Kayali Vanilla 28 (Review)

As a big vanilla lover, this was definitely on my list to try! Kayali Vanilla is "a decadent fragrance inspired by the rich heritage and sophistication of the Middle East."

The notes for this fragrance are: 

This refined fragrance will captivate your senses with a blend of creamy jasmine and rich Madagascan vanilla orchid. The sweet softness of Brazilian tonka is beautifully balanced by Oriental notes of musk, amber, patchouli and brown sugar in this rich, deep scent. Handcrafted in France, the Kayali Collection is imagined by Huda and Mona Kattan to reflect the limitless possibilities of your desires. Beautifully balanced oriental notes of Musk, Amber, Patchouli and Brown Sugar form the distinguished wood base of this utterly sublime scent. 

The Eau de Parfum comes in two sizes, 50ml which retails for $120 AUD, and 100ml which retails for $145 AUD, which to me is a bit of a strange pricing from the Sephora site (Either the 50ml isn't worth the price tag, or I'm getting some insane bargain with the 100ml.), whereas the official Huda Beauty site offers these for $88 USD (50ml) and $123 USD (100ml). 

Vanilla opens up with a super sugary and floral vanilla, it's sweet jasmine dipped in vanilla essence drizzled in caramel syrup. While the jasmine leans just the slightest bit green, but the vanilla covers it all up with it's creamy sharpness. 

During dry down, the musk blooms next to the jasmine, giving the whole scent a slightly animalic  quality. The amber and patchouli gives the scent a little bit of depth, a bit heady, a bit resinous, while the brown sugar is a dark, slightly bready, scent of molasses. It reminds me of clumpy brown sugar from the bag in the corner, mixed with a bit of vanilla essence. During my wear, I didn't detect much wood at all, but more musk, which reminded me of Solstice Scent's white musk note in Violet Mallow. 

The profile of the fragrance is like the headier, muskier sister of LaVanilla's Pure Vanilla (which retails for $80 AUD for 50mL). While Pure Vanilla features the same crisp Madagascan vanilla and creamy tonka bean, it instead opts for the softer heliotrope blend, which results in a light, almost coconut-y scent. In comparison, Fragrantica reviews indicated that the main accords were sweet, floral and balsamic - in which, yes the scent mainly registers as sugary vanilla, floral, and just a bit of sweet/soft/warm/slightly resinous to me. 

There is no depth and very little change to this scent, it wore for about 4-5 hours with the musk gradually getting stronger, and faded quite suddenly around 5-6 hours. 

While the additions to Kayali Vanilla make it slightly sweeter and more gourmand, which in theory sounds like something I'd love, it's a lot muskier than I anticipated. While I like the simple sweetness, I also don't think I would be happy paying the price that it is for a simple vanilla musk blend - notes which I can easily replicate. Additionally, as musk is a scent I tend to dislike in abundance, I don't think I'll be reaching for this scent again.