Night Pour Homme V

I’ll be honest, I was a bit stunned when I first saw the new bottle of ZARA Night pour V, since I own all four previous pieces of the Night collection, from I to IV so to speak, and none of them has such a striking golden red and ruby color of the bottle. In reality, the box is soft to the touch and has an amaranth color that however does not make you think it could contain a splendid bottle similar to Dior Fahrenheit Cologne, with shades ranging from black through ruby red to fading into pure transparency. As if that wasn’t enough, I was delighted when I sprayed the juice. It was love at the first splash. Night pour Homme V is a taut, bright perfume that has the same slightly mesmerizing effect on the skin that fine ruby crystal has on the eyes. Be aware, this is not a relaunch of any previous ZARA cologne, it is a brand new scent. Night pour Homme V isn’t for everyone, at least from my point of view: the scent is strong and sweet, and not the kind that people would find endearing. This is maintained from the first splash, all the way to the bottom, although more elements are added here and there. There is a woody feel, as does the salt which does little to lower the sugar but complements it instead. The fragrance is complex to describe because the notes are well blended and it is a bit difficult to detect one by one. Sometimes I smell like berries, sometimes like medicine, and sometimes like cotton candy. Difficult to describe, I think you have to try the perfume on your skin to understand this masterpiece. It looks a lot like burnt sugar, dreamy, dense and light at the same time, rich in caramel, balsamic and woody tones. Rich in synthetic ingredients, the aroma is by no means synthetic. It has great quality and the notes are very meticulously chosen. This perfume creates a sort of transparent aura that envelops the body and lasts for a long time until it disappears and then reappears with its sweetish and smoky touches. As a result, this high-quality avant-garde perfume. With its character and aura, it makes you think you are smelling a niche perfume, and I enjoyed wearing it. Apparently, Zara has done a good job again. So, let me introduce you to Night pour Homme V, a cologne that has aromatic, spicy, amber and woody notes and suits more than one family such as oriental, floral and gourmand. As soon as the juice reaches my skin, I feel a sweet, slightly burnt aroma of cotton candy in the air, which reminds me of those gooey, gourmand essences like Aquolina Pink Sugar, just to name one. However, this is not a replica of Aquolina, there is more. The initial burst is delicious and a far cry from the citrus tones of lemons and oranges that are usually encountered in most colognes for top notes. Instead, it is sweet with a mentholated undertone, as if a balsamic ingredient such as fir or pine resin, or even green cardamom blended with the other notes. It is not the smell of fresh mint, but something more balsamic. I also get other spicy floral tones other than the marigold flower. The floral aspect is very reminiscent of warm and luxurious white jasmine, less indolic and more melancholy, mixed with reddish saffron pistils, this blend is responsible for the smoky and sweet aroma of cotton candy. I am very familiar with saffron, that beautiful sweet, smoky and earthy aromatic spice, to be treated like gold because of its high price and powerful aromatics. The initial phase is mysterious, a little spicy and exotic. The heart follows the gourmand side, still dense and sweet, and a musky amber reveals all its mysterious tones. I don’t know what kind of amber characterizes this perfume, but a note similar to ambergris adds a sweet musky and salty tone; while another note similar to amber wood contributes a resinous and powdery woody tone that adds some depth to the composition without changing the mainline created by the opening tones. Below is a warm and seductive hazelnut that permeates the scent. It stands out even more on the fabric causing a wonderful scent. Hence, the middle phase is slightly mineral spiced. The tail arrives dry and clean, the unmistakable freshly cut cedar wood is in the base, deep and intense with a woody bouquet, together with mineral tones of synthetic ambroxan, whose level is similar to Savage or any other recently formulated male perfume. The initial resinous accord comes more to the fore and is now dominant in the base adding a sweet, slightly green tone. The woodiness that holds it together develops a fuzzy texture and you notice its tenacity on your skin and which is deeper than you initially perceived. A pleasantly spiced and slightly sweetened scent of cedar and amber that lingers with the memory of the passionate flame that burned when the perfume first hit the skin. The last stage is much drier. Night pour Homme V is a relatively linear fragrance, the changes from opening to dry down are slightly significant. Once it has achieved drying, the fragrance can be summed up as a sweet resinous, candy-like fragrance with some woody, musky and floral notes that are very pleasant, unisex. It is sweet without being cloying. However, the fragrance is not as simple as I initially thought. This is an addictive smell that gets better and better as you wear it. It is a perfect scent for the cold because it envelops you, like a soft cashmere sweater wrapped around you but, at the same time, you still feel a little breeze through the fabric from time to time. Likewise, it works just as well for warmer weather because it has an absolute quality that doesn’t feel heavy or dense. Can be worn year-round, except very hot summer days, both formal and casual in my opinion. The elements of this fragrance will drive you crazy if you spray it more than twice. So if you wear perfume to let it go, this may not be the right thing for you. It’s not a projection monster, but it lasts a very long time. I tried sprinkling it on my skin the night before bed, and the next morning I woke up with this pleasant and inviting sugary scent. There is something sneaky about the way it behaves on your skin - you may not be able to smell it on yourself, but others around you will notice! Don’t spray it too much, even if you have a hard time smelling it. Regardless, I appreciate the art, exquisiteness and uniqueness of this quasi-niche fragrance, because for a perfume lover who has tried most designer brands by now, most of them end up smelling a bit similar and we start to look for different and complex scents. Salted sugary cotton candy with something alluring and seductive. The more I wear it the more I am seduced by the sweet, unique smell. My personal opinion is that it is charming and beautiful. I find it an incredibly subtle medicinal woody scent on the starter spray and want to spray too much of it as it almost seems to disappear. Then I sit there and the heat begins. Heat is a rich aura of saffron and cotton candy that, like a magician’s trick, I don’t smell when I put my face in my arm. But this soft, perfectly balanced and woody scented bubble floats around me and stays there for an incredibly long time. People then chase you like little sniffer dogs trying to see who smells so good! So love it or hate it, but try it and you will wear it! Hope you enjoy the ride. This review bases upon 100 ml (3.4 Fl. oz.) bottle I own since July 2020.

Well, damn. This is literally Baccarat Rouge 540 in a red wig. Minor difference in the opening: in Zara Night Pour Homme // V, it's like the volume has been turned up on the orange and the marigold, then enhanced with a dash of aquatic minerality. Once this opening fades, however, the telltale BR450 effervescence, sweet syrup, and medicinal qualities come in and...well, you know the rest. The remainder of the ride is 85-95% identical to BR540, the main difference between the two being the less candied, more herbaceous/mineral qualities of NPH//V. I happen to prefer the original BR540, but as I was not born into dynastic wealth, this is a damn good stand-in. I purchased the last two bottles of NPH//V at my local Zara for $10/100mL. For those that are too lazy to do the math, that's $20 for 200mL of juice, versus Maison Francis Kurkdjian's $575 (EDP) or $825 (extrait)...

Shoutout to everyone, especially prince64's detailed review on this little gem of a fragrance. If only I knew and wasn't hesitant during the sales, I would've easily bought more than 2 bottles. An Extradorindary close scent profile to MFK's Bacarrat Rogue 540, so close that it even captures the slight medicinal vibe of it. Linear, yes, however its more tame nature makes it easily suitable for any season. As well to my surprise, the performance is rather GOOD! Zara has secretly found the formula to success once again. (For those who haven't worn BR540 before, and has mixed feelings with this one..trust me. It gets better with each wearing. I do hope this one returns to the web catalogue).

I am REALLY surprised by the performance of NPH V. Last night i sprayed 3 times on my arm (elbow) maybe 2 hours before going to sleep and it was around me the whole night! I could smell it few times when i was waking up. And it's still there on the skin. I know that many people are criticizing Zara for their performance but so far i am having great experience with NPH V, Zara 9.0, Warm Black and Vibrant Leather Oud. Considering the price point i think that they are all performing great. Oh and this one doesn't smell like 'hospital' at all to me, it smells like red fruit candy. It's amazing fragrance imo.

Started actually wearing it like few days ago and i honestly can't believe how good it is, especially now during the hot weather! I had a dinner with my family yesterday and my mom was like: "What is this smell of burned sugar or cotton-candy? I love it!" She wanted to take the bottle away from me, lol. I wish i got a backup bottle back then...