Today marks the first day of a week (or so) of posts on perfume oils. I've always worn EDP or EDT formulations (and parfum, on rarer occasions), but not so much perfume oils, or at least not until I got into sampling. My first trials were with the Majenty oils, Hidden Cove, Embrace the Day, and After Hours. After that I tried Yosh White Flowers (which frankly, I'd forgotten I'd tried--and really liked!), and then a kind reader sent me a sample of Child, because she wanted to know how it compared to Embrace the Day.Right off the bat, let me tell you: The one thing all of these oils have in common is white florals. If you're a white floral hater--or, more specifically, if white florals run after you with large clubs until they mow you down and beat you senseless about the neck and head--then proceed with caution. The good thing about perfume oils is that they create little or no sillage, thereby foregoing the headache-inducing aura that might offend people around you. The other good thing (depending on how you look at it) with perfume oils is that they produce a scent that's very "true"--meaning, if real gardenias cause your noggin to throb, then any number of these perfume oils might do the same.
Kai perfume oil, although said to be made up of gardenia and "white exotic florals," comes across to my nose as pretty much straight gardenia, fresh blooms still on the bush, creamy white against dark green leaves, conveying both the warmth of the flower and the coolness of the plant in the shade. The lasting power is quite good, although I found it lasted best when I rubbed a bit into the crook of each arm. It's fresh, pretty, and straightforward.
In terms of comparing it to all the other oils I have listed here, Embrace the Day is the closest, gardenia mixed with jasmine and plumeria. It's mostly gardenia, but the jasmine dirties it up a little. The Kai seems more true, more fresh, and of these two, it's the one I prefer. Compared to the other celebrity-loved perfume in the bunch, Child: Child, which features jasmine as its star white flower, leans more toward perfume. I pick up a hint of citrus, and also something that lends it a slight sharp, powdery edge. Child has a slight scent of artifice about it, where Embrace the Day and Kai both feel a bit more natural. I originally preferred Child to Embrace the Day, but now I find I feel the opposite--and I prefer the Kai to them both!
*photo from Luckyscent
