Full Moon Over The Desert

It is difficult to understand what analogy inspired the name of this fragrance, Full Moon Over The Desert. The principal theme of this series is the desert in all the highlights of day and night. Likewise, it is clear that the perfume revolves around a leathery, phenolic, semi-tarry, and mossy accord. The first impression I had smelling it was that of two perfumes from the Exclusive collection, True Leather Men and True Leather Women, but right after the perfume takes another direction and veers towards the accords of Ombré Leather (2018) EAU DE PARFUM and Tuscan Leather EAU DE PARFUM, those of Memo Cuirs Nomades, with touches that recall the gourmand amber of Baccarat Rouge 540 EAU DE PARFUM. Yes, the essence contains a mixture of all these perfumes, reinforcing the leathery note, embellishing it with myriad facets as if to portray an image seen through a kaleidoscope. Suppose it is true that nose Benoit Lapouza was inspired by his creation Angels' Share creating a reinterpretation of Sand Desert At Sunset. In that case, it might be equally valid that nose Jordi Fernàndez was inspired by one of his creations, for example, a reinterpretation of Walk On The Wild Side. Why do I think this? Because these last two perfumes have a lot of notes in common, both recall both Memo Cuirs and Baccarat Rouge 540. But all of this is my thoughts aloud, and it’s unimportant to me. Instead, what matters is the tenacious perfume, a dark, brutal, pitch-black leather with a brilliant performance. The most leathery of the four in the ZARA FRAGRANCE SERIES N° 02, fairie, powdery, and deep, with many points in common with niche leathery products. Risqué, yet sensual. Outstanding quality. ZARA’s official website describes the perfume as “a woody fragrance whose pyramid reveals bergamot and pink pepper top notes on a base of caramel and iris wrapped in leather and evernyl.” Just for an instant, the fragrance releases a citrus note of bergamot peel, a little sweet and aseptic, which is immediately obscured by the arrogance and intrusiveness of the leather accord, which bluntly makes me understand who I’m dealing with. It is a hard leathery, similar to the full-grain harness of waxed leather boots or saddles, rather than the ultra-smooth split-grain of Nappa leather gloves. A leather nuance that looks very much like the smell of a saffron flower, spicy, not mentioned but is felt. You must like the leathery accord because it is present in all phases of the perfume, cutting through the heart like a sword and almost certainly reaching the base with synthetic molecular notes of IsoButyl Quinoline, birch bark, and labdanum. The velvety and powdery notes of the iris take up space in the heart, hinted at and not dominant, adding a dusty aspect that gradually takes the place of the opening spicy harshness. It almost smells the damp sand wet from the humidity of the evening while the wind carries clouds of smoke from the embers of a nearby bonfire, a soft smoke. Perhaps there is not only an iris in the heart, and I seem to capture the dewy and metallic accords of violet leaves. Despite the smoky and slightly caramelised aspects, I can hardly perceive the caramel. But maybe I need more time. I have to wear it a little more on other occasions. When the fragrance reaches its finish, the smell of the leather is tenacious, sticky, and pitch dark. The same smell permeates the air when there is work in progress to renew the road surface, the smell of boiling tar poured, crushed, and levelled on the roadbed. Smoke. Ash. Something mossy and inky comes to me, and it’s the synthetic evernyl, the substitute for oakmoss. Without making comparisons or associations, the essence is like the one we find in Encre Noire EAU DE TOILETTE, despite being two very different from each other. To conclude, the performance is fantastic, and this is the most powerful of the series. Perhaps the projection is not abysmal and is almost intimate, but the longevity is crazy. I feel it on me for many hours. It is suitable for a cool climate, and autumn and winter nights are perfect, although I admit I will use it on cooler evenings this spring. The wild side of leather and its voluptuous yet smooth qualities with a distinctive and contemporary tone. Raw and refined, vibrant and sophisticated. For a date, a dinner, or a night event. I'm basing my impressions on a bottle I've owned since March 2023 (BC 30680).

Just tested this one out. If Lattafa's Qaed al fursan and Maison alhambra's Kismet for men had a child together; this one would smell like it. It's a nice balanced fragrance; pink pepper and iris is prominent; and may even smell like a sweeter sharper violet accord when it dries down, and you fo get the leather and woody accord. Overall it's a pleasant smell; but you want aomwthing that smells similar and lasts stronger; just get Lattafa's Qaed al fursan, it smells 80% identical and is a power horse in terms of performance. Edit: Having bought a bottle in the current sale; I can definitely smell Itosh leather and also Ombre Leather in this. However, this is darker and more leather prominent. I own Ombre leather and the OL is tad sweeter and smoother. Full moon over the desert is way more smokier and the sweetness is subtle. This will be my November and Jan rainy day fragrance, alongside Encre Noir A'lextreme and Tom Ford Ebené Fume!

Unfortunately I couldn't smell it at zara I went to buy the last magnificent black but somehow wasn't available in store eventhough I checked online and it said its available in store, the staff was helpful trying to find it for me but Unfortunately it was nowhere to be found so I decided to pick this one up without the option of smelling it, to my nose all I get is a dry BR540 with no sweetness which is a big disappointment as I have 2 other BR540 dupes, I was hoping to get the leather note mixed with BR540 and that's why I got it but I am not picking up any leather here at least now, may be maturing will help bring the leather forward Edit: i have to wait for 2-3 hours into the dry down to able to enjoy it by that time this fragrance take a beautiful turn for the best but that's a long time! Am guessing leaving it to mature for couple of weeks would help

This is very similar to Tom Ford Ombre Leather. Opening is darker and smokier than TF Ombre Leather; However drydown is almost 75% identical. Funfact, I sprayed Full moon over the desert once on one of my arms, and 10 mins later went to Boots and sprayed Ombre Leather 3 times on my other arm, and guess what Full moon over the desert is stronger and smokier and I can still smell it 3 hours kater; Ombre leather I can barely smell after 3 hours. Got this in Zara's sale for £12.99; Ombre leather is £119 in sale and is usually £140. Go figure. However, Ombre Leather is definitely smoother and sweeter of the two. FMOD is smokier and powdery and doesn't have the cardamom note OL has. This can be a great TF OL alternative, if you're not into clones and dupes.

Addictive, leathery and strong. One of those you just keep going back for more. I had great sillage both indoors and outside in the open air, but definitely better suited to smelling up close. I wasn't the only one either, my girl is obsessed with this fragrance, could not stop smelling me all day. Maybe it's just the Evernyl on my skin but it's so warm, inviting and long lasting. I think this is what makes the fragrance last.

Leather and caramel covered in iris-scented ash. Smoky and powdery, but not overwhelmingly so, drydown bears similarity to BR540. I have never smelled True Leather for Him, but if it's a stronger version of this, I'd definitely be interested. Projects very strongly off my skin, I can see this lasting throughout the day. I'd wear this all seasons with the exception of summer.

What a shock 🤔 Visiting Zara, I was looking for a new fragrance one afternoon at Paragon. 🌅 At first I was quite certain I did not like the scent at all... but I kept going back to smell it over and over, 💫 I could not stop! 🤨 Soon this unique scent not only became my lifetime favourite, it is now an integral part of me, of my day and of my psychic space.🥰

Awesome. It reminds me of Agarwood by Dunhill, which I have. It's not easy and not mass appealing...smell elegant, classy, very manly....she (and I) loves it. Beautiful sweet ash dry down.. 4.01 rating? Should have 4.3

In short: Extremely similar to Memo Irish leather. Extremely high quality juice. 10/10 for me. Smooth leather jacket covered with ash and raindrops.

Beautiful masculine leather...

IMPORTANT: if you buy this or any of Zara refillable bottles please adjust them tight to avoid leakage. Do this and there will be no problem! So, in the opening I can smell a mix between amber and sweetness (caramel probabily), something similar to Baccarat Rouge or Zara For Him Red, but in this case it feels like a truly masculine version of that, not unisex. Citrusy notes disappear quite quickly, and I don't particularly feel the pink pepper. Then you start smelling the leather, already peaking trough the opening, and perhaps just a tiny touch of soapiness (the luxury hothel kinda of soapiness, surely the iris). This leather is strong, very strong and prevails on the other accords. It is raspy (probably thanks to that sand accord) and grey, has a tar quality to it, mixed ash and asphalt. Sunned asphalt. And some smoke too. Very menly! Like a well loved, used, greyed leather jacket forgotten on the sits of Fat Angel, or Brooklyn Standard. Mmm..quite sexy! The scent as a whole has a biker chic aura about it. Something accompanies the composition, something surrounds it, maybe the evernil added to the ambery Baccarat dna... giving an airy/cloudy/free sensation, or texture if you will, together with the dry, mossy (and tad bit aromatic) smell. I imagine this will project a là Baccarat style! A powdery aspect is present too, thanks to iris I bet, more a feel then a proper smell yet always a win in my book. BUT...the dry down (at least on paper) is just ash... pure and simple ash, if I try to go deep with my nose and imagination I can almost smell petrichor, or wet new asphalt. And also that rubber smell that I so hated when first putting my nose on Baccarat and his clones. One reviewer below me described it as a "parsley" smell and I kinda get it! For me, this kind of dry down was a little unfit to the whole composition so I hope it will behave more complex on skin. I understand however that for someone this may be just the thing that they are looking for. On a man this can give *bad boy* vibes! All in all, I think it is extremely well done for being Zara, and I am quite happy they are stepping up their game with this new collections of wich I bought many pieces. I am still unsure if I will buy this or not for the sole reason that it is really too masculine for me to pull of, I like to wear perfumes that whisper "my boyfriend forgot his colone in my bedroom" but this is a little too much for now considering also that spring started, although I am also sure that many women will like it. Edit: I had tried this on paper, not on skin (and the new tester was broken without cap and sprayer, basically a splash bottle without cap), my impression were overall positive although reductive because I had tested it in such condition, but I tried it again on skin differents time and it fared the same way. I bought it too in the end, I plan to use it in autumn with my coco black leather trench coat!

Prince64 wrote a beautiful review of this fragrance. I love it. I promised myself I will stop buying cheapies and focus on higher quality fragrances...but this is high quality, and I couldn't help myself. This is a non-linear, deep, layered, complex perfume. It's a warm, but not overly sweet suede leather scent. Opening is quite bold and on the drydown it tones down to a pleasant, woodsy scent. The drydown actually weirdly reminds me of Marc-Antoine Barrois Ganymede! This fragrance is far beyond typical Zara dupe with weak performance. It easily lasts 6-7 hours on my skin. I think the fact that Zara is now embracing the authors by putting their names speaks volumes about their approach.

This is a deep, rich and very smoky masterpiece! The smokiness is there all the way from top to base, but it doesn’t bother at all. I believe this is because of the leather. To add Iris here is a genious decision because it tones down the smokiness and balances it out with its powdery properties. In the dry down you get some sweet accords to, which also is brilliant to make this perfume everything but linear. Longevity is fantastic! I bought this for my boyfriend but thinking of keeping it to myself and find him another one :)

For the ones who are curious about what this smells like, I am going summarize it in a very short way... True Leather by zara (which was discontinued and similar to Memo Irish Leather) + Red Temptation For Her Zara (which is a dupe for Baccarat). True Leather was a great dupe for its own. Full moon over the desert is not harsh as True Leather, it is more sugary and sweet. I didn't like the combination of Irish leather and baccarat vibe but It is the best perfume in this collection. Other ones are rubbish ..

I think this is one of the best releases ever from Zara... opening is nice spicy (I don’t t feel leather at all) and the dry down is Baccarat Rouge 540.... Very good fragrance!

This smells like parsley. Like fresh cut parsley. Like dont get me wrong, it doesn't smell bad. If anything I'm impressed at how photorealistic this smells. It does smell fresh. And edible. But who on earth wants to smell like parsley? I dont understand the notes though. This kinda makes me suspect parsley isn't really the thing they're trying to go for. But its the scent memory that triggered instantly, and I can't unsmell it. Or the tester had the wrong juice. (Something I've suspected sometimes happens reading some other zara reviews.) It does seem to project quite well though. So thats something I guess. I'll pass this one. I dont like to smell like soup. EDIT: Tiny note, I do have caught a cold the last few days. My smell bight be off a bit. But I smell what I smell. EDIT2: After reading a bit reviews on what Irish Leather smells like, yeah this is the correct juice and my nose aint broken. This smells like parsley.

Agreed, this is good ol' True Leather For Him in a new bottle, with a perfumer's name slapped on it and the price doubled. Little resemblance to Ombre Leather or Tuscan leather, didn't notice any caramel or iris either. Unsweet, dry, acrid leather.

Too sweet, too synthetic. It's like someone mixed Zara 9.0 with some TF Ombre leather. Longevity is good though

You get what you paid for with this fragrance. The opening leather note is harsh and skanky. Also the "sand" accord mixed with the harsh leather is just a no for me. I got almost no iris, no caramel. I dont like it even at this price point.

Just like Zara's True Leather, this is unfortunately a total scrubber for me, due to the animalic leather note. This is unfortunately used in several Zara fragrances. I don't mind a bit skanky (I'm actually wearing Antaeus today) and I like suede and leather notes, but this is simply too much.