Ebony Wood

Oh my what a surprise this was, one of the best Zara! It smells like a vampire house, one that has a mixture of both ancient and modern elements... electric guitars leaning on crimson velvet curtains, old trunks full of thousands of dusty books and shiny magazines!! A bit edgy and moody, darkly delicious! If you have watched the movie Only Lovers Left Alive by genious Jim Jarmusch, this is what I imagine Adam and Eve house in Detroit would smell like! It smells like a Squrl music piece too! It is infact a mix of spices worked in a less 90's and more modern way, just like I imagine Eve oriental-esque clothes would smell like...plus musty and humid woods like the ones of Adam's trunks and old musical instruments, tabbaco-y and mildew-y patchouli, all on a base of sweet amber that is both balsamic and a tad smoky/incensey. Morbidly sweet too...just like the tainted human blood that they can't drink no more! To go more in depth, I can say that the opening is all strong warm spices with a light touch of aromatics too; I smell cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and some pepper, all well blended, this gives quite a Christmasy feeling to the scent. The cloves are not stale at all (like many times are in some vintage compositions), cinnamon has a lukewarm temperature, nutmeg is but a sprinkle and the pepper is surely there, even though personally I don't distinguish it as being pink but with a more generic feel to it. As for the woods, they already peak through the opening and I can distinguish a musty ebony (as name and notes suggest) but also some oak and cedar, a tinge of very humid cedar. There is nothing polished about those wood, they are dry and antiqued, and smell sweet as if mellowed by an organic maturation process. There is a particular note in here which smells a bit like the musty patchouli of Zara Red Temptation Winter...can it really be patchouli? Or maybe it is some synthetic oudy note? Probably a bit of both, since I can smell the familiar earthiness of patchouli, plus its dry tabacco-y nuances, and also something oudish. In any case they smell mildew-y but in a good way! The base is all amber. It has something of labdanum (with a generic vanillic feel to it) and something of balsams, with a light medicinal touch. It is very warm and also a little smoked, but not like proper incense. Again something Christmasy and bonfire-y comes to mind. The result is extremely warm spicy and woody, but also sickly sweet...sickly in the sense that it feels a little unnatural, as if it shouldn't be so, as if this ripe effect is a consequence of a forced seasoning of the woods, that is why before I described this aspect as morbidly sweet. But, I must explain, it is extremely enjoyable, I don't mean to say that it smells bad or synthetic. Actually it is a characteristic proper of some woods and of some wines, it makes me appreciate the scent even more, there is nothing stale about it...on the contrary this gives to the scent a royally elegant character, like something an aristocratic person would be wearing in my imagination! Speaking of wines and royalty...I don't know why but this perfume smells to me exactly like the colors associated with them, from purple to wine, to scarlet and crimson to red and bordeaux. Maybe even some vein of antiqued gold and bronze. Texture is velvety and rich, and recalls to mind precious fabrics like velvet and suede. I think it is perfect for autumn and it made me nostalgic of that atmosphere....I see the color of the autumnal dead leaves...so beautiful! As for comparisons, I can say that the dry down remainds me a bit of the oriental dry down in Zara Sand Desert at Sunset. In general I find Ebony Wood more refined and nuanced but still, in terms of style, I can say it is similar to other autumnal Zara favorites, such as Rich, Warm, Addictive (minus the boozines and strong tonka), as Magnificently Dubay (but less oudy and cardamomy, and more feminine then Dubai), as Warm Black (but less tobacco-y and without the zestiness) and as Majestic Green (in Ebony Wood there is also something similar to cardamom but without its mentholated nature as it is in Majestic Green, and without its creamy sandalwood), so it still remains special to me, besides...that cloves, they are so good! A little of this dna is also present in Zara Bohemian Oud and Perpetual Oud (the last one resambles Oud Satin Mood by Kurdjan). I love what Jo Malone did with Zara, I am so enamored with this line, both the Emotions one and the others that I am reviewing each of them in great boring length; however I usually describe those perfumes as "apothecary" like in style and quality, never did I go as far as to describe them as niche like; in this case I have to agree with many other reviewers and say that indeed Ebony Wood has a niche allure about it. It is a linear scent but very nuanced and quality is good too. For a niche lover and connoisseur it won't appear so unique but if we consider this was released as an highstreet brand offer then it acquires much more value. As for its performances, it has moderate lasting power, about 5 to 6 on me, with a dry down living until the night, projection is moderate too. Ebony Wood is also a precious layering tool, I always use it when I want to add body trough woods and spice to other perfumes, specially florals and solinotes. It layers beautifully with Fleur de Patchouli from the same Zara line too. As always when reviewing this line, if you care to know my opinion on the Zara x Jo Malone Emotion Collection perfumes as a whole, here is a list of reasons I like it so much: -they have a great price for their quality which is very apothecary like, surely they smell more expensive then what you actually pay; -they are always in stock, often in promo, and offered in 10, 40 and 90 ml, with candles and cosmetics of the same scents; -you get the Jo Malone style, minimalistic yet impactful, and very photorealistic. Surely a premium experience for an highstreet brand; -they are good layering tools, many houses arose on the market with just the layering claim, Zara offers to us 9 of them at a fraction of the price and with honest quality; -good packaging and presentation, a discovery set is also sold.

de and tr below en This has one of the most realistic grapefruit openings I’ve ever smelled. It’s juicy, fresh, zesty—you can almost smell the bitterness of the peel as if you’ve just twisted it. I carry the bottle with me just for the opening, and I reapply it throughout the day because I enjoy it more than the base notes. On the other hand it's a soft, tender and perfectly unisex scent. Both my boyfriend and I've gotten compliments when we wear it. I personally prefer the opening on my skin, while I think the dry-down smells even better on him. It's neither a heavy perfume nor an overly spicy one like Armani Code, so it's for everyday use in my opinion, especially for men. de Es hat eine der realistischsten Grapefruit-Eröffnungen, die ich je gerochen habe. Saftig, frisch und spritzig – man kann die Bitterkeit der Schale fast riechen, als hätte man sie gerade aufgedreht. Ich trage die Flasche nur wegen der Kopfnote mit mir herum und sprühe tagsüber immer wieder nach, weil mir der Auftakt besser gefällt als die Basisnoten. Gleichzeitig ist es ein sanfter, zarter und perfekt unisexer Duft. Sowohl mein Freund als auch ich bekommen regelmäßig Komplimente, wenn wir ihn tragen. Ich liebe die Eröffnung an mir selbst, während ich finde, dass der Drydown an ihm noch besser zur Geltung kommt. Es ist weder ein schwerer noch ein übermäßig würziger Duft wie etwa Armani Code, weshalb er meiner Meinung nach absolut alltagstauglich ist – besonders für Männer. tr Bu parfüm kokladığım en gerçekçi greyfurtlu açılışa sahip. Sulu, ferah, keskin, aromatik - sanki greyfurtun kabuğunu yeni bükmüşsünüz gibi o acımsı kokuyu alabiliyorsunuz bu parfümden. Açılışını dip notalarından daha çok seviyorum, bu yüzden parfümü yanımda taşıyorum ki gün içinde tazeleyebileyim. Diğer taraftan bu parfüm yumuşak, asla ağır olmayan, hafif baharatlı, inanılmaz bir parfüm; kesinlikle unisex! Erkek arkadaşımla birlikte kullanıyoruz ve ikimizin de sıktığında iltifat aldığı bir parfüm oldu. Kendi tenimde açılışını daha çok sevsem de erkek arkadaşıma dip notalarının daha çok yakıştığını düşünüyorum. Ne Armani Code gibi çok baharatlı ne de ağır bir kokusu var, bu yüzden bilhassa erkekler için günlük kullanıma oldukça uygun buluyorum.

Given how other zara perfume extrait versions have their own pages on fragrantica, im surprised this one doesn't, because the Ebony Wood Extrait truly is the bomb. So sorry babes, but my review here will be for the extrait version, not the og. I know only so much that I've smelled the og back in the day when it has just came out, but I wasn't convinced to buy it. Few years went by and I decided that maybe I should give into the hype a bit, so i found myself a nearly brand new discounted bottle on vinted. In my opinion the initial smell was quite pretty, but the dry down had the same annoying salty/ iodine note as BR540 (the same reason I cant stand that fragrance). So I put it away and forgot about it. A better half of a year has passed and I decided it was time to declutter some of my fragrances, and this one hot back on my radar. Gave it another try, and would you guess it? I loved it! Who knew, lol. Maybe it was maceration or something like that, but I thought this could only happen with arabic perfumes (though zara pumps out new stuff at a very similar pace, so its very likely imo that their creations could need to do some maturing too). The fragrance has definitely deepened, and while it has some sweetness to it, the coffee/ black tea (ik its not in the notes, but to me it smells a bit like that) is very present, yet without the sugary vanillic quality that some coffee or tea scents have. It's this nice, dark slightly bitter note, with the perfect amount of spiciness, that doesn't dominate the whole composition ("soft spicy" fits so well here). All in all, I have no idea if I truly did miss out by not having the OG, but the current version is very much so enjoyable in my eyes (or nose idk)

My favourite of all the Zara fragrances! I bought this fragrance on impulse when I went to Zara to try out their perfumes. I tried all of them and then tried this one because I didn't think I'd like it as I'd heard it was masculine and had coffee notes (and I am not a coffee drinker). I instantly knew I wanted to buy it. The opening notes are pink and peppery, quite feminine leaning, and the dry-down consists of warm, spicy cloves and something vaguely reminiscent of wood. It is a beautiful fragrance and I would never have guessed that it cost £29.99 at a generic high street shop. It's definitely a winter fragrance (I bought Zara's Waterlily Tea Dress Elixir for summer), but it also has a very Autumny vibe perfect for pumpkin-spice season. There is something light and fresh about it with the pink pepper, but it's not a summery kind of freshness. More like a sensual girly kick amid the masculine-leaning notes. It's a very unisex fragrance, but as a woman I love it. It would work super well for evening occasions, especially expensive dinners or a date night. You don't want to spray too much as it has great sillage and longevity (I can smell it on my pillow when I wake up in the morning), but it's hard to resist because the scent is so expensive. I've been wearing it in the daytime, too, and it works just fine :) Highly recommend! It's a gorgeous scent.

I bought this perfume as soon as I smelt it in the shop. I’d never smelt anything like it before and I honestly hadn’t had myself down as a spicy woody perfume person. In fact, I’d heard this one had coffee notes and vowed to steer clear because I really hate the smell of coffee. This not only smells divine but lasts weeks on my clothes. I sprayed some on an evening gown I wore and can still get the occasional waft of it when I open my wardrobe. It’s both very pink and very spicy, and the woody pink pepper combination gives it a scent that seems somehow both bold and complexly subtle. I get a lot of bright pink pepper in the opening, which really appeals to me, and then it is followed by something woody and comforting, like warm winter cloves and creamy spices. It’s definitely a wintery dark scent, but I’ve also worn it in the summer evening on after-dinner walks along the Mediterranean coast. It feels very luxurious and sultry in a playfully bright and feminine way. But it’s also essentially unisex, so that’s mainly just how it makes me feel as a woman. Very surprised by this as I am usually only a florals and citrus person, but I love it and would buy it again. I got the regular version and I’d like to try the elixir, but I’m a bit intimidated by the thought because the regular is already so powerful. It only really needs a couple of sprays.