Ilaya

In my quest of the HG of fragrances, I happened upon this one and immediately bought a 50ml bottle of it on Ebay. It's a lovely, sparkling, deep, sensual, feminine scent that reminds me of a golden brown cafe macchiato. It's creamy with a sharp edge (ginger - ylang-ylang combo) and at the same time smooth and nutty. Like coffee at its best. The longer I wear this scent, the warmer and woodier it becomes reminiscent of L'Instant EDP from Guerlain. On my skin Ilaya has the same honey-vanilla infused woody-ambery note (the benzoin) I also detect in L'Instant only this accord in Ilaya is woody and aromatic and not as floral and creamy as in L'Instant, where it's made up of vanilla and honey only. It's an eau de toilette so can be worn in warm weather. It's light and suprisingly transparent but its presence cannot be ignored, it sneaks upon you and entices without you being aware of it. This will be a staple item in my collection.

Ilaya has three levels: A rich, warm, deep oriental base. Plenty of earthy, sunbaked, resinous woods & insence. A gourmand mid-level, sweet & slightly smokey caramel-cappuccino served with cardamom & vanilla cookies. An airy, clean & refreshing note that mixes with the ginger & spices to create a heat-haze that hovers above the skin. Ilaya delights me! It keeps me guessing & refuses to be pigeon-holed into any olfactory group - is it light or heavy? Gourmand or woody? Rich or clean? Created from an ancient recipe or born of a more modern mother earth? My wardrobe would not be complete without it. A must-try!

This is FANTASTIC stuff! Woody, warm, rich & honey-sweet with a suprisingly refreshing & lightly spicy edge. It is both delicate yet has substance. It has foody nuances yet feels like it comes straight from a sun-baked mother earth. I aquired a vial of this magic juice from Lillybee & knew straight away that I needed a full bottle of this warm & welcoming fragrance for my wardrobe. I think this will need some wearing & thinking time before I even attempt to write a review worthy of this amazing hidden gem of a scent.

Can't praise it enough! Such a beautiful unicorn of a fragrance. The coffee note here is scrumptuous. Aromatic and atmospheric. If someone would put it into bottle of Le Labo or Diptyque, people would never even question that. Quality is there! Sadly discontinued and hard to find beauty

Very beautiful soft oriental, starts like spiced tea with a hint of honey, melting in a gorgeous coffee scented base/the coffee note is not sharp/.The flowers are not very distinct to my nose, but I feel much the myrrh and benzoin and I love it!