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Marshmallow florals, sweet / spicy pink pepper and roses with woodiness
When I saw the leak of the Vacay In a Bottle set, I knew I was gonna get the 10ml mini bottle set and not the sample set. I was pretty curious to see Kayali tackling summer scents and the notes didn't seem bad for each of these perfumes. I decided to test them in their box order which is why I'm starting with this one.
It starts with a very marshmallowy assortment of orange blossom and neroli. At first, I was confused because I recognized this scent from somewhere and that's when it dawned on me. This accord is very reminiscent of the one found in Love Don't Be Shy Perfume. It smells like marshmallows, powdery and soft, with a subtle sweetness and an underlying floral tonality. I also started smelling a spicy note after a few minutes. The pink pepper mixed with the turkish rose reminded me of the accord found in Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper | 25. It's a sweet, but spicy floral accord that's feminine-leaning. Cedarwood tones down everything so it doesn't become overly too sweet or powdery and adds some woodiness and depth to the perfume. The fragrance doesn't have great projection which is surprising considering the fact I've always gotten great sillage from them. It does last awhile on the skin, but becomes more of a scent bubble after about two hours. It dries down to a vague sweet and woody skin scent with some warmth to it.
Overall the perfume smells fine. It isn't the best I've smelled from what Kayali has to offer, but it's not the worst I've smelled from them (or from other brands). It smells as if I layered LDBS by Kilian and SDPP by Kayali together with an added note of warm woods. Probably wouldn't go for a full 50ml bottle if Kayali ever decides to release them in different full bottle sizes, but it wasn't that bad for a blind-buy.
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A note on the Vacay In A Bottle set:
While I do not regret my blind-buy purchase of the 10ml mini bottles, I recommend people try out the sample set before going for the 10ml. All four of them were lovely, but I don't feel like they were on par with older Kayali fragrances. Personal opinion incoming: I think Kayali should slow down on the releases and work towards solidifying their brand and their intentions. The Vacay In A Bottle feels a little bit gimmicky to me, like a cash grab. I would've seen them as body mists instead of perfumes. The perfumes aren't really unique and I've often thought of them as being a bit generic.
In order of preference: Maui In A Bottle Sweet Banana | 37, Maldives In A Bottle Ylang Coco | 20, Capri In A Bottle Lemon Sugar | 14 and Marrakesh In A Bottle Orange Blossom | 24. This is a little bit surprising as I thought the order would look like: Capri In A Bottle Lemon Sugar | 14, Maldives In A Bottle Ylang Coco | 20, Marrakesh In A Bottle Orange Blossom | 24 and Maui In A Bottle Sweet Banana | 37.
It starts with a very marshmallowy assortment of orange blossom and neroli. At first, I was confused because I recognized this scent from somewhere and that's when it dawned on me. This accord is very reminiscent of the one found in Love Don't Be Shy Perfume. It smells like marshmallows, powdery and soft, with a subtle sweetness and an underlying floral tonality. I also started smelling a spicy note after a few minutes. The pink pepper mixed with the turkish rose reminded me of the accord found in Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper | 25. It's a sweet, but spicy floral accord that's feminine-leaning. Cedarwood tones down everything so it doesn't become overly too sweet or powdery and adds some woodiness and depth to the perfume. The fragrance doesn't have great projection which is surprising considering the fact I've always gotten great sillage from them. It does last awhile on the skin, but becomes more of a scent bubble after about two hours. It dries down to a vague sweet and woody skin scent with some warmth to it.
Overall the perfume smells fine. It isn't the best I've smelled from what Kayali has to offer, but it's not the worst I've smelled from them (or from other brands). It smells as if I layered LDBS by Kilian and SDPP by Kayali together with an added note of warm woods. Probably wouldn't go for a full 50ml bottle if Kayali ever decides to release them in different full bottle sizes, but it wasn't that bad for a blind-buy.
---
A note on the Vacay In A Bottle set:
While I do not regret my blind-buy purchase of the 10ml mini bottles, I recommend people try out the sample set before going for the 10ml. All four of them were lovely, but I don't feel like they were on par with older Kayali fragrances. Personal opinion incoming: I think Kayali should slow down on the releases and work towards solidifying their brand and their intentions. The Vacay In A Bottle feels a little bit gimmicky to me, like a cash grab. I would've seen them as body mists instead of perfumes. The perfumes aren't really unique and I've often thought of them as being a bit generic.
In order of preference: Maui In A Bottle Sweet Banana | 37, Maldives In A Bottle Ylang Coco | 20, Capri In A Bottle Lemon Sugar | 14 and Marrakesh In A Bottle Orange Blossom | 24. This is a little bit surprising as I thought the order would look like: Capri In A Bottle Lemon Sugar | 14, Maldives In A Bottle Ylang Coco | 20, Marrakesh In A Bottle Orange Blossom | 24 and Maui In A Bottle Sweet Banana | 37.