Kai Eau de Parfum

This is an ideal summer gardenia, actually, scratch that, its my perfect gardenia full stop! I had zero idea that this existed until I started looking for gardenia suggestions to try and I'd seen this suggested a few times and I also noticed that some think it smells similar to White Gardenia Petals by Illuminum London, except its quite a fair bit more affordable than White Gardenia Petals which usually retails for £125 (though, at the time of writing its currently reduced to £90). Kai hasn't got a super wide presence in the UK but Cult Beauty and a one or two other places stock it, after consulting reviews I decided to blind buy this and I am SO glad I did! The initial opening is very sharp and smells a little like hairspray but within seconds that subsides and a fresh, airy, ozonic gardenia and some non discript white florals and greenery burst out and bloom on my skin. This isn't, at least to my nose, a lactonic, creamy gardenia, this is more a fresh gardenia with its stems still attached, its fairly linear but I absolutely love it, it actually to my nose is the olfactive equivalent of a white t-shirt; its clean, soft and easy to wear. It makes me think of a warm sunny morning, popping on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt post shower and heading out but still looking and feeling put together and effortlessly elegant despite having a casual "just rolled out of bed" type of day. Longevity is moderate at about 7hours on my skin with a soft bordering on moderate silage, I can see this working really well year round but its definately more suited to the warmer months, totally office and casual wear safe, in fact, I think you could even dress this fragrance up, its really versatile in all honesty, I had no idea about this scent or its celebrity cult following, so that didn't sway my decision to buy a bottle but I would easily repurchase this, it has its place in my fragrance wardrobe and its a totally signature worthy scent too. Also, my review is for the EdP, not the perfume oil

I’ve always been curious about this one due to its cult celebrity following. I think everyone from Khloe K to Jennifer Anniston and Lauren Conrad have name dropped this one. It’s hard to get in the U.K. (although I noticed Kai ships to the U.K., albeit at a hefty cost) but I search for this in eBay from time to time as it does pop up. Managed to get the oil and the spray. Wow this is gorgeous! Yes, it is very similar to JLo Glow. However this is how Glow would smell if it was available at a higher price point. If you are curious about what Kai smells like and it isn’t stocked in your country Glow is a reasonable point of reference. It is pure gardenia and beautifully blended. The oil is slightly smoother than the spray, but i am used to that having used a lot of oil perfumes and their spray counterparts. I layer the two to amp up the sillage. It is soapy but not screechingly so, it simply smells clean and very white floral. I can see why it is a celeb favourite particularly in the warm climate of California. This is so effortless, I think it will be my day to day perfume. Maybe it is sacrilege to compare this to Glow and I don’t know what perfume came first but this gives me what I wanted from Glow, and does remind me of how Glow smelled when it first came out. It will be stunning in spring and summer. i can’t imagine anyone finding this offensive, it would be perfect for work. I work from home a lot now and find my usual spicy and/or sillage bomb perfumes give me headaches indoors, so I was looking for a beautiful, clean white floral. Think this is it. Sillage is moderate. I accidentally layered this with Fracas today as I was already wearing that when this arrived in the post and I couldn’t resist a try, and this combo does work well together. Think I will save Kai for the warmer weather and occasional use until then as I don’t want to run out and pay that exorbitant shipping fee more than I need to! Really beautiful, totally get the cult status.

Finally, this has come through the mail, after waiting impatiently for 3 1/2 weeks (I live in Australia, but UPS sent it to Alaska!). The fragrance is heavenly, and despite the debarckle with shipping, I am so glad I bought it. I love gardenia... It is my favourite flower (equal with osmanthus). IMO there is nothing better than Kai if you love gardenia. It is so natural and similar to the real flower; a real homage to nature. Contrary to some of these reviews, I don't smell Hawaii (although I admitt I've never been there); there might be the faintest hint of frangipani or honeysuckle, but nothing more. When you first spray it there is quite a blast of gardenia and white flowers (though I don't really consider white flowers to be part of the composition, because they only feature in the first few minutes before it settles down). Soon it becomes more tamed and creamy. Later, as the composition matures, it turns more characteristically gardenia - at least what I consider to be characteristically gardenia. That is, a luscious, luxurious white flower, with intoxicating presence, sprinkled with rain and containing a hint of green. I enjoy this fragrance more as it develops. You don't need to worry about sillage or staying power at all. It is very pungent and people in the room notice (but not in the way of it being offensive, rather the fragrance is doing what it should - being smelled by others!). It lasts and lasts. I find three sprays more than enough. For anyone balking at the price, it depends where you get it. A lot of internet sites sell 50mL for $75 (NB: this is for the EDP, not the perfume oil). I grabbed a bottle for less, and they offered international shipping too!

I don't know how it is that I can love the perfume oil but dislike the eau de parfum and body lotion of this scent. Both of the latter almost have a mildewy smell to me, that really grosses me out and no, they are not turned or old either. The perfume oil on the other hand is gorgeous. A transparent tropical white floral of mainly milky gardenia with other white, almost aquatic florals giving support. It has a very sheer, dewy aspect that is clean and fresh yet seductive at the same time. While my favorite time to wear it is in the warmer seasons because of the way it beautifully expands in the heat, it is so addictive that I keep getting drawn to it even in the depths of winter. I had purchased the lotion and the edp in the hope that it would increase the silage as the oil sits very close to the skin, but both are a disappointment not just in scent, but in performance too. Maybe there was a change in formula, or the number of essential oils decreased because the edp lacks the heady floral notes so prevalent in the oil. I'm considering purchasing another oil and mixing it with perfumer's alcohol to see if I can get a better approximation of how the oil should smell in edp form because what they are selling now as the edp really doesn't smell much like the oil to me. I'd recommend the oil even as a blind buy to white floral lovers but can't say the same about the eau de parfum. And to those who already love the oil but are interested in the edp too, I advise testing before buying to avoid disappointment.

I just bought this (2 of them, since Mecca will soon no longer stock this perfume anymore at any of their stores or online) at Mecca Fortitude Valley today. I have to say that this scent is amazing and is such a well-priced steal! I was surprised at how cheap it was for a perfume. The scent is very true to what a gardenia smells like, as other people on this site have already said. It is sweet but not suffocatingly sweet, with slight green and vegetal notes to it, just like a gardenia. There is that slightly latex and rubber smell that gardenias have too and a slightly mushroomy quality. I also detect the jasmine in this, but I can't really smell the lily or the tiare. I read here on Fragrantica that tiare is similar smelling to jasmine anyway, so maybe that's why I can't smell this note here? I voted that this perfume is of moderate sillage since it isn't a skin scent and has some strength to it, but I was torn on whether or not to say it has intimate sillage or moderate sillage, since it stays quite close to the skin and doesn't leave much of a trail on me. The lasting power of this fragrance is fairly good too and lasts on me for about 4 and a half hours. I'd wear this scent to either the office or the beach and I can imagine wearing it to lunch as well. I couldn't imagine this offending anyone and I don't find it suffocating in the least. It's just a lovely and natural smelling white floral perfume at its finest :)

I stand by my opinion that the oil is the superior concentration for this scent. I loved it so much that I bought the EDP, but that one didn't have the creaminess that the oil had, it wound up being more sharp on my skin, albeit also more natural. You know how flowers have a rubbery quality to the petals when you rub them between your fingers? That crushed, slightly bitter and rubbery smell comes through much more strongly in the spray, which does lend itself to smelling more natural and evocative of true Gardenia flowers. The oil is a bit more conceptualized, it's sweeter and smooth as butter. I almost get a banana like note to the oil. Longevity is better but sillage suffers a tad, it's still arms length projection, but the spray wafted around me so strongly I got a little insecure that I might offend others around me. I don't have this problem with the oil, but it still lasts all day. For the quality and price, Kai is an amazing white floral rendition. If you know you love Gardenia notes, the EDP is a good choice, but if you love creamy white florals (slightly tropical) but aren't sure about Gardenia bombs, the oil is a safer bet, but it's a risk worth taking regardless with this beauty. I love this one, I'll always keep it around as long as they make it.

I've always loved white flowers and recently ordered and smelled around two dozen top fragrantica rated choices in my search for the perfect one. Kai was the winner. The others which made the top 5 were Carnal Flower, Van Clef's California Reverie, Island Gardenia (hard to beat the $10 price tag on that one ;-), and Estee Lauders Private Collection Tuberose. I also really liked House of Bo's La Mer, but the high price point is just too much to swallow. Kai was my top pick ultimately due to the following. I think this is the truest rendition of an actual Gardenia. It smells exactly like the real deal, is infinitely feminine and soft, and has watery, rubbery, and sunshiney effect that the flower gives off. There is an elegant simplicity about this perfume that makes it very wearable by many type of women, and in many different venues. Longevity is really important to me, and the perfume oil version had great staying power. My hubbie continually picked this one (and Carnal Flower), when I wore two different samples on each wrist. The soft white musk base delivers a wonderful creaminess that enhances the feminity level. It also layers gorgeously with creeds virgin island water, giving you that immediate summer vacation vibe even in the middle of winter.

I prefer the perfume oil over the EDP spray. The oil is a bit creamier, has a more airy quality to it, and smells more like the other products like the deodorant and the body oil which I also have. It gives you that lush dewy aura which is what I enjoy about Kai. I find the EDP spray quite bitter and green and it has a quality that I can 'taste' after I spray. It also has a generic sort of shampoo note in it that smells exactly like the stuff they use in Kenneth Cole which I don't really like. The spray gets better as it dries down, but I just prefer the oil. It's more subtle and projects in a much nicer way. If you're thinking of getting body products I prefer the oil (glow spray) and the deodorant is lovely but doesn't last long or offer much odor protection. The body lotion only has the base notes of the fragrance (woody and green I discern) so it depends how you like to layer the fragrance and what notes you prefer to bring out. It's very clear that I love this line. It's just so easy to wear, it's not cloying (the perfume spray can be). But the other products definitely not, you'll just have a beautiful aura of natural gardenias all day. Very much a scent I can't get sick of <3

I wear the perfume oil.I have owned the spray perfume, but for me, only the oil captures the uniqueness of this exquisite perfume. The spray formula dries down with notes of asphalt and rubber, but the oil stays succulent and sweet. Often I don't even notice Kai after hours and hours of wear, and random people tell me I smell beautiful. Kai smells like blooming tiare flowers (Tahitian Gardenia/Tiaré tahiti), not like the Gardenia jasminoides flowers (known as Common Gardenia) grown in everybody's gardens. If, like me, you've had recurring Feed-Me-Seymour nightmares ever since you tried to wear Annick Goutal Gardenia Passion in 1989, I assure you, you don't need to fear Kai. And there's no danger of flashbacks to grandmother's Tuvache'Jungle Gardenia, either. Kai is not that kind of gardenia...it's a completely different flower. Kai's Tiare are those crisp, small, sweet white flowers strung onto the leis you're adorned with, to welcome you to Hawaii! One whiff and you believe you're in paradise. Kai's hypnotic aroma is of pure, delicate white flowers, plus something in it calls to mind the scent of pineapple leaves.

Wow, there is nothing that smells so much like a true gardenia. Sweet and somehow clean at the same time. This smells like a gardenia blossom only just beginning to unfurl at dawn. It has none of the sour mushroom/blue cheese that an overly ripe, wilting mature blossom has. I find that most fragrances that claim gardenia either completely miss the mark or over play the mushroom note. Kai does neither. No tuberose (which I also love) here, just the freshest gardenia I have ever experienced. Youthful and almost child-like. The oil and EDP are really different and I highly recommend the oil. I ordered a sample of the EDP and body cream and would've given this one up if I hadn't been intrigued by the cream. I decided to order a sample of the oil and am completely mesmerized! The longevity and intensity makes this a new staple for me. I will, without a doubt, be purchasing a full size oil and any body care they care to make!! True love.

Beautiful fresh, creamy jasmine. I am sitting next to a jasmine vine, and the scent, one of my favorites, is identical. As jasmine is often used to construct a gardenia note (as there is no gardenia absolu) Kai does have elements of gardenia. This is beautiful, and perfect, and lovely! It will definitely be a staple, a go-to, a mood changer when I need a lift. If you are looking for a lovely jasmine scent, or jasmine that can be added to other scents, this is perfect. I will wear this in early morning, for yoga, for tea on my porch. Kai is wonderful! But when I want gardenia I will reach for VC&A's Gardenia Petale. Try this if you love jasmine, if the white florals you've encountered have been too sweet, or too harsh. Try this if you need something that is beautiful in its simplicity. Kai is the sort of scent that becomes your favorite friend, and never fails to cheer. *love*

A pure, lush gardenia fragrance with a hint of rose. My mom loves this one and wears it a lot more than I do, but I personally love it and definitely plan on wearing it every now and then in the springtime. The Eau de Parfum and perfume oil are virtually interchangeable on my skin, so I just use the Eau de Parfum because I prefer spraying my fragrances on as opposed to using a rollerball. Still, Kai isn't for everyone - a quick tip, though - if you're having trouble getting into this fragrance, try the body products. The body wash is excellent, and the body cream has a strong scent on its own. Layering those two together should be enough to get the "feel" of the scent and have it last throughout the day without it being too strong. The same trick works with Angel, for some people.

I cannot express the amount of joy I’m feeling right now in finding this gardenia/ white flower fragrance 💓💓💓. A blind buy after reading the notes and reviews and I’m ecstatic that I did . This is now one of my favourite fragrances! The bursts of gardenia are to die for !! I do find it on the similar lines to Estée Lauder Gardenia Tuberose . I tried Kai on one hand and EL - Gardenia Tuberose on the other hand and I can say they are practically the same with their indoilc gardenia opening notes. After half an hour , Kai smooths into a softer, fresh, soapy , white florals which I prefer . EL - Gardnenia stays indolic for longer. Kai’s longevity is off the Richter scale on me . I can smell the white flowers after 7 hours. A safe blind buy that I’m in love with.

The oil-base roll-on is fantastic. It's subtle and wears very close to the skin. I have had many compliments. I like to put it in my hair near the neck. However the longevity in non-existant and the sillage is too. I feel like I have to use a lot of it and the bottle is eensy weensy. The alcohol based spray is different from the oil. Harsher and a little soapy. It's not awful, or anything, but it pales (or shrieks) in comparison to the oil. Give me 50 mls of the oil for that price and I'll be happy. Otherwise, go with hollycat's suggestion and get the Pacifica Pikake. Pikake is what makes this fragrance so Hawaii-licious. Definitely a summer frag'. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT wear this in the winter. It's just wrong, as it makes people ache for summer.

Kai is a bouquet of full, lush gardenias in the sun. You -must- love gardenia to want to smell like Kai. This is a floral's floral--a natural, shamelessly heady flower in a bottle. It starts a little green like Gucci's Bloom, but the petals take over very quickly. Fleshy, narcotic, reminiscent of floral vintage powerhouses in its strength. Becomes slightly indolic as it dries, like a gardenia in the middle of wilting, swollen from expelling its water content. I think there are other components acting in the background. Some nuances smell buttery like tuberose and sweet like jasmine. Beautiful, feminine, and elegant. I have the oil and dabbed too much the first time I tried it on, a little goes a long way.

One of my favorite wholly floral scents, because it has that something Extra. Gardenia, some indolic jasmine, and a lot of fuzzy greenness. Feels foot loose and fancy free. Strangely reminds me of a very hot day in childhood when a friend tried to make potpourri out of yard 'flowers'. Purple wind flowers got chopped up, stems and all, with whatever else was handy...perhaps grape hyacinths. The fuzziness feels like an extension of the heat of the day, blending this together. Airy, like beach breezes. Has a natural feel, but with a slightly sharp edge. Excellent longevity and sillage. ( Note: A wonderful Fragrantican shared this with me. The test vial says it is oil. )

I wore this as a guest at a wedding and the groom complimented me on how good I smelled, if that tells you anything. I have the perfume oil version of this and it's a stunner. Not your grandma's gardenia. While white florals can be heady and indolic, this is green, lush, and wet; it smells like a tropical garden that was drenched in a passing summer storm. Clean without being soapy, and ultra-feminine without being sugary sweet. It's a fairly linear scent, and I could see needing to rotate this with other fragrances to keep it exciting, but this is such a no-brainer in warm weather. I imagine cool surfer girls in Hawaii smell like this. A keeper.

Kai is divine!! It's the most beautiful gardenia in the world!! It is a fabulous garden of gardenia's, all dancing in the lovely fresh air, with the dew still on them, they're all glowing and luminous!!!! Heaven in a bottle!!!! And it's a glorious elegant luminous bottle too. It's simply a glorious perfume. Glorious. And it has wonderful longevity and sillage!!! Perfect for compliment gathering - like gathering the freshly blooming flowers in your arms and breathing them in all day long!!! Oh my goodness, such delight!!!!! My husband loves wrapping his arms around me and breathing me in, often!!! It's gorgeous!!!

The scent is so beautiful, feminine, raw, green but very gentle and refined white floral. It is not animatic to me at all, not sure why it says that. This is absolutely perfect wedding scent for the bride or mother of the bride. It’s is a perfect lily of the valley scent although it says gardenia. Very similar almost identical to Galimard Bridille. Absolutely love it, it’s my husband compliment getter, every time I want a compliment from him or want to be noticed all I have to do is spray this fragrance on me...lol....and he doesn’t give me compliment about my other fragrances and I have a lot...yep...

Lush, dewy, verdant green floral. Not perfumey and to be honest fairly unisex to my nose. It smells like rain, a cool breeze and fresh cut stemmy flowers. Not a pure gardenia scent but so gorgeous and not “too much”, too strident or too soft. You’ve walked into a beautiful hotel in a tropical environment, stepping through into a courtyard full of beautiful plant and bird life just as evening arrives. That moment when the land and sky merge. I had this years ago. Ran through it. Glad I bought a new bottle it’s a rare find these days between super sweet gourmands and nightclubbing beasts.