sometimes look lighter than they would appear on the skin, so I wasn’t certain this would work for me until I had help on this topic from Beauty Blogger, Nikki.

The bronzer is a fantastic shade for me in terms of both depth and undertone! Despite being a matte product, it leaves a beautiful natural finish and is very quick and easy to blend. I’m really impressed with it! The matte blush is one of my favorite type of red tones that reminds me of MAC’s Mineralize Blush in the shade Flirting With Danger. It can be built up to look intense, but I prefer to wear a very light application of it on my cheeks.

The shimmer blush is on the subtle side, but I still get a noticeable flush of color. It’s like a slightly lighter shimmer version of the matte shade in the palette. If I had to choose my favorite, it would be the matte one, but I still wear both. As for the highlighter, it’s not the most finely milled, but it’s still very pretty and if I chose to use this palette for the blushes or bronzers, I wouldn’t feel the need to reach for a separate single highlighter. I would just use the one in here.

The longest wear test I’ve had with this face palette is ten or eleven hours and only the shimmer shade started to fade at the end of the day, but I consider that to be a good result. The others remain looking nice until I’m ready to remove them.

While I was on a trip in April, I actually forgot to bring an eyeshadow palette, so I relied on Shade 3 for depth in the crease and Shade 1 was my lid shade. Considering I got this already relatively affordable palette for 30% off, I am very impressed and happy with the quality and have no issues recommending this palette.

SEPHORA COLLECTION 2-in-1 Brush-on Lash Adhesive – This was definitely supposed to be a No-Buy, but it had been on my list for a long time and when all Sephora Collection products were 30% off during the Sephora Spring Sale, I chose to buy it anyway.

I’m sorry that I don’t have an actual review for this item. For all these months, I have tried to get myself to test this out, but I just don’t want to. I haven’t been feeling like wearing false lashes in a long time and I really don’t want to open this product and start that timer ticking on how long it will last unless I’m ready to start wearing false lashes regularly again, or else this truly will be a wasted purchase. This was holding up my ability to get this post out, so I decided to just explain why there’s no review for this one and to publish it. When I eventually do, I will edit this post.

Patrick Ta Major Sculpt Contour Brush

It’s a bit ironic that in my post about “Synthetic Brushes I Bought in 2021,” I mentioned that despite liking some of the ones I bought, I didn’t plan on getting any additional ones, yet for the Sephora Spring Sale, I couldn’t help myself and got it after enjoying the Patrick Ta Blush Brush so much. This one is the perfect softness, head shape, and the bristles are packed at the right density to accomplish a fantastic sculpt that isn’t too sheer or too sharp. It’s the right balance of showing the product while also being nicely blended.

I love this brush so much for use with both my powder and cream bronzers and contours, that I was able to skip getting the Sonia G Lotus Base brush when that one was no longer tied to the full set. Being satisfied with a brush so much that I feel I can skip getting a similar Japanese version is a huge deal and shows just how highly I value this one from Patrick Ta.

Even though the Sonia G Mini Base is still my preference for cream bronzing and contouring, if the cream product is too sheer or too close to my skin tone and needs to be applied at maximum pigmentation, the Patrick Ta brush is my top choice. It’s also my favorite for powder formulas that need building up.

One/Size Cheek Clapper 3D Blush Trio Palette in Freaky Peach

I love this product so much! This is an all blush trio palette in three different finishes, but even though I can only use the shimmer one as a highlighter, I’m not counting it as a face palette. As a blush product, I was supposed to be limited on how many I buy this year, and I was also not supposed to purchase anything from new brands. This is my first ever One/Size purchase and it’s so great that I can’t regret it.

The peachy-coral cream blush, Rump Shake, is a very interesting texture. The closest I can compare it to in terms of formula is the LYS cream blushes. This reminds me more of a silicone balm than a traditional creamy emollient formula. It’s is very pigmented, blends easily on the cheeks no matter what type of tool I used to apply it with, it leaves a healthy sheen but it’s not dewy or sticky on the skin. Freaky is the name of the matte blush and it looks far too light for me in the pan, but One/Size face color powders deepen on the skin. So, it’s actually a medium toned shade of peach that is pigmented, yet buildable. I only need one dip in the pan though if I want to layer it on top of Rump Shake. I should also mention that tougher bristles can lead to a lot of kickup in the pan, so I use my softer natural hair brushes with the powder blush, and that also helps me to not overapply. I can’t emphasize enough that the cream and powder are quite pigmented, and me being able to use them both individually despite there being just one trio lighter than this one is proof of that. Whiplash is the shimmery golden peach blush topper/highlighter in this trio. It’s too shimmery for my taste as a blush topper, so I use it exclusively on top of my cheekbones. It’s a beautiful color, but unlike the other two products which give me zero issues with longevity, this one doesn’t want to stick to my skin for more than four hours. It lasts a few hours longer if I use it with a dewier foundation or wetter type of cream product, but six hours is around the time that the shine of the shimmer particles dulls down. So, for days I need my highlighter to last, I reach for something else. Considering I still have two other faultless products in this trio and the third is still usable, I’m very happy with this purchase and I do recommend giving this a try. For a long time, I was really tempted to buy additional shades, but I like the fact that each of these colors are distinctly different. Most of the other Cheek Clapper options are intended for monochromatic looks, and while I can still see the value in that, I feel like I’m getting more bang for my buck if I have different colors over different formulas. The cream blush isn’t the type I’d be afraid to wear in summer because it’s a little stiffer (as opposed to being super emollient) and the effect on my cheek isn’t that far from a matte look, which makes it not that much different of an effect as the powder blush. So, if I had the Rich Betch trio where the cream and powder look nearly identical, I would feel like I got a duplicate product. This is the only reason, other than my low-buy, that I haven’t purchased the two other Cheek Clappers that held my interest.

Tarte Sea Power Flex Concealer (Mini) in 53S Deep Sand

I bought this when Tina (The Fancy Face) raved about it in several of her YouTube videos. Even though concealers are allowed to be purchased in my low-buy, I didn’t want to take the chance of wasting a product if I didn’t like it, so I just bought the mini. That turned out to be a good decision because I hate this product. The shape of my tear troughs is such that products that are too creamy don’t stay put in the lines of my under eyes, so the concealer moves, creases, or does both even when set into place with powder. Because I have almost the opposite issue with Tarte’s Shape Tape, I didn’t expect their Power Flex to be a creamy intensely creasing product on me. The finish of it at least looks pretty and hydrated, but the negatives outweigh the positives.

The biggest issue I have with this product is that it offers medium buildable coverage, but I cannot get the maximum full opacity I need. The shade match is perfect, but my dark circles are still visible underneath even when I use 3 times the amount of my normal concealers. The Power Sea Flex is marketed as being full coverage, but the fact that it isn’t is reason enough to be unwearable for me. Unfortunately, I can’t even use it in other areas of my face because it doesn’t do a good enough job concealing my hyperpigmentation and scars.

This situation is very specific to me because many people don’t have the intensity of skin discoloration as I do, nor the amount of lines. So, those who have youthful and moderately blemished skin could find themselves loving this product.

Ellis Brooklyn Scent Diary Fragrance Discovery Set – It has been ages since I purchased anything perfume related! I’m unofficially on a no-buy with fragrances, but I can’t regret getting this since I rarely buy full-sizes anymore. I also hadn’t done a perfume post since 2015, so I decided to make one dedicated to this and other perfume samples that can be found HERE.

Sol de Janeiro Beija Flor Elasti-Cream with Collagen and Squalane (Travel Size)

After experiencing the terribly smelling Bom Dia Bright cream that the brand previously released (mine smelled like potent olives instead of plums), I was too skeptical to purchase a full size of the Beija Flor even though the product claims sounded fantastic. The smell of this is at least pleasant, but a bit strong. It’s not surprising that parfum is listed as the third ingredient. I don’t know how to describe the scent, but it has been hyped up a lot by people on social media saying it smells like Baccarat Rouge 540. I’ve never smelled that fragrance myself, so I cannot confirm or deny if this is true.

The texture of this is very thick, yet it doesn’t feel as moisturizing as my other skincare products. It’s at least occlusive, so I like that it prevents my skin from drying out further. I haven’t noticed any other benefits when used on my body, like the advertised skin firming and cell turnover, but I still intend to use this up. I prefer the moisturization level of the brand’s Coco Cabana Cream, so perhaps I can apply that first and this new one after to seal it in. I believe I left my Coco Cabana in Germany, so unfortunately I cannot test out that combination anytime soon.

Farmacy 10% Waterless Vitamin C Serum

I was pretty shocked when I found this serum for such a low price on Mercari literally days after it launched at Sephora. Then again, this is one of those products that were sent to quite a lot of people in exchange for a review, so someone was bound to not want theirs.
I’m on a skincare low-buy, but I’ve been on the hunt for a good Vitamin C serum with a stable formula that will last longer than six months after opening. I believe that this has an airless pump mechanism and there are two holes under the bottle that support my theory. If it is indeed an airless pump, combined with the waterless formula, I anticipated that this could limit the issue I have of Vitamin C serums oxidizing and losing their efficacy before I can finish them.

The consistency of this is very runny and feels greasy initially, but this is also an oil-free formula. The brand says that propanediol ingredient is the reason it feels this way, but it does dry down on the skin after a few minutes and is no longer greasy, but I am left with a tiny bit of residue on the face. If my skin is especially dry, I don’t feel anything at all. Ultimately, this doesn’t matter since I put a moisturizer and other products on top afterwards anyway.

When I apply it to my skin, it instantly has a warming sensation. The first time I used it, my face was approaching almost burning level, but that only lasted a few minutes. It has never been hot like that again, and just continues to have a mild to moderate amount of warmth in the first minute that I apply it.
General skincare advice for Vitamin C usage and other acids is to start small, like around 5% depending on what the active ingredient is, and gradually increasing it over time as needed. I hadn’t used a potent version of Vitamin C in a while, but it was still in my routine enough that I didn’t expect to get a burning sensation from just 10% of L-ascorbic acid. So, just as a reminder, this could potentially be too strong for someone new to using Vitamin C or with sensitive skin, and consider how often you may be using other acids in your routine as well.

This serum with its additional ingredients are intended to brighten and even the skin, combat dark spots and hyperpigmentation, and keep it hydrated. I use this in cycles, so it’s hard to tell how much this serum alone is contributing. The two other products I rotate through have been giving me slight gradual improvements over time and adding this one to that cycle has not given a noticeable boost above the norm. So, there are three possibilities I can think of:

  • The serum is as effective as my current products, not better or worse.
  • The serum isn’t contributing at all and the benefits to my skin are from the other products I’m using.
  • The serum could be more effective, but I don’t use it consistently enough.

I’m going to play the long game on this one and just continue to use it the way I have been and if I run out of the product and I notice its absence, I will consider repurchasing it at that time. However, based on past experience, I just don’t think Vitamin C is that effective for me. I get better results from AHA’s like the Farmacy Honeymoon Glow AHA Resurfacing Night Serum. Even that hasn’t rid me completely of my hyperpigmentation, but it noticeably faded those areas and the smile line that gives me trouble isn’t quite as deep as before. I’ve been relying on AHAs and BHAs well over a year, and in a cycle, so it’s not a fast process. I had improvements right away within the first week, two weeks, and then month, but after that achieving anything further has been a very slow process as adhering to a consistent skincare routine has never been my strong suit.

Lastly, as shown in the photo at the top, this product “leaks” in the sense that it always has the tiniest of droplets around the pump when I open it, even if I wipe it down along with the cap after using it. The droplets are so minimal in size that it doesn’t bother me much and I don’t consider the amount enough to feel like I’m losing product. However, I’ve seen some photos online of other people having a more significant leaking problem than me. I always keep mine stored upright, so perhaps this is why I don’t have as much of an issue as others do. I recommend avoiding putting this in a bag, flat in a drawer, and don’t take this traveling.

Dior Backstage Glow Face Palette in 002 Glitz

I really should not have bought this, breaking my highlighter no-buy aside, because I heard these highlighters would be sparkly and I don’t like visible glitter specks in my highlighters. So, I can’t explain why I was so determined to buy it.

This was yet another Mercari purchase. I make it a point not to review products I’ve purchased from a third-party if I purchased them too long from the launch date to be assured of its authenticity, but I also wanted to show what I purchased in April for low-buy purposes. So, I guess take this particular section with a grain of salt. I do believe this is the real quad, especially with that typical Dior scent these have. Below is how the shades look on me.

The highlighter named Peach is the only one without glitter that I would call a true shimmer shade, but unfortunately it’s too light for me. Because Bronze is closest to my skin tone, the glitter isn’t as obvious as the others. I didn’t have any issues with wear time or fading, but this palette isn’t for me and I may eventually declutter it.

Florasis Floral Engraving Odey Makeup Palette (The Encounter)

I forgot this wasn’t even the Florasis palette I wanted (the Floral Engraving Phoenix). I was just so excited to be able to grab a completely unused and untouched one of their stunning looking palettes at a reduced cost off of Mercari. You know a brand is doing well when people want to make dupes, but I was still surprised to come across one such dupe on Amazon. In any case, I am happy with the results of this palette but I wish the blue shade wasn’t in this because it contains PET (plastic glitter) which isn’t safe to use in the eye area. I also don’t think anyone wants to see glass listed as an ingredient in their makeup.

The “glass” probably refers to “glass microspheres” which are apparently so tiny that they aren’t dangerous. However, there is still PET, so I have chosen not to use or even swatch that blue shade. Also, I can only guess that the numbers start from left to right and top to bottom. Not all countries have writing in that direction, but I assume this is the same as English.

Florasis is a Chinese brand, so I can’t help but compare them to Zeesea. This palette is made of cardboard, but Florasis typically has very luxurious packaging, similar to Zeesea. However, Zeesea doesn’t currently have eye shadow palettes with as intricate of pan embossings as the ones from Florasis. This price point of Florasis products are also much higher.

The website states that this palette is mutli-functional and the formula of the shadows certainly contributes to that. It’s listed as a powder formula, but they feel like a matte lipstick to the touch; like a stiff cream essentially. Applying with a brush was tricky because it wants to stick and dry to the bristles.

So far, I’ve stuck to my rate of two eyeshadow palettes per month so I adhered to my low-buy with this purchase (even though I said I wouldn’t buy from brands that are new to me this year). In addition, some of these eye shadows can be used for contouring, blush, and highlight, so it counts as a face palette too.

I haven’t touched this palette since I completed my initial wear tests. I could not even remember how I did the eye looks above because it was so long ago. Considering I never reach for this, the versatility aspect still didn’t make this a good purchase for me, but I just couldn’t let go of the idea of trying out at least one Florasis palette. My curiosity has been satisfied.

Terra Moons Cosmetics Chameleons in Terrestrial and Spring Equinox Multichromes in Galactic Blossom and Vela Supernova

https://videopress.com/v/WcY124RZ?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

If you’ve used Terra Moons chameleons and multichromes before, these work the way you’d expect. All three are super sparkly looking with large glitter particle size and the colors are intense. The formula is smooth to the touch, but when applied to the eye without a tacky base or being applied with a brush that has been sprayed to wet it, it can get messy. So, I do recommend something like the Nyx Glitter Primer to keep them applied precisely and minimize fall out.

Terrestrial was a pre-order item that didn’t begin shipping until May. I used my points saved from their reward program in order to essentially have the shipping paid and part of the item. BadtoTheBrow noticed it was similar to Bloodline, and I am obsessed with how Bloodline looks in photos and on everyone else, but the base color doesn’t show through on my eyes. So, rather than buying a second Bloodline to check if it was a fluke, I wanted to try the one from Terra Moons in the hopes it would be more of what I wanted from Clionadh’s multichrome.

Unfortunately, Bloodline and Terrestrial basically are the same shade. I can bring out a little more of a pink look if I pair it with another pink shadow around it and I can always pat a red multichrome on top to manually create the red-toned look I want, but I wish it was naturally the way it looks in swatches on me and didn’t require extra effort on my part. I didn’t bother to show comparison swatches between the two because the swatches looking slightly different on my arm doesn’t show the issue of them looking identical on my eyes. And for whatever reason, Terrestrial’s shifts are easier to detect on my camera than Bloodline, so comparing eye swatches wouldn’t be a fair representation for Bloodline either.

Galactic Blossom and Vela Supernova were pre-orders that were supposed to begin shipping in June, but I got lucky and had mine arrive in the middle of May. According to my Low-Buy rules, I’ve pledged to only purchase a few single indie eyeshadows per collection, so this was definitely allowed. My only regret is that I didn’t buy these two with my order of Terrestrial in order to save on shipping costs and time.

Photos showed Galactic Blossom as a strong pink-gold, and in some cases, shifting into literally a rainbow. I’d never seen a multichrome shift to so many colors, so I absolutely had to get it. Unfortunately, on my eyes it looks mainly yellow, and on camera it looks limey yellow-green with some pink. It’s not what I wanted, but I do like how it looks in person. On my arm, at sharp angles I can see that rainbow towards the edges, so it’s not false advertising. It really can shift that way, but it doesn’t look like that on my eyes and I want others to be aware of that possibility that it’s not going to look the same on everyone and how it looks depends largely on the curvature of the eyes and lighting.

As for Vela Supernova, the colors are what I expected, but ironically, I like it the least of the three. It’s not as unique of a purple shade as I anticipated. I admittedly can’t think of multichrome dupes myself (Temptalia says Roseline, Cerise, and Mosaic) but the shade of purple looks like what I have as some of my purple shadows without the shifting ability.

I don’t get fading, dullness, or any other longevity issues with these multichromes. Terra Moons really stepped up in their multichrome offerings to the point that I think they’ve tied with Devinah for the #2 spot of best indie multichromes (from North America at least). Clionadh is still holding that #1 spot in my eyes.

PAT McGRATH LABS x Bridgerton 2 Blushing Delights Blush + Highlighter Palette and PAT McGRATH LABS x Bridgerton 2 SatinAllure Lipstick in NÉGLIGÉE – The dedicated post to these products are HERE. Technically the Blushing Delights Palette is a face palette, and therefor allowed in my no-buy. The lipstick makes 5 out of 5 in my goal to end the year without purchasing anymore lip products.

Billie Eilish Eilish Eau de Parfum Travel Spray – The review for this is in the same post HERE as the Brooklyn Ellis perfumes. This was part of my Ulta points redemption, so I did not pay anything out of pocket.

MAC Wild Cherry Glow Play Blush Color Peaches ‘N’ Dreams and MAC Mini Macstack Mascara – These two were also part of my Ulta point redemption order and have already been reviewed HERE. I said I wasn’t going to get another Glow Play blush and I resisted for about a month or two, but my interest in peach blushes (especially in my favorite formula) got me again! As for the mascara, which I am on a year long no-buy for, I at least feel better that it wasn’t a full size purchase and that I’ve stuck to the mascara no-buy pretty well so far. However, I want to continue to stick to it and not purchase another in 2022.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face Serum SPF 60+

Left are the active ingredients of the discontinued Neutrogena Ultra Sheer versus the active serum ingredients on the right.

This is the only Ulta point redemption item I have left to review! I did have one other purchase in my order, but they kept sending me the wrong shade so that product was returned. In any case, I was the biggest fan for 7-8 years of the Ultra Sheer Liquid SPF 70 Sunscreen until it was discontinued. The fact that this is supposed to have 60 SPF protection while also being in a thin formula intrigued me. I planned to either wear it alone or wear it to help boost the effectiveness of my current sunscreen, the Round Lab Moisturizing Sun Cream SPF 50++.
I don’t think double-sunning (I just made up that term…can we please make “double-sunning” a thing?) is that bad of an idea, because in one of Dr. Dray’s videos, she said the Round Lab is fantastic for a variety of reasons, but she views it more as a moisturizer that happens to have a very good sunscreen in it due to it not being waterproof (and therefore not as reliable in occasions where one will be sweaty). This serum isn’t waterproof either, but I feel like I’m doubling up, in theory, by having both this serum and moisturizer/sunscreen with high spf. This serum leaves no cast on me and although it’s slightly greasy looking as I start to apply it, that look doesn’t remain when it’s fully rubbed in. I do have dry skin though. This serum isn’t a fluid consistency like my previous holy grail sunscreen, but it’s very lightweight and easy to rub in, unlike the Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch that I despise. It’s like a good middle ground between the two.

I’m on a skincare low-buy, but sunscreen is an exception since it’s vital that I have a good one. The kind of acids I’ve been using make my skin more sensitive to the sun, in addition to living in Florida with an extremely high UV index the majority of the time. It’s imperative that I keep my skin protected.

I haven’t had any issues with pilling while wearing this serum, plus the Round Lab Sun Cream, plus makeup, so I’m happy with this product. I don’t know if it will be completely necessary for me to continue repurchasing it in the future if I find a waterproof sunscreen that I end up liking, but we will just have to see!

Nars High Profile Cheek Palette – This was a limited-edition holiday release in 2021 that I intended to purchase, but so many reviewers commented on how similar the blushes looked to each other. So, when I found one on Mercari that was barely more expensive than a single full size Nars blush, I decided it was worth getting at that point. By the time I bought it, I had already finished my Rediscovering Nars Blushes post, but I had to admit I was curious to try this gel powder formula to see if it would give me an additional finish from Nars that I could like besides their mattes. The review is HERE and as a palette with a highlighter along with the blushes, I think I’m going to allow myself to count this as being allowed in my low-buy.

SUQQU Melting Powder Blush in 07 YOIURUSHI – This and all my Suqqu purchases have been reviewed HERE. Suqqu was definitely not on my list of exemptions to the blush low-buy, but I was curious how this new formula stacked up to the usual powder formula.

MAC Surrounded by Stars Extra Dimension Skinfinish Palette – The review can be found HERE. MAC’s Magnificent Moon Collection is supposed to be in celebration of Ramadan and was released worldwide first before coming to the US. I purchased mine from Selfridges since it was there first, I was waiting for something to add to my cart to get the Suqqu blush, and I had free shipping via the annual global shipping program I signed up for with Selfridges. Since it’s a split highlighter and blush quad, it’s allowed in my low-buy.

CLIONADH HAUL – I decided that I would do a dedicated post to this haul, found HERE, but as a Thursday bonus instead of my usual Monday postings. I’ve mentioned endlessly how much I love Clionadh eye shadows and multichromes, so there isn’t much to say about the formulas and it’s just a matter of showing them off and possibly doing comparisons to other indie brand shadows.

FUDE JAPAN HAUL and CD JAPAN HAUL – I believe the brushes I purchased in April have already been reviewed HERE, with the exception of the Hakuhodo brushes which are still being tested.

That’s all for today! If you’d like to see previous posts in the low-buy series, as well as sneak peeks for the upcoming ones, I created a dedicated page to it HERE. If you’d like to see more content from me, be sure to click follow via email or to return back every Monday at 11:30 am EST! Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Perfume Sampler Reviews: Ellis Brooklyn, Killian, and Billie Eilish

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My last perfume review on this blog was seven years ago (and now deleted), so a post like this is overdue. At the same time, fragrances are so subjective and what smells amazing on one person could smell terrible on someone else due to all of our unique body chemistries, so that is why I tend to not discuss or recommend fragrances. Even the length of time it lasts can be different. However, it has been so long since I’ve attempted it and I’ve purchased so many discovery sets with samplers that I decided to just go for it and discuss my newest ones here today.

My favorite perfumes are gourmands (desserts and fruits in particular). I don’t mind a few spicy notes, along with tobacco. I tend to not like green and clean scents, nor florals unless it’s gardenia and I don’t mind jasmine. Also, patchouli smells terrible on my skin. Every time I’ve hated a fragrance, not just disliked it, it turned out there was patchouli in it. So, I actively avoid buying anything with that note. Of course, it can’t be avoided if it’s in one of the fragrances in a sampler.

As a final disclaimer, I have to add that an uncommonly high percentage of the time I’ve sprayed a perfume in the air, it smells great, but that same one sprayed directly on my skin doesn’t have the same effect. So, most of the time when I wear fragrances, I spray them on my clothes rather than my skin. For review purposes, I have tested all of these multiple times and on my clothes as well as body for all day wear tests, unless stated otherwise. I began testing prior to April 2022, so this has been quite the task to complete.

Ellis Brooklyn Scent Diary Fragrance Discovery Set

MYTH – In the first five hours, this perfume is so lovely! I can smell that bit of bergamot in the beginning with that delicious cassis with a general floral background. Cassis and other currants and berries are my favorite in jams, so it triggers a very positive emotion out of me when I wear this. I can never pinpoint an exact moment when it happens, but at some point it changes from a black currant smell to sweet florals. It’s not sugary sweet, but a nectar type of sweet. The listed mid notes are Tiger Orchid, Pink Lotus, and Jasmine Petals which my nose just registers them as a pleasant floral smell. Additional notes are Patchouli (which I usually hate), Liquid Musks, and White Cedarwood, but all I can detect is floral and maybe a little musk when it goes past five hours. I wish this fragrance remained stronger for longer, because although it lasts about seven hours on the skin, it doesn’t smell as special in those last hours. I do like this overall. I’m not sure if I will try and purchase a travel size in the future, but I’ve considered it.

SALT – This perfume is the most difficult for me to pick out notes from. The initial spritz smells fresh, but in five minutes until about an hour it reminds me of soap. Like, it vaguely smells like Irish Spring Bar Soap. The ylang ylang and Violet Leaves Absolute top notes are completely lost on me. For the remaining eight hours that this lasts on my skin, the smell loses that soapy aspect and reminds me instead of green florals and damp wood on a pier. I don’t think that’s the most flattering description, but that’s what it evokes.

It’s like wood that has stayed wet too long and isn’t quite moldy but takes on a bit of an earthy, algae, and salty quality to it, but with a nondescript floral around to freshen it up. It’s like the Tahitian Tiare and Magnolia Dianica mid notes, along with the Musk, Vegan Ambergris, and Sandalwood meld together, so I can’t really pick them apart. The smell is very much prominent in the first few hours, which isn’t fun for me because I don’t want to smell like this, but as long lasting as it is, it does mellows out.

SWEET – After trying several pear scented fragrances, I’ve decided that pear is just “okay” out of all the possible fruits. In the initial spray, I do get that pear scent, but the sweetness of the ambrette comes through and it just reminds me of vanilla and fruit desserts like ambrosia. Smelling this made me instantly smile! I’ve made it quite clear that gourmand fragrances are my favorite, so it’s no surprise that Sweet ended up being a favorite.

I didn’t know I like the smell of violets until I started buying Guerlain products. Violet is one of the mid notes, and I can smell it, but I mostly still just smell like a dessert, which I really like. I know some people add candied/sugared violets to desserts, so it still follows along that theme. There’s also heliotrope and orris, but I have no idea what those notes smell like. Because marshmallow is the main base note, I continue to smell like a dessert, specifically a lightly toasted marshmallow when the florals fade. The cozy notes of amber and cashmere are ones I cannot smell, but perhaps they account for the warm but not smokey aspect of that marshmallow scent. The perfume begins to fade after 7-8 hours. This perfume is one I would like to get in the full-size, but considering I can’t ever get through my perfumes in time before they turn, it’s something I could see myself purchasing repeatedly in the travel size.

SCI FI – In the first few minutes, I get the exhilarating orange scent, but that quickly transitions to a sweet floral from the pink freesia. Green tea is a mid note, but I can only smell that when spritzed on my wrist. In the crook of my elbow, that tea scent never comes through and I just get sweet floral that’s warm almost spicy, especially when the fragrance moves onto the final stage where the cashmere woods and vanilla beans play a factor. I’m not sure what accounts for that slight spicy element though, but this is definitely a warm gourmand slightly floral scent. Sci Fi is closer to the realm of the kind of perfumes I typically go for, but what I consider to be “safe.” My favorites tend to be like this one but with some kind of slightly unusual twist, which this lacks. There’s still a place for something like this in my collection, so I could see myself one day buying a small travel size sprayer for occasional usage, but it’s not special enough that I would ever get it in the full size. The scent wafts off of me enough for those very close to me to smell, but certainly won’t fill a room. I can get a solid seven hours of wear with this perfume.

WEST – At first I smell a general citrus scent mixed with water lily, but after a few minutes the water lily completely dominates it. I can’t specifically smell the blood orange, clementine, nor lemon. They’re jumbled together. For 10-15 minutes, I smell green, bordering on floral, but there’s also an aquatic element. It reminds me of a pond with grass reeds and flowers, which I guess makes sense. I have to show a photo as an example of the scent and feeling it evokes.

After those fifteen minutes, I’m hit with the basil and oh my goodness I hate it! That green, herbal, fresh scent is too much for my liking. The water lily is still present, but it’s not enough to compensate for the way it smells on my body. Unfortunately for me, this happens to be one of the few potent scents of the bunch and wafts strongly off me. Within the first hour, I still get water lily notes with a touch of ginger on my wrists, but it’s herbaceous all the way if I spray it in the crook of my elbow. Because of this discrepancy, I’m guessing this is an issue between the perfume and my body chemistry. It’s possible I could enjoy it more if I just spray it on my clothes only, but honestly I didn’t like this enough to want to even bother trying. With the remainder of the notes being vetiver, amber, and oakmoss, the fresh green scent is one I cannot escape for the rest of the day. After nine hours I could still smell it on me, so I removed it. It could have lasted longer, but as I despise this one, I wasn’t about to test it beyond that.

BEE – A typical perfume would have top notes moving into heart notes and finishing with the base notes. With this fragrance, it doesn’t quite follow that order for me and I can smell them all at once. Initially, despite honey being a mid note, I smell a burst of honey, a touch of spice from the cinnamon, and rum. Then I lose the distinct honey smell in the first ten minutes and it becomes more of a general sweetness with the rum along with that dash of spiciness. After about 30-45 minutes, how I smell triggers the memory of the time I baked a rum cake using Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva rum which I bought specifically for the reported chocolate flavor it was supposed to have.

Of course, it didn’t have a true chocolate taste that I, a person who doesn’t dabble a ton in alcohol, expected. That’s why Bee reminds me so much of that rum cake. For several hours, I smell like sweet not-quite-chocolate rum. It’s not until about four hours that it finally smells like vanilla and cacao. The sandalwood note that’s present is barely detectable. I really like the finish of this perfume, but it takes so long to get there. Essentially the beginning and end are great, but the middle of the experience is just okay. The amount of sillage is perfect for me and I get a minimum of seven hours of wear.

APRÈS – I like the smell of evergreens, but not necessarily on my body, so I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy the juniper berry scent, but it continues to grow on me with each use. There’s supposed to be saffron and cardamom in the top notes, but I can’t smell them individually as the juniper berry overpowers them. For the first fifteen minutes, I smell like slightly sweet pine with a touch of spice. From fifteen minutes onward in those first few hours, that sweetness really develops. I’m guessing that comes largely from the praline note. It’s sweet, a little warm, and a little woody. In the remainder of the time that I wear the perfume, it stays mainly woody but I swear I can still smell a bit of sweetness, spice, and smokiness. I don’t have any other fragrance in my collection like it. It’s the kind of scent I personally enjoy smelling and would wear it while by myself, but I wouldn’t want to wear it in public because it’s a masculine forward unisex scent, and I prefer wearing traditionally feminine or feminine forward unisex scents while out and about. This fragrance gave me more sillage in the beginning, but it doesn’t last as long on me as some of the others. I can only get about six hours out of it.

SUPER AMBER – From the very beginning, I can smell the amber and a touch of vanilla, but not the sweet kind. I wear so many gourmand fragrances that I forgot vanilla doesn’t always lean that way. This is more of a floral vanilla. After some time, perhaps 30-60 minutes, the cedar kicks in and from then onward the scent stays the same on my skin for the rest of the day. There is supposed to be musk in this as well, but all I really pick up are those three notes. I like that this perfume has a consistent smell, but I do wish it leaned a little sweeter in its warmth rather than being at the brink of woodsy, just to be closer to my personal preferences. This isn’t the kind of perfume that leaves a trail. I can only smell it on myself if I put my nose close to it, but it does last a good nine hours. I don’t want too much of sillage, and would be happy if only people directly next to me could smell me, but this one doesn’t give quite enough.

SUN FRUIT – After a few minutes when the fragrance settles into my skin, I smell just like Nonni’s Fig Biscottis, including the white icing smell. This makes sense since the notes include fig and vanilla.

At about an hour is when the florals start to dominate. At that point I can detect the jasmine and a bit of a citrus blossom note. I can still smell it for six hours and by nine it’s definitely undetectable by anyone but me. I didn’t care for the heart notes while they were stronger but as time went on and the florals mellowed out as it moved into the base notes, I started to like the scent again. The main selling point for me though is the initial spray, but since that doesn’t last, this isn’t the kind of perfume I would purchase in the full size.

Sweet, Après, and Myth are my three favorites from this Ellis Brooklyn selection. I have to applaud the brand for the fact that there is patchouli in some of them, which usually even a small amount ruins the entire perfume for me, but I don’t even notice them in these fragrances! I don’t mind the smell in the air but it usually smells awful on my skin! That has been a nice surprise. I’m very happy I decided to make this purchase!

KILIAN Paris Mini Travel Spray Sampler Set

Good Girl Gone Bad – This is very much a floral perfume, but not in the way that I normally dislike. I would call it a “Fruity Floral” smell, which has a natural sweetness with a combination of flowers that smell youthful and not old fashioned. The listed notes are apricot-tinged osmanthus absolute, orange blossom, and may rose, tuberose absolute, jasmine, and narcissus. Two spritzes is enough for a strong application that wafts off me for about three hours. At almost 4 hours is when I have to get closer to still smell it on me. So, I can get about 5-6 hours of wear. It’s a decent perfume, but nothing that really excites me.

Straight To Heaven – According to Sephora, “a burning splash of rich dark rum defines the opening,” which is true. I smelled that easily, along with a slight cocoa scent, plus something else that I don’t like and I can only assume was patchouli. However, as it started to settle after the first five minutes, the cedar smell dominated along with a spicy note. I thought I detected another wood note, but it wasn’t until I read the description that I was able to identify that as the sandalwood. Then, after the patchouli and my skin had enough time to mingle, I really started to become aware of it. For the rest of the day, I smelled woody with a touch of spice, some musk, and something unpleasant. Spraying this on my clothes could possibly help, but I didn’t attempt it with this one. Because I predominately get a wood profile from this, it’s not something I want to wear again. The notes collectively mentioned on Kilian, Sephora, and Fragrantica’s websites are: rum, vanilla, dried fruit, cedar, sandalwood, coffee, cacao, cognac, whisky, patchouli, vetiver, nutmeg, musk, jasmine, and amber. Straight to Heaven fades significantly within four hours and by the fifth hour I can’t smell it on my skin anymore. Unsurprisingly, I don’t plan to wear this again.

Love, Don’t Be Shy – Britt Clarke raves about Kilian fragrances so much that she’s the main reason I bought this sampler. This one in particular, along with Good Girl Gone Bad, I’ve heard her talk about the most. The first time I wore it, I believe it was nice at first, but it left zero impression on me afterwards. I didn’t even remember I had it on until I was in the shower that night having completely forgotten to keep track of the changes to it throughout the day. I was already mid-scrub at that point, so there was nothing I could do and that wear test day was wasted. I couldn’t even recall a single note.

The next time I wore it, I could see why I forgot about it. This perfume doesn’t just lack sillage. I usually spritz myself twice, but I had to double it to smell anything, and it was still weak! In that initial spritz, I smell vaguely sweet, floral, and powdery. After five minutes, the coriander dominates giving spiciness with a little floral, but that spiciness translates more on the smoky side for some reason. Within this time frame as it mingles with my skin, the strength of the perfume grows, but peak strength is just within that first hour. Around 45 minutes is when I notice the smoky element lessens, but spicy and slightly floral is still the main scent I get. It remains at the peak strength for about two hours before it starts to get weaker. It isn’t until that fading time that it starts to get sweeter. After 3-4 hours it significantly fades, and some point between 4-5 hours, I smell about as strongly as a body lotion at midday. If I put my nose right up to my skin, I can smell something sweet, but if I smelled that on anyone else, I would have thought it was the person’s body wash. It lingers that faintly.

According to the Fragrantica website, the top notes are neroli, bergamot, pink pepper, and coriander. The middle notes are orange blossom, jasmine, honeysuckle, rose, and iris. The base notes are sugar, vanilla, caramel, musk, civet, and labdanum. I don’t get any citrus notes when this is worn on my body. I can only smell the neroli and bergamot on my clothes.

With this fragrance, no matter how much I spray, it doesn’t last on me. Nothing is distinct enough for me to be able to identify the specific notes other than the ones I’ve already mentioned I could smell. Many people say this smells like marshmallows, but when it gets sweeter, that doesn’t even come to mind. I haven’t seen or heard anyone else have longevity issues like this, so either this sample is off or I have a very unique relationship with this perfume. I find myself saying, “Love, don’t be shy. Make your presence known. Don’t disappear so fast.”

Because it’s not memorable to me, I would never attempt to buy even a travel size.

*UPDATE MAY 31, 2023 – I received a sample of this perfume again and this time the experience was much different! I could instantly smell the Neroli and a powdery sweetness. As time goes on, the florals mellow out, but the sweetness increases with a touch of spice. There was no smokiness at all. It’s still not a long lasting perfume on me (5-6 hours), but it had better sillage and made a much stronger impression in the initial three hours. I can only guess that the discovery sampler I got had some vials that were starting to turn. I still wouldn’t purchase it because of the length of time it lasts, but I have a much higher impression of it now.

Black Phantom – “Memento Mori” The notes in this are, “Dark Chocolate, Rum, Caramel, Coffee, Sugar Cane, Almond, Sandalwood, and Heliotrope.” This is the kind of scent I consider “sexy” from that rum and chocolate smell I get right from the start, along with a bit of sandalwood once it has time to really sink into my skin. I actually prefer the way this smells on my body over how it smells on my clothes because it’s a little sweeter of a smell on my skin. After an hour or so, I start to notice more of the almond scent, but that’s it. I can’t detect any other specific notes and I don’t notice any other changes to how it smells for the rest of the time I wear it, which is about six hours. Also, I don’t know how common this would be for someone else, but this perfume triggers dessert cravings for me. Maybe it affects me a little more because I’m on a strict diet, but other gourmand scents I’ve reviewed were worn at points during my diet as well and did not have that effect. Although the temptation aspect is unwanted, I like the fact that this fragrance smells good enough to make me hungry. I prefer this to Bee, from Ellis Brooklyn, but Bee has better longevity.

Moonlight in Heaven – I’ll start off by saying the top notes are supposed to be grapefruit, pink pepper, and lemon, with middle notes of mango, coconut, and rice, plus main notes of Tonka Bean and Vetiver. The grapefruit is very apparent. I can only get a whiff of lemon if I overspray (which for me is four spritzes). After a few hours, the perfume smells less acidic, but still fruity overall, though I can’t ever pick out specific notes. Even when I spray a lot in the beginning, this perfume doesn’t last on me past five hours. I like it, but it’s not a must-have.

In fact, after smelling all of these, I don’t understand the hype for Kilian fragrances at all. I’m glad I bought the sampler (at $24 during a sale) to find out five of these aren’t my cup of tea over spending double that amount for one travel size scent and wonder if I just chose the wrong one for me.

Eilish Eau de Parfum by Billie Eilish (Travel Spray)

I like some Billie Eilish songs, but I don’t have any opinions about the artist personally. The reason I wanted this perfume was due to those gourmand notes listed. The top notes are mandarin, sugared petals, and berries. The middle notes are listed as vanilla, cacao, spice, and rose. The base notes are amber, wood, tonka bean, and musk.

Whenever I wear this, I smell absolutely zero fruits. I instantly get cacao, creaminess from the vanilla, and a hint of spice. Essentially, I smell exactly like a bowl of milky Cocoa Puffs Cereal.

After about three hours the creamy sweet scent fades, but the perfume remains smelling like cocoa with spice. I can smell this on myself for a decent amount of time, but around five to six hours I can only smell it if I put my nose right up to my skin. The cocoa smell fades significantly at six hours and even though I can still smell something on me for a few more hours after that, all the pleasantness from it is gone. It just smells like generic cheap perfume at six hours.

I like that I get the cocoa smell for longer than I expected, but I’m not a fan of how it finishes, and re-spraying myself has never been part of my routine. Knowing what I know now, I would have skipped getting this perfume. Since it’s already in my possession, I considered still using it for quick outings. However, a cocoa puffs cereal smell is a fun quirky thing I would have loved in my teen years, up to perhaps 21. From 22 and onward, I still wasn’t going for very sophisticated smells, but I wanted something “sexy.” I want to smell sweet and delicious, but also mysterious. I wanted there to be some unusual note as well to give it a little more nuance. Now, I don’t care as much for the niche scents, but I still want that sweetness and in an elevated grown up way. I never subscribed to the idea that a perfume could be too young or too old for someone, but in this case, I do feel like it’s a bit young for me. So, I’m likely going to put it up on Mercari at some point, or see if my friend who is a Billie Eilish fan wants it. However, I don’t think this scent profile is really her vibe either. She’s more of a sweet but floral type.

That is everything I’ve got for today! I don’t think I’ll do another perfume review ever again though, unless it’s a fragrance I already know and love. Forcing myself to give some a chance that I really didn’t like, and testing most of those unpleasant ones multiple times was a downside to the review process that I’m not ready to repeat again anytime soon. If this was helpful in any way, or at least entertaining to somebody, then at least it will have been worth it. Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤