Trends

Kayali: the brand that has turned “layering” into a pop language of perfumery

Can luxury perfumery be fun? For years, high perfumery expressed itself through elitist codes that created distance. Kayali has managed to turn those codes on their head.

Gourmand ingredients aimed at an adult audience, a sophisticated aesthetic designed for social media, and intimate, emotionally driven storytelling. The result: in just eight years, Kayali has become a globally recognized and admired brand.

Behind the brand is Mona Kattan, a charismatic entrepreneur and fragrance enthusiast who has succeeded in conveying her personal, pleasure-driven approach to fragrance. Are you already one of Kayali's best fragrance friends?

Mona Kattan's Dream

Kayali, which means "my imagination" in Arabic, was born in 2018 as Mona Kattan's personal project within the Huda Beauty universe. From the beginning, the brand adopted a contemporary positioning closely aligned with digital culture. In 2025, Kayali became independent and began a new phase in which Mona drives the brand guided by a vision of "bold innovation."

The art of layering

Although layering is not a new practice, Kayali reinterprets it and adapts it to the expectations of today's consumer. Here, layering fragrances is a form of personalization and personal expression.

This approach turns the user into a co-creator: each fragrance works as a note within an olfactory playlist. We can decide what to mix according to our mood, create mixes as complex as we want, and have fun every day with our perfume collection.

Kayali understands layering as an olfactory signature achieved by mixing several fragrances.

Unapologetic gourmand

If Kayali had to be defined with one word, it would be gourmand. But not a childish gourmand, rather an adult gourmand. The brand fearlessly explores edible notes (vanilla, caramel, praline, and candied fruits).

Against the traditional discourse of luxury, Kayali embraces balanced excess: combining sweetness and sensuality in easy-to-wear fragrances, where pleasure and emotional connection weigh more than complexity. How do you want to feel today?

Sense of community

As a young brand with a digital DNA, Kayali has managed to build a solid and engaged community. Mona Kattan and her team share the brand's universe with warmth, empathy, and humor. Perfume becomes playful!
Instead of rigid descriptions, Kayali communicates sensations: "smells like a rich girl vibe," "smells like a date," "smells like a hug," "smells like dessert." Emotion and sensoriality prevail, as well as the ability to make the perfume understood—and desired—beyond the screen.

The most desired perfumes

Despite its youth, Kayali already has some iconic fragrances. Vanilla 28 has become a benchmark for vanilla: easy to layer, with a sexy warmth, and especially appreciated for mixing.

Lovefest Burning Cherry 48 also stands out, giving prominence to a dark cherry: a fruit that in current perfumery takes us to forbidden and nocturnal territories.

Yum Pistachio Gelato 33, with notes of pistachio, whipped cream, and marshmallow, represents the most youthful, playful, and viral side of the brand.

Luxury or niche perfumery?

Kayali occupies a hybrid space: it is not niche perfumery in the classic sense, but neither is it a mass-market fragrance. It positions itself as an accessible premium brand, highly desirable for both its image and its performance.

Its competitive advantage lies in combining three things: a recognizable olfactory DNA (sophisticated sweetness), a clear narrative (layering), and an iconic aesthetic, more powerful than having "the rarest perfume in the world."

Kayali demonstrates that perfumery can feel contemporary without losing its ritualistic and emotional essence. Its proposition is simple, but not simplistic: perfume is not a single decision. It is a blend, a story, and imagination.