Rose Gourmand For Her

When I say that a fragrance is "breathtaking", do you believe me? Like in a sumptuous, wonderful, creamy, and flowery musky indulgence that interrupts my breathing as I eagerly plunge in for a second sniff? Sweet enough to captivate me, rich enough to keep me, and complex enough to seduce me, Rose Gourmand is an absolute star of the Exclusive line, one of the sexiest floral gourmands I've ever smelled. I'm still catching my breath. Rose Gourmand is the latest piece from the ZARA Exclusive Collection that I added to my wardrobe. I put it back the first time I tested it because the prime few moments were very similar to Montale's Roses Musk, which I already own, so I went further. After leaving the store, the perfume took a different turn, becoming creamier and softer than Montale, which instead takes on a more musky and powdery appearance. Let me say that the more it warms and develops, the more it resembles Montale Intense Cafe, a brighter version of that without the coffee accord, of course. Still, the floral, gourmand and creamy nuances are strictly the same. I must point out that this perfume changes a lot on the skin compared to the paper strip. On the latter, it has a delightful scent, similar to candy; on the skin, that smell of candy turns into a much softer and slightly powdery gourmand accord. Rose Gourmand greets me right away with a bite of faint zesty, a kind of alcoholic-lemon vodka, which lasts only a while before a sweet blend of delicious caramelized rose petals dipped in vanilla cream soars to the top. Here I get an inebriant and addictive scent of fragrant rose and vanilla vibe. This bouquet unfolds with a slightly fresh scent. However, this freshness is somewhat eclipsed by the sweeter notes. Notes like sugar and vanilla take a sharp prominence, only to be accompanied by a fresher, balancing scent of the rose. The heart goes on with notes of sugar and rose. This perfume has one foot in the floral realm and one in the gourmand realm, and it makes me consider if there is such a thing as rose milk caramel. Overall, you get a gorgeous, sweet, greedy fragrance with lovely hints of rose sprinkled in. Finally, the dry down comes, with the nuances of clean white musk, a spoonful of smooth vanilla, and just a hint of dry cedar. The white musk helps center the composition. When this cologne starts to dry down, the amiable notes remain present and mellow out a bit. The vanilla is very pronounced, and the rose is upfront with the musk lingering in the background. A breathtaking love story that envelops you in an aura of luxurious exotic seduction and lasts for hours, simmering to a low hum of the softest vanilla you could dream of. Rose Gourmand is a fantastic fragrance to wear during the colder seasons. This fragrance is reasonably sweet and very strong, making it too offensive to wear it properly during the warmer seasons. Nonetheless, during the colder months, this fragrance is a real gem. I think this perfume is suitable for work. You can also wear it during the evening, or for a date; you will smell very sexy and sensual. With its sweet, floral aroma, you have a real compliment getting fragrance, and you're sure to leave a remarkable impression. An unimaginable scent that smells of roses and vanilla--a simple combination but smells great to my nose. It also has excellent projection and fantastic longevity and smells smooth. The radiant rose in full bloom, married to buttery vanilla, not too sweet, that wears well until it fades softly into a skin scent in about 5-6 hours in the northern Italian autumn climate. I can't wait to try the performance of this perfume in the coming winter months! This review bases upon a 80ml (2.7 fl. oz) I own since October 2020.

I got this scent in the mail and immediately sprayed it on my wrists and the back of my neck. Three sprays total. The projection was no joke! I filled the room and left quite the scent trail. I tend to use 3 to 5 sprays of most perfumes. My beast modes get 2 sprays and my weaky-poopy frags get up to 10. This show signs of being a 2 to 3 spray scent. I asked my family about it, and here are the responses I got. Sister: "I HATE it! Ugh. Nope. I hate it." Dad: "I don't need to smell your wrist. I can smell it from here. It's...strong." (read: I really don't like that.) Mom" *tries to clear scent out of nose* no words were said. Sister's fiance: "I mean...I'm not going to vomit or run screaming..." So safe to say everyone in my family hates it, and that's too bad because this is a new favorite for me! It's so yummy and sweet. I mostly get a candied rose with vanilla scent. Upon first spray, I do get a slight minty or herbal/medicinal note like someone had previously mention, but it goes away quickly. I'm glad it does because it would possibly get sickening if it stayed. The scent stays pretty linear from there on out, though it does gradually get less rosy and more vanillic. Almost all scents end up as straight vanilla on me though, whether they contain vanilla or not. I sprayed it around 9 pm, and I could still smell it at 6 in the morning. I did also try layering this over a really accurate MFK Baccarat Rouge 540 dupe since this is purported to be a very good dupe for Mancera Roses Vanille and Montale Intense Cafe, which, in turn, are said to layer excellently with BR 540. It was heaven!!!! The SILLIAGE!!!!! I kept walking back and forth through my scent trail to experience it. I wanted to marry myself! I smelled rich. I smelled classy, I smelled desirable. I smelled like a beautiful, feminine woman who had the emotional capacity to nurture a family and command respect in the corporate realm at the same time. Scent: 9/10 Projection: 8/10 Silliage: 8/10 Longevity: 7/10 Now excuse me while I hunt down some backups.

I first visited Paris in a school trip when I was 16. I was the party pooper of the class. I used to make fun of the kids who smoked and drank because it seemed ridiculous to me, and for some reason I thought I was better than them. The evening before the trip, the other students in my class were discussing on Facebook how much better it would be if I didn’t go. I was heartbroken. I still went, for Paris. Ever so expectedly, I fell in love with the city of all metaphors. I became enmeshed in the art, the architecture, the language, the history. I spent the following five years obsessing about moving there. It was an addiction, I lived and breathed aesthetics. There were holes in my chest in the shape of cherry blossoms. As I got more into politics and activism during the following years, as I took part in protests and cried out chants, I gradually fell in love with Athens, its grey buildings, its noise, its scents of sweat, traffic, and resistance. Paris slowly faded away as I started to see its inequalities, the colonialism, the price of rent. As I temporarily fell out with my parents, went through a nasty breakup, and became a hermit, I started to de-romanticize things. Greece’s betrayal on every respect was just as devastating. It felt like falling, forever. Zara’s Rose Gourmand, a dupe of Mancera’s Roses Vanilla which I’ve never smelt, allowed me to travel back to the Parisian reveries of my youth, gave me access to a healthy kind of escapism, in which I can roam free in any city and appreciate its smells of piss, pot, and car fumes, while smelling like λουκούμια (the Greek version of Turkish delight), wearing pink satin, and buying poetry at the bouquinistes, in April, by the Seine. Rose Gourmand is a list of feminine things I don’t want to deny myself.

I had this perfume in the past, used up a couple bottles, after I found it to be cloyingly metallic or some sort of harsh peppery note in it. It was strange, because I didn't remember to detect it when I started to wear. I thought I just got too used to the scent that now it bothers me. If that makes any sence - probably not.. I selled a full bottle because of this, I just couldn't stand it anymore. But now, after a few months I was craving it, because of the cold weather and went to Zara just to spray it and have that warming feeling again that it gave me whenever I wore it. After applying the tester, I didn't feel that metallic synthetic note, so I bought a bottle. After opening and spraying it on, I am sitting now in this beautiful sweet scent bubble, with no strange harsh undertone and I am so happy I found it again. Maybe there are some bad batches of this that went bad? OR my allergy was kidding me? I don't know. Poor lady who bought it from me... Anyways I can smell rose, a big dose of sweet vanilla and a slight hint of coffee. It's a little bit smokey and I love that nuance. Very sexy. This is so good on my skin, really mouthwatering. I always received compliments whenever I wore it, even from strangers, which is not very common for me. I think I will layer it with roses musk just to suffocate my surroundings even more with my rose obsession😁 It's a love for me. Again🙂

WHAT this was so good. Usually I am NOT a rose/floral type person when it comes to scents but the gourmand end of this just kept pulling me in. Whenever I pass by Zara, I can't help but reach for their tester on this. Imagine a bowl, pour a whole bottle of vanilla extract in it, then add a tablespoon of melted brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of pure rose water. Stir and that's it, that's this perfume. The longevity was shocking, I wasn't really expecting it to last long but I sprayed this on my neck when I was at the mall, and the next morning when I was about to shower, I kept smelling this certain aroma of dried brown sugar vanilla extract somewhere and I couldn't find it. That was until I found out that it was coming from my neck and it was indeed the perfume that I tried on the day BEFORE. I just really didn't expect for a scent to last that long on me. One more thing, it is a DUPE for Mancera Roses Vanille!!! So if you can't get your hands on that one, then get this. A commoner wouldn't be able to tell much difference. The only difference is the projection and longevity because Mancera is definitely twice much stronger than this. As I said, I am not a rose/floral lover but if someone were to give this to me as a gift I would be ECSTATIC to have it on my collection. So if you're usually a 'sweet vanilla' fan but have to wear a more mature vanilla to a formal event, wear THIS.