Freedom Musk Santal | 34 Eau de Parfum

Was looking for my signature scent for a little over a year and I think I finally found it! I was looking for something cozy, that would be easily wearable, not overwhelming (because I need to be in the office/school), gentle, uplifting, breezy as well as sweet, a little heavy yet fresh but still creamy... I know, quite some contradictions :D but this perfume just checks all my boxes. Do I think that it is something exceptional and never done before? No. But it is amazing as a daily driver, to smell nice, clean, and inviting. Even though I enjoy quite J'Adore or Coco Mademoiselle, I always felt that they are a bit too cold for my liking, I wanted to smell inviting and warm. In other words, they are amazing perfumes but not for me. On the other hand, Kayali Freedom Musk Santal makes me feel more like myself and it is not one of the situations when the perfume wears you instead of you wearing the perfume. It just nicely highlights you. Also, I am quite introverted and a lot of perfumes are just too loud for my liking, but this one nicely whispers. Now for what I smell: The opening is soft, citrusy with a tiny dash of spiciness from the pepper. The citruses are not sharp and I get a soft fresh mandarine the most, and which feels quite realistic. Then, the citruses go to the background and the scent becomes richer and creamier with time. The dry down settles into woodiness with a bit of sweetness. It's creamy, it's earthy, it's warm, delicious, and elegant.

About a year ago I received a sample of a fragrance that I fell in love with. I then ordered a full size bottle of said fragrance to be mislead--it smelled NOTHING like my beloved sample. I was so sad, and just sort of gave up on ever finding it again. That brings us to present day. I'm at Sephora getting some more moisturizer. I thought to myself, "I'll go smell around to see if anything lights my life". This Freedom Musk Santal was the only Kayali tester they had that wasn't completely gone. Usually, I consider that a sign as it's horrible. But I got my little tester strip and took a whiff. It smelled similar enough to my old mystery fragrance, I ended up buying the last sample! It's sweet, yet warm--but not overly warm. It's like early morning sunshine warm NOT mid-day sunshine warm. To me, I pick up a grape note which could be the mixture of the citrus and florals but it is amazing. It's non-offensive and sorta makes me think of summertime. Very easy to wear, and probably does smell like a million other fragrances out there. My only complaint: wish it were stronger/longer lasting. That being said, it's giving a very beautiful skin scent by hour 5. Kayali, please give me beast mode that doesn't choke me out on initial sprays!

This is a love. Easy-reach, any season, anytime fragrance, and my current favorite from this house. I’ve tried others, but this is the one that works best with my chemistry. And it works well. The scent is linear, and I’m fine with that for what this scent is- in fact I want it to stay true- but it also sticks around. It last through the work day, though I will add a spray or two after 4-5 hours to boost the projection. It’s sweet but not gourmand and does not sour or disappear on my skin like some of the other sweeter fragrances do in this house (and other). (For some reason a lot of musks tend to dry down to a tart lemon juice smell on me, but this never does.) I had been looking for a light sandalwood, musky fragrance that lasts, and this delivers beautifully. I started with the travel size, and now already have a dent in the 90 mL purchased in a recent sale. Well worth the money, and better (on me) than some more expensive niche that I’ve tried.

Freedom Musk Santal is one of those Kayali releases where the name has very little to do with the actual scent but the fragrance itself is surprisingly delicious. Despite being called “Musk Santal,” this is not santal-forward and not a strong musk fragrance. If you’re expecting creamy sandalwood or a musky skin scent, that’s not what you get here at all. what you actually get is a bright fruity opening that smells distinctly like strawberry pulp mixed with citrus, even though strawberry isn’t listed anywhere. A gentle amber-musk base that’s warm but very light, not at all heavy or woody. I would rename the fragrance Pink Pulp Aura, and have a beautiful pink and red ombré bottle. However, olfactory accuracy has never been Kayali’s strong suit, so there’s no surprises here. 😅This fragrance is bold and perfect for a confidence boost, date nights, and cooler daytime events in the Fall or winter x ✨

Big Bottle Worthy. I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this on here as yet! 1. Disclaimer. I am that Musk Girl and I am in my musk era!!!!! 2. I love most of all Kayali Fragrances, if not at first, usually 99% by 2 months post ageing. So this is my favourite launch from the freedom set. It is similar to Valaya PDM and its dupes, BUT KA Musk Santal mid notes set her apart. Freesia (I love) gives an added sweet floral lightness to the scent. Lilly and lavender help balance the musk and citrus notes. It has more depth and sweetness than the other fragrances within this DNA family. Again Big Bottle Worthy!!! I will say Arabiyat’s Bedour (blue) is more closer to Musk Santal to my nose. Update: For me it keeps getting better. Yes it is similar to Valaya but I think it is better. There is a note that grounds this fragrance more. I am enjoying the citrus-freesia-musk interplay. Excellent longevity.

Gorgeous citrusy opening that transitions into a soft delicate floral/sandalwood musk. I pick up the mandarin as orange blossom, it seems to stand out most on clothing & paper - it’s what I smell when I sniff the bottle. On skin there is much more depth, the pink pepper gives a crowd pleasing blast of spiciness and the florals quickly blend together with the sweet ambery base. It smells gorgeous when I step outside or drive with my windows down. This is now my no-brainer for work/professional settings, interviews and meeting days, casual and formal outings. Not groundbreaking but truly a gem in my collection that already has a good dent! It’s not too strong unless I apply heavily, a small but noticeable scent bubble, and it lasts about 4-6 hrs.

I truly love this fragrance. It's an easy perfume to reach for when you don't know what to wear, it's clean, floral, musky, just a perfect round balanced fragrance. I see some people saying it's similar to wedding silk Santal, I kind of get that but I know Kayali has their own signature accord they use which is most likely that coming through. This lasts decently on my skin, a good 6 hours before it fades to a skin scent as such. I really like to layer this with Donna born in Roma Ivory- try it! I do Freedom Musk first and then Ivory on top. It's divine!! I will say I have a sample of Valaya Exclusif and I cannot stand this scent, so I don't see the similarities, Valaya Ex is headache inducing for me.

I love this scent. Finally I can say that I found a Kayali perfume that I truly love, from beginning to end. It is super smooth and in my opinion wearable all year round and suitable for all occasions. Very elegant and light, clean but with a personality. On another note, I am surprised there are a lot of opinions that state a similarly between this and Valaya. I own Valaya and honestly I cannot find the resemblance. Valaya is a very sharp floral and this is super smooth and not so floral as Valaya. Needless to say I find it very hard for me to wear Valaya, which will not be a problem with Freedom Musk Santal. In conclusion, this for me is the best Kayali out there.

I've been turned off of Kay Ali for awhile because the scents seemed lackluster and overhyped. But, Freedom Musk Santal is beautiful! It's a warm sheer that can be worn year-round. It's cozy, airy, sweet and warm. The projection is like a 1-2 foot bubble which is great for me. Musks are risky as they can insidiously become funky, but this is remains clean in the dry-down. Freedom Musk Santal is unique and full bottle worthy! Edit: I've actually come back to this and think it's really sweet. Almost candy-like with a soft, subtle white oud at the base. I think I want something more refined.

I didn’t like wedding silk santal and don’t own any other kayali fragrances but this one is so sexy and cozy and feminine it’s strong too lasted few days on my jacket. its a beautifully creamy musk and the orange blossom is done right ! It’s elegant cozy all weather fragrance. It’s warm and the orange blossom and amber is so smooth. This is my first Kayali fragrance that I purchased and it’s becoming my new signature fragrance along side kilians princess it also reminds me of the original JPG classique from 20 Years ago I used to wear so it’s a bit nostalgic for me too

I am falling in love with this fragrance. It opens soft, ethereal, clean and feminine, and the sandalwood and amber add a cozy warmth that makes it incredibly comforting. It reminds me a little of Valaya, but in a much smoother and far less sharp way. I actually cannot stand Valaya, so I was surprised by how much I adore this. There is something nostalgic about the scent too, although I still cannot pinpoint what it is. I started with a 10 ml, and I am already picking up the full bottle today.

It really makes me laugh when people say this doesn’t smell like Valaya in the comments. This OBVIOUSLY AND UNDENIABLY smells like Valaya. In other news, this is such a weird launch. Freedom musk? At the name wtf, this santal one is the only good one on this launch and only because it smells just like Valaya, the rest are craaap. The Bouquet one is sooo average and floral and old smelling, the latte one smells like a weaker coffee break and the matcha one stinks

As someone with full sized flankers of Valaya /Valaya Exclusif and Fleur Narcotique, I can definitely smell that same dna in this, but there’s a warmth and sweetness from the sandalwood that the other scents don’t have. Redundant if you already have the 3 aforementioned, but a nice addition if you don’t mind the redundancy while experiencing some added elements. I really like this!

I’ve never tried Valaya, so not sure about the comparisons. This has a bright, fresh opening and a musky, slightly sweet dry down. The sandalwood adds a level of seductiveness. Lasts quite a while on my skin, but has more of an intimate projection. Love this for every day wear. I think it’ll do well in the heat. I will reach for this year round. Definitely a new favorite.

This is excellent! I sprayed it on in store and immediately smelled like something else.... valaya (in particular the infinite radiance dupe from BBW), went home, sprayed the infinite radiance and its reeeeally close. but obviously a bbw mist fades faster. It's WAY less soapy than Musk 12 and not vanilla enough to be Silk Santal. Putting this on a want list ASAP!

I cannot compare this fragrance to one that I know in particular but I will say it is familiar. It smells great: soft and sweet, musky and ambery. Very orange blossom foward like a middle-eastern pastry. Not powdery enough to be Love Don't Be Shy but enough to be like a fragrance I have smelled many times among people of my community aka North-Africans.

Perfect wear everywhere signature scent easy grab. Uplifting but creamy. My new go to. I pair it with the new sol de janeiro Rosa crème and 91 spray, and I’m in love with this combo. For evening I’m going to try it with with Vanilla 28, Vanilla Sex or Amouage Guidance 46. Also the longevity is surprisingly insane it lasts all day.

I sprayed this once and bought a bottle. Should have read the fragrantica profile to realise that, yes, it smells like Valaya and that I already own a pretty effective Valaya dupe. Anyway, this is softer than Valaya. I think it’ll be a great staying home or bedtime fragrance. Original? No. But what Kayali fragrance is?!

I love this release! To me it does NOT smell like Valaya at all. I’m not sure where people are getting that. I will say someone asked me if I was wearing Delina once when I was wearing it. I mostly get the base notes with the mod florals popping in and out. It does remind me of Silk Santal but I like this one better!

Blind bought a full size which I never do it. Definitely similar to valaya, but more fruity & sweet. I get a plum note! Someone described as valaya + mod vanilla, I think that’s pretty close! Huge hit for me. Decent projection. Longevity is ok too.