Telekinec

I don't understand why this fragrance has such a low rating (6.6/10 at this moment) because it's a really nice beach perfume. I can picture the warm, golden sand, the gleaming sun shining high in the clear, blue skies and the sun-kissed skin... It's very vacation vibes.

Ylang-ylang and champaca flowers are the strongest flowers pulling on my skin. Ylang-ylang with its functional aspect of sunscreen and sun tan lotion. Tropical, slightly fruity with an almost carnal quality. Champaca flowers, which are floral and sparkling, add a touch of freshness and airy quality to the fragrance. Magnolia is sweet and slightly powdery while gardenia is subdued, more like an undertone, lending its powdery sweetness to the perfume. Bourbon vanilla and indian sandalwood add heaviness to the perfume, like warmth exuding off sun-kissed skin. It adds sweetness and a bit of an exotic feeling. The overall vibe of this perfume is creamy tropical flowers with a hint of sweetness and woodiness.

I might have gone for a bottle if it wasn't for the fact that I already have a fragrance in my collection that is quite similar: "Lust For Sun | Juliette Has A Gun". Nonetheless, it's a nice fragrance if you're looking for that summer, beach and vacation vibe.

Marbella is THAT girl who's ready for warm temperatures and beach vibes. Her tote bag is ready, her swimming suit is trendy, she's got those big, black, designer sunglasses on and her hair has that beach style to it. At least that's what I thought of when I first smelled it.

Blackcurrant is tart and fruity. In part fruity sour, but also sweet. Bulgarian rose has that deep, fruity, sweet, and carnal vibe to it, slightly decadent, but never too strong or too loud. Pink pepper is faint, but gives everything this elevated, sophisticated and effortless aspect to the perfume. Peonies and jasmines are sweet and floral while green tea further elevates the fresh, almost aquatic aspect of the perfume. It doesn't take long before peaches rise up, accompanied by musks and amber. Peaches are fruity, juicy and slightly tangy with their distinct sweet and rounded flesh. Musks ground out this perfume, giving it a clean-girl vibe while amber brings out the warmth. The drydown reminded me of "Peach Fields (Eau de Parfum) | Skylar" without the juvenile or woody aspect of the latter.

It's a beautiful perfume made for late-Spring and summer with a fair price. I'm still debating on whether I want to add a bottle to my collection, but that has more to do with personal preferences of wearing certain fruits on my skin rather than something against the scent itself.

I was one of the lucky ones who received a sample of this fragrance with a purchase from Sephora Canada when it was available. I waited until it was announced and entered in the Parfumo database before trying it.

Touted as the little sister to "Vanilla | 28 | Kayali", she's more like the middle child between the aforementioned fragrance and "The Wedding Silk Santal | 36 | Kayali" (without the praline note). Those who missed the latter will probably find solace in this one (although rumors of Silk Santal coming back have been circulating). The beginning is sweet and delightfully creamy, at times a bit overwhelming. It is light and airy, but at the same time quite sugary sweet. It reminded me a bit of an undescript B&B sweet fragrance. The middle notes gives off a sweetness that reminded me of crystaliized honey which is probably coming from the white caramel. Underneath the mound of sugary sweetness lies ylang ylang which has a slightly fruity and tropical facet while jasmine has a fruity and powdery aspect. If the top and middle notes remind me of Silk Santal | 36, the drydown does gives deeper and more complex notes reminiscent of Vanilla | 28. Cashmere wood adds this comforting velvety feeling while patchouli is dark and earthy, tempering down the sweetness that was quite apparent at the beginning. Vetiver adds warmth while tonka beans and sandalwood further reinforces this impression. There's no woody notes coming in from the sandalwood. Rock sugar adds a gourmand finishing touch.

There's quite a stark difference bewteen 2/3rd of the perfume and its drydown. The first part is young, sweet and delightful like candy while the drydown is deeper with complexity and a more mature take on sweetness. When the most volatile notes have left my skin, cashmere wood and tonka bean remain the strongest giving a velvety and powdery sugared skin scent.

The drydown is probably the reason why I gave this fragrance a score of 8/10. I still don't know if I'll get a full bottle or not (I do admit the bottle is gorgeous with its pink iridiscent finish). The top and middle notes remind me way too much of Silk Santal and I don't feel like Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar | 42 (VCRS) really stands out as a different or unique offering from Kayali. Like I've mentioned before, VCRS stands in the middle bewteen Vanilla | 28 and Silk Santal | 36. I will say that it's lighter than Vanilla | 28, offering a good alternative for warmer temperatures if you wish to smell sweet. It's also a bit less perfumey and powdery than Silk Santal | 36. If you own one or both of these fragrances, I'm not sure you really need this one (apart from supporting Kayali or owning the beautiful bottle).

A hint of toasty cinnamon with some tang from ginger. A zest of mandarin with the sweetness of rosewater. Flowers are more subdued, subtle, elegant with the rose being the most prominent. She has a facet of fruitiness that pairs well with the powderiness of the heliotrope. There's a deep woody and green note that rises up which is probably the cypriol. Becomes at time a bit medicinal, almost reminiscient of sanitizer. Strong and at times a bit overpowering, it tempers down the spicy floral accord found at the beginning of the scent. Vanilla, cocoa and rum never got through the cypriol barrier. The drydown becomes this green, herbaceous, almost minty scent that crushed everything else.

At the beginning, it's a gentle, delicate perfume that leans quite feminine to my nose, but the cypriol turned into a villain here. Maybe it's my skin chemistry that brought it to the forefront of this fragrance, but I felt like it was off-balance and way too overpowering. I have the feeling I could probably find something better at a better price (especially for the beautiful top notes) which is the second reason why it won't be added to my collection.

I thought I would love this fragrance based on the notes alone, but thankfully I got a sample from Etiket and never blind-bought it because unfortunately... I did not love it.

As it starts to develop on my skin, there's this warm, Barbie-esque plasticky note that stands out above the rest and is just nasty. Underneath, there's a hint of sugary caramel that tries to peak out. I never caught the honey note. The coumarin is probably the culprit for the weird milky, creamy and lactonic scent that comes up. This lactonic scent was never able to overpower the plasticky accord at the beginning. After about an hour, I'm left with a strong musky vanilla scent that reminded me of "Nemat's Vanilla Musk | Nemat International".

Clearly not what I was expecting from a fragrance that everybody is raving about. I'll unfortunately be passing it up.