What makes a Lychee sparkle? [reviewing Eden Sparkling Lychee | 39 edp, by Kayali]

THE VIBE: Radiant, Cheerful, Confident. 

Prepare to be tempted! Eden Sparkling Lychee| 39 Eau de Parfum is a radiant and cheerful fruity floral fragrance featuring a beautiful blend of luscious lychee, tart blackcurrant and sweet candied violet.

In the spirit of the Eden Collection, Sparkling Lychee | 39 opens with a cocktail of mouthwatering fruity notes that instantly brighten your mood! At the heart, a bouquet of flirty florals adds a layer of confidence to this cheerful juice. As this sparkling juice dries down, warm notes of sugared amber, delicious vanilla and sensual musk create a long-lasting and alluring scent trail.

I'm a bit behind on Kayali; I skipped out on the limited edition duo [Wedding Silk Santal | 36 & Wedding Velvet Santal | 35], and I've been repeatedly visiting Selfridges to investigate the four releases in the Oudgasm collection [Café Oud | 19, Vanilla Oud | 36, Rose Oud | 16 & Tobacco Oud | 04] and I do like them to varying degrees, but I have not decided on which (if any) I'm going to buy - genuine oud is an expensive ingredient in fragrance, so that collection costs more money, plus it is intense enough scent-wise to make me wary of triggering migraines...

Anyway, back to today's subject; I was excited to learn that it looks like Eden is going to be the name of a fragrance collection, rather than the name for a single fragrance; summer '22 saw the release of Eden Juicy Apple | 01, a fun & flirty fruity/floral that was inspired by 1990s body splashes that were popular when the Kayali founder was in high school. Being a 90s teen myself I really enjoy the feeling of carefree & happy nostalgia when I wear it, so I couldn't wait to try out Sparkling Lychee when it was released a short while ago, to see if it has the same vibe since it is focused around some of the Juicy Apple supporting scent notes. I tested it in the festive lead-up and immediately liked it, but wanted to wait and try it a few more times at a later date, however... guess what a couple of friends clubbed together to get me for Christmas? 

Was it a one-hit wonder, or is this a contender for being one of my favourite Kayali releases? 

 

To me lychee are fairly similar to a mix of pears & strawberries in scent, so Sparkling Lychee hooked me in immediately- strawberry is one of my major weaknesses when it comes to fruit notes in fragrances. The blackcurrant is almost as full as the actual lychee on me - I'd suggest that it is more of a blackberry as I think of blackcurrant as more tart, but that could be down to the lychee and/or other berries being in the blend & making it sweeter. We also get a nod to Juicy Apple with a small drop of red apple behind the berry medley, although it is intertwined with lemon for a zap of energy. 

The candyfloss-like violet is the first floral that stands out for me; usually Kayali perfumes are generous with the rose notes, but this time around the rose is definitely here, but it is very soft and let's the listed violet and jasmine take the limelight. I think that I can also detect a faint iris note behind the listed florals - and freesia? The fruit notes are all louder and very long wearing, so if you don't typically enjoy floral fragrances then I still highly recommend trying Sparkling Lychee - the florals are a gentle backdrop at every stage of the wear.

The classic perfume base combo of creamy sandalwood & vanilla is dialled up with the sugared amber.The lingering fruit notes & mild musk keep the sweetness fresh & airy though, so it never feels too much. The cedarwood is something that I can't separate half the time, and it is very quiet when I do manage to separate it ‐ a added hint of sharp cleanliness next to the musk.

Official scent notes : blackcurrant, lychee, lemon, red apple, rose damascena, candied violet, jasmine, sugared amber, cedarwood, musk, vanilla and sandalwood.

The first time that I sniffed Sparkling Lychee on myself I was instantly reminded of a shimmering berry lipbalm stick I had when I was around 13 - our school was really strict about not wearing makeup, so I felt like a badass rebel wearing it. As a teenager I wore body sprays with some kind of berry or juicy fruit on a daily basis, as well loving other berry-focused body care items - I used to haunt the nearest Body Shop and my spends, wages & any Christmas or birthday money would go into their till. All that just to say that Sparkling Lychee really hits that nostalgic soft spot for me; if I close my eyes it's like I'm stood in front of The Body Shop's essential oil carousel, where you'd create your own perfume blend (it was too expensive for 12 to 15 year old me to experiment with). Sparkling Lychee is extremely close to what I'd have come up with, if I'd have gotten to create a perfume with what was on offer back then.

The fact that this has the same longevity & aura as Juicy Apple does ever-so-slightly weaken my enjoyment of Sparkling Lychee; it does wear for a fairly reasonable 7-8 hours, but the aura doesn't travel very far - it doesn't go as close to the skin in comparison with Juicy Apple, so that's a plus in Sparkling Lychee's favouur. The formula is nowhere close to being 'bad', but I know that Kayali can do better. I've found La Vie est Belle Intensément & the next perfume I'll be reviewing to be especially fantastic for layering with Sparkling Lychee for special occasions, when you want to give things a little bit of an umph✨️ 

That being said I most likely will rebuy this in the future, as it is so happy & fun - it's not going to knock Déjà Vu, Sweet Diamond, Invite Only, Vanilla Royale, or Yum off my top spots, but it can sit next to Lovefest and slightly ahead of Utopia and Juicy Apple  [well worth testing to see how your body chemistry will work with the formulas] on my still-very-good-and-worth-owning shelf. It does jump way in front of the layering collection [Musk, Vanilla, Elixir & Citrus] for me. Overall; Sparkling Lychee is yet another solid release from Kayali 

Sparkling Lychee comes in 10ml [£25], 50ml [£79] & 100ml bottles [£107].

In the UK you can buy Kayali fragrances from Selfridges, Boots (online only), Cult Beauty, and Sephora.