Kayali Collection Review
This week I will be reviewing the Kayali fragrances again but commenting on their continued range along with their new fragrance which was added to their ‘Yum’ collection. The Kayali brand has great gourmand fragrances that have an amazing longevity which was why I was so excited to try more from their brand. Some of my expectations were exceeded while some of the scents were not at all how I had imagined. Similar to last week, I will be ranking them in order of my most enjoyed to least preferred. And dissimilar to last week, these scents are not limited edition and are still available to purchase from the Kayali website so make sure to have a look if any of them pique your interest.
1. Yum Pistachio Gelato | 33 - Of course this is top of the list. This scent is just so strong and decadent that I feel loyal in my love for it - do see my first blog for my feelings on my favourite Kayali fragrance.
2. Vanilla | 28 - This scent I had been dying to try for myself after hearing such positive opinions about it. I have always been able to smell the luxury of this scent off others when they were wearing it that I needed to get a hand on some for myself. It is creamy, sweet and you get this cosy and edible vanilla note throughout. However, how this vanilla scent differs is with its brown sugar, tonka beans and amber notes which give the aroma a burnt, carmelised effect which is warm and makes this fragrance refined rather than a youthful ‘girly’ light vanilla. It is elegant but loud in its presence. I would highly recommend this Kayali fragrance, alongside many of the stans it has collected already.
3. Yum Boujee Marshmallow | 81 - This fragrance I have surprisingly, thoroughly enjoyed. I have worn it a couple times alone and with my Yum Pistachio Gelato, and I have so far repeatedly received compliments. It is a fluffy, airy, feminine fragrance which feels cheeky and nostalgic. The scent is sweet, creamy with a soft vanilla which is typical of many of the vanilla fragrances which are currently popular. You get this slight sweetness of strawberry which adds this fruity dimension which I think brings out its strength more which makes it noticeable to others. The fragrance is accurately named as you do get that exact marshmallow smell and texture which is easily identifiable. It does not smell too artificial, or too sweet, it has an enjoyable softness. It is gourmand which I always love. It reminded me a little of the Thank U, Next fragrance by Ariana Grande with its similar powdery vanilla aroma, but this Kayali fragrance is a little more fruity which makes it stronger although I do still enjoy both of these perfumes.
4. Invite Only Amber | 23 - I initially was not expecting this to be as high on the list that it is due to my preference for fruity and gourmand which the following scents are. This was just a surprising, excellent winter time scent which just felt cosy and warm when I was trying it that I really liked the comfort it was giving me. It is also mature and sophisticated with its strong smoky smell, which gave a very old-fashioned vibe which tapered on this line of an almost masculine fragrance but I really liked this oud, honey combination which made a smoky smell indulgent and tender. It didn’t smell exactly like this fragrance, but gave me a similar feel or else took me to the same place in my mind at least as Replica By the Fireplace. It a lovely warm fragrance that settles nice where it transitions from upfront smokiness to a warming amber.
5. Utopia Vanilla Coco | 21 - This fragrance was disappointing for me. I love coconut fragrances so this was the one I was most looking forward to trying but it fell very flatly for me. It felt very bland, boring and one dimensional compared to my other coconut scents such as Bronze Goddess eau Fraiche by Estee Lauder and even a Coconut & Jasmine perfume from M&S that I own. Its use of white florals was too overpowering for the coconut and gave a soapy smell which white flowers can sometimes unfortunately do in fragrances. It was fresh, cooling and slight fruitiness from the pear which made it refreshing but it was still just a little basic for me compared to the uniqueness which Kayali usually imbeds in their fragrances. It was too white floral, soapiness for me so wouldn’t rave about it in terms of it being ‘coconutty’ if that is what you are looking for.
6. Deja Vu White Flower | 57 - This was a lovely floral fragrance that my mother did like, it just isn’t the type of scent family I usually enjoy, hence why this fell lower on the list. If you enjoy white floral fragrances this might be one to try as it isn’t soapy with its usage. It is warm, elegant, solar and floral is definetely present. You can notice a little woodiness which bodies this fragrance a little more. It was very similar to Jasmine & Sun Rose by Molton Brown and slightly reminiscent of possibly a softer version of J’adore by Dior.
7. Lovefest Burning Cherry | 48 - To be transparent, I am surpised this isn’t last on my list as that was what I had expected to happen. This would be at no fault to Kayali, but for my heavy dislike for cherries and the scent of them. However, this scent was actually tasteful and enjoyable. It falls this far down just due to the nature of the perfume as its not a particular note I love and want to continue to wear. If you like cherry scents, this would be accurate of a cherry scent without again being too artificial or boring. It is deep, rich with only a slight sweetness which reminded me of a cherry jelly from Hariboes but its only subtle and not too obvious or too sickly. There is a smokiness, a yummy nuttiness and slight floral notes which feminises and matures the fragrance. It settles on the woodier side rather than the fruitier side which I would prefer. It is a multi-dimensional fragrance. I would recommend for cherry enjoyers.
8. Juicy Apple | 01 - This scent was very disliked amongst my peers on trial of it. It is potent with its notes of apple but it gives this overbearing artificially sweet and sour smell which comes across soapy and one-dimensional as it washes a lot of the other notes out. It settles slightly muskier but still the vanilla never became evident to me and it was just so soapy that it reminded my peers and I of a shower gel rather than a perfume. It was lack lustre and childish as a fragrance unfortunately.
9. Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper | 25 - I am not in love with pink pepper as a main note in fragrances so I did not have high expectations for this fragrance. I enjoy certain takes on pink pepper fragrances but it has to be done in a certain exciting way. ‘Go big or go home!’ as they say with pink pepper in my opinion. This Kayali take on a pink pepper fragrance didn’t do that for me and was therefore boring. It was not strong as I had expected, not as spicy or peppery as I would’ve liked. It is not bold like Molton Brown’s Fiery Pink Pepper which I do think uses that note well but instead is very mild, extremely floral and reminded me of a spa or a fragrance suited to a diffuser rather than a perfume. I wouldn’t wear this myself, and as it is almost more so a floral rose perfume than peppery, I wouldn’t state that it’s an amazing rose perfume either in that category.
10. Vanilla Royale Sugared Patchouli | 64 - Last and least was Kayali’s 64. I really disliked this fragrance although the name suggested such indulgent, sweet, gourmand things which I was so excited for. This was totally very far off the name for me personally. It did not feel vanilla-y, smooth or sweetly sugared like Vanilla|28 which I thought it would be. It was SO heavy on the oud which was all I was getting which didn’t feel greatly highlighted by the title so I was very confused on my initial try. This mix of oud and patchouli was an over smoke of this green aromatic which felt confusingly trying to be a gourmand fragrance. It was confusing and uncomfortable and gave me the same migraine sensations as Angel by Mugler’s use of patchouli, but way too smoky and overpoweringly so. The rum doesn’t act as it does in Kayali’s 33, with its decadent warmth, it instead just gives this alcoholic tang like sniffing it straight out of a bottle of a spirit and it is too alcoholic in this way. It is old fashioned and the smoke and alcohol notes suffocates all the notes which I was excited for. It was a terrible version of Kayali’s 23 in terms of smoky fragrances. I really enjoy oud fragrances, even Kayali’s Oudgasm Collection, specifically the Rose Oud fragrance and Kayali uses it perfectly in that scent but this usuage was just personally awful for me and I wouldn’t wear it again due to its sickly intoxicating nature.
Were any of these opinions contraversial to you? Did you disagree with any? Let me know via the home page of the website in the comment box. Thanks for visiting and I’ll see you again next week!