Elixir 11

TL;DR: This is for the woman that wants to smell alluring and unique-- she’s not for everyone, but for some, she’s an instant obsession. The dry down is where the magic happens. Definitely incense-y/oriental floral rose/jasmine blast with a skin-like spicy patchouli-amber dry down. 11/10 all around. Full Review: Something about this perfume was so alluring and called to me-- maybe it’s the sleek black bottle and fascinating note blend-- I couldn’t tell you. Elixir|11 is by and large the riskiest and most rewarding blind buy I’ve made to date. I am absolutely BLOWN AWAY, and it’s all for the dry down. The first spritz is not my favorite (sooo much jasmine and rose, it’s a bit vintage), but the dry down is a knock-out show stopper on my skin. She is not for the faint of heart and she is not everyone’s favorite, but she is bold and you can't look away. I’ll start with my impression of the notes and end on the vision this gives me and a few loose comparisons because this is a unique one! So, I have to say, this gives me the slightest crush of fresh juicy SOMETHING on first sniff, enveloped in flowers and something spicy and deep, almost peppery. My nose does not identify it as Red Apple-- it’s just so smoothly blended. I will say, as the first blast lands on skin, this smells exactly like a New Age shop I used to frequent, oddly enough. You get the incense-forward blend of rose, jasmine and patchouli, with amber keeping a smooth base but never taking center stage. The flowers are dominant at first, and I think the “dead flowers” vibe some people commented on comes from the jasmine, which reads a bit dated at first. I wish I got jammy rose, but really the rose is very clean and soapy, pulling a tad mature when mixed with the jasmine. I get zero vanilla, but I have to imagine she’s blended in with the amber, keeping the patchouli from being too dirty or animalic. Very, very soon after an initial spray, maybe 30 min- 1 hour, the full dry down blooms on my skin into a spicy, skin-like, almost salty patchouli/amber that is modern and intoxicating-- not at all granny, vintage smell on my skin. It smells like my boyfriend’s cologne mixed with mine (though NOTHING like Boyfriend by Kate Walsh), and WOW is it both unisex and darkly feminine at the same time. This is a WITCHY concoction, spicy and uncommon and totally alluring. The dry down lasts nearly all day, still lingering when I go to shower. The sillage is definitely slightly above average on my skin. I do not think this leaves a trail as I leave the room necessarily, but my fiance keeps walking past me and commenting on how good I smell. I keep getting whiffs of myself when I move. Intoxicating is definitely the word. As for the general impression, the development is similar to Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDT on my skin, but I would not say they are very similar or even remotely dupes. Similar to Elixir, NR For Her EDT, on my skin, loses the sharp florals after an hour and dries down to a cleaner patchouli musk, again, akin to a boyfriends scent mixing with mine, but if that scent were somehow appropriate for the office. I know it sounds odd, but just walk with me! If Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDT is the musky/patchouli floral that a confident, top notch exec would wear to a board meeting and refresh on the way to meet a date at a hotel lounge later that night, Kayali Elixir|11 is the spicy/patchouli amber floral worn by the confident, alternative woman who unwittingly enchants everyone around her and definitely privately pulls Tarot cards for herself at home surrounded by plants and a black cat. To me, this has a gothic, alluring and mysterious edge-- one I hoped to find in Dior Poison, but was overshadowed by medicinal woods and sharp tuberose, a complete no-go on my skin. I think the black bottle speaks to the dark, vampy edge to this scent. Maybe it’s just my association with a local New Age shop speaking, but this scent reads like an incense-y, oriental with lots of soapy rose and powdery jasmine with a modern, spicy dry down that gothic dreams are made of. Morticia Addams would absolutely wear this scent. Elixir|11 is exactly what it says-- an enchanting, addictive elixir that is undoubtedly oriental with a modern flair. I am certainly purchasing a full bottle as soon as possible!

WOW! I couldn't try a sample of this because of covid and I had to risk blind-buying it. I read countless reviews before deciding and many weren't favorable at all, it doesn't seem to agree with a lot of western noses. I am not really western though and this reminds me of many familiar smells. Don't get me wrong, it's not the most oriental fragrance ever, but if you don't like them then you won't like it. The best way I can describe it is that it smells like a bag of pastries with two boxes in it, one box is full of Turkish delights and the other is full of baklava. Now imagine the scents of the two mixing together. The rosy scent of Turkish delight is what you get when you move around, and if you smell close to where you sprayed you get the scent that resembles baklava. It reminds me of my dad bringing sweets at home. It smells edible and absolutely delicious but not in the typical western vanilla/ cake/ caramel type of way, it's the oriental version of smelling edible. The notes I get the most are rose, patchouli and apple. Other people who smelled me said "Turkish delight powder" and "rose scented wine", I think the patchouli and the apple can make it smell a bit like wine. I swear I also smell some faint whisper of oud even though it's not in the notes. All in all I can see why it smells weird to some people but I love it, this is probably my most successful blind buy so far. This is a great scent if you want to stand out and in my opinion there is absolutely nothing grandma-ish about it. It's actually very sexy and intoxicating and makes me picture a beautiful brunette woman. Also, BEST SPRAYER EVER.

I really enjoy this one, similar to my nose as sweet diamond pink pepper. Also reminds me of NR fleur musc. Really wearable. Update: i really love this and all of the other kayalis. They smell great and are very wearable. I love the apple in this one. I really like this the more i wear it. I think this is definitely signature scent worthy bc it is fine for all seasons and all occasions. It isnt super complex or challenging to wear, but it does smell different. I love layering it with NR fleur musk. Funny, if you would have asked me prior to my fragrance journey what my favorite notes would be? I prob would have said amber-spicy. But the more i try and experience, the more i find surprise notes i love that i would never have expected. I absolutely love rose, musk, and i love fruity scents too. I love to drink coffee but i really haven't enjoyed wearing it at all. I think what i learned is u have to stay open to finding surprises along the way. Today i refreshed ani by nishane with this and they really do compliment each other. I hope soneone tries this combo and likes it. Elixir is def a sig scent, it works for any season, any time

Okay. So I get a total Snow White vs The deadly apple with this! Or even Adam and Eve Forbidden Apple vibe. It's a dangerous apple/rose smell! If I was going to wear Elixir I would be wearing MACs Russian Red lipstick, a tight black dress with red bottom Christian Louboutin shoes. This is a Gorgeous take on a rose perfume!! To better describe what I smell, this is a juicy, rose & apple scent with a patchouli that smells like silky insence, its also a base that is feminine, smooth and almost oud like. The overall scent has jam sweetness but has smokey elements to it as well. It's truly polarising but understand it won't be for everyone. I love Rose perfumes that transform into something out of this world, you can smell the rose note but it's a rose that you imagine from a fantasy movie like my all time favourite Midnight Poison did. This does the same too. Definitely projects that Snow White vs Deadly Apple vibe I mentioned before.. This has become my dark, sexy rose scent in my collection. Topping JHAG Lady Vengeance (which tbh wasn't always a top pick). Also finding it works better in colder weather, it smells more seductive.

If I was reviewing just the smell itself, I actually think I'd put the scent in my top 10. HOWEVER.... IT. DOESN'T. LAST. For how much this costs, the longevity is abysmal. It is really huge when you first spray it. You would think your 2 sprays is going to be MORE than enough. Then 1 hour later it is gone and you have to bury your face in your clothes to catch a whiff. I thought perhaps it was just me that couldn't smell it, but I've asked others and they can't smell it either after a couple hours. If I give myself about 10 sprays an hour before I leave (to let the initial blast die down), then I will have like a "normal" fragrance performance out of it, i.e. smell it for 4 hours then skin scent for another couple hours. I find myself only wearing this when I'm at home so that I can refresh it through the day. Also this scent is very linear. It is dark red apple skin and roses the whole way through. It's delicious, but simple. All in all, if this cost me $40 I'd be ok with it. But at over $100 for a bottle and not even giving you the performance of a celebrity perfume from TJ MAxx.... It's just way overpriced.

Perfumes surprise me every day somehow. 😍🌹 Yesterday I was answering for someone’s question about Elixir is it spicy and is it oudy. I was thinking almost for one year that I don’t like this at all. For sure I knew that there is no spices neither oud in this scent (someone was asking about those in this scent) but I didn’t remember exactly how it smells and revisited this cute little bottle. Something has changed and now I loved this scent with roses, apples and Jasmine with a heavenly dry down with warm woody notes from Patchouli, velvety ambery notes and a little amount of sweetness from Vanilla. Longevity is great, I could still smell it on my wrist next morning. Very pleasant and sophisticated, seductive scent! I will update longer review. Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

This fragrance is amazing! If you've ever smelled Nirvana Rose, the opening is very similar, but this one dries down much more feminine so I prefer this one. Very strong on the rose (sweet rose, not a freshly cut one) and red apple, has an incense vibe to it almost. It's gorgeous and unique (at least to me). It is a heavier perfume and I feel like it really projects well. Longevity was only around 4-5 hours for me but it's something I would overlook because I love this one so much. I have a lot of fruitchouli perfumes and I think this one definitely stands out. I wore it out at night but would definitely wear it during the day too. I found it to have a little sweetness but I would not consider this to be cloying or a gourmand. My husband does not like sweet perfumes and he really liked this one. This isn't a shy fragrance for the faint of heart, you need a little confidence to wear it.

I enjoy this a lot. To me, it's a warm, buttery apple dessert with amber and rose. When it dries down, something aromatic - that smells like cut grass or dill - emerges, making it interesting. I find this has a distinct enough accord that it would make a good signature fragrance for someone. The butteriness remains, and it's that aspect that excites me. I wanted to wear this when I was pregnant because somehow amid all of the smells I was repelled by, this one pleased me. I wrote to Kayali (via Huda Beauty) to ask if there were phthalates in the fragrances. Initially I was impressed by their customer service as they wrote back quickly to say they'd find out. But then, they never responded again, which I took to be a 'yes'. One point off for never writing back.

I thought my favorite from Kayali was Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper (and Vanilla Candy, before I got sick of it) but that was before I had a chance to try this beauty! This is probably the most adult, and most unique out of the range and I was beyond disappointed to find out that its discontinued before I got my hands on a full bottle - BUT I reached out to Kayali on instagram, and they told me that they're "working hard to restock" so I haven't completely lost hope. This doesn't have the youthful sweetness that most Kayali scents nowadays have (or the overdose of vanilla, which is yummy yes, but sometimes just too much). It's a beautiful, more mature rose scent but not outdated or "grandmalike". If they do restock it, I'm going to get a full bottle immediately ♥

Kayali Elixir 11 used to not be a fave. It was so boozy fermented red apple, with rose and not my taste at all. Years later trying a sample from a pack and it is actually quite nice. My nose doesn't pick up the booze as much, probably due to maturing, and it just smells like a juicy red apple balanced by patchouli with some clean red rose weaving the two together. The patchouli is not chocolately nor dirty. A little earthy but in the sense of crisp fall leaves and not used soil. Really nice and grown up but still not overly mature. Very sweetened CranApple lore. I don't understand the cat piss scent people are getting, but thank goodness. Think the full size is discontinued which is fine, because I wouldn't mind a bottle-replica travel size.

Wow What a lovely fragrance! It's sophisticated, elegant, deep and feminine. It's a unique type of scent; I can't really compare it closely with another one. The rose here is definitely the dominant note - a bit of a deep oriental rose (ever so slightly like Turkish delight) - and there is just the right dose of sweetness in it. I would not layer this, as it's absolute perfection on its own! If you like oriental perfumes but are not too sure about ouds, then this might be a great choice. Whenever I wear it, I get compliments, so I feel like its something many people could easily love, while still not falling under the basic crowd-pleaser scent category. This and Sweet Diamond are my favourite Kayalis. Definitely worth a blind buy ;)

The opening is delightful. A deep red merlot. Then I get fresh apple and rose. I have read many reviews that mention a "jammy rose", but this is the first time I have actually thought... this smells like rose jam. Ha. There is patchouli too, a sweet vanilla, and a hint of merlot in the background (which I think is the apple). Very sweet, but not candy sweet. Fruity sweet. A very unique take on rose. This fragrance is okay nose to skin, but the scent aura it creates around me is a love. Sometimes it's vanilla sweet, sometimes it's a delicious wine, sometimes it's a pretty rose... it's really wonderful. Full bottle worthy.

My favorite Kayali scent. It was love at first sniff, I bought the biggest bottle after wearing the mini for a few days. It’s what snow white or a modern vampire would wear, waking up in 2024 after having slept for 100 years and being angry at how the world has changed. It has a tragic elegance to it. It’s mysterious, powerful, it smells moody, like a broken dream, like poems by Rimbaud, or like the song « dead to me » by palaye royale. I know how weird this sounds but it’s a vibe and I love it! I wear it on its own, but it layers well with Eden juicy apple and Vanilla 28.

I wanted it to last longer I bought the smallest bottle and now have tried Elixar, Sweet Diamond, Citrus, and Utopia. My favorite until now was Sweet Diamond. I love how different they smell. Elixar is my new favorite. It smells amazing on me. I can’t remember if I wrote a review already but at first it smelled like a nail salon. I think you might have to shake the bottles to mix. Now that I’m at the half way point of my bottle it’s stronger and I love it. Can def smell the apple. Love love love. Will be getting the big bottle.

I bought this perfume as a complete blind buy a couple months back and it’s incredible. It’s now one of my favourite perfumes. I have to admit though i don’t get the apple at all. Maybe it’s just my body chemistry or something but i really don’t smell apple. To me this smells syrupy and very very floral so if you don’t like florals this isn’t the one for you. The opening is very overwhelmingly rose but once it dries down you really start to smell the syrupy sweetness and it’s amazing.

This is a WONDERFUL fragrance. It's unique, mystical, magical and every note sits so well on me. It has a complexity, with different notes popping out over time. It has a strong oriental vibe, a deep resonant colour and a scent reminiscent of Turkish Delight, deep and delicious. It's like announcing to the world that you're well-travelled, intelligent, mysterious. You love belly dancing and Aleppo souqs. It will make you feel like an alluring, light-hearted and perspicacious vampire.

I blind bought this fragrance recently to complete my collection of Kayali fragrances, but I was thinking I might not like it. For some reason I had convinced myself this would smell strong and old-lady, but I was waaay off. This smells AMAZING! It might be my favourite out of the Kayali line. On my skin it smells so sweet, and reminds me of some expensive baklava or turkish delight. It is a delicious rose scent and I definitely don't have anything else like it in my collection.

I’m a huge Kayali fan, I appreciate all the juices individually. Mona has created some really well blended and exquisite fragrances, there really is something for everyone. Elixir is a stand out for me, it smells expensive and can be layered with vanilla, musk and Eden juicy apple to elevate and switch up your scent game. The bottle and packaging are truly beautiful and well made. This can be worn day to night. Makes a great date night fragrance too. You can’t not like this!

I'm so sad the that large bottle is out of stock I had to settle for another mini. I adore this it's so unique and sexy. I usually buy myself perfume for Christmas and I got this one and a couple other KayAlis. This is much stronger than I remember it being and I'm excited about that. I layered it over the Velvet wedding one and sooooo good. I've been smelling whiffs of it all day at work! I think the juice needs to just sit around a while and then it is more potent.

I guess this is one of those scents that greatly varies from skin to skin - on me this was sophisticated and decidedly an evening perfume, but far too spiky to be anywhere near a grandma scent. The patchouli perches nicely on top of the amber to balance out the ever-risky rose factor. Not a 'young' fragrance, sure, but so, so far from being old. Definitely one to sample before purchasing if the polarised reception is anything to go by!