Tragedy Oil

I was obsessed with tuberose fragrances, until I wasn’t. But this is pulling me back in. Growing up, my grandmother wore Carolina Herrera, Flowerbomb and, of course, Fracas. My mother wore the OG actually good Michael Kors and Carnal Flower. White flowers, to me, were the scent of femininity and glamor. It was the smell of dressing up for dinner, putting on a DVF wrap dress and a fur coat, lipstick, eyeliner, an Elizabeth Taylor assortment of jewels. Just to go to dinner. As I’ve grown older, I’ve found that I’m more of a musk and incense girl. I like to smell cuddly and sexy and interesting, but hazy. Casual. White flowers have a piercing shriek to them that is underserved by a jeans and a t-shirt. But I always kept a bottle of something tuberose around to sniff for comfort, and for any occasions that required an extra dose of glamor and exuberant femininity. For a while, after my grandmother passed, I found it really difficult to smell these sort of scents. But with tragedy I feel like I’ve finally found the tuberose that suits me, and makes me feel connected to the maternal line. The tuberose itself is buttery and intense and very vintage. My brother sniffed and his immediate reaction was “old Hollywood. It smells like a Hollywood actress from the 40s.” But the woody notes are really what brings this home. The fir balsam and the oak moss darken the perfume and add a whiff of cool, mossy almost mentholated androgyny, and actually hold their own against the tuberose. It feels magical and protective, glamorous and voluptuous, with a medicinal edge. A hard-boiled wintry tuberose, rather than a yielding tropical one. I bought this for my mom for Christmas.

There’s something so carnal about this perfume oil. Maybe it’s the sex appeal of an old Hollywood starlet, slinking around in her teddy adorned in purple ostrich feathers. Or maybe it’s the first time you put on your grandmother’s mink coat, ran to her vanity, and sprayed her white diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor, only to succumb to a headache minutes later. Perhaps it’s vintage shopping downtown at your local curated resale shop, a symphony of moth balls, aftershave, spices, and chypres of yesteryear. Nevertheless, it’s an ode to the cyclical nature of luxury. A pure roller coaster of tuberose, oak moss, and sandalwood. It’s haunting, enticing, and comforting, all at once. I sat on purchasing this for a while, and I wish I had purchased this sooner. As a long time Marissa Zappas fan, this is one of her most beautifully transportive yet. Layering combos: cafe tuberosa by atelier cologne or l’air de rien by miller Harris.

The lovely reviewers of this website convinced me to blind buy this scent (especially lynwhoher), and thank god for them. This is one of my all time favorites and what I find myself reaching for the most. It is like if Robert Piguet's Fraca was rebooted (never mind that their bottles are almost identical). As a fan of Ruby McCollister this did not disappoint. It's DRAMATIC. I imagine the hyperactive child taking a deep sigh on a chaise lounge with their hand laid across their forehead to say "woah is me" over the choice of picking which otter pop flavor to consume. It is screaming for attention in a way that I absolutely love. This is a vintage vanity, a tiled bathroom, a night at Chateau Marmont. It screams old Hollywood in a sexy grunge way. I wish I could bathe in it.

An instant love. Smelled the cap and it transported me in the very moment, I'm still not sure to where exactly, but it was visceral. Like many people have been saying, Tragedy is beautifully blended and very very smooth. I want to drown in this. The more I wear it the more it conjures up the image of my grandfather? Not sure why? But specifically images of before I knew him, when he was a young man, a handsome doctor falling terrifically in love with my grandmother. He died a few years ago and I miss him terribly. This fragrance is such a comfort. Lasts for hours, carries me through the day and into the night.

I took myself on a date last night. I got ready listening to some good Edith Piaf, I put a black satin dress and a pearl necklace and I made my hair up on a french chignon. Little did I know I was dressing for this masterpiece of a perfume. Was I in a beach hotel? yes. Was it warm and humid outside? also yes. Did I care, while I was feeling like a character from a film noir, that I was surrounded by pink sugar and SDJ clouds? Not at all. I spent the night in my mysterious glamorous vintage bubble, and I had a bath with a glass of red before saying good night. Thank you Marissa for the emotional travel. 10/10.

Just absolutely beautiful. Has been a lucky charm when worn because it draws people in. Heady tuberose sits sensually on the skin, not cloying at all but warm and inviting. Grabs you by the feels in the way vintage Fracas used to - sadly the new formulations of modern Fracas fall hollow in comparison to its ancestor and are lacking something Fracas used to have somehow. This feeds that etheric hunger in an elegant and modern way. It’s rich and satisfying and luscious. A true triumph of a creation and I love it.

picked this up at an event where I got to meet and chat with the lovely Marissa. Tragedy is the mystical woody tuberose of my dreams, and has ended up being one of my all time favorite fragrances. Old Hollywood divas are referenced a lot when talking about this oil, but I find it very unisex and much more charming than the name would suggest. Feels very put together and crisp, the orange blossom and fir create a cooling effect that reminds me of snow. Something Lestat would probably wear.

I wore this one night to a tiki bar, paired with my faux leopard fur coat, when a beautiful mysterious British woman asked what incredible scent I was wearing. A perfume that lures in drama and magic, indulges in the overwrought. It smells like it has always existed, has been a fixture on fancy lady vanities for decades. Intoxicating, elegant, a signature scent for Norma Desmond or any number of Old Hollywood femme fatales.

WOW I looove this. this came in a day before my bday and it feels like the perfect early bday gift from me to myself. it's vintage and mysterious while feeling comforting and nostalgic. it feels like hugging my great aunt who passed away a few years ago. despite reminding me of an antique perfume, it isn't in any way heavy or nauseating. If Marissa Zappas made a full bottle of this i would buy it immediately.

Like a walk in the park alone at night, wearing someone’s deceased grandma’s fur coat you found at the thrift store. You can’t stop crying, mascara running down your face, cigarette in hand. You know you’re going to be alright, things are going to be alright, but you’re addicted to the drama. Hauntingly beautiful!!! I truly can’t get enough

I did a blind buy for Tragedy Oil and I’m so glad I did. This oil is a floral that is not bright, but rather deep and wintery, a bit of a brutish elegance, and mysterious. I imagine a flower that blooms only at night time. The vision behind this scent is beautifully executed. Kudos to Marissa Zappas for this creation.

Received my roller in the mail today and it is LOVELY, buttery tuberose with the creaminess accentuated by the sandalwood and a nice cheerful brightness from the balsam fir. It definitely is an ode to vintage scents, but lighter-handed and modern. I'll need to buy at least one backup!

cold and sexy white florals. heavy wind blowing through the forest of fir and pine trees. cloudy afternoons and dark black nights. women who cope with their endless sadness with romantic love. this is the fragrance i would purchase from the perfume counter at Horne’s department store

this is my joy, my favorite, I love to reapply it publicly at the club or bar or pub etc... roll her on... its mystery and glamour

bitter green, with soft wafty white florals. loudly discreet somehow ??? a scent of contradictions to me, love her

Ooooh, this is GOOD. A rollerball I will actually reach for. I love the comparison to Fracas—it’s spot on!

Fur coat flung over a chaise longue fashioned from mahogany and blue velvet. Opulent.

what the theater in mulholland drive prob smells like... silencio

I'm not really a fan of floral fragrances having found them, in the past, too sweet, cloying, and overwhelming like a hospital room filled to capacity with floral arrangements. With the help of this site’s reviews and more openness to careful exploration, I have been discovering new floral and floral-forward fragrances that I enjoy. Tragedy Oil is a surprising delight to me given my past encounters with the dreaded tuberose. Tragedy Oil is an excellently balanced fragrance; while opening with a strong, even intense, tuberose, it is never allowed to overwhelm. Rather, the tuberose is quickly brought under control and into balance with the balsam fir and oakmoss. Their effect, a somewhat cooling medicinal herb tone seems to tame the tuberose for me. Those influences remain in balance for about 6 hours with scents of sandalwood and sometimes orange blossom coming wafting through as pleasant additional notes as the overall scent bubble draws in and fades. At about 6 hours, the residual close skin scent fades away as a not-unpleasant medicinal menthol-tinged note. Overall, a lovely fragrance providing a definite homage to vintage white floral fragrances, but with an excellent hand to balance and control. Tragedy Oil comes as a 10 ml roll on in fractionated coconut oil. I purchased mine directly from Marissa Zappas Perfume, New York.

it smells EXACTLY how u would hope/imagine and i think that's beautiful