I have five samples of Ayala Moriel's perfumes, and I was inspired by one of them (Palas Atena) to post my first MUA review ever. Since then, Ayala has announced a drawing from among her reviewers on MUA or Basenotes. I sincerely admire this business move as much as I admire her perfume work.
I admit it, I shamelessly crave a prize of one of these incredible scents, so this was enough to motivate me to review the remaining four and post the reviews on MUA. Since my first loyalty is to POL, I decided to post my reviews here as well.
Before I begin, let me say that I've been amazed by how singular and appealing each one of them is. If these five are any indication of the whole line, I would have to say that this is one of those lines that really resonates with me. They're complex and interesting and beautiful, and I can appreciate even the one I'm not wild about. I experience a lot of hearing sensation in addition to smell with all of these, more so than most fragrances. I wish Ayala much success. I was bowled over!
Espionage
I adore the smoky topnotes and with they would go on and on. I’ve been wishing for years that I could find a scent that evokes the morning after a driftwood fire on the beach, and here it is. But it’s much more than that, more urban and sophisticated and feminine. Espionage develops beautifully, taking its time to spin out its story. The smoke clears and the flowers and leather come out. Way sexy! I can’t stop sniffing my arm. I find it very long lasting.
Ayalitta
I experience synesthesia more with some perfumers than others, and Ayala’s perfumes give me this experience more often than most. I hear them as well as smell them. Ayalitta is a high clear ringing bell. She’s like a joyful precocious child whose parents bring her to your adult party: at first she’s a delight and a wonder, and everyone’s charmed by her, but as the evening wears on and she keeps making plays for everyone’s attention, you wish she’d been left at home with a babysitter. Ayalitta is the only one of Ayala Moriel’s amazing compositions that I’m not wild about: I do like it, it just doesn’t wear very well on me.
Grin
Oh my! The topnotes are such a rush of spring! Very green and leafy with a slight bitterness like real leaves, giving way to a bloom of delicate flowers that smell real, not perfumey. There is a momentary heart-twist when I smell my grandmother’s garden (the boronia note, I think), and am overwhelmed with longing for that long-gone beloved place. At the bottom there is the cello note of oudh, the reminder that spring passes, that everything is mortal and this makes the fragrance all the more poignant. Grin is more of a meditation pleasure than a wear-it-out-and-about fragrance. I enjoyed sitting quietly at home with it and sniffing it, experiencing it while it rolled out its tale of spring budding, bursting and passing, but when I wore it out in the world and through my day it got lost, the way the delicacy of spring can be missed if the heart is not attentive.
Cabaret
Cabaret recalls for me some of the attars I tried in Yemen that can’t be found here in North America for love or money. It has a very Eastern richness and beauty, different from European perfumery. It’s youthful without being foolish, rosy without being floral, sweet without being cloying. It’s seriously feminine. The amber is delicious and almost edible. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last as long as I would like. With my limited budget, I don’t think I would purchase this, but only because there are other perfumes by Ayala Moriel that I crave more.
Palas Atena
Wow. I'm not normally a fan of orange or neroli, I really don't like lavender, and I have an aversion to patchouli, and all of these notes figure prominently here. But Palas Atena is a great example of how a skilled perfumer can blend components into a seamless whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. It's like a chorus of beautiful voices with no divas screaming over the others for center stage. I love this perfume! It's simultaneously fresh and mysterious, an unusual contradiction. It lasts quite a long time, and hours later the drydown had me wondering "what is that amazing smell? Oh, yeah, it's me!"