Aloha Lei

On my first trip to Bali, there was a restaurant with two plumeria trees at the entrance. Just as you walked up the stairs and into the restaurant, you'd be hit with a beautiful wave of plumeria warmed by the sunshine. I ate there every night, and every night, at the top of the stairs, there would be a different mandala on the floor made from the fallen flowers. Each time I wear Aloha Lei, this is what I think of - warm tropical breezes, a wave of that beautiful, waxy flower, and floral art. I don't know how Miss Layla does it, but she captured that magic in a bottle. Gorgeous stuff!

Every time I wear this fragrance, I’m instantly transported back to a trip we took to Oahu in late summer. We’d stroll the Ka'anapali Beach walk trail, surrounded by the intoxicating scent of plumeria — from delicate new blooms to sun-warmed, fermented petals blanketing the ground beneath their trees. The salty ocean breeze mingled with those heady floral notes, creating a scent memory I’ll never forget. On long or cool days, I reach for this bottle and give myself a spritz or two. It's just a small escape, a mood reset, and a reminder of paradise.

It’s a delicate, graceful floral musk scent with milky nuance. Very smooth and silky, slight waxy, less sweet, like the moist mist lingering the creamy flowers and aromatic plant. The gentle golden musk clouds on skin is totally sensual, and I can almost pick up the orris root feel. Maybe not the most heady tropical sweet yellow frangipani, but it indeed has the tenderness and creaminess of frangipani. Very exquisite and quality.

If you are into smelling cough syrup up close then you will enjoy this. Extreme disappointment is available for the ones that expected a bright frangipani as it's nonexistent. Kind of a bummer because the branding is decent, but the scents are lacking.