Lasting Desire

Lasting Desire is a sweet and chocolaty scent. Not a dark or too deep chocolate, but a biscuit-style scent with chocolate chips. When I heard it at the Zara store a few days ago, I remember nodding my head in approval. But something was wrong. This smells like something I know very well I told myself. Of course! It reminds me of the smell of freshly baked waffle cones that fills the air when you visit an artisan ice cream shop. Yes, it might not be something unique and interesting because it uses the trendiest notes currently on the market, which are coumarins, pepper, bergamot and ambroxan. However, this one smells incredibly good. When I first wore it, I immediately got a cocoa smell. It has a very pleasant creamy scent of vanilla, tonka and amber, with a slight hint of spicy pepper emerging. In the opening, I get an explosion of alcoholic and citrus notes, a sort of lemon vodka cocktail, supported by a very pleasant but subtle spicy pink pepper. Instantly, zesty notes of citrus flow. I don’t detect too much lemon per se, just various fresh citrus fruits mainly from the bergamot. The thickening of the pink pepper reinforces this otherwise fruity sweetness, which bridges what appears to be a completely distinct scent at the start of drying. There is a chocolate aura from the start, and it emerges especially in the heart, an atmosphere of powdery cocoa. This is where I mostly get the aroma of the waffle cone, indeed I would say something similar to Loacker’s classic creamkakao wafer. The perfumer distilled the lavender in the middle down to its more pleasing cologne aspects, avoiding the more challenging herbaceous and floral tones. Despite the blend of vanilla and lavender, there is no trace of the dusty hay found in #Caron pour, for example. A touch of smoky incense scent strengthens the composition, although it never crosses the line of the olibanum that spreads in church or during a meditation session. As it dries, the coumarin becomes more prominent, and the atmosphere of the chocolate fades, but it doesn’t disappear at all. Instead, a chocolaty celestial combination of lavender and vanilla follows, as if the sensual vanilla wraps around a fiery tonka bean. It smells like cocoa powder and vanilla to keep it smooth. I dare say that the fragrance is really heavy on coumarins and amber accords. All the notes are well blended, but vanilla and amber are the stars here. In reality, vanilla does not appear as syrupy or gourmand, rather as a kind of benzoin, more balsamic and resinous. Finally, there are some woody elements, which however are quite subtle and attenuated. Coumarins are the undisputed winners and make themselves feel right from the start, above the other notes. Eventually though, after several hours, the only note I pick up is vanilla. And it’s not a bad thing if you like vanilla the way I do. After it settles down, it’s a nice amber vanilla combination that’s nothing new, but still very nice and worthy of compliments. Longevity is excellent and the silage is moderate, it settles quickly next to the skin. I think it is more suitable for an evening, and the colder months, especially autumn. I could also wear it during the day because it is quite harmless. But if I were to tie this to a particular type, I’d say an evening scent in the cooler months. It leans on autumn, as it is too cool for winter and yet too hot for summer. It is completely harmless, but not boring. It reminds me of "Invictus Victory | Paco Rabanne" and "Bad Boy | Carolina Herrera" due to the chocolatey undertone, a kind of dusty cocoa vibe. In addition, some aspects remind "Armani Code Profumo | Giorgio Armani" and "Uomo (Eau de Toilette) | Salvatore Ferragamo", for reference. Ultimately, Lasting Desire is not a clone of the above. Sure, they’re in the same baseball field, but nothing more. This takes a unique turn as it veers towards rich gourmand scents. I base the review on a 90ml bottle I have owned since October 2021.

there are 2 different packaging one is this clear bottle one the other is a dark blue don't know if the actual juice is different. tested the dark blue one, on myself i get mostly citruses in the first 3 hours, the cacao which is my favourite part only comes out toward the drydown:(( but on the guy i like it smells amaaaaaazingggg the cacao is sweet and rich and so yummy

This is a sweet and smooth chocolate, kinda like Invictus Victory, Axe Dark Temptation, CH Bad Boy and also Halloween Man X. It's not exactly like those fragrances but it has a lot of similarities. This has also good longevity (6 hours) and good sillage, really underrated scent. 8,5/10

Smells like a Finnish sauna at 90°C, it stings the nostrils. Some say its illegal in 9 countries. Large projection for 12 hours and lingers for 24 hours on clothing.

Quite a good alternative to Invictus Victory /Axe Dark Temptation. Of course Lasting Desire is not as good as Invictus Victory, in terms of quality it is on the Axe shelf, but it definitely has better parameters than Dark Temptation. Price-wise it was Zara's lower shelf, but the scent is long-lasting because it sticks to the skin for up to 7-8 hours, projection is also quite good. It is a bit synthetic, but not bad for this price. It is a nice, chocolate scent. Dark, sweet, but also quite fresh thanks to citrus notes in the opening. Later you can mainly feel cocoa with ambroxan in the background. Although I am not a fan of ambroxan, it does not bother me here. Despite the strongly noticeable cocoa, the composition is not heavy. It smells like Brownie cake with citrus. Zara could bring it back to the offer together with Elegant Opulence. 7/10