Red Temptation For Her

I will start by saying this...WOW. Here's the story: I heard about Red Temptation when it was initially released last year when it was getting Baccarat comparisons. Of course due to the comparisons, it was sold out last year and never restocked. I checked literally for months as I bookmarked the page in hopes to catch it in stock one day. As someone who owns both Baccarat & the Extrait, who on earth wouldn't want a similar scent for more than 75% off of the original. My experience with Zara scents has been hit or miss but they have definitely had some absolutely amazing ones in their roster such as Exclusive Oud & Tone Indeterminee which blew my mind when I had them years back. I saw a TikTok on Twitter of someone reviewing Red Temptation last week and I said to myself aww I remember I wanted that. I went to Zara's website to look at their Fall/Winter scents as I do every year and what do you know? Red Temptation is Back In Stock. I still have the old link saved and it's expired. I wanted to see if the same notes from last year's release were in it. I instantly put 4 in my cart and then I re-evaluated because what if it didn't smell like Baccarat and I'd be pissed because I went off reviews? So I removed 3 and ordered 1. It actually isn't even delivered yet and is still in transit to get to me next week. But I went to Zara yesterday on a whim to see if they had it and what new scents they had. I almost missed it as it was hidden behind a few other testers. I smelled the top before I sprayed it. Yup, if you were blindfolded and both were held up to your nose you would not be able to tell AT ALL! Do you hear me!? I then sprayed on a tester strip, on my shirt sleeve, and on my wrist. The results? On my skin, it was gone in a matter of an hour. On the strip it had lasted about several hours before I was unable to smell it anymore. On my shirt sleeve, over 24 hours later...Maison Francis himself couldn't convince me this isn't Baccarat. The only downfall is the initial spray. It really does smell like a huge BURST of alcohol and it's really not welcoming. To me at least. But that lasted for all of 10 minutes if that before the scent started to shine so I can't complain too much because once that fades off, the magic happens. My shirt is laying next to me on the other side of the couch and I constantly keep getting whiffs of this. I'm really in awe. It's sold out on Zara again as of today 9/24/21. I can assure you when they restock I'll be purchasing several bottles. So glad I made that initial purchase. But should have went with my gut and got 4 as planned. For $25.00?! I will end by saying this...WOW *Update 9/27/21: The smell is still lingering HEAVY on the shirt I wore 3 days ago. This juice is amazing. Zara has certainly done it again.

Contrary to most, I adore Zara fragrances whether they successfully dupe famous houses or can stand on their own right. I bought this back in the spring after it finally came back in stock, in the red box set that included a smaller size of Red Temptation Summer. I also own the Baccarat Rouge 540. While I love BR540, I am not a fan of how the spray on my skin has a sticky feel, like soda spilled and did not get properly washed off. Red Temptation is BR540 without the stickiness, or the sharp topnote, of which I suspect is the saffron. I would call this a sister, not a twin, of BR540. Red Temptation lasts about 6 hours on my skin, a tad longer on my hair and the longest on my clothing. Good for hot, humid weather or anytime I have to be around people in an intimate setting. I strongly recommend actually spraying this onto your skin when testing, as opposed to in the air or on test strips. Upon first testing it in Zara shops I actually could not smell it. Finally, as a last note this bottle cooperates well with decanting into travel-size atomizers. Zara fragrance bottles are made out of significant glass but I worry about traveling with them anywhere! Get your nose on it if you have not already!

I see a lot of terrible reviews for Red Temptation, but this is one of those Zara perfumes which have a beast performance, amazing 7-8 hours longevity (which is great in comparison to expensive 150$ perfumes with 2-3hour longevity), sillage is to die for, whenever I move I can smell it in the air. Some are saying it smells like leather or burnt plastic, but not on me, I am someone whose skin chemistry doesn't blend with most floral, fruity or other high-end perfumes, perfumes just don't last on me (even with body lotions and oils combination), this smells sensual on me, almost aphrodisiac and lasts forever, amber is strong, but in a sexy sultry way and the combination notes of saffron blends too well. Although it is too strong for summer/warm weather, and over-spraying causes a bit of headache, but then performance also increases a lot. Good for office wear as a statement scent but shouldn't be sprayed a lot. Probably a few spritzes on pulse points and a mist on clothes is the ideal way to wear it for the day/office wear. But I love it and I would absolutely repurchase the full-size bottle.

Blind buy based on the raves of Cocopebz on YT. I really enjoy this fragrance--its longevity is amazing! A good 6-8 hrs for me, where as most of the fragrances in my collection last about 4 hours, regardless of price/ EDT v. EDP v. extrait. There is a marshmallowy bandaid like note in the opening of the fragrance but it dries down to a creamy warm ambery fragrance that is slightly sweet. I don't have Francis Kurkdjian's BR and have never smelled it. But this fragrance does remind me of Burberry Her Intense. Since Burberry Her Intense was recently discontinued this is a great find. Also, since MFK BR and Burberry Her Intense are both made by Francis Kurkdjian, there is obviously a common DNA to his creations. The similarity to BHI is most notable at dry down with RT a bit more airy than BH Intense. Ignore the vitriol in the reviews here--seems to be much drama in the reviews of this fragrance claiming symptoms like migraines, nausea, etc. To put it simply, if you like Burberry Her Intense you will enjoy this gem, that sells for 1/3 the price. If not, it may not be the fragrance for you.

So I've never been able to get my hands on a BR540 sample but I've read so much about it and all the different dupes. Red Temptation by Zara seemed to be the most similar according to perfumers. I was so excited to smell it, at first the metallic smell caught me off guard even though I had read about it. I asked the lady at the store to spray some on my wrist while I looked at the clothes and see if it'd grow on me. After 5 mins or so I couldn't stop smelling my wrist, the sweetness combined with the rough metallic smell is such a delicious combination. I ended up taking a 30mL bottle to see how I felt wearing it an entire day and it's easily become my new favorite perfume. I can't get enough, first time I wore it my uber driver asked me for the name of it and had me look it up on his phone so he could take a picture because he said he had never smelled anything like it. Duration is great too, it stays on your body for HOURS. Absolutely love this scent and will be going back to get the full size. 10/10