Kayali, and the vanilla everyone wants for less

Kayali has done it again: the house founded by Mona Kattan has added another dessert to its Yum line, a vanilla cupcake, as Cosmetics Business reported this week. Before anyone has worn it, we already know one thing: someone will copy it. Here is why.

The most copied sweet shop in perfume

Across the 42 Kayali fragrances in our catalogue there are 185 twins — about 4.4 per bottle. The favourite target is Vanilla | 28, with 20 houses selling their version. The Yum line alone, 3 scents so far, already has 29 twins. Gourmands are easy to love and, it turns out, easy to imitate: sugar, vanilla and a single loud fruit or nut are simpler to approximate than a mossy chypre or a smoky oud.

Do the copies hold up?

Wearers have scored 7 Kayali twins so far. The closest is Affection from Lattafa, which people put at 82% of Kayali Yum Pistachio Gelato | 33. At the other end, Odyssey Marshmallow manages only 55% — proof that a sweet note on the label is not the same as the smell.

The cheapest of the best-value twins above works out at $32 per 100ml. Gourmands are worn generously — the price per spray matters more here than almost anywhere.

And the cupcake?

It is too new for us to list yet: we add a fragrance once its notes are published and twins start appearing. Judging by the rest of the line, it will not take long. If you want to try it before then, Cosmopolitan has an early wear test.

Your turn · reader poll

Kayali or the cheaper twin — which would you buy?

The original — I want the real KayaliThe twin — sugar is sugarSample both firstNeither — gourmands aren't for me

A tip for the whole genre: test a gourmand on skin, not paper, and wait two hours. The first spray is the dessert; what is left in the afternoon is the fragrance you actually bought.