September 9, 2024 • 28 mins
Can a scent transport you back to a cherished memory or inspire a new chapter in your life? The heart of this episode is dedicated to the mesmerizing world of Kayali, the perfume brand founded by the dynamic Kattan sisters, Huda and Mona. We’ll explore the development of their most popular scents—Vanilla 28, Citrus 08, and Musk 12—and Mona Kattan’s heartfelt journey from co-founding Huda Beauty to crafting perfumes inspired by her Middle Eastern roots.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi everyone and welcome to Magnifique, your
favorite perfume podcast.
I'm your host, gabrielle, andtoday we talk about my new
favorite perfume brand, kayali.
But first, how are we feeling?
It's finally September, thewind is blowing, the sun is on
(00:22):
our side, only a few 90 degreedays left in our future, and I'm
pretty stoked about that.
I feel like I could do anything.
Happy Fashion Week also.
That started on Friday.
I will have a full Fashion Weekrecap episode in a couple weeks
, just wanting to takeeverything in before rushing an
(00:46):
episode out, but I am lovingwhat I'm seeing on the runway so
far.
I feel like a child, like justwaiting for Christmas.
It's truly my favorite time ofyear and I will share all of my
thoughts at a later date, aftereverything has been presented to
us.
So, oh, oh, just somehousekeeping Not really, but
(01:12):
like slightly.
I put out a short and sweetfall fashion guide on Substack,
so be sure to check that out.
It's in the link that we sharein all of our episode notes.
You just click that.
There we are, and this week Ialso plan to do a fall perfume
guide.
So she's getting wacky onSubstack.
(01:33):
She's really just trying tofind her way.
So last week I shared somegrievances that I had with you
from the week.
I just have one grievance todiscuss and then we can swiftly
move past Just another week ofbeing pissed at the patriarchy.
What's new?
First off, this is a girly popsafe space, so I'll be cautious
(01:58):
since I know the girlies don'twant me to utter the word.
But Thursday was really roughfor me and I won't be having a
good time until February becausemy ears just keep getting
assaulted by the F sports slurand respectfully and sexistly
I'm a girl, I don't want to hearthat.
Don't tell me anything aboutthe sport.
(02:19):
That's not for me, I don't care.
But then my husband reallyloves it so I have to like it
because it makes him happy and Ilike anything that makes him
happy.
So it really is just a reallyhard time for me and I would
like February to be over now.
I also have another reason whyI'm annoyed at the patriarchy.
I went to a women's conferenceon Friday and it really was
(02:43):
amazing.
Women's Conference on Friday,and it really was amazing.
But I couldn't help but befurious the entire time Because
most of what was talked aboutwas innovations that had been
made in reaction to thepatriarchy and how awful some
men can be at times and thingsthat women have to do to uphold
these patriarchal standards.
(03:04):
Really, yada, yada.
But they were also just goinginto very explicit details of
the examples of how men wereawful to them.
And no, I agree and I felt whatthey were saying, but I
couldn't help but notice thatthere were 15 men in a sea of
500 women and I don't know.
(03:25):
I just felt were 15 men in asea of 500 women and I don't
know.
I just felt like more menneeded to hear the message so as
a collective, they could dobetter and be better, so that
maybe these extreme innovationsdon't need to occur.
Although, let's be clear,innovation's awesome.
I'm not expanding on that part.
I'm not defending that morethan I already have.
(03:46):
I love innovation.
My thing is, men should havebeen there to hear women's
experiences with other men sothat they can, like I said, be
better, do better Anywho.
Oh, this week I have found thenail polish that I want to buy
every single bottle of and Iwant to wear for every single
year for the rest of my life.
(04:07):
I kind of explained on TikTok,but I've already sent you to
Substack, so I'll tell you thestory here so you don't got to
go a million different places.
I went to Sally's Beauty for anudie pink a your nails, but
better look.
And I asked the Sally's BeautyWorker for suggestions.
(04:27):
You know I should have gone inthere with a plan, but you know
sometimes I don't want to.
So I didn't.
But a homegirl was scaring me.
She was showing a bunch ofdifferent options that weren't
really my style, weren't reallywhat I asked for, but at the end
of the day I asked her for help.
So I chose one of herrecommendations Because it's
(04:50):
just nail polish.
I am not going to die if I hateit.
So I didn't really care thatmuch.
But I trusted her and I wentwith Bare my Soul by OPI.
That Sally's Beauty Workerdeserves a kiss on the mouth or
something consensual, because Iwill be wearing it for the rest
of my life.
I've caught myself staring athow good my nails looked so
(05:13):
often that my husband hasstarted to notice me doing it.
I love this shade.
I love the Sally's BeautyWorker.
I want nothing but good thingsto happen to them.
Anywho, today we talk about KayAli, a brand that I have grown
to be incredibly fond of.
I have tested a handful offragrances from their line and
(05:35):
every single time I do I'm blownaway.
In early episodes of thepodcast, you may remember me
finding and absolutely gushingabout the fragrance Yum
Pistachio Gelato.
I still love her dearly.
In fact, I'm wearing her today.
Mixed with Juliet has a Gun,not a Perfume.
It makes the most deliciousmarshmallow-y musky scent that I
(05:59):
could one day decide that Iwant to be buried in.
Lots of burying me today inthis episode.
So far.
Sorry about that, but let'shold hands.
Let's kind of just dive in toKay Ali and what the brand is,
what they stand for, yada, yada.
(06:21):
So Kay Ali as a brand started in2018.
There were six years ofpreparation that went into the
foundation of the brand, be itmarketing, really the perfume
itself, formulations, just allof the above and it was founded
(06:42):
by the Catan sisters, both Hudaand Mona.
The above and it was founded bythe Catan sisters, both Huda
and Mona.
Mona Catan speaks to VogueIndia about the six years of
preparation and that it took solong because they wanted to
launch only when they felt likethey had absolutely created some
of the best scents that themarket could offer.
She partnered with theGeneva-based perfume house
(07:03):
Firminic to create her firstline of scents and truly they
still work together.
So all of their scents.
Firminic is a world-renownedperfume house with some of the
best noses in the world.
At the time of Cayeli'sconception, working with this
house was, and continues to be,a testament to how much thought
(07:26):
and care goes behind eachfragrance.
The name Kayali comes from theArabic language, meaning my
imagination.
Now I will talk about this morewhen I dive deeper into Mona
Katan, but they are Arabic.
Into Mona Katan, but they areArabic.
(07:50):
They live in Dubai.
They have really set up shop inDubai and really lean on the
Middle East for influence intheir fragrance and how they
view perfume.
Jesus, why did I sound so outof breath there, anyway?
So the name Kayali is Arabic,meaning my imagination, and as
we get into this episode, youwill see that we owe everything
(08:10):
to Mona's imagination.
She is a star as well as and inaddition to the name.
The bottle design of the scentremains consistent along the
entire brand and it's an ode tothe Middle East as well.
The diamond-shaped bottle inthe decorative bottle cap is the
(08:31):
modern twist on ornate, finejewels.
Now Mona Katan describes thebrand as being playful,
luxurious and approachable,using her creation to encourage
her community to take a littlebreather a little pause, some
may say and indulge in an act ofself-care through scent.
(08:54):
A huge selling point of Kay Aliis that the fragrances are meant
to be layered and mixed tocreate the wearer's most
uniquely tailored scents, andone of the core points is
layering their scents.
Each fragrance in the company'scatalog is made to make a
statement, while also playingkindly with others and to blend
(09:18):
beautifully together.
That's not to say that you cannever just wear one fragrance of
the collection on its own Ivery often do but that's just so
.
You have options, which isrefreshing to see from a
fragrance brand.
The first product drop happenedin 2018, and it consisted of
(09:42):
four unique scents Vanilla 28,citrus 8, musk 12, and Elixir 11
.
Elixir was intended to be asignature scent, a base, if you
will, for the layering powers ofthe other three, to kind of
play off of.
For the layering powers of theother three, to kind of play off
(10:04):
of.
Elixir can be described as kindof a strong, feminine scent
incorporating notes of jasmine,rose, petal, apple really just
all around beautiful, a goodbase ground for the layers.
Now for inquiring minds, thek-alley brand has named its
(10:25):
scents and adds a little numberat the end.
So vanilla 28, citrus 8 andthis is because it's an
indication of how many versionsor modifications that were made
in the process for each scentuntil they landed on what they
deemed to be the perfectformulation.
Like I said earlier, the Catansisters crafted these scents in
(10:49):
France, with world-renownednoses, while leaning on Middle
Eastern influences for specificscents and specific notes.
So I'd like to kind of talkabout the core scents that they
first launched with.
And then I have one of Mona'sfavorite scents and we'll talk
(11:10):
about that as well.
So I already talked aboutElixir 11.
So let's talk about KayaliVanilla 28.
This is the highest grossing andmost profitable scent from the
catalog, so let's just talkabout it.
As the name indicates, therewere 28 versions before the
(11:33):
scent was released.
This scent is very warm, verysexy.
It gives winter vanilla scent.
It's warm with vanilla, orchidand Brazilian tonka bean, all
wrapped up beautifully with justlike a spritz of brown sugar.
And then we have Citrus 08.
(11:54):
Again, it implies that therewere eight different versions
Very light, very refreshing, theobvious citrus accord, with
hints and layers of rhubarb andpink pepper.
It feels very energetic.
And then we have Musk 12, whichwas the last layering scent of
(12:16):
the first collection.
Again, it implies that therewere 12 modifications made
before it was deemed perfect.
She's light, she's airy, withlotus flower, jasmine and
sandalwood.
It gives skin scent, but so somuch better.
So then, sorry, I feel like I'mjust throwing a bunch of notes
(12:37):
at you.
That's fine, I know, hearingpeople talk about notes is much
different than smelling them onyour own.
I'm not sure if you canconceptualize what I'm saying,
but real quick, let's talk aboutone of Mona's most favorite
scents Sweet Diamond Pepper 25.
This scent was inspired byMona's fascination with pink
(12:59):
pepper as it's sacred to theMiddle East.
It took her three years todevelop and it was
conceptualized only aftervisiting her perfumers at
Firminic in France.
In the notes-smelling session,mona Catan became entranced by
pink pepper and its complexities.
(13:20):
Catan became entranced by pinkpepper and its complexities.
The perfume is a modern take onpink pepper, adding florals and
woodsy notes.
Like I said, I know me listingnotes probably means nothing to
you.
So, essentially, this moderntake on pink pepper adds some
depth of florals think maybe aflower shop mixed with some
(13:40):
romantic and muskier scents,think elevated unisex section of
bath and body.
It's a lot of sandalwood.
It's a lot of musk.
Are you picking up what I'mputting down?
Mona says that she loves towear this mixed with either
Vanilla 28 or Musk 12.
(14:03):
You've heard me talk a lot aboutMona Katan.
Who is she?
Well, let's take a journey,come on.
Mona is the sister of HudaKatan, the face of Huda Beauty,
the brand, and while the sistersworked together on this brand,
and while the sisters workedtogether on this brand, mona
(14:23):
Katan realized her dreams ofperfume creation and sought out
her desires to create thismasterpiece.
We now know as Kay Ali.
Huda Beauty is a million,perhaps billion dollar beauty
and makeup line that Huda Katanis the face of and, truthfully,
I think I could make an entireepisode on that.
(14:44):
That's why I didn't really gotoo much into Huda Beauty here,
but just to let you know, therewas Huda Beauty and from Huda
Beauty we have now branched toKay Alley.
Mona has been obsessed withfragrances for her entire life.
She claims that her mostsensitive sense was her smell,
(15:08):
creating deep connections withscents.
Throughout life, she's lovedfragrances so much that she
started purchasing them as soonas she had her own money.
She says that her first everpaycheck went to two new
perfumes, which just furtherfueled her obsession.
And, as I mentioned, she andher sister co-founded Huda
(15:30):
Beauty, kayali, and also Wishful, which is a skincare brand.
Huda Beauty is Huda's baby.
Huda Beauty is Huda's baby.
Kay Ali is Mona's baby, thoughthey both dip their toes in each
other's brands to help outwhere necessary.
Mona has further proven her lovefor perfume by letting us into
(15:54):
what she calls her fragrancelibrary, and she gives us a tour
on YouTube of her FragranceLibrary, which contains over
3,000 bottles of perfume.
I think I trust this woman'sopinion when she tells me what
does and does not smell good.
Um, fun fact about the katansisters they moved to dubai when
(16:19):
mona was 17.
She says that people in dubaiused perfume as part of their
daily lifestyle, almostritualistic.
She owes her growing perfumeobsession to moving to dubai.
Middle eastern culture runs deepin her blood.
She's wanted to incorporateMiddle Eastern influence in her
(16:39):
line, while still being a brandthat other people could connect
to throughout the world.
She opened up to Glossy Dailyabout not wanting her brand to
be quote-unquote too MiddleEastern, only that she wanted to
share its richness and itsdepth through the sense of smell
(17:00):
.
She notes that fragrances andthe general sense of smell can
almost act as a bookmark of yourlife, linking memories to
scents.
She says that she chose veryspecific fragrance notes to
highlight, based on the feelingsand memories that they evoke.
Vanilla is one of those notes.
(17:23):
It reminds her of childhood andbirthday cake.
Consequently, vanilla plays anintegral part of the Keali DNA.
I felt this part of my soulwholeheartedly believe that
fragrances act as kind of a timecapsule.
As a child my favorite child, Imean like middle schooler my
(17:45):
favorite scent was Bath BodyWorks Black Amethyst.
I haven't smelled it in years,but every time I did it brings
me back to eighth grade, meetingmy at the time favorite singer
in the Fitz's dining room for ameet and greet.
He signed my hoodie.
It was one of the best days ofmy life.
And then another memory rockeris YSL Leib.
(18:10):
It's one of my top threefragrances of all time.
But every time I smell it I'mimmediately transported back to
Florida and my Florida vacayback in 2021, I had just gotten
the scent.
I wore the crap out of itduring my vacay.
(18:30):
So now I associate Leap withFlorida.
And then one more Ispecifically wore MFK's Baccarat
Rouge 540 on my wedding day, totie that memory to a scent.
Many people choose a weddingday scent, a scent that holds on
to the memory and somethingthat you can be transported back
(18:53):
to every time you get a whiff.
But back to Mona, back to her,back to her story.
Mona creates mood boards to usein her creative process while
working with the perfume house,and she tweaks and modifies each
scent until it appropriatelymatches her inspiration and kind
of the vibe of the mood board.
(19:16):
So let's talk about what makes abrand so appealing to customers
.
Number one, I think they arevery accessible.
In their discovery sets, theyhave, I want to say, like four
brands per set and you can smella wide variety of fragrances in
(19:37):
one purchase, which I think isfabulous.
But I also agree that mostother brands do the same thing.
But how are they so successful?
They launched 20 fragrancessince their launch in 2018.
What makes people so drawn tothis brand and feel so strongly
(20:00):
toward the sense itself?
The brand also almostexclusively started from the
internet, selling via TikTok,instagram what have you?
And selling perfume online isincredibly difficult without
smell-o-vision, she told theTelegraph.
You have to explain to peoplehow it makes you feel because
(20:21):
there's really no other way thatyou can inspire somebody to
purchase your goods.
The power of feeling isincredible and I'm very
susceptible to buying things dueto how they could potentially
make me feel.
I bought Yum Passaggio Gelatobecause of how it made me feel.
And how it made me feel wasI've never smelled anything like
(20:43):
this before in my life and if Ileave this Sephora without
getting it, I might as well jumpoff a bridge Like I can't live
without this fragrance.
Maybe overreaction, but alsothat's my business.
But to briefly talk finances,kay Ali went from pulling in 1.5
(21:06):
mil in 2018 to 39 mil last year, in 2023.
And they were the fourthhighest earning perfume brand
last year, with a 128% growth,behind YSL, dossier and Dior
TikTok.
Of course, tiktok wasinstrumental in garnering new
(21:31):
customers.
They had a 406 year-over-yearspike in TikTok, new customer
traction last year, me included.
The perfume girlies got me.
I was susceptible.
I am part of that 406%.
But I believe and in just myopinion, I think that Kay Ali is
(21:54):
so influential and so and isable to garner these rates.
Well, one, because the Catansisters have a background in
selling, in marketing, inconveying a message to their
core audience.
They've been there, done that.
Kay Ali is their second brand.
They know how to sell.
But also these products areeasy to talk about on social
(22:19):
media because they're fun.
They're fresh, with fragrancesthat get people excited, like
Yum, pistachio, gelato orVanilla 28, which alone brought
in nearly 10 million.
Personally, what draws me tothis brand is the passion behind
it.
I know I'm getting a qualityproduct and I feel safe
(22:40):
investing in the brand becausewe've seen and Mona has proved
that she uses her products quitepossibly more than any of the
rest of us combined.
See a brand who gives a shitand cares about the quality of
(23:02):
the products that they'redistributing, not just trying to
make a quick penny whichobviously they are making
pennies, they are makingmillions, but it's just nice to
know that there was thoughtbehind it.
So what's to come from k alley?
What is happening?
Well, this year they put out twoso far new fragrances Vanilla
Candy, rock Sugar 42, which youguessed it is very sugary, very
(23:28):
vanilla, very candy-like.
That took 42 rounds ofmodifications to perfect.
And then we also have Maui in aBottle, sweet Banana 37, which
is very just, island vacation,very serene coconut banana.
(23:49):
Brazil tonka bean, you know,very aquatic resort.
I actually haven't smelled itso.
So I'm really just talking,just talking to talk, and that
took 37 modifications to perfect.
I will be needing to seek thatout, though.
Just give it a little sniff.
But this was a short episodeand for that I apologize.
(24:12):
But also no, I don't becauseKay Ali has been an incredible
brand to research.
Mona Katan is an inspiration tonot only follow your passion,
but immerse yourself in it andits world to create the best
possible outcome, working withthe best possible people that
you can find, really gettingyour knowledge up and not being
(24:36):
afraid that if things takelonger, that's just an
opportunity to get better.
Really, I find her passion forthese fragrances to be a large
reason why people keep comingback and trusting her opinion on
fragrances.
So, in short, what have we beentalking about for the past 30
minutes?
In short, what have we beentalking about for the past 30
(25:01):
minutes?
Kayali is a brand founded by theCatan sisters in 2018, driven
by Mona Catan's lifelong passionfor scents, partnering with
some of the best noses in thefragrance game.
That also intertwines herMiddle Eastern culture with the
brand name, meaning myimagination in Arabic.
Mona had a clear, creativevision with Kay Ali's fragrances
(25:25):
designed for layering, offeringa personalized scent experience
from blending the MiddleEastern influences with
modern-day luxury.
Since its launch, kay Ali hascaptivated customers worldwide,
growing significantly throughsocial media and becoming one of
the top-earning perfume brands.
I sincerely cannot wait to keepfollowing the brand's journeys,
(25:50):
see what they have in store forthe future.
It's truly an inspirationalride and maybe one day we'll
cover Huda Beauty and Huda Katan, who founded her entire brand
off of one blog.
So one blog, one dream and alot of work.
But that was Kay Ali theperfume brand.
(26:12):
Like I said, I truly enjoy theirwork.
I really do love theirfragrances.
They are like anything I'veever smelled in my entire life.
I highly recommend getting intoa Sephora or buying a Discovery
set and really justexperiencing it for yourself.
I also really like Eden.
(26:34):
That is their sweet apple scentGorgeous, it is so gorgeous.
Highly recommend that as well.
But yeah, I hope you enjoyedhanging out with me.
We had a lot of fun.
Question mark no, we did, butif you enjoyed, don't forget to
rate the pod on any platformthat you're currently listening
(26:57):
and I hope to see you back nextweek.
We're going to talk about denimand its influence on modern day
fashion.
Okay, make sure to follow us onall of our links.
Like I said, those are in theepisode notes and head on over
to Substack.
We're going to get real activeover there.
She is in her Sex in the.
(27:18):
Oh.
I started watching Sex in theCity for the first time ever,
kind of annoyed that it took me25 years to find it.
But here we are, we're in ourSex in the City era, and perfect
timing too, because I juststarted posting on Substack.
So now I kind of feel likeCarrie Bradshaw typing away on
my computer, except I'm nothinglike Carrie Bradshaw and I don't
(27:42):
really think I'm anything likeany of the four girls.
But we'll see, we will see.
I'm only on season two, sothey'll have to grow on me a bit
more, but they're all not likeme.
I'm just not like other girls.
No, um, kind of true, but alsonot in that way, not in a
(28:02):
pick-me way.
I just don't feel realsometimes.
And with that I bid you adieu.
Goodbye, guys.
See you next week.
Hi everyone and welcome to Magnifique, your
favorite perfume podcast.
I'm your host, gabrielle, andtoday we talk about my new
favorite perfume brand, kayali.
But first, how are we feeling?
It's finally September, thewind is blowing, the sun is on
(00:22):
our side, only a few 90 degreedays left in our future, and I'm
pretty stoked about that.
I feel like I could do anything.
Happy Fashion Week also.
That started on Friday.
I will have a full Fashion Weekrecap episode in a couple weeks
, just wanting to takeeverything in before rushing an
(00:46):
episode out, but I am lovingwhat I'm seeing on the runway so
far.
I feel like a child, like justwaiting for Christmas.
It's truly my favorite time ofyear and I will share all of my
thoughts at a later date, aftereverything has been presented to
us.
So, oh, oh, just somehousekeeping Not really, but
(01:12):
like slightly.
I put out a short and sweetfall fashion guide on Substack,
so be sure to check that out.
It's in the link that we sharein all of our episode notes.
You just click that.
There we are, and this week Ialso plan to do a fall perfume
guide.
So she's getting wacky onSubstack.
(01:33):
She's really just trying tofind her way.
So last week I shared somegrievances that I had with you
from the week.
I just have one grievance todiscuss and then we can swiftly
move past Just another week ofbeing pissed at the patriarchy.
What's new?
First off, this is a girly popsafe space, so I'll be cautious
(01:58):
since I know the girlies don'twant me to utter the word.
But Thursday was really roughfor me and I won't be having a
good time until February becausemy ears just keep getting
assaulted by the F sports slurand respectfully and sexistly
I'm a girl, I don't want to hearthat.
Don't tell me anything aboutthe sport.
(02:19):
That's not for me, I don't care.
But then my husband reallyloves it so I have to like it
because it makes him happy and Ilike anything that makes him
happy.
So it really is just a reallyhard time for me and I would
like February to be over now.
I also have another reason whyI'm annoyed at the patriarchy.
I went to a women's conferenceon Friday and it really was
(02:43):
amazing.
Women's Conference on Friday,and it really was amazing.
But I couldn't help but befurious the entire time Because
most of what was talked aboutwas innovations that had been
made in reaction to thepatriarchy and how awful some
men can be at times and thingsthat women have to do to uphold
these patriarchal standards.
(03:04):
Really, yada, yada.
But they were also just goinginto very explicit details of
the examples of how men wereawful to them.
And no, I agree and I felt whatthey were saying, but I
couldn't help but notice thatthere were 15 men in a sea of
500 women and I don't know.
(03:25):
I just felt were 15 men in asea of 500 women and I don't
know.
I just felt like more menneeded to hear the message so as
a collective, they could dobetter and be better, so that
maybe these extreme innovationsdon't need to occur.
Although, let's be clear,innovation's awesome.
I'm not expanding on that part.
I'm not defending that morethan I already have.
(03:46):
I love innovation.
My thing is, men should havebeen there to hear women's
experiences with other men sothat they can, like I said, be
better, do better Anywho.
Oh, this week I have found thenail polish that I want to buy
every single bottle of and Iwant to wear for every single
year for the rest of my life.
(04:07):
I kind of explained on TikTok,but I've already sent you to
Substack, so I'll tell you thestory here so you don't got to
go a million different places.
I went to Sally's Beauty for anudie pink a your nails, but
better look.
And I asked the Sally's BeautyWorker for suggestions.
(04:27):
You know I should have gone inthere with a plan, but you know
sometimes I don't want to.
So I didn't.
But a homegirl was scaring me.
She was showing a bunch ofdifferent options that weren't
really my style, weren't reallywhat I asked for, but at the end
of the day I asked her for help.
So I chose one of herrecommendations Because it's
(04:50):
just nail polish.
I am not going to die if I hateit.
So I didn't really care thatmuch.
But I trusted her and I wentwith Bare my Soul by OPI.
That Sally's Beauty Workerdeserves a kiss on the mouth or
something consensual, because Iwill be wearing it for the rest
of my life.
I've caught myself staring athow good my nails looked so
(05:13):
often that my husband hasstarted to notice me doing it.
I love this shade.
I love the Sally's BeautyWorker.
I want nothing but good thingsto happen to them.
Anywho, today we talk about KayAli, a brand that I have grown
to be incredibly fond of.
I have tested a handful offragrances from their line and
(05:35):
every single time I do I'm blownaway.
In early episodes of thepodcast, you may remember me
finding and absolutely gushingabout the fragrance Yum
Pistachio Gelato.
I still love her dearly.
In fact, I'm wearing her today.
Mixed with Juliet has a Gun,not a Perfume.
It makes the most deliciousmarshmallow-y musky scent that I
(05:59):
could one day decide that Iwant to be buried in.
Lots of burying me today inthis episode.
So far.
Sorry about that, but let'shold hands.
Let's kind of just dive in toKay Ali and what the brand is,
what they stand for, yada, yada.
(06:21):
So Kay Ali as a brand started in2018.
There were six years ofpreparation that went into the
foundation of the brand, be itmarketing, really the perfume
itself, formulations, just allof the above and it was founded
(06:42):
by the Catan sisters, both Hudaand Mona.
The above and it was founded bythe Catan sisters, both Huda
and Mona.
Mona Catan speaks to VogueIndia about the six years of
preparation and that it took solong because they wanted to
launch only when they felt likethey had absolutely created some
of the best scents that themarket could offer.
She partnered with theGeneva-based perfume house
(07:03):
Firminic to create her firstline of scents and truly they
still work together.
So all of their scents.
Firminic is a world-renownedperfume house with some of the
best noses in the world.
At the time of Cayeli'sconception, working with this
house was, and continues to be,a testament to how much thought
(07:26):
and care goes behind eachfragrance.
The name Kayali comes from theArabic language, meaning my
imagination.
Now I will talk about this morewhen I dive deeper into Mona
Katan, but they are Arabic.
Into Mona Katan, but they areArabic.
(07:50):
They live in Dubai.
They have really set up shop inDubai and really lean on the
Middle East for influence intheir fragrance and how they
view perfume.
Jesus, why did I sound so outof breath there, anyway?
So the name Kayali is Arabic,meaning my imagination, and as
we get into this episode, youwill see that we owe everything
(08:10):
to Mona's imagination.
She is a star as well as and inaddition to the name.
The bottle design of the scentremains consistent along the
entire brand and it's an ode tothe Middle East as well.
The diamond-shaped bottle inthe decorative bottle cap is the
(08:31):
modern twist on ornate, finejewels.
Now Mona Katan describes thebrand as being playful,
luxurious and approachable,using her creation to encourage
her community to take a littlebreather a little pause, some
may say and indulge in an act ofself-care through scent.
(08:54):
A huge selling point of Kay Aliis that the fragrances are meant
to be layered and mixed tocreate the wearer's most
uniquely tailored scents, andone of the core points is
layering their scents.
Each fragrance in the company'scatalog is made to make a
statement, while also playingkindly with others and to blend
(09:18):
beautifully together.
That's not to say that you cannever just wear one fragrance of
the collection on its own Ivery often do but that's just so
.
You have options, which isrefreshing to see from a
fragrance brand.
The first product drop happenedin 2018, and it consisted of
(09:42):
four unique scents Vanilla 28,citrus 8, musk 12, and Elixir 11
.
Elixir was intended to be asignature scent, a base, if you
will, for the layering powers ofthe other three, to kind of
play off of.
For the layering powers of theother three, to kind of play off
(10:04):
of.
Elixir can be described as kindof a strong, feminine scent
incorporating notes of jasmine,rose, petal, apple really just
all around beautiful, a goodbase ground for the layers.
Now for inquiring minds, thek-alley brand has named its
(10:25):
scents and adds a little numberat the end.
So vanilla 28, citrus 8 andthis is because it's an
indication of how many versionsor modifications that were made
in the process for each scentuntil they landed on what they
deemed to be the perfectformulation.
Like I said earlier, the Catansisters crafted these scents in
(10:49):
France, with world-renownednoses, while leaning on Middle
Eastern influences for specificscents and specific notes.
So I'd like to kind of talkabout the core scents that they
first launched with.
And then I have one of Mona'sfavorite scents and we'll talk
(11:10):
about that as well.
So I already talked aboutElixir 11.
So let's talk about KayaliVanilla 28.
This is the highest grossing andmost profitable scent from the
catalog, so let's just talkabout it.
As the name indicates, therewere 28 versions before the
(11:33):
scent was released.
This scent is very warm, verysexy.
It gives winter vanilla scent.
It's warm with vanilla, orchidand Brazilian tonka bean, all
wrapped up beautifully with justlike a spritz of brown sugar.
And then we have Citrus 08.
(11:54):
Again, it implies that therewere eight different versions
Very light, very refreshing, theobvious citrus accord, with
hints and layers of rhubarb andpink pepper.
It feels very energetic.
And then we have Musk 12, whichwas the last layering scent of
(12:16):
the first collection.
Again, it implies that therewere 12 modifications made
before it was deemed perfect.
She's light, she's airy, withlotus flower, jasmine and
sandalwood.
It gives skin scent, but so somuch better.
So then, sorry, I feel like I'mjust throwing a bunch of notes
(12:37):
at you.
That's fine, I know, hearingpeople talk about notes is much
different than smelling them onyour own.
I'm not sure if you canconceptualize what I'm saying,
but real quick, let's talk aboutone of Mona's most favorite
scents Sweet Diamond Pepper 25.
This scent was inspired byMona's fascination with pink
(12:59):
pepper as it's sacred to theMiddle East.
It took her three years todevelop and it was
conceptualized only aftervisiting her perfumers at
Firminic in France.
In the notes-smelling session,mona Catan became entranced by
pink pepper and its complexities.
(13:20):
Catan became entranced by pinkpepper and its complexities.
The perfume is a modern take onpink pepper, adding florals and
woodsy notes.
Like I said, I know me listingnotes probably means nothing to
you.
So, essentially, this moderntake on pink pepper adds some
depth of florals think maybe aflower shop mixed with some
(13:40):
romantic and muskier scents,think elevated unisex section of
bath and body.
It's a lot of sandalwood.
It's a lot of musk.
Are you picking up what I'mputting down?
Mona says that she loves towear this mixed with either
Vanilla 28 or Musk 12.
(14:03):
You've heard me talk a lot aboutMona Katan.
Who is she?
Well, let's take a journey,come on.
Mona is the sister of HudaKatan, the face of Huda Beauty,
the brand, and while the sistersworked together on this brand,
and while the sisters workedtogether on this brand, mona
(14:23):
Katan realized her dreams ofperfume creation and sought out
her desires to create thismasterpiece.
We now know as Kay Ali.
Huda Beauty is a million,perhaps billion dollar beauty
and makeup line that Huda Katanis the face of and, truthfully,
I think I could make an entireepisode on that.
(14:44):
That's why I didn't really gotoo much into Huda Beauty here,
but just to let you know, therewas Huda Beauty and from Huda
Beauty we have now branched toKay Alley.
Mona has been obsessed withfragrances for her entire life.
She claims that her mostsensitive sense was her smell,
(15:08):
creating deep connections withscents.
Throughout life, she's lovedfragrances so much that she
started purchasing them as soonas she had her own money.
She says that her first everpaycheck went to two new
perfumes, which just furtherfueled her obsession.
And, as I mentioned, she andher sister co-founded Huda
(15:30):
Beauty, kayali, and also Wishful, which is a skincare brand.
Huda Beauty is Huda's baby.
Huda Beauty is Huda's baby.
Kay Ali is Mona's baby, thoughthey both dip their toes in each
other's brands to help outwhere necessary.
Mona has further proven her lovefor perfume by letting us into
(15:54):
what she calls her fragrancelibrary, and she gives us a tour
on YouTube of her FragranceLibrary, which contains over
3,000 bottles of perfume.
I think I trust this woman'sopinion when she tells me what
does and does not smell good.
Um, fun fact about the katansisters they moved to dubai when
(16:19):
mona was 17.
She says that people in dubaiused perfume as part of their
daily lifestyle, almostritualistic.
She owes her growing perfumeobsession to moving to dubai.
Middle eastern culture runs deepin her blood.
She's wanted to incorporateMiddle Eastern influence in her
(16:39):
line, while still being a brandthat other people could connect
to throughout the world.
She opened up to Glossy Dailyabout not wanting her brand to
be quote-unquote too MiddleEastern, only that she wanted to
share its richness and itsdepth through the sense of smell
(17:00):
.
She notes that fragrances andthe general sense of smell can
almost act as a bookmark of yourlife, linking memories to
scents.
She says that she chose veryspecific fragrance notes to
highlight, based on the feelingsand memories that they evoke.
Vanilla is one of those notes.
(17:23):
It reminds her of childhood andbirthday cake.
Consequently, vanilla plays anintegral part of the Keali DNA.
I felt this part of my soulwholeheartedly believe that
fragrances act as kind of a timecapsule.
As a child my favorite child, Imean like middle schooler my
(17:45):
favorite scent was Bath BodyWorks Black Amethyst.
I haven't smelled it in years,but every time I did it brings
me back to eighth grade, meetingmy at the time favorite singer
in the Fitz's dining room for ameet and greet.
He signed my hoodie.
It was one of the best days ofmy life.
And then another memory rockeris YSL Leib.
(18:10):
It's one of my top threefragrances of all time.
But every time I smell it I'mimmediately transported back to
Florida and my Florida vacayback in 2021, I had just gotten
the scent.
I wore the crap out of itduring my vacay.
(18:30):
So now I associate Leap withFlorida.
And then one more Ispecifically wore MFK's Baccarat
Rouge 540 on my wedding day, totie that memory to a scent.
Many people choose a weddingday scent, a scent that holds on
to the memory and somethingthat you can be transported back
(18:53):
to every time you get a whiff.
But back to Mona, back to her,back to her story.
Mona creates mood boards to usein her creative process while
working with the perfume house,and she tweaks and modifies each
scent until it appropriatelymatches her inspiration and kind
of the vibe of the mood board.
(19:16):
So let's talk about what makes abrand so appealing to customers
.
Number one, I think they arevery accessible.
In their discovery sets, theyhave, I want to say, like four
brands per set and you can smella wide variety of fragrances in
(19:37):
one purchase, which I think isfabulous.
But I also agree that mostother brands do the same thing.
But how are they so successful?
They launched 20 fragrancessince their launch in 2018.
What makes people so drawn tothis brand and feel so strongly
(20:00):
toward the sense itself?
The brand also almostexclusively started from the
internet, selling via TikTok,instagram what have you?
And selling perfume online isincredibly difficult without
smell-o-vision, she told theTelegraph.
You have to explain to peoplehow it makes you feel because
(20:21):
there's really no other way thatyou can inspire somebody to
purchase your goods.
The power of feeling isincredible and I'm very
susceptible to buying things dueto how they could potentially
make me feel.
I bought Yum Passaggio Gelatobecause of how it made me feel.
And how it made me feel wasI've never smelled anything like
(20:43):
this before in my life and if Ileave this Sephora without
getting it, I might as well jumpoff a bridge Like I can't live
without this fragrance.
Maybe overreaction, but alsothat's my business.
But to briefly talk finances,kay Ali went from pulling in 1.5
(21:06):
mil in 2018 to 39 mil last year, in 2023.
And they were the fourthhighest earning perfume brand
last year, with a 128% growth,behind YSL, dossier and Dior
TikTok.
Of course, tiktok wasinstrumental in garnering new
(21:31):
customers.
They had a 406 year-over-yearspike in TikTok, new customer
traction last year, me included.
The perfume girlies got me.
I was susceptible.
I am part of that 406%.
But I believe and in just myopinion, I think that Kay Ali is
(21:54):
so influential and so and isable to garner these rates.
Well, one, because the Catansisters have a background in
selling, in marketing, inconveying a message to their
core audience.
They've been there, done that.
Kay Ali is their second brand.
They know how to sell.
But also these products areeasy to talk about on social
(22:19):
media because they're fun.
They're fresh, with fragrancesthat get people excited, like
Yum, pistachio, gelato orVanilla 28, which alone brought
in nearly 10 million.
Personally, what draws me tothis brand is the passion behind
it.
I know I'm getting a qualityproduct and I feel safe
(22:40):
investing in the brand becausewe've seen and Mona has proved
that she uses her products quitepossibly more than any of the
rest of us combined.
See a brand who gives a shitand cares about the quality of
(23:02):
the products that they'redistributing, not just trying to
make a quick penny whichobviously they are making
pennies, they are makingmillions, but it's just nice to
know that there was thoughtbehind it.
So what's to come from k alley?
What is happening?
Well, this year they put out twoso far new fragrances Vanilla
Candy, rock Sugar 42, which youguessed it is very sugary, very
(23:28):
vanilla, very candy-like.
That took 42 rounds ofmodifications to perfect.
And then we also have Maui in aBottle, sweet Banana 37, which
is very just, island vacation,very serene coconut banana.
(23:49):
Brazil tonka bean, you know,very aquatic resort.
I actually haven't smelled itso.
So I'm really just talking,just talking to talk, and that
took 37 modifications to perfect.
I will be needing to seek thatout, though.
Just give it a little sniff.
But this was a short episodeand for that I apologize.
(24:12):
But also no, I don't becauseKay Ali has been an incredible
brand to research.
Mona Katan is an inspiration tonot only follow your passion,
but immerse yourself in it andits world to create the best
possible outcome, working withthe best possible people that
you can find, really gettingyour knowledge up and not being
(24:36):
afraid that if things takelonger, that's just an
opportunity to get better.
Really, I find her passion forthese fragrances to be a large
reason why people keep comingback and trusting her opinion on
fragrances.
So, in short, what have we beentalking about for the past 30
minutes?
In short, what have we beentalking about for the past 30
(25:01):
minutes?
Kayali is a brand founded by theCatan sisters in 2018, driven
by Mona Catan's lifelong passionfor scents, partnering with
some of the best noses in thefragrance game.
That also intertwines herMiddle Eastern culture with the
brand name, meaning myimagination in Arabic.
Mona had a clear, creativevision with Kay Ali's fragrances
(25:25):
designed for layering, offeringa personalized scent experience
from blending the MiddleEastern influences with
modern-day luxury.
Since its launch, kay Ali hascaptivated customers worldwide,
growing significantly throughsocial media and becoming one of
the top-earning perfume brands.
I sincerely cannot wait to keepfollowing the brand's journeys,
(25:50):
see what they have in store forthe future.
It's truly an inspirationalride and maybe one day we'll
cover Huda Beauty and Huda Katan, who founded her entire brand
off of one blog.
So one blog, one dream and alot of work.
But that was Kay Ali theperfume brand.
(26:12):
Like I said, I truly enjoy theirwork.
I really do love theirfragrances.
They are like anything I'veever smelled in my entire life.
I highly recommend getting intoa Sephora or buying a Discovery
set and really justexperiencing it for yourself.
I also really like Eden.
(26:34):
That is their sweet apple scentGorgeous, it is so gorgeous.
Highly recommend that as well.
But yeah, I hope you enjoyedhanging out with me.
We had a lot of fun.
Question mark no, we did, butif you enjoyed, don't forget to
rate the pod on any platformthat you're currently listening
(26:57):
and I hope to see you back nextweek.
We're going to talk about denimand its influence on modern day
fashion.
Okay, make sure to follow us onall of our links.
Like I said, those are in theepisode notes and head on over
to Substack.
We're going to get real activeover there.
She is in her Sex in the.
(27:18):
Oh.
I started watching Sex in theCity for the first time ever,
kind of annoyed that it took me25 years to find it.
But here we are, we're in ourSex in the City era, and perfect
timing too, because I juststarted posting on Substack.
So now I kind of feel likeCarrie Bradshaw typing away on
my computer, except I'm nothinglike Carrie Bradshaw and I don't
(27:42):
really think I'm anything likeany of the four girls.
But we'll see, we will see.
I'm only on season two, sothey'll have to grow on me a bit
more, but they're all not likeme.
I'm just not like other girls.
No, um, kind of true, but alsonot in that way, not in a
(28:02):
pick-me way.
I just don't feel realsometimes.
And with that I bid you adieu.
Goodbye, guys.
See you next week.
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