KayAli Lovefest Burning Cherry Review: A Cherry-dominant Scent

Recently, we have been seeing a lot of brands come up with their own iteration of cherry fragrances, and I have to give full credit to Tom Ford’ Lost Cherry for pioneering several innovative cherry-dominant perfumes that have been released in the past couple of years.

I personally think cherry is a note that tends to be either a hit or miss. It’s not a fragrance note that I consider much more nuanced or versatile. The number of facets this accord holds onto has already been fully utilized in perfumery. That aside, it’s also a note I wholeheartedly enjoy, and I look forward to the next version that any brand might possibly come up with. One of the top-talked and fascinating brands, Kayali, has constantly sparked my olfactive interest with their launches. The latest launch, Lovefest Burning Cherry, wasn’t an exception either.

So, what does yet another cherry-dominant scent smell like?

Well, it smells as its name suggests, but some other territories of this fruity accord have been tapped into. First and foremost, it starts smoky and woody. One of the most beautiful parts of Lovefest is its opening. The tartness of cherry liquor is quite present, with a lovely raspberry facet of guaiac wood that lends its natural sweet edge to the scent.

The nutty gourmand heart simultaneously imparts a beautiful powdery side that’s sweet and sour. The praline note is pleasant and gently pushes its mild sweetness to the floral heart of the heliotrope. As time goes by, the sweetness mellows down and becomes smokier as it enters the base of woody heavens.

The base has quite a few solid notes too, but none of them make a firm prescience. Instead, we have all the notes unfolding their individual character for a brief period throughout the development. We have a beautiful palo santo note in coordination with guaiac wood interlaced with beautiful Tonka bean. Because of all the woods in the base, the composition never gets quite sweet for the scent that Lovefest is supposed to be categorized as and ventures into the smokier world.

So, what’s my final verdict?

I was hoping the scent would veer into the seductive territory as it simmers down on my skin. Unfortunately, within an hour or so, the scent loses its charm and becomes, quite frankly, non-existent. The scent’s opening had me at the prospect of being one of the most seductive savoury cherry-forward scents, but ultimately it didn’t hold its ground. 

The projection is within the elbow’s length for the first hour, but the progression doesn’t meet at a firm ending and lacks specificity in the conjunction. The best part of Lovefest Burning Cherry is its nonlinear development as long as it stays on the skin and the wearer can enjoy all the possible detectable nuances of this beautiful cherry-forward scent with a sheer classic Kayali vibe. However, I perceive it as a great layering fragrance. It will wear phenomenally on the skin with Invite Only Amber by Kayali or any amber-based fragrance to make it long-lasting and enjoy the beautiful cherry note that this fragrance offers.