Two bottles of Skylar showed up at my door a few weeks ago, and I called the winner before I sprayed a single thing. True Love’s Cake. Obviously. Almond cake and rosewater? I was a sure thing.
I was wrong, and I’ll get to that.
Here’s what you haven’t heard about this one. Skylar’s gourmand collection is curated by Leah Kateb, the Season 6 breakout of Love Island USA, crowned “the people’s princess” by the internet and now the brand’s Chief Creative Officer and official “Refounder.” Not an ambassador. Not a #partner. The actual creative boss, hired in July 2025 after her shower routine video featuring Skylar’s Vanilla Sky went viral and the brand realized she understood their customer better than they did. Reality TV star to fragrance executive is a career arc I fully respect, and Kateb’s whole thing is that she always wants to smell edible. Mission accomplished.
Skylar sent me True Love’s Cake and Double Dates to test drive. Both are $96, vegan, cruelty-free, and made for sensitive skin, which matters if your skin, like mine, has opinions.
True Love’s Cake is the romantic of the two: almond cake, pistachio, and rosewater, inspired by the legend of Persian Love Cake, a dessert you supposedly bake to make someone fall in love with you. It’s soft, floral, pretty. On my skin it stays close — warm and delicate, like something you’d catch a trace of rather than announce. A first-date-at-a-garden-party scent.
Double Dates is the one I didn’t see coming: sweet dates, sticky toffee, and sandalwood. Warm, cozy, a little unexpected. And here’s the punchline: I’ve been single forever, and Double Dates is the one I can’t stop wearing. The universe has jokes. It also happens to be the first scent Kateb created for the brand, so apparently the people’s princess and I have compatible taste.
Fragrance is body chemistry roulette, and every scent wears differently on every person. On me, Double Dates settles into something that smells expensive without announcing itself. It lasts — I put it on in the morning and I can still smell it at dinner. It’s been my go-to for two weeks straight, which is the only fragrance review metric that actually counts.
Here’s the sober lens, because there always is one. The gourmand trend is full of boozy accords right now: rum, cognac, whiskey barrel, bourbon vanilla. Skylar skipped all of it. These smell like dessert, not last call. When you’ve traded the nightcap for actual nights you remember, smelling like sticky toffee pudding instead of a Manhattan is exactly the kind of upgrade I’m talking about. You still get the indulgence. You just skip the part where you wake up wearing it for the wrong reasons.
A word on packaging, because presentation matters to me. The bottles are pretty without overdoing it. They feel good in your hand, they’re the right size, and they don’t eat your entire dresser. I keep mine on a cake stand with a glass cloche over the top, which I’m now convinced is the only correct way to display a perfume collection. Steal that.
There’s a third scent in the collection I haven’t tested: Pomegranate Princess, a fruity floral with pomegranate, strawberry, vanilla bean, and whipped cream folded in. If someone wants to send that one too, my cake stand has room.
Skylar gifted both fragrances for review. The opinions, the two weeks of compulsive wear, and the cake stand styling advice are entirely my own.
#ADDTOCART: Double Dates, $96 | True Love’s Cake, $96 | Pomegranate Princess, $96
Sober Curator Fun Fact: I am 5’3″ and have spent decades being called fun-sized or travel-sized by people who think they’re being cute. So when I tell you I lost my mind over Skylar’s travel-sized purse charm perfumes, you understand. These are ADORABLE and I will be attaching one to every bag I own. #ADDTOCART
#ADDTOCART: Alcohol-Free Perfumes – Guide to Sober Scents That Smell Amazing
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Q: Who is the Chief Creative Officer of Skylar?
A: Leah Kateb, the Season 6 breakout star of Love Island USA, was named Skylar’s Chief Creative Officer and “Refounder” in July 2025 after her viral video featuring the brand’s Vanilla Sky fragrance.
Q: How much do Skylar’s gourmand fragrances cost?
A: True Love’s Cake, Double Dates, and Pomegranate Princess are each $96 for a full-size bottle.
Q: Are Skylar fragrances vegan and cruelty-free?
A: Yes. Skylar fragrances are vegan, cruelty-free, and formulated for sensitive skin.
Q: Do Skylar’s gourmand fragrances have alcohol-inspired notes?
A: No. Unlike many gourmand fragrances built on rum, whiskey, or cognac accords, this collection leans on dessert notes like almond cake, sticky toffee, dates, and vanilla bean.
