Maldives in a Bottle Ylang Coco | 20 Eau de Parfum

Beautiful, Fresh, sweet, bright, happy, beachy, floral, tropical, fruity, citrusy, clean, aromatic, refreshing, creamy, cheerful, uplifting, aquatic, fresh spicy, feminine, unique On me this opens bright, sweet, fresh, and aromatic with the fresh spiciness of rosemary, and bright and citrusy lemon. As it starts drying down I get the tropical, creamy, and sweet ylang-ylang and banana with the lingering rosemary and lemon which give it a slightly aquatic feel. Farther into the dry down it becomes creamier with the sweet and tropical coconut milk becoming prominent along with the ylang-ylang. The rosemary and lemon linger gently throughout keeping it fresh and light too. I bought 2 of the Vacay in a Bottle sets whenever it launched, and I immediately loved it! My 2 favorites from the set are Maldives and Maui, which makes sense considering I’m a big fan of coconut fragrances. I’m also a big Kayali fan in general. I have 16 of their fragrances, and my top 3 are Yum Boujee Marshmallow, The Wedding Silk Santal, and Vanilla 28. For a little more reference, some of my favorite beachy/coconut fragrances include Tom Ford Soleil Blanc, Nest Sunkissed Hibiscus, Kilian Sunkissed Goddess, Replica Beach Walk, Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess, JHAG Lust For Sun, and JHAG Vanilla Vibes. I also have Kayali Utopia Vanilla Coco and love it. I consider it to be a unique beachy/coconut like I do with Maldives because I think it’s one of the fragrances in this category that can work well year round because of its depth and warmth. Maldives feels feminine to me, and would work on women of any age. I think it’s best suited for the warmer weather of spring and summer because of how fresh and beachy it is. I was nervous about the rosemary note in this, but that’s what makes it so unique. It gives it that interesting freshness that comes off almost aquatic paired with the lemon. It might not be the safest blind buy, but I’m very happy that I took the chance buying the set. However, I already really enjoyed Kayali fragrances as well as coconut, so I think that made it safer for me. I get excellent performance with Maldives in a Bottle, as I do with all of the Kayali fragrances I own. The longevity is great, on me it lasts throughout the day. The projection is good, it radiates out at least a couple feet from me.

Sweet, aromatic, coconut, yellow floral, woody, fresh spicy, citrusy, tropical, fruity, creamy, lactonic, refreshing, sunny, radiant, luminous, feminine, sensual, seductive, flirty, charming, whimsical, dreamy, delightful, alluring, intriguing, soothing, tranquil, inviting, transportive, nostalgic On me this opens with aromatic and refreshing with fresh spicy rosemary and citrusy and radiant lemon. The heart blooms with sweet banana blossom and tropical starfruit. The dry down really shines as it intertwines exotic ylang ylang and tropical, sweet, and creamy coconut milk. This even has a slightly aquatic vibe to it. I’m a huge Kayali fan, and currently own 20 different fragrances of theirs. Maldives in a Bottle is tied for my 2nd favorite along with Capri of the Vacay in a Bottle collection. My favorite of the set is Maui. My top 5 Kayali faves are Yum Boujee Marshmallow, Vanilla 28, Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar, The Wedding Silk Santal, and Yum Pistachio Gelato. This feels feminine to me, and suitable for women of any age. This feels like it works best during the spring and summer because of its refreshing beachy vibe. This feels most fitting for casual occasions, work/school, and beach vacations. I get good performance with Maldives in a Bottle. The longevity is about 6-8 hours on my skin. The projection is moderate as it radiates out about an arm’s length from me. For reference, some of my favorites (besides the ones I’ve already mentioned here) include Kilian LDBS, Princess, Sunkissed Goddess, GdT Celeste, Bianco Latte, PdM Oriana, Tom Ford Soleil Blanc, Nest Sunkissed Hibiscus, Gucci Flora Gorgeous Orchid, Burberry Goddess, The 7 Virtues Vanilla Woods, YSL Black Opium Le Parfum, Guerlain Mon Guerlain, Ellis Brooklyn Marshmallows, Queen’s Caramel, Vanilla Salt, Phlur Heavy Cream, Vanilla Nectar, Beach Skin, SDJ Summer è Amor, 62, 39, VS Vanilla Lace, BBW Coco Paradise, At the Beach, Beach Nights, Boardwalk Marshmallow Clouds, Whipped Honey & Vanilla, Fireside Flurries

I've just returned from two weeks in the Maldives. I wore this perfume every night, and I can confirm it actually does smell of the Maldives, and it's delicious. Every evening we would walk in the evening heat along the path to dinner, surrounded on all sides and with a canopy above of lush tropical vegetation; Bougainvillea, frangipani, jasmine, orchids. I would stop in my tracks as a cloud of jasmine or frangipani suddenly enveloped us, to search for the nearby bush and just be still to breathe those divine scents in for a moment. This scent really does evoke those heady tropical fragrances. I've been looking for a banana fragrance that ticks my boxes recently and the banana blossom note in this is lovely, it's not pudding or foam sweets banana, but it's a delicious sweet, floral, airy banana. My nose isn't easily parsing out the individual notes, but the blended effect is of tropical flowers, (jasmine isn't listed but I smell it) sweetness from the fruit, slightly herbaceous but not bitter notes grounding it, and the coconut is one that provides a creaminess that doesn't smother the sweet fruit and floral notes, instead it just rounds things out. Bad coconut notes have so often ruined a fragrance for me, why do they never smell as delicious as coconut oil or cream? Not so here, this is coconut done beautifully. In the high humidity the perfume struggled to make a little scent cloud for me, although I got wafts every now and then. It lasted, but stayed close to the skin. I'm interested to see how it performs now we're home. And I'll be buying a larger bottle soon, because it's a hit for me. Kayali fragrances are polarising to me, some I like, some I really don't. I was so disappointed with Maui Sweet Banana - not at all the banana I wanted, and I found the overall blend nauseating. I love this. It really is Maldives in a bottle.

Fresh, beachy, sweet, tropical, bright, aquatic, and refreshing. This opens fresh, bright, and aquatic with juicy lemon and a green aromatic rosemary. It’s a unique and refreshing scent. The tropical florals of banana blossom and ylang ylang with the coconut milk are transportive with their fresh, sweet, creamy, bright, and beachy vibes. The subtly aromatic aquatic scent lingers throughout and pairs nicely with the prominent coconut milk and ylang ylang that gives a sweet, creamy, and floral tropical island vibe. I’m a huge lover of beachy/coconut fragrances, so I have a bunch of them (can you ever have too many? Nope, that new one sounds great!). I do think that this is a rather interesting and unique take on a popular scent profile. It’s still got that tropical beachy scent, and it’s also rather aquatic, but then it has that refreshing, green aromatic scent of the rosemary. I’m definitely impressed (actually with all 4 of them!) because I’ve become a big fan of Kayali fragrances and I just knew they would do something a little special/different/unique with these! I get good performance with Maldives in a Bottle. The longevity is nice, it lasts throughout the day on me. The projection is decent too, it radiates out about an arm’s length from me.

The opening has a mild spicy kick from the rosemary. It is herbal and refreshing but still sweet. I would not categorize it as green. It reminds me a little of Le Vie Belle Soleil Cristal. The mid and base is creamy and tropical but not out of place in colder weather. I could wear this almost year round. The only exception is the extreme cold. There is a banana note but it is not very prevalent. Like most Kayali fragrances the performance starts out weak, but as it macerates is improves significantly. After five months this lasts 6-8 hours on skin and the coco and ylang-ylang notes linger on my clothes the next day. The silage after it macerates is beautiful. While out at a restaurant a hostess and waitress came to our table and had to know what this perfume was. They said they followed the scent trail I left behind. (For context this is the first time this has happened to me, and I usually think people are lying when telling stories like this.) This was such a strong love for me that I purchased a backup bottle. This needs to come out in a full size. 9/10.