By invitation... [reviewing Invite Only Amber | 23 edp, by Kayali]

 "A divinely sensual, decadent, and enticing fragrance with an addictive allure"

"Seduction in a bottle. Stimulate your senses with succulent top notes, which marry insatiably with the mid notes for alluring depth and dimension. This contrasts with the woody, sensual base to create the ultimate atmosphere of seduction and empowerment."


Cherry, honey and chocolate?! How could this not be amazing?!

I was so confident that I'd love this, that after not finding a tester bottle in my nearest Selfridges, I blindly ordered a bottle from Boots. This could go majorly wrong, since patchouli is also in Invite Only...

The cherry note is very quiet, which is a shame as I do enjoy the scent of cherries. In fact,  apart from the subtle cherry, I can't separate any other fruit notes. The honey and the chocolate accords are both rich and dark, not fluffy & sweeter. Worried that cherry, honey and chocolate are going to quickly become too sweet? Don't worry; the main player of Invite Only turns  out to be the tobacco, although to me it is a bit less sweet & hay-like tobacco leaf and slightly more smoky & a bit sharper, very similar to when my grandad smoked cigars when I was little.

Sometimes I think that I get a hint of hazelnut alongside the lingering dark chocolate, but maybe I'm just convincing myself that I can because I know that it's meant to be there. Floral-wise; Invite Only is all about the sweet & powdery rose, which is spiced & slightly heated with a sprinkling of cinnamon. The tobacco note becomes quieter and more hay-like as the roses develop. I'm not sure what other floral notes are here - typical white florals like orange blossom and magnolia?

The patchouli and oud are delicately wrapped in the creaminess of the sweet & spicy woody blend of sandalwood, cypriol oil, benzoin, amber & vanilla - a relief for me, as I was concerned about what could happen when the starring tobacco combined with the other potent & earthy notes. Earthy, yet sweet & spicy at the same time; I can't put the effect into words. Very warm and inviting...

Official scent notes: Black cherry, Honey de Provence, Tobacco leaf, Chocolate hazelnut accord, Rose Centifolia absolute, Rose Damascena, Citrus leaf, Ceylon cinnamon, Oud oil, Cypriol, Firmenich musks, Amber resin, Benzoin, Sandalwood, Patchouli and Vanilla.

Invite Only immediately stands out for me, with how authentic the honey accord is; rich & darkly sweet, but not too sweet & syrupy. On a whole, this is no way near as sweet as I was anticipating when I read that honey, chocolate, benzoin, amber AND vanilla are all present - the subtlety of the fruit notes, the intensity of the tobacco note and the blend used in the base all combine to keep the sweetness quiet & fairly dark.

Invite Only was a bit unexpected for me since I wasn't expecting it to be as intense as it is [it wears for over 12 hours & has a louder aura than I'm used to], nor was I expecting the tobacco note to be the focus - this note balances out the sweeter notes perfectly and gives the fragrance depth & complexity. I highly recommend Invite Only, especially to those of us who like the combination of various sweet roses clashing with the darker aspects of the brand's earlier release, Elixir. Deja Vu is still my favourite Kayali perfume, but this is a close second.

In the UK you can find Kayali at Boots (online only), Selfridges, and on Feel Unique.