Dark Romance

Ce parfum est très intéressant ! C'est un parfum gourmand vanillé avec des facettes ambrées. Il a une bonne projection et laisse un joli sillage. Lorsque je l'ai senti la première fois je l'ai trouvé un peu "fouilli" dans le sens où, je reconnaissais le côté gourmand et sucré, mais je n'arrivais pas à distinguer les notes, surtout qu'il n'y avait pas de testeur en boutique. Alors, je l'ai sprayé sur les manches de mon manteau et je suis sortie du magasin. Je me suis ensuite rendue à Mango et à la caisse j'ai fais un mouvement avec mon bras, pour pouvoir payer et la vendeuse m'a immédiatement complimenté. Sachant que Dark Romance était la seule fragrance que j'avais appliquée, et que même pas 10 minutes après l'avoir mise je recevais déjà une remarque positive, j'ai compris que j'allais observer de près l'évolution de ce parfum sur moi-même et que j'allais vite repasser à Zara pour l'acheter. Maintenant que je me suis procuré le produit et avec un peu de recul, je peux dire que ce parfum est opulent, riche et a un côté sucré presque collant (en anglais on utiliserait les termes 'sticky' ou 'syrupy' ). Les notes que l'on sent les premières heures sont tolérables (elles me rappellent beaucoup la lotion sticky dates de Lush) mais les notes qui m'ont vraiment surprises sont les notes de fond, elles m'ont procuré le même effet que lorsque j'ai senti Bianco Latte. Quel délice ! On se croirait sur un nuage. Je distingue une vanille caramélisée et enveloppante ayant des facettes de 'langues de chat' biscuits beurrés et croustillants que je consommais dans mon enfance avec une boule de glace à la vanille. En définitive, je dirais que ce parfum est trop sucré, gourmand et intense pour que je puisse le porter seul. Je porterai d'autres parfums en base mais j'ajouterai Dark Romance à des endroits stratégiques pour les complimenter et créer une bulle unique. Donc, à vous mes 'vanilla girlies', à vous qui aimez les parfums gourmands 'edible', les odeurs de caramel, foncez ! Mais attention au dosage pour que la fragrance ne devienne pas écoeurante.

This is Zara most elegant and refined gourmand I think! It surely has sweetness and creaminess but it is a more mature and sophisticated take on gourmand scents and on Biancolatte. It opens on me with strong tonka, but the whipped cream note makes everything fluffly, airy and very pleasant, I can't feel the jasmine note per sé but I think it adds to the airy and sophisticated feel of the fragrance. The part I like the most though is the mid because the note of toffe is very strong and extremely well executed, I can smell something wich is a mix between a biscuit, a caramelized buttery sweet, something with just a pinch of coffee and with flour in it, a sort of toasted biscuit in a sense. So I would say that yes, the Toffee note is very good here. The scent at this point resambles to me more Zara's own Sensual Vanilla then Biancolatte or the Lattafa. I think Dark Romance is much more biscuit-y then BIancolatte which results more vannillic and benzoin based on my skin. At this stage I think the fragrance is a delicate and very pleased gourmand, unfortunately in the dry down the vanilla is super, super strong and it is a type that I don't like much because it smells on me as a boozy vanilla, very sweet and boozy (similar to their Rich, Warm, Addictive), this component of the vanilla is also present in Zara's Chapter Vanillas but there it is much more subdued and the vanilla quality more complex. Thankfully in the end the vanilla gives space to something which smells more clean, almost as if the jasmine note was in the base notes, so what is left on skin or clothes as an intimate drydown is something vanillic but also clean and light. All in all I enjoyed the fragrance a lot, which is surprising since I am not a gourmand type (I buy lots of samples and decants of them just to stay updated but I rarely am surprised or wear them). Good longevity of 6 hours on me, decent projection but again, I think this is more a delicate and mature gourmand, in both sillage and composition.

I believe it has to do with skin chemistry, what with some people saying it doesn't last long, because on my skin this is a BEAST. Like, if I want to go somewhere, stay overnight and smell until the next morning (which I don't do often anymore because adulting sucks), this is the scent I'm gonna pick. I've been postponing writing a review for this for so long because I wanted to do it justice, I wanted to write it well, but then I was like, sod it. People need to know about this gem. I was at Zara and I had sprayed on me about ten scents. Needless to say, I got a headache and nothing stood out anymore. Dark Romance was the last one I sprayed on. I haven't smelt Bianco Latte or Eclaire, so I didn't really know what "lactonic" meant. I found my kind of fragrance. Mind me, I'm not normally a vanilla person, but this smells like so much more. I detect the jasmine and toffee, and it's so refined and classy! This was nothing like all the other Zara perfumes I smelt (and loved). I wore it on New Year's Eve layered with Supreme Musk and I felt delicious all night!

This is my favorite among all the Zara vanillas!! It's super sweet and gourmand, but there is something a little bit fresh about it, that balances out the sweetness, so it never becomes cloying. It's just so creamy and perfectly blended. If you were ever tempted by those 45-step, all-vanilla bath routines, honestly, just buy this lol It smells like you scrubbed yourself with a bunch of vanilla products, but your body wash had a bit of jasmine in it. Or like a creamy dessert: vanilla cream, caramel syrup, a cherry on top and a bunch of edible flowers. I have both the normal and the elixir, and they smell the same but the elixir lasts longer. You don't need both, but I bought the 30ml first, then fell in love with the scent so much that I went back for a big bottle and got the elixir. Highly recommend this perfume.

Call me crazy but I absolutely adore this fragrance. I spent quite a bit of time at Zara deciding which perfumes I wanted and this is one I definitely ruminated over the most. At first spray it reminded me of Supreme Vanilla (Zara) but upon comparison it quickly registered to me that they weren't as similar as I thought. Dark Romance has a crisp yet sweet freshness about it that envelopes around a delicious gourmand center; this isn't always achieved so beautifully in fragrance. This is what I would call a Fresh Gourmand but not in a linen & bath salt kind of way. Think more of a gossamer, toffee & lavender flavored cotton candy. This won't be everyone's cup of tea but it's definitely mine. I bought a small bottle but I anticipate I'll be ordering the big bottle soon. Happy smelling!