Kayali Vanilla 28

Kayali was founded by Mona Kattan and launched in 2018, and Vanilla 28 was in the opening line-up. It has since become the reference point for the modern gourmand vanilla, the fragrance that a great many others are measured against or accused of copying. Kayali credits Gabriela Chelariu as its perfumer on the brand's own site, which is worth noting because so few mainstream houses name anyone at all.

The note list Kayali publishes is more detailed than most: vanilla orchid and creamy jasmine on top, a heart of vanilla infusion, vanilla surabsolute and tonka, and a dry-down of brown sugar, musk, patchouli and amber. Stacking several vanilla materials rather than relying on one is the technical decision that gives it depth. The opening is sweet immediately, with the jasmine adding a creamy floral lift that keeps it from being flat sugar. The middle is thick and boozy, tonka bringing an almond-hay quality that reads almost like custard. What saves it from cloying is the base, where patchouli and amber add a dry, slightly earthy edge and the brown sugar turns faintly caramelised rather than syrupy.

Kayali designed it to be layered. The brand describes it as the ideal gourmand to combine with other fragrances, and in practice it is often used as a warming base under a floral or a fruity scent rather than worn alone, although it holds up perfectly well on its own.

It is a cold-weather, evening fragrance in its purest form. A Highveld winter night is where it does its best work; in summer heat the sweetness expands quickly and one spray is plenty.

Performance is a real strength. Eight to ten hours on skin is standard, projection is heavy in the first three, and it lasts on clothing for days. There is no announced reformulation. Two practical notes: the brand's numbering refers to the iteration within the Kayali collection rather than the number of ingredients, and Vanilla 28 also exists as a body spray, which is a much lighter format and not a substitute for the eau de parfum.