Draft:Kayali (company)

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Kayali
Industry
Founded2018 (2018)
Founder
Headquarters
Dubai
,
United Arab Emirates
Key people
Mona Kattan (CEO)
Owners
Number of employees
130 (2025)

Kayali is a Dubai-based cosmetics company co-founded by sisters Mona and Huda Kattan in 2018.[1][2] Established as a fragrance brand under Huda Beauty, which the sisters also co-founded, the business now operates independently, jointly owned by chief executive officer Mona Kattan and American private equity firm General Atlantic.

History and operations

Kayali was co-founded in the United Arab Emirates[3] in November 2018 by sisters Mona and Huda Kattan. It originally launched as a fragrance brand under Huda Beauty,[4] which the sisters co-founded in 2013.[5] Mona and her father Ibrahim Yahya Kattan named Kayali after the Arabic word for "my imagination".[1][6]

In 2025, Huda Beauty divested ownership in Kayali.[7][8] Kayali now operates as an independent company with Mona Kattan and private equity firm General Atlantic as owners. Mona Kattan is also the chief executive officer.[2][9] The company's headquarters is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[10] Kayali launched a website and direct-to-consumer platform in 2025.[11] The company had approximately 130 employees in November 2025.[12]

Kayali fragrances are carried by retailers Sephora, ASOS, Cult Beauty, Harrods,[13] Selfridges,[6] and Boots.[8][14] In 2024, the company expanded its availability to Mexico and the Philippines.[1][15] By the end of 2024, Kayali products were sold in 2,690 retail stores in 30 countries.[16][17]

Kayali won Fragrance of the Year – Women's Prestige at the Fragrance Foundation Awards, presented by The Fragrance Foundation.[18]

Products

On November 16, 2018, Kayali launched with four perfumes: "Elixir | 11", "Citrus | 08", "Musk | 12", and "Vanilla | 28".[19][20] The diamond-shaped bottles are a reference to the traditional crystal oud bottles commonly found in the souks in Dubai. The fragrances are manufactured in France by the Swiss company DSM-Firmenich.[6][20] The numbers in each product name indicate how many rounds of formulation it took to achieve the final product.[21]

According to Entrepreneur, the initial fragrances were designed to introduce the practice of fragrance layering in Arab culture to the Western world.[22] Vogue Arabia has credited Kayali and Mona Kattan with introducing perfume layering to a global audience.[23] Kayali launched eight fragrances in 2023 and an additional seven in 2024.[16] With the introduction of "Fleur Majesty Rose Royale | 31" in March 2025,[24] Kayali's product line-up now includes 27 fragrances.

In January 2025, Kayali launched a cologne line called Dapper Daddy in partnership with Ibrahim Kattan. Saffron Oud is the debut scent.[16] Kayali launched a line called Freedom with four new scents in November 2025.[12][25]

See also

References

  1. Kayali, the In Demand Fragrance Brand Is Now in the Philippines, ABS-CBN, 10 July 2024, Wikidata Q135915398
  2. "Mona Kattan's Kayalı Splits from Huda Beauty". Entrepreneur. February 17, 2025. ISSN 0163-3341. OCLC 759097756. Archived from the original on July 1, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  3. "UAE Homegrown Brands That Have Gone Global: Kayali, The Giving Movement & More". Grazia (in Italian, French, and German). ISSN 1120-5113. Wikidata Q135915075.
  4. "Huda Beauty Is Banking on Fragrance as Its Next Big Business Venture". Fashionista. 17 July 2019. Wikidata Q135915089.
  5. "Kayali Vanilla 28 Perfume Review 2024: A Breakdown of the Notes, Longevity, Price, and More". Cosmopolitan (in English and Italian). 21 December 2023. ISSN 0010-9541. Wikidata Q135915142.
  6. "Huda Beauty's Plan to Disrupt the Fragrance Industry". Women's Wear Daily (in English and Spanish). 25 October 2018. ISSN 0043-7581. Wikidata Q135915104.
  7. Bloomberg News:
  8. Mona Kattan's Kayali fragrance brand parts ways with cosmetics giant Huda Beauty, Arab News, 18 February 2025, Wikidata Q135915265
  9. Dubai-based Huda Beauty sells fragrance line KAYALI to co-founder and General Atlantic, Reuters, 17 February 2025, Wikidata Q135915271
  10. "Desk Diaries: Mona Kattan Invites Bazaar Arabia Into Kayali HQ". Harper's Bazaar Arabia. 22 April 2025. Wikidata Q135915274.
  11. Hancock, Lollie (October 7, 2025). "Exclusive: Kayali launches D2C website alongside community-driven Musk 12 relaunch". Cosmetics Business.
  12. Rao, Priya (November 6, 2025). "Full Coverage: Mona Kattan Is Enjoying Her Freedom". The Business of Fashion.
  13. "Huda Beauty's New Fragrance Line Will Make You Rethink Your Approach to Perfume". Bustle. 12 November 2018. Wikidata Q135915284.
  14. Redding, Marie (2021-04-27). "Kayali Founder & Huda Beauty Co-Founder Mona Kattan Talks About Perfume". Beauty Packaging. Archived from the original on 2025-07-01.
  15. Jensen, Emily (2024-11-20). "Mona Kattan's Kayali is the latest brand to go big on gourmand fragrances". Glossy. Archived from the original on 2025-07-01.
  16. "Exclusive: Mona Kattan, CEO and Founder of KAYALI, on Shifting the Perfume Industry with Self-Love". Forbes (in English, Russian, Georgian, Polish, Korean, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Estonian, and Arabic). 14 February 2025. ISSN 0015-6914. Wikidata Q135915300.
  17. "100 Most Powerful Businesswomen 2025: 28. Mona Kattan". Forbes (in English, Russian, Georgian, Polish, Korean, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Estonian, and Arabic). ISSN 0015-6914. Wikidata Q135915308.
  18. "Kayali just took home fragrance of the year". Cosmopolitan (in English and Italian). ISSN 0010-9541. Wikidata Q135915331.
  19. "Mona and Huda Kattan Launched a Fragrance Line Called Kayali". Allure. 26 October 2018. ISSN 1054-7711. Wikidata Q135915358.
  20. Sujata Assomull (29 November 2018). "Meet Kayali, the new perfume brand by Mona and Huda Kattan". Vogue India. ISSN 0973-9645. Wikidata Q135915369.
  21. "10 Best Kayali Fragrances to Stand Out in a Crowd". Teen Vogue. 22 July 2025. ISSN 1540-2215. Wikidata Q136083642.
  22. Pupic, Tamara (2019-08-18). "How Huda, Mona, and Alya Kattan Built the Billion-Dollar Huda Beauty Brand Out of Dubai". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on 2025-07-01.
  23. "The Cult Favourites from Arab Celebrity Beauty Brands". Vogue Arabia (in Arabic). 16 February 2025. Wikidata Q135915383.
  24. "Kayali's Fleur Majesty Is the Grown-Up Floral Scent of My Dreams". Bustle. 11 March 2025. Wikidata Q135915389.
  25. Gomez, Flavio (November 12, 2025). "Kayali's New Collection Turns Fragrance Into a Manifesto for Self-Love". Los Angeles Times.