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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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…
- Yum Pistachio Gelato – S tier
- Lovefest Burning Cherry – A tier
- Invite Only Amber – A tier
- Vanilla Royale Sugared Patchouli – A tier
- Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper – B tier
- Eden Juicy Apple – B tier
- Musk 12 – B tier
- Deja Vu White Flower – B tier
- Vanilla 28 – C tier
- 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 ❤
Lili's Beauty Blog 