Saffron & Orange Flowers

Reflections Of The Sun On The Sea Saffron & Orange Flowers is the fourth piece of the Oceano collection, the N°04. I’m not sure where the Ocean of this collection is because I feel myriad shades except those typical of seawater. Aside from that, Saffron & Orange Flowers is my favourite after Zara Ocean No1 - Salty Ocean Bouquet. It fascinates me, and I immediately loved it at the first sniff on the paper strip. I find it a warm, slightly sweet scent with creamy, powdery, and somewhat vanilla undertones, while the milky notes of oriental woods dominate. It is more reminiscent of the smell of the sun warming the ocean than the smell of the sea itself. Let’s dive deep and discover more of this warm essence. First, the fragrance smells different from me than other people. The acidic citrus notes immediately emerge on my skin with shades of green and spicy foliage, and the mixture is delicately refreshing. The note of the orange fruit is perceptible, like the smell of the pulp of a freshly peeled fruit. Conversely, bergamot is subdued. It appears bittersweet, perhaps with green leaves and aromatic herbs. On the other hand, when I intercept the trail, my husband leaves when he wears it; milky, powdery, and delicately creamy notes come to mind, with an amplified amber shade, which I love but don’t feel on me. The wake is generous, especially in the first hour. It fills the room where I sprayed it, and in the open, it persists in the air after the passage. I do not smell bold saffron, with its aromatic and leathery edges, at least not in the way I am used to smelling it in other fragrances or when I smell the precious powder extracted from the pistils of the flower. However, in the initial stage, a slightly leathery edge is imprinted. The heart unfolds with fragrant orange blossom petals, whose bitterness is balanced by notes of indole jasmine and sweet ylang-ylang. The bouquet of white and yellow flowers melts voluptuously on the skin. On a late July evening, it releases a sensation of summer heat, sweet as honey but not unpleasant or annoying. Sometimes the initial and middle stages give off a slightly metallic atmosphere, but these are mainly sweet floral accords. The amber and woody aspects of the base notes give a fiery touch to the base. A soft, creamy, slightly milky accord is undeniably due to the sensual sandalwood. The powder I got from the start that I feel on other people is due to the coumarin, more on the vanilla slant than on the tonka beans. The woodiness is combined with a cleaner musk, the first exaggerated compared to the second. This blend of musks and woods highlights the sumptuousness of Saffron and Orange Blossom. Ultimately, the fragrance is powdery, floral, warm, slightly leathery, and creamy. I find it looks good during summer evenings and nights, even in the still warm days of early autumn. Excellent projection in the beginning, then it becomes moderate and approaches the skin, while the longevity is above average, especially on the clothes it lasts many hours, it is also felt the following day. What can I say? Another masterpiece of the collaboration between ZARA and the nose Jo Malone. I find this line superior to the other perfumes of ZARA. The price of about € 25 for 90ml is justified, even if sometimes there are some gems even among the medium-low range ones around € 10-15. I base the review on a 90ml bottle I have owned since July 2022.

It just got re-released at Zara, and wow, I have to say that I couldn’t be happier that I took the jump at this one. After initially being disappointed that Amalfi Sunray – also a Zara and Jo Malone collaboration – was sold out literally fifteen minutes after the sales started, I’m happy I didn’t get my hands on that one because I wouldn’t have bought this one if I had, I’m pretty sure, and I’m so happy that I did! To be honest, I never really saw myself as much of an orange flower type of person – or citrus in general. But I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that fragrances indeed are seasonal and you don’t want to be cloying anyone out in summer. This would probably be a good middle ground for me: nice and fresh with the orange flower and the green notes. But the saffron is just as equally prominent to me. In my opinion, the best combination of summery and spicy that you could have. I’ve really warmed up to the Jo Malone – Zara fragrance, but I do often go to an introduction phase where I kind of need to learn to appreciate them in their simplicity. But not this one! This is a love at first sniff.

I am a long time lurker, first time reviewer. My perfume collection spans over two decades, I have worn hundreds of scents in my life and always gravitate back to deep, moody, classic scents. This was a blind buy for me, I’ve bought many Jo Malone X Zara perfumes and have enjoyed them all. I was intrigued by the saffron/orange flower notes and couldn’t resist. First spray on my writs I was immediately taken back to my twenties, pure Jean Paul Gaultier classique. Absolute dupe and I’m totally here for it. Maybe it’s the saffron? On paper the notes of both perfumes do not correlate, but all I can smell is JPG, but nicer, not as cloying. Seductive and nurturing. I’m in love. Will buy another bottle before it’s discontinued. This is going to be my new everyday scent. Definitely leaning more feminine but could easily be worn by a male. I cannot stop sniffing my wrists!

Great daily driver and great longevity. Starts out with orange blossom, orange, green notes and musk. The ylang ylang shows up shortly after, creamy and slightly tropical without being too much. After that it becomes a gorgeous ambered orange, white floral and musky affair that you can detect for about 6-7 hours after. Reminds me of Merveilles by Hermes, though not smelling together so might not be too closely related. It’s mostly the ambered orange that reminds me of it. Perfectly unisex, though I can understand why some might say it leans feminine. That’s said, next to the current designers it’s not as feminine I don’t think. Good for year round, going to be my dumb-reach reliable daily driver for the foreseeable.

Love at first sniff : the saffron is quite prominent and very lovely, the citruses come and compliment very nice the main note , to me is going in the Coco Chanel direction . It's not a punch in the face like Coco, but comparing the dry down side by side.....like 2 sisters a loud Coco and a shy Saffron &OF. 🤭 good scent, good for lasting, anyway on my skin lasted for 5 hours, almost double than Caviar Bergamot, that one has an opening to die for but ....not long lasting for me.