Kilsbergen

Wauw ! Just wauw !!! I don’t know what they’ve put in these ( the whole collection) but man these are potent . To start with, these are not produced in Spain, but in Sweden, which is quite exceptional for the fragrances that Zara brings on the market as they are linked to Puig , a Spanish perfume manufacturer . I’ve been lucky to find the whole collection yesterday, so I’m trying them out as we speak and just the first blast of this perfume is so potent and strong, way better than the normal ZARA offerings. As mentioned by others here on this page, this perfume doesn’t really resemble anything on the market so it seems to be an original concoction of the Zara team and boy, it a nice one!

@ Carlos Alberto You did buy this perfume more than a month ago. Are you wearing it? Do give us some feedback. As a recent launch from Zara, I think this perfume does not receive a lot of attention and everybody talks only about Zara Y and Zara Night IV. This fragrance is by far superior to the pair that is receiving all the attention now. Sometimes I do not understand the Zara Marketing division. They have here an EDP really alluring and they choose a name that nobody knows and a not appealing bottle, although they still keep the prices very low. This EDP 100 ml bottle costed me 10.00 Euros.

This fragrance presents an Allure Pour Homme type of scent. Personally I like this EDP. The notes published by Zara are: Bergamot - Orange blossom - Tonka Although vetiver and cedar are not listed, here I scent an inexpensive but not cheap smelling cedar-vetiver balance that works quite well and is quite masculine. The fragrance is unexpectedly classy and suitable for occasions requiring a stylish woody scent. Well done Zara.

Really good fragrance, bought it more then a month ago. I've smelled real tonka oil, it's not exactly sweet has represented in most fragrances, but here it's very reallistic, slightly sweet woody and a bit earthy, the orange blossom give it that green fresh feel and a bit powdery too, love it. Very good quality fragrance, I get about 6h with this one, not very long lasting but has a nice bubble scent during that time

@ LA2000 You made it sound very clear and easy to understand and I agree with you. I also would like to add that aparently there is no strong similarity between this frag and any well known designer or niche fragrance, so it does not get the hype of other Zara fragrances. Very nice fragrance anyway and worthy more 12.5 EUROS (that's how much it costed me).

I’ve been wearing this fragrance for over a month now. First of all, i really love this gem. For this price it performs very well. I get around 4-6 hours and after that it becomes a skin scent. Love the tonka bean in this. Real classy!

@carlitos - you said it all I am going to make a serious review of Norrland (or try to at least)

Alpine Freshness (2017) Scentrack: Ben Westbeech – Beauty Kilsbergen is, apparently, a mountainous ridge in Sweden, known for its taiga wood vegetation (thanks Wikipedia). Kilsbergen starts with soft, milky, fluffy and fresh citruses combined with synthetic orange blossom. Orange blossom gives some short indolic, dirty kick, but not unpleasant. Tonka is present from the start of the composition, and sweetens up this citrus / white flower fluffy bouquet, while adding some soft suede-like nuances. Kilsbergen also possesses some green aspects, possibly due to the vetiver touch. The base is composed of Virginian cedar or Atlas cedar with a touch of smoky Guaiac wood. I wore this fragrance during my winter holidays in Oberallgau region in Bavaria. Kilsbergen was a perfect companion while hiking and walking on Alpine paths. Its freshness complemented the snowy Alpine summits, cold creeks, and perfectly pure snow. Rating: 6/10

Unlike Norrland and Tiveden, seemingly modeled after Hermes Terre d'Hermes and Le Labo Santal 33, also released in 2017 and seemingly of the same men's collection, Zara's Kilsbergen does not seem to be an obvious clone of any men's fragrance, at least, not to me. Its note breakdown is simple: bergamot, orange blossom, and tonka--and its feel is just that simple and effortless. It's sweet, creamy, fruity, and ever so slightly spicy, perhaps a nuanced corner of the tonka. It makes for a pleasant wear, and with mediocre, not terrible, performance, its US in-store price ($30 for 100ml, I believe) is more than justified. Sadly, after its initial run, it's difficult to find in stores but is readily available on eBay and such, albeit generally at inflated prices. 7 out of 10

It's funny....There are no wood notes attached to this scent, but that is what I get from Kilsbergen. Wood. Not forest, or pine, but cut wood with a certain mineral undercurrent. It may not sound like a good combination, but it works. Really enjoy this scent. longevity is the only miss on. Doesn't disappear quickly, but doesn't perform to EDP expectations either.

I really appreciate the dry down on this. It's subtle and creamy. On the opening I get a "Pina Colada" vibe which isn't very inviting on any man! However it doesn't last long before it fades down to the Tonka and orange blossom floral note. I use it to veer away from the usual sport fragrances at the gym.

@Carlitos: Hope the following perspective lifts some of the mystery surrounding the seemingly inscrutable decisions Zara makes about the fragrance line: Zara does not view fragrances as a core product for the brand. The purpose of fragrance is to boost store transaction averages via impulse purchase. The fragrances are most often positioned at or near the register queue and are targeted at customers who have already decided to make a purchase of clothing or accessories and are primed to spend. If someone else decides to just make a stand alone fragrance purchase, well.... Zara would be, at best, ambivalent about singular fragrance transactions as the bargain basement price point for scent reduces the very store transaction average that the fragrance line is designed to lift! This also explains why so many of the Zara fragrances read as "dupes". Zara probably has, at most, 90 seconds to convince a customer standing on queue to add a fragrance to his/her cart. Therefore, they need the fragrance to smell both "current" and "familiar". With such a tight timeline, Zara doesn't have the luxury of waiting for a customer to decide what she/he thinks about a new or challenging fragrance concept. The fragrance needs to be instantly appealing. And the fastest way to "instantly appealing" is for a fragrance to track closely with a current best seller with which the customer might already be familiar. So while Zara fragrances aren't dupes, per se, they are structured to be perhaps 60% accurate to the "inspiration", primarily at the top, since a 90 second decision window doesn't allow any time to evaluate "evolution" or longevity. What happens to a Zara fragrance in hour two or three is really less of a consideration as, if a customer has made it that far, they are no longer in queue and they either did or did not purchase. There is no expectation that a customer might circle back to the store to make an additional, stand alone fragrance purchase, nor is it particularly desirable from a numbers standpoint. In fact, if Zara fragrances were to become a "big deal" in the product mix, Zara would probably need to raise the price point to keep those purchases from adversely impacting the metrics by which a store, and the larger brand, are judged.