Sacred Green Forest

This one is amazing, nothing at Zara smells like this...not even at Sephora I may add! It is one of their best for sure, quality too is a span above their Jo Malone collab and the new series. It is one of those rare fair priced foresty/greenery perfume with a touch of camphor and balsam that is equilibrated and doesn't smell cheap (or nose spray or old colone like). Besides, the yellow flowers, incense and oily vanilla in it make this special and luxurious. I would not take it for a Zara. On the site it says it will return soon, for the discounted price of 12,90€ so if you were interested maybe you can add your email to know about the restocking. I bet only few pieces would be left since they discontinued the line. Now, to go more in depth on the scent: the opening is luxurious ylang-ylang, sweet but smoked by a river of incense's fume; incense stays in the background and it is a constant in the perfume from opening to dry down, only in the opening it's more strong. The flowers are surrounded by much greenery, I don't pick up a strong galbanum like for instance in Zara Leather Jardin, but a mix of green notes such as eucalyptus, pine and other camphorated and conifer elements, plus some galbanum. They are used gently and in a airy way. I think there's some wood too, and this are the elements that give to the perfume its forest allure... smell like the air released in a forest after a brief rain. A soapy and humid jasmine is put beside the sweet ylang and their mix is a bit honeyed, some dry oakmoss surrounds both of them. The incense is still strong, much smoky and powdery, and even balsamic, with nothing stale about it; it gives that elegant powdery feel that only incense/balsam can impart, it is a refined powderiness, not feminine nor classic (in a floral/talcum/vanillic way). The strong base on which all this elements rest is a beautiful vanilla, reported to be Madagascar vanilla; what I can say about it is that this kind of vanilla is much woody, thick and syrupy, almost smells oily but balanced by the dry oakmoss. It doesn't smell sweet at all, it's a mature vanilla, the kind I personally prefer. The mesured sweetness the scent has comes more from the flowers. The fragrance doesn't evolve in a pyramid like fashion instead all this elements dance around on the skin, alternating eachothers. I belive in the description the brand mentioned that this should smell like a Japanese forest. I can not speak about that, maybe it should be Japan inspired because of the incense, but as I was saying before it surely has foresty touches, they are not reported in the notes but I can smell many camphorated and conifer elements which imparts to the scent a pure and clean sensation, by contrast the smoky incense and thick vanilla accentuate this feeling even more. The result is a deep, dark and moody fragrance that at the same time is airy, clean and pure...even relaxing and peaceful (as they claimed). I find it alluring and a bit nostalgic too. This should be gorgeous worn during a summer night! I think the perfume is truly unisex even though there is a kind of "distinct young gentleman" vibe about it....probably it is a personal observation I make based on an olfactive memory since my father always smelled like a forest when he was joung, we used to spend entire days visiting forests, almost every week...smelling each tree, their woods, resins, needles or foliage! He used to wear Pino Silvestre Original Cologne too. Maybe this explains the nostalgia. As for performance, the fragrance lasted on my skin for about six hours, much more on clothes. It projected beautifully for the first three hours creating a bubble, but after it became almost a skin scent, leaving behind just a trail of powdery incense. Packaging is cool, outer box is sturdy with a fern like image on it, the bottle made of green glass whit a decent sprayer and a cork like cap. Be carefull though...my bottle kinda leaked a bit so I had to tighten it. Sacred Green Forest was part of Zara's *Immersed in the Forest* collection, made of 4 Edp, toiletries, candles, house perfumes and wardrobe scented bar. I was so happy to see they selected Fabrice Pellegrin & Coralie Spicher to create a new masculine line which appeared much more refined and selective. However, it was a pricy collection for Zara (I belive 30,00€ or above) and the fragrances were too peculiar, in a sense, so the usual Zara target was not hit. It didn't go well, they first discounted it and then discontinued all of it, pretty quickly too. I wish I could have sniffed Pure Frozen Forest to see how it was!

This is an amazing perfume unlike anything I own and it"s a big compliment getter too. I lingers for hours and on fabric for days. Every time I spray it on, I'm happily surprised and always have the same reaction; damn this is a good perfume. As I have quite a collection , this one is in rotation every few weeks but always happy to spray it on and enjoy it throughout the day.

I find resemblance with Adolfo Dominguez Vetiver- white flowers and neroli, possibly some jasmine- in the opening. Later on ylang ylang kicks in and preludes to a not overly sweet vanilla accord, well balanced by incense. Not a linear fragrance, which is a plus, and solid, original construction.

Very nice presentation in a pretty package. The scent itself starts bitter/fresh green but soon turns into sweet vanilla and incense. It is an interesting smell but its sweetness makes it rather feminine leaning. Still, a self confident man can nicely pull it off.

THEY ARE BACK ! This wonderful collectie of 4 are back on line and in shop so go and get them while you can . Personally this is one of the best collection of perfumes Zara brought out and they seem to listen to their fan base as they are produced again .

The construction of this is reminiscent of traditional cologne styles lineage, from classic Roger et Gallet to Mugler Cologne. There is a clear dose of citruses here but muted and leaning to a thick incense and ambers base. Excellent idea and execution.

I get why people are referencing Margiela‘s untitled. It’s this but with vanialla and an incense note. It’s almost exactly the Margiela greens! It’s quite beautiful. Warm and inviting but ever so weird. Made me want to try more of that line

I love this one. Great juxtaposition of Green moss, incense and Vanilla with white flowers. It is definitely very wearable for women. I think men a bit hesitant about Sacred Forest because it has sweet base.

TIP : mix this with Zara's Majestic Green and you'll create this unique spicy/green scent that is just divine as the peppry opening of MG tones down the sweet parts of SGF. Give it a try

Very green opening. Drydown is like Pehaligon's Lothair.

I miss this one sm, the reformulation is a flop!

tl;dr: I wouldn’t call this a japanese forest scent, but if you’re into warmer greens that have a subdued but gorgeous sweet and slightly tropical leans to it, you can’t go wrong for a 30 buck purchase of this. before we jump in: sacred is correct, but I wouldn’t describe this a “journey to a sacred forest in japan”. I’d call this “in the forests of mount makiling”, or “the most banger funeral arrangement in the barangay”. what I’m saying is that this gives more philippines than japan. there’s something heavily tropical about this. it may very well be the ylang ylang and jasmine that I can smell lingering through the initial blast of just pure peridot green, but even the green notes here are distinctly tropical; it reminds me a lot of the cut leaves used in funeral arrangements back home, as well as just generally leaves I’ve smelled back home (don’t ask why I stay sniffing leaves, there’s a joke in there). there’s a distinct warmth to the fresh greenness in here. I can see where and maybe how it goes conifer pine green, but I do not get pine from this, sorry oud! the dry down is gorgeously warm and comforting; the vanilla/incense/moss combo takes it from green to a warm khaki/greeige smell color, so much so that I was surprised that there wasn’t a sweet note in there aside from vanilla (and maybe ylang if we stretch it); the incense note adds a smokiness to it that blended in with cigarette smoke (which is a gorgeous scent, mind you). to paint the picture of where I see this frag existing in the world, I’ll take from my life experiences: it’s the smell of the tall floral arrangements at the wake of a relative, of the candle smoke wafting gently in a room accompanied by the buzz of aircons and fluorescent bulbs, and the hushed chatter of your living (and maybe dead) relatives reliving their experiences; you go out to have a breather, maybe you’re emotional, but it’s a warm night outside and you can hear the bustle of the city. you grab instant coffee (vanilla flavored? that’s new), and proceed to light up a cig with fellow wakegoers while you reminisce. there’s fragrant trees and flowers in the garden of the funeral place, and sometimes you catch whiffs of it, but you’re mostly focused on the warmth of the night, from the temperature and the love that you and your smoking area denizens feel for the deceased, whether related to you or not. it’s comforting, in a way, to be surrounded by life and death mingling together. spiel aside, this perfume is great. lasts quite a while and survives dishwashing and a shower, and you catch whiffs of it from your arm as you go about your day; I’d say it’s comparable to red temptation and her cousins, though slightly stronger. the bottle is much better than the hefty ones that red temptation and her cousins come in, as I can toss it into my handbags with minimal fuss and space taken as it is a smaller, simpler bottle with less weight. it’s also green and gorgeous. to be honest this is one of the more expensive zara frags, clocking in at 30 bucks compared to vibrant leather’s 25, or red temptation’s 20. docking off some points for that because I’ve learned to trust zara for decently cheap frags (and frankly 30 is pushing it for cheap), but the quality is good, so I can’t really complain ig ̄_(ツ)_/ ̄ to sum it up, it’s a sacred inspired fragrance that leans more towards manila than tokyo, but it’s one that will remain a mainstay green in my perfume rotation, especially for winter. because lord knows aura mugler is a beast of a green that is in your face, so sacred green forest is that perfect step down to a calmer green.

This is an odd duck and props to zara for making something unique. The main notes are vanilla, earthy moss, and a touch of incense. I don't know if it could be described as gourmand since I've never smelled any food like this. The vanilla is on the sweeter stickier side but not overwhelmingly cloying. I didn't pick this up because I don't love or hate it, but I do like that it's unique. It's the most mass pleasing in this collection and others will enjoy it too. There would certainly not be anyone else who smells like you. It it worth trying to see what you think. The performance is very good!

I bought this together with Coastal Salty Forest, thought I was going to like Sacred Green Forest more but I didn’t, Sacred Green Forest is something I might give away soon because it will not be something I will wear a lot - it smells familiar to fragrances I already own(ed) and hardly wore - this is also unisex - doesn’t smell at all like Le Male or Andy Tauer l’Air du desert Marocain

The opening is a terrible nasty moss bomb, then you get incense and vanilla and it turns surprisingly good. I can only give it a like since I hate the opening.

Mossy, earthy, green. Gives foresty smell indeed, but it has some vintage vibes IMHO. The sweetness is showing up later on, adding some warmth.

Crisp opening but it then becomes quite soap-like/shower-fresh to me.....is it Safeguard from days gone by? Can't get past that.

Wet and Mossy Vanilla open with green tone and dry to moderate sweet vanilla with oakmoss hint. Better than the price.

If you hate Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male and are interested in this collection then consider getting another one because to me this has the same baby wipes type of smell which should remind me of a Japanese forest for some reason? Maybe I'm mistaken and it does but I'd be even more disappointed if I went to Japan and the forests actually smelled like this 😂 Although I think this one is just a miss. Otherwise not a bad perfume, it just doesn't match the theme for me. Maybe the vanilla was too much?

Tested this at a brick & mortar Zara and my experience was very different from the other reviewer here. This thing is a conifer atom bomb. Imagine diving, Scrooge McDuck style, into a swimming pool full of Siberian pine needles. I found it unpleasant but I am un-ironically impressed at the power this scent held compared to other Zara frags (I'm a fan of their stuff, but a lot of them are notoriously weak and/or short-lived). One wrist spray of this survived two showers. I'd say its worth trying if it interests you and you really like pine/conifer type scents, but it is absolutely not a blind buy.