Mountain Woody Forest

Picked this up on sale for 10€. Had smelled and eyed it before though, but 30€ for a zara frag kinda held me back. In the opening you get alot of pine. Like alot. As time goes by the pine dies down (but stays ever present) under warm woods. Is this how guaiacwood smells like? My untrained nose was thinking sandalwood. Some mild well blended incense. I get none of the violets, leather. This smells pretty well done tbh. Smells unique to me (have not smelled santal 33 though, if it smells like this maybe I should). Like it really conjures the smell of a hike in the forest. And I do love to hike. Makes me feel calm and energized at the same time. The weakness of this frag seems to be versitality. I'll try to wear this in summer atleast once, but tbh I think this will end up spring only. Pure daytime frag too. And not sure what situations it would be fitting for. Outdoorsy activities for sure. Maybe office? I suspect this wont attract any kind of compliments tbh. Its really love or hate and nothing like what you would expect a frag to smell like. I'll wear this for myself, and I'll feel better for it. Lasts about 6hours before it becomes a skin scent for me. Do not blind buy. A bit too gimicky to be a must have at the original 30€, but considdering what I payed for it, as far as I'm concerned an awesome find.

So I was walking down the Zara men’s section when I smelled Santal 33. Thought it was from someone in the store, when I saw the bottle of Mountain Woody Forest. I sampled it, was really intrigued by the resemblance to Santal and shocked that Zara would make a remotely bearable/pleasant scent. I bought it a couple days later, for this price it is amazing, It costs 28€ in my country. For me it is a less sophisticated and milder version of Santal. The violets add some freshness, making it not that heavy and suffocating like most woody scents. I am happy that it is not super strong, more like a skin scent (2-3 hours), perfect for errands and a day perfume (for the winter of course). I use Santal when I go out socially, MWF is for when I’m feeling negligé. It does not smell cheap, I’ve smelled much worse from niche brands—I think people are fooled by the brand. The dry down is very mild, smells like black tea to me, or like matcha, a bit like Thé Matcha from Le Labo again... I mean, who would expect a Zara scent to have so much nuance and quality? Even the comparison to Le Labo is a huge compliment. It does not contain BHT which is another plus for me. So, for this price it is definitely an amazing find. I will get another bottle, in case Zara doesn’t continue it.

I count myself lucky today, as I just found a new bottle of this perfume. When I first prayed it, it reminded me of a Comme des Garçons perfume , can’t tell you exactly which one, but it has the same kind of vibe. Will give a more in-depth review after I have tested it for a bit longer, but the first impression is quite a good one. Edit: The opening is fresh, you can smell the pine in it. As it evolves it becomes a more smokey /incense perfume where I suppose the nutmeg and violet give it that "sandalwood' vibe, yet there is no sandalwood in it, it's Palo Santo. The pine is still there in the mix and the leather is of the soft kind. This is a smooth evolving perfume, on my skin it does not radiate out so much but it stays a few hours on the skin with a very soft yet noticeable dry-down. I wear it even it hot weather like today and the freshness of the pine is excellent It's a yes for me, I'll just spray more then usual to get better sillage and longevity and by doing so it lasts me more then 8 hours . Edit: this on clothes keeps on giving , even the next day the scent is gorgeous ! Even found a second bottle yesterday , happy me :-)

This is surprisingly complex and good quality. It smells natural, outdoorsy, and for me it is quite addictive. Smell of pine, pine cones, spices, mild smoke(incense). The amber note is somewhat resembles weed, so I understand the comparsion to Black Afgano, but the scent is very unique. I dont want to throw in concepts like "niche quality" but it is very different compared to oher Zara's in a good way. Performance wise, I'm very impressed. 6-8 hours with strong to moderate sillage. Finally this is a bold and risky move from zara (which I really appreciate) , as this is not a crowd pleaser (like most of their other frags), this is a love or hate fragrance. I am really happy because I have finally found my signature scent after trying many niche and designer compositions throughout the years.

The votes and reviews for lack of performance are confusing to me as this fragrance is wildly potent in my eyes. Two sprays gives me all day/night performance and sillage for 6+ hours. This stuff just radiates off my skin. That being said, I do like it a lot. It’s piney, leathery and super woody. A very masculine and unique scent profile. Not too unique though as it does share some DNA with Santal 33. If you can find it for a good price, it’s an awesome fall and winter cheapie.