Zig Zag

Zsa Zsa Gabor. Maybe the "young'uns" here don't know it, but today's over the top Gabor was once the epitome of fresh faced loveliness and quiet elegance. Surveys conducted in the 50's and 60's revealed that more women wanted to look like Zsa Zsa than any other celebrity -- and this was the heyday of Liz and Marilyn! So perhaps it's not surprising that in 1949 La Gabor became the first celebrity perfume -- "Zig Zag", launched by the French house Houbigant. Like the woman, ZZ was not very sweet or very ladylike. It was exciting and different, a unique blend of notes(Reportedly, Gabor choose them herself). ZZ is dominated by pepper from beginning to end. It is there in the opening along with ripe, lucious citrus. It is in the heart with creamy white roses, licorice, and anise seed. And it is there in the drydown with pungent green notes like tarragon, basil, and a tiny bit of rosemary. Zig Zag never became a big seller. Perhaps it was too different for it's period. By the time it's distinctive notes were acceptable the image of the woman famous for quips like, "Dahling, I'm a wonderful housekeeper. Whenever I get divorced I always keep the house!", was too outdated for the hippie/women's lib generation. Houbigant discontinued it in 1969 and sold the formula to Dana. Dana sat on the fragrance until 1999 then relaunched it. It didn't set the world on fire on it's second go round either and was once more discontinued. But plenty is available on ebay at very reasonable prices(I recently got a 3.4 ounce bottle for $13.00 and that included shipping). Get yours and a back up before this gem is gone forever.

Having used up my first 100ml of ZigZag during the heatwave we have recently had , i looked to ebay to get another. I got one even cheaper than the last time . £3.99 including postage !! The seller has lots of it too. This is an excellent cheap n cheerful scent for hot weather . Cooling , refreshing and very "Zingy" with the aniseed /citrus combo !! I have yet to smell anything else remotely like it , a very unusual perfume. Cheap enough to carry around for freshen ups . The weather has gone wet and dull again ...While buying this I am hoping for another heatwave so i can use it ! Excellent quirky , eccentric find at a great price. UPDATE - Very hot humid and wet weather ATM , this perfume is perfect !! Ive gone through 2 big 100mls Btls now.....Very UNDERATED perfume - Its going to go in the top 5 for summer.

Another pleasant surprise out of the bag of testers i got off a fellow member :) My experiences with Dana frags have been mixed so far. A bit like Avon , for me its 50/50 hit or miss! I like this one. Different and eccentric yes ! Interesting to read below that it was commissioned by Zsa Zsa Gabour!! Fruity and fresh with a strong aniseed vibe . Unique and different. I could imagine this could be quite sexy on the right man ...unisex and suitable for hot or cold weather . What a versatile surprise from Dana ! Ive certainly not come across anything like it before. I would wear this , and its FB worthy. But I have a sinking feeling its going to be hard to find !! Edit - Not hard to find after all . 100ml for under £5 on fleabay :)

What a pleasant surprise for such a cheap edt. Its perfect to keep in the fridge and spritz in hot weather. Ok, admittedly we dont get much of that over here in the UK. It is quite potent though but it rapidly dries down and it really comes into its own. I particularly love the tarragon and basil notes. It makes it that bit different.

I agree with Lizzie,there is def some fennell in this. A gorgeous,simple fragrance,apparently discontinued and now very desirable. Used to be sold on Ebay as a Houbigant/Dana cast off for 99p,now is very desirable. Houbigant/Dana have switched their frags. over the years,especially with the "Herb-range"