Tales from Zanzibar

#30 of My Fragrance Journey: The Scent That Made Strangers Stop Me in Maspalomas I didn’t expect a perfume to steal the spotlight on my holiday. Honestly, I just packed Tales from Zanzibar because of the name — it sounded exotic, a little dreamy, maybe even flirty — one of those “why not” choices you make before a trip when your brain’s already halfway to the beach. I figured it’d suit the heat. It turns out that it became the scent of everything. The first spray was a jolt — bright lime, red mandarin, pink pepper. A shock of sunlight, really. Then came this cool burst of mint that hit like a sea breeze on bare skin. It’s the kind of opening that makes you close your eyes and breathe deeper, like you’re standing on the edge of the world with salt drying on your shoulders. And that’s when I realised: this wasn’t a beach fragrance pretending to be sexy. It was sexy. A few minutes in, the coconut and guava start to hum beneath the citrus — warm, soft, a bit indecent in the best way. There’s a touch of blackcurrant too, sweet and tart, like the taste of a kiss after a cocktail. It’s tropical, yes, but not the tourist version. It’s the real thing — sweat, rhythm, laughter, skin. Then came the moment. I was out in Yumbo one night, music spilling into the air, people moving like they’d forgotten what shame was. I passed a guy by the bar, and he leaned in — close, too close — and said, “You smell incredible.” I laughed, said thanks, and thought that was it. But it kept happening. A waiter, a stranger on the street, someone brushing past in a shop — all of them stopping, turning, asking. This scent wasn’t just projecting — it was seducing. And the dry-down... ooh, the dry-down. That’s where it goes from flirty to magnetic. The ambergris and musk wrap around you like heat after sunset, a kind of second skin. There’s transparent oud and moss underneath, grounding it, keeping it from floating away. Then, just as you think it’s done, this soft candied sweetness sneaks in — golden, glowing, addictive. Like the last sip of rum at the end of the night, when everything slows down and everyone looks beautiful. It’s sensual without trying. Tropical without cliché. It’s the scent of skin kissed by the sea and a little too much confidence. A little salty, a little sweet, and completely hypnotic. Tales from Zanzibar didn’t just smell like my holiday — it became it. Every laugh, every dance, every late-night walk through Yumbo when the air was still warm and the world felt endless. Even now, I spray it and I’m right back there — under neon lights and palm trees, warm air on my neck, laughter in the background, someone’s eyes on me. This isn’t just a holiday scent. It’s a story in amber and salt, in heat and nerve. And believe me, people will follow that story.

This is an absolute triumph in perfumery for a sweet/fresh fragrance. I was hit immediately with an eye opening zesty blast with the lime and juicy mandarin and I detect the mint note that makes it so refreshing but at the same time it has a depth to it as it is strong. The mid and dry down is much the same as the opening to my nose, and fairly linear, but it is a scent to behold and to be able to project and hold onto those fresh notes for so long whilst being balanced with calming smooth coconut is an attribute. I'm unfamiliar with the scent of guava, but as the backbone of this fragrance smells completely different to any of my fragrances that don't contain that element I assume that is what it is that projects prominently throughout the duration, assisted by the ambergris and moss, and having an amateur nose to fragrance I may be wrong, but it just lasts and lasts. I get the feeling of walking through a steamy tropical orchard and this stays for the entire duration. My skin eats fragrance very quickly unless I'm wearing an old school Antaeus or strong alpha male type chypre or Megamare for instance, but this lasted over 8 hours on me and for this type of fragrance is unheard of to me and it outperforms most sweet, fresh alternatives. It's just so refreshingly different from other niche/designers on my shelves and although I've only had my bottle for a week I've already made a small dent in it as I live in a hot country and I've used it almost every day. An outstanding addictive effort from the house. Back up bottle now purchased. ------------------------------------ Update: 18th October 2025 I'm trialling / wearing a few fragrances just now, some I've owned for a while and not used and some newbies and all parts of arms and hands, wrists etc. are stacked with different scents at the moment. For context I have Tommy Iommi Xerjoff, Gulf Orchid Mango Ice, JPG Le Male Elixir Absolu, Guerlain Tobacco Honey, Van Cleef & Arpels Bois D'Amande, and this one. These were all applied within the last 90 minutes together and are all strong fragrances from my experience. I already knew this was a strong fragrance from my previous comment. TFZ is on my left forearm and I can't smell any of the other fragrances that are closer to my nose at all. I'm impressed but also bamboozled. I don't know what's in this to make it so strong.

Lovely densely crisp and beautiful smell. The quality of the ingredients really shine here, this is no fruity slushy or anything synthetic, actually there is nothing synthetic at all about it, that's where it really shines and can carry off the fruity vibe with such body, dense yet not cloying, even in this hot British Summer day (I know, one to note down for history eh?), this was actually put to the test, I just kept on refreshing the fragrance e try few hours even though it didn't need it, I just wanted another hit :) I have been unable to escape the charm of this fragrance, to the extent that I went and spent a great deal of time researching this house, as I had not heard of it 72 hours ago, yet here I am absolutely loving it. I love this to the point where I nearly missed this sample, and never would have tried it, to the point of using it last 48 hours, and then deciding it was FB worthy but hanging about humming and sharing (as I had already bought 4 frags this week!), in the end I bit the bullet and not only that, I went and bought another of their frags (Lost in the Desert), and I will be buying their On Night in Marrakech soon, providing I'm not bankrupt :/ I would say blind FB safe buy, but it's £150 for 50 mil, *however* it's Extrait de Perfume, and you can definitely notice it. Dare I say this is another London based House that I think will be going places? I'm pretty sure I can call them a British Nishane, even dare I say better......? This is my subjective thought on the house and fragrance, obviously many will disagree and others agree, that's the beauty of this addictive hobby :-) Edit: I tired to add something in the "This reminds me of" and I couldn't, I simply couldn't, this to me anyway, feels very unique, I can not think of any other frag that is like this, making this a lovely unique fragrance. As far as Mancera Crush; I've never smelled it, but I have had my fair share from the house, and Mancera is Synthetic though and through, this is the complete opposite, I can feel the quality of the ingredients, well at least I'm convincing myself so..... :-)

Tales of Zanzibar is one of the most photorealistic fragrances I’ve experienced. The guava note in the opening is phenomenal — bright, juicy and incredibly natural. Unfortunately, the performance on my skin isn’t great. After around 20 minutes, I can only detect it when smelling close to my skin. Either I’m going nose blind to it, or this fragrance simply doesn’t suit my skin chemistry. However, this post isn’t really a review. It’s more of an informative overview for anyone considering buying this fragrance second-hand, like I did. One very important thing to know is that this fragrance was released in both 50ml and 75ml bottles — and the bottles look almost identical. The only reliable way to tell them apart is from the side view of the bottle. The 50ml version has noticeably thicker glass that narrows inward, which is only visible from the side. I didn’t know this. I was under the impression that 75ml was the only size available. So when I paid £114 for what I believed was a bottle with 85–90% remaining, I thought I was getting roughly 64–68ml left (based on a 75ml bottle). In reality, it was the 50ml version, meaning the actual amount remaining was only around 42–45ml. That’s quite a big difference. So if you’re buying Tales of Zanzibar second-hand, make sure you check the bottle from the side to confirm whether it’s the 50ml or 75ml version — otherwise you might end up making the same mistake I did. True story (overshare - but I don’t care) ... I actually only found this info out after a very kind lady pointed it out on a FB group. I was so appreciative that I’ve now made her my girlfriend ❤️ So Zanzibar is a little sentimental to me 😊

A stone winner, against all expectations and prejudices. As a fruit-hating, generally anti-femme-scent sulker who prefers woody/smoky/spicies, I was absolutely NOT expecting to be led out to the beach in a happy daze by this one. But it won me over with its incredible flair. It works the magic by not going too sweet, and by having the guts to play up the earthier, funkier facets of guava and cassis in particular. Instantly transported me back to days in Africa (yeah, real Africa) with THAT GUAVA - which isn't a fruit I even like to eat, but Zanzibar's really kicky, almost musky, zing has the genuine, total full-spectrum of the fruit just picked and cut - and never cloys, not even a little bit. Lovely lime and creamy coconut round it out without getting too cute either. Guava for grown-ups. It just put a great big smile on my face, even in hostile northern climes. "A tropical scent for indoor people" - a-skeleton really nailed it. MOAPC's hype train hurtled hard and fast in the UK scent community and this one was the banner scent, which is well justified. Never smelled guava so well done in anything else, and it is original and nuanced enough to shine anywhere. Infinitely more adult and sophisticated than 99% of so-called 'tropical' fragrances - many, many miles away from mass-market 'sunshine scents', and one you could wear among even the most educated perfume snobs without feeling basic. Price is high but defensible given its high-class character and robust wearing power (5-8h). Truly one of the great ones, in the sense that it brings something new to the table and is capable of changing your taste for you. All the stars!