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.

I like it way more than the wedding silk santal... the only thing I miss from that is the initial fizziness, but the cloying sweetness was too much for me. So I like this a whole lot more. I mean, this is sweet as well, but not cloyingly sweet.

I love Freedom Musk Santal,Smells very feminine. It’s a perfect everyday fragrance. I’ve only smelled Valaya once at Nordstrom so I not sure if it’s a dupe. If it’s in the same scent type, I probably would buy it.

I really enjoy the scent but it's honestly such a bummer that it has terrible sillage and projection. Id rather pay extra buy the real deal (valaya) since it performs a lot better!

It’s a beautiful blend of musk, creaminess, and sweetness. I really love how it develops on my skin and how well it projects. One of my favourites from Kayali.

I think this is the most beautiful perfume I have ever tried. An immediate favourite: sweet, floral, musky and SO sophisticated Perfect for spring and summer

The amber and orange are so smooth in this perfume it’s addicting . Cozy beautiful elegant warm skin scent.like a cashmere sweater 🤎💛

This is a musky, sweet sandalwood!! ❤️ 😍 It smells to me a bit like Déjà Vu White Flowers and Valaya together! I love this scent!! 😀

Now that I have Valaya- this is a dupe. Not as refined but possibly nicer and stronger.

I swear to GOD this has a phantom strawberry note in it! 🍓

This smells like valaya and glossier you together ❤️

With Musk Santal, I can absolutely see why this was the only one in the Freedom Collection to launch in a big bottle right off the bat. It feels like this was the core idea of the collection—and then Bouquet, Latte, and Matcha were created as layering companions. Honestly, this is the fragrance that everything else in the set seems designed to mix with. It’s easy, versatile, and the notes play well with so many different scent profiles. So the full-size treatment makes total sense. I also fully expect they’ll eventually release Matcha, Latte, and Bouquet in 1.7 oz bottles—just like they did with Vaycay. This isn’t my absolute favorite of the four, but I really like it a lot. I prefer this “musk” over the original Musk 12, and I definitely pick up that Valaya vibe from PDM. I also get shades of Deja Vu White Flower and Silk Santal from within Kayali’s own line. That part is a little annoying, because it ends up smelling similar to two other Kayali scents, but I still like it enough to wear—and honestly, I’d probably reach for it more than Musk 12 or the other similar ones. And I’ve always said Deja Vu White Flower was basically the original Silk Santal, so when people went wild over Silk Santal, I couldn’t help but laugh—because us OG Kayali fans had Deja Vu first. They’ve all kind of lived in the same family from the beginning. Performance-wise, this is the best longevity of the four for me. This and Musk Latte are neck and neck in that department. Latte and Bouquet are my top two overall, but Santal is just a solid, happy offering. Matcha, on the other hand... not for me at all. Overall, this is an easy, simple, clean fragrance that works year-round and anytime. It’s clearly made for layering and will blend beautifully across the entire Kayali line (and beyond), but I can also see myself wearing it alone without any problem.

On me, Freedom Musk Santal is more floral than woody. The opening is very pink pepper dominant and very aromatic/lavender, plus the bunch of florals: lily and freesia. I am quite surprised that the team has decided to highlight santal as the dominant note in Musk Santal, because on me it’s very floral and spicy, with a hefty dose of warmth and sweetness. I don’t know if all the sweetness is just from mandarin orange, but it’s sweet. As it dries does it get more woody and soft, smoother and creamier, the spice fades and so does the lavender. It’s resembling more of the theme it’s supposed to represent. But it’s nothing new, interesting or captivating... Yes, it’s a nice, inoffensive, warm, soft floral, very crowd pleasing perfume, feminine through and through and done for warmer weather, but it’s been done before. And with a better longevity, sillage and for a lower price. I haven not tried Valaya in a long time, not a big fan, so I can’t comment on any similarities between Musk Santal and Valaya, but I wouldn’t purchase any of these two personally. Not my scent style, I like more than a musky floral skin scent. Pass!

With the name, I was expecting something sort of inspired by Le Labo's Santal, but I get the love child of Glossier You and a 90's minimalist floral. The name is misleading- neither the sandalwood or musk is prominent. You can tell there are some soft woods in here to soften the freesia but the musk is a mystery to me. There is no animalic muskiness like musc ravageur or kielhl's, nor is there the powdery "wet wipe" white musk like Narciso Rodriguez pure musc or the body shop's white musk, nor is there the "slept in clean sheets" musk like Lazy Sunday Morning. Instead, I get a pink pepper very similar to You and a soft freesia that echoes 90's Calvin Klein and Issey Miyake. That's not to say that this is a bad fragrance or that I dislike it. It's pleasant and nice, and I would wear it But it's nothing new or special, and I wouldn't spend my money on it unless it was heavily discounted. Edit: I see that most people think that this smells like Valaya, but I don't see it beyond the fact that they are both "skin scent" fragrances. Valaya is heavy on the aldehydes, but I'm not getting that here.

A sweet, soft musky floral. Feels to be a very solid base for layering—someone else here says that the others in the collection were maybe meant as an accompaniment to this, and I think that may be true. Though I broadly think designing fragrances specifically for layering feels a bit like a consumer trap, this one on its own is a well-rounded but simple enough fragrance to be standalone. Update: I hadn’t had a recent enough memory of how Valaya smells at the time of writing to weigh in on the dupe discussion, but when I went and smelled Valaya again a couple months later I was like yeah this is a total ripoff of that, but with PDM’s prices I frankly think that is okay #deserve. But then I went back and smelled this the other day and was like oh it’s like Valaya without all the sauce... a neutered Valaya... Still like it though.

Wow, I really like this. Yes it is similar to Valaya, which I have the OG and Exclusif, but it is a bit easier to wear due to lacking the sharpness that Valaya has in the opening. It honestly falls right in the middle for me between the Valayas comparative wise. I find that it has nice lasting power and projection. Not as nice as the Parfums de Marly, but still decent. Bonus: it layers really well with every Kayali I’ve tried it with. I still prefer the Valayas, but for a fraction of the cost it is gooood. Def. going to get a full bottle. I have a baby and sometimes the PDM are too strong carrying a little one around.

First impression: At first sniff, reminds me of Kayali De ja vu white flower 57, almost exactly. I'd say musk santal is slightly less heavy, and a bit more bright/airy when I compare the two. It's as if they took out the vanilla in dejavu and replaced it with more musk 12 & added just a hint of fruit. I think it's quite pleasant and non offensive. It does have a sweetness to it more than a freshie, but not cloying. Unfortunately for myself dejavu was cloying, so I actually prefer musk santal. If you liked dejavu white flower, or a combination of white florals with sweet fruit, I think you'll likely enjoy this one.

This has a lot going on, it’s interesting, developing as you wear it, so it’s not a linear experience. It’s starts off a little bit brash, maybe reminiscent of a weak libre, and then becomes a very soapy clean freshie that has me thinking of MM bubble bath, the citrus, lavender and musk in both are sisters. Then at about two hours in it becomes a warm candid almost elevated orange blossom that’s entirely in its own lane Longevity- 4/6 hours Projections- close but drifts Scent profile -7/10 Purchase- I have it but may sell it on I’m not sure I want to wait two hours for the elevated banger it’s becomes

She’s actually a really pretty scent! I read many reviews of it being a valaya mixed with mod vanilla, which initially scared me cuz valaya is just way too screechy to me but I do love mod vanilla. I see how both fit in tho. Longevity isn’t there... but that comes with most of Kayali’s fragrances. The longer it sits on my skin, the more creamy and soft it gets. You do get slapped in the face with bergamot, but otherwise I like! It’s 10ml worthy, but I don’t see myself touching the big bottle.

Surprisingly, this is my favorite from the Freedom Collection so far (I haven't tried Musk Bouquet). I can understand the Valaya comparison. It is definitely a softer version. On my skin, I get a soft, citrusy floral on a warm amber base. With the exception of YBM, I haven't been convinced to pickup any other full size Kayalis but I like this one enough to get the full bottle. Just know longevity can be hit or miss with anything from Kayali.

I typically find the Kayali brand a bit juvenile but I purchased Freedom Musk Santal on first sniff. It is such a well balanced and gorgeous scent, with a beautiful bright bergamot and pepper opening. I also really love white florals and musk, and the sandalwood and vetiver base is right up my alley. My complaint is that it does not project far and does not last long, only giving me 2 hours to enjoy before needing to reapply.

It honestly felt so familiar. Its been driving me crazy, knowing i have something super similar in my collection, usually reserved for summer evenings. Have cracked it finally after sniffing my wrist all day. The OG Casablanca by Swiss Arabian. No bad thing imho. One will certainly be cheaper than the other though, love them both, definately worth having one of them in your collection.

The bergamot, mandarin, sandalwood, musk, and amber blend together to create a soft spicy aroma reminiscent of Gaultier's Classique. I would consider this a fresh take on that classic. There's a gentle sweetness that makes it good as an easy reach, especially in spaces where you want to wear something light and inoffensive. Definitely one of those "effortlessly pretty" type of scents.

Got my nose on this today; this opens like juicy slightly candied strawberries, becomes warm and powdery dryer sheets with a nice floral balance. I am surprised to see bergamot, orange, and pink pepper listed and no strawberry because I don't smell any of those notes in the beginning. I think this would be a great scent for the warmer months, it needs some external heat.

Not groundbreaking but very nice! The opening has a hint of citrus and as it dries down the sweet florals and musk become more prominent. Not overly woody, and not at all pickle-y (very often an issue with sandalwood). Actually despite the name the sandalwood is pretty quiet in this. Great summer choice if you don't want something fruity, tropical, etc.

This smelled so familiar to me.. then it hit me .. it is like they took the top notes of Clean’s solar bloom and blended them with Clean’s radiant nectar’s musk . It is sweet floral, luminous. Feminine. I like it. Unlike most of the Kayali line. I bought a travel size. Time will tell if I end up buying a full size bottle or not.

Still trying to settle on my feelings on this one. Everybody has been raving that this is their favorite but I’d have to rate this one #3 out of the 4 that were released. Sad this is the only one they decided to have in full size. I don’t hate it, but I also don’t see myself reaching for this one too often. It may grow on me

Nice but VERY Valaya-esque. Honestly, it is identical, just softer with less citrus. I don't love the dry down because I find it to be a bit dusty. I really wish it had more prominent amber & sandalwood like it was marketed to since this scent profile is already commonly available so it feels a bit redundant.

It’s a little generic but very wearable. It’s a nice soft musk, so if you’ve found other woody musk fragrances to be too much, you may still like this. The musk, freesia, sandalwood, and citrus all come through pretty equally after the initial spray for me. Dried down to a very warm, sweet skin scent.

It is an exact copy of Valaya by Marly, just a little bit more buttery. I personally found Valaya a little harsh on my skin with a some screechy notes in it that I couldn't shake. 34 is much calmer and rounded, a smoother version..I got it at the discount so I it was no brainer for me.

As weird as this may sound, I enjoy layering Ariana Grande Mod Vanilla with this. Didn’t catch the similarities until someone commented on a TikTok video and they do smell somewhat similar, there’s something on both of them that makes them alike. Try this combo, it is delicious ☁️✨