Supreme Vanilla

I tried all of the Zara Vanillas on skin for several hours. The testers I used had been out for a while, except for the Supreme vanilla which had just been opened before me, so that could have influenced my preference and final purchase (see explanation after the fragrance review). Of the Zara Vanillas, I was most pleased by Supreme Vanilla. It does have that "ink" note that I feel smells more like papyrus (think old library book that you open and breathe in) which I felt came on a little too strong initally from the tester, but it is perfectly balanced with the vanilla in my purchased bottle. The vanilla here smells most like a classic, slightly powdery, vanilla and takes the stage really well compared to the vanilla in the other Zara vanillas that was subordinate to other scent elements. The fragrance is comforting, soft and the vanilla is perfectly blended with the ink note. You might get a papyrus note based on the ink note blending with dry (not fresh) cedar, which is like a paper scroll. It does not project with 1 or 2 spritzes and I find to be a wonderful personal scent for times when I want to stay at home and read or get some work done without being distracted by scent. Instead of being distracted or getting a headache, I get beautiful whiffs of a comforting vanilla. A real love! Supreme Vanilla can be worn anywhere, anytime and is not so thick that it can't be worn in the summer heat. I feel when worn with fewer spritzes, it can be fine for office or clinical settings as vanilla and old paper are pretty non-offensive scents. Based on my wear test of all 4 Zara vanillas, this was my favorite and I purchased a bottle. Now that I've worn it at home without any other scent clashing, I have ordered a second bottle as I needed soft light scents for daily wear. A quick guide on the other vanillas if you are wondering: Vanilla Vibrations is my second choice but the cardamom note in the tester was too strong, making it too spicy and overshadowing the other notes, especially the vanilla. Hypnotic Vanilla was very easy to love due to its warm vanilla and caramel, and would be the easiest blind buy if gifting, but since I have Hypnotic Poison it was very familiar and not worth getting when I have the scent profile. Starlight Vanilla was the one that I didn't like, which really surprised me as I enjoy the listed vanilla-almond combination, but I found it to be too sharp in some way, and also, it disappeared when compared to the 3 other Vanilllas. N.B. Listed notes don't always conform to reality when it comes to Zara fragrances. My experience of testing the scents reminded me of some things that I thought I might share as they might be influencing your fragrance testing and selecting experiences. The following is not part of the fragrance review. 1) Testers have been sitting out, often under heat and lights, for weeks or months, so some of the more delicate scent notes, such as citruses, and even heavier elements, such as oils, may have turned, or at least changed, compared to what you'll get from a fresh bottle, that you are likely to better protect over the course of its lifetime. So be open to your new bottle smelling better, and usually brighter. 2) Testers often don't have caps so the scent in the straw, which is what you'll be spraying on yourself, may be a little more exposed to oxygen, which also oxidizes certain natural ingredients in the scent. 3) Testers will be less than 100% full or even down to the last few milliliters, meaning that oxygen has filled the bottle to a certain extent and oxidized the juice in the bottle, thereby affecting the more fragile scent ingredients. Once again, be open to your new bottle smelling better, and usually brighter. 4) You'll need to try scents for a full wear (i.e. keep it on for several hours to a day) to be able to get a real sense of how it evolves and how you find each phase of it. Some can have really catchy top notes but mid and base notes that aren't that inspiring or that you already have in your collection. 5) Your perception of scents you try will be affected by any fragrance in your base layer of body lotion, foods you ate that day that may be on your breath or tongue (this includes gum), time in your monthly cycle, time of the day and how many scents your nose has been exposed to already that day, if you have a cold, if you are taking any medication, etc. So if you are springing for an expensive fragrance, it may be well worth your while to give it several tries on different days to make sure you love it under many conditions. 6) Scents lie and project differently on a blotter, vs. on your skin, vs. on your clothes. Some may smell better on one surface vs. another. Try them on all surfaces to find the one that you like best. 7) Try to not wear any scented products if possible on the day you test a new scent so your nose and olfactive brain get the purest version of the new fragrance you are trying. 8) When you try multiple fragrances at a time, your olfactive brain, and your nose, get attracted to and notice the more powerful elements or accords in a scent, as the weaker or softer ones may disappear due to competing strong elements in another scent you are testing at the same time. This may make a real gem not stand out when compared with something with stronger natural ingredients or stronger aromachemicals. 9) Your nose and olfactive brain get tired out when trying different scents, so trying a few in the morning and a few in the afternoon could be better than all in one shot. 10) Some of the modern aromachemicals can sit inside your nose, so you smell them even after they are no longer that present on your skin, giving the impression of being everlasting. Although, truth be told, most modern fragrances are using aromachemicals that do indeed heighten duration and projection. So, some tips for when you go fragrance shopping: Try to wear as little competing fragrance that day. Try to keep the same day tests to a minimal number if you can. Try fragrances on skin as well as on clothes. Try to give your nose and brain a short break between smelling each different scent. Try to spray them on parts of you that are far apart so you don't get a whiff of one as you breathe in another. Give yourself time to decide how much you like a fragrance. And the most important tip, have fun! Buying a fragrance is partaking in a luxury that many around the world cannot hope to experience. Enjoy this luxurious experience and moment of girly fun!

Niche Dark Academia Perfection!!!! Imagine being in the most beautiful old, dusty library reading a book that smells of paper and ink, the place is full of wooden tables and bookcases and you have fresh vanilla biscuits with you, but you also want to seduce the hot, broody librarian. This is how this perfume smells. Zara perfumes are generally good, especially for their prices but this one is by far my favorite. It is so niche It is a warm dry woody sweet vanilla perfume at its core, everything else is to add more character and OMG they do that. The second most prominent note is by far the ink on me. In a lot of reviews, I saw people describe the smell as "wet ashtray" and even though I understand where this is coming from and it's not exactly inaccurate, I LOVE IT. I don't know how to explain it, but the smell is almost comforting, even though it has a musty/smokey quality the ink smells exactly like an ink pad my grandfather had and along with the tonka beans gives a kick that I find so good. It is a mysterious, sophisticated, SEXY AS HELL, dark vanilla and I love an interesting vanilla. The cedarwood and the sugar are supporting roles here, I cannot identify that is cedar I smell but with time, along with the powdery vanilla, there is an aromatic woodiness that lingers on my skin and the sugar adds sweetness all around. This is a juggernaut as far as longevity goes and even more, as sillage goes. This thing smells A LOT, and for days on my clothes, but it isn't clogging at all. To explain how impressed I am with it, I was wearing it in a bar I go to quite often and the place is very small, more often than not extremely crowded, and people can smoke inside, and I still got questions on what perfume I wear because those around me could smell it, something that is not a thing in that place. Something that I also didn't expect (bc the reviews I had read were a mixed bag) is how much of a people's pleaser it is, especially men. Every time I wear it I get questions on what I wear, bc they like it yes, but also bc they want to get it, so at least the people around me find it as unisex as they come, something that I also agree with. I can see everyone wearing it of whatever age and even all day, just not as much in summer. I purchased it in early March, and I just stopped wearing it as much now, in warm weather it can become slightly overwhelming.

something that smells like a smoky s&m darkroom located in the damp coal storage of an old building? FROM A MAINSTREAM PERFUMER? OKAY DIVA! this is frankly a new fave. you’re telling me that I can smell like an old tome that came alive and started doing a burlesque number? and it’s from Zara? of all places? this on my skin hits me with the musty ink note RIGHT away. it reads like black orchid almost where it just smells like earth, but without the patchouli that’s giving my nose backshots. it’s more of an earthy dusty magical book kind of smell, but it also reads of body odor ashtray which is kind of glam to me. lurking behind it and waiting to pounce is the vanilla-y sugar cube note. there’s something sweet lurking behind the earthy ink always that makes it less of a coughing fit trigger and elevates it into something more... glam. it reminds me of a crème brûlée at times, but when it hits the vanilla time mark and the ink demons have been fought and won over, it really is such an earthy sweet vanilla that’s both powdery and woody. it almost reminds me of like aquolina pink sugar’s older sister or korres black sugar’s mother. it continues onto the drydown and frankly I wake up smelling like a roasted vanilla so that’s a plus. much like a lot of the Zara Collection Heavy Bottle 25 Euro Luxe Looking Paperweights perfumes, the longevity is rather wild. I sprayed this one afternoon, slept, woke up at lunchtime and it was still there lurking. initial projection is big and bold, but turns into a soft bubble of a toasty vanilla. my verdict? new favorite. I love when Zara turns it out it’s like seeing a dog successfully walk on its hind legs like a model. ps. Zara if you discontinue this I WILL jump you!!!

This is probably the best vanilla I've smelled! I am absolutely in love with the perfume and I can't believe it's so cheap ( not that I complain, lol) I ordered the 30ml bottle, as I was a bit scared, based on the reviews I read, but I fell in love immediately I sprayed on my arm! It's sweet, but not sickly sweet. It's dark vanilla, maybe because of the ink note, though I hardly smell any ink. For maybe 5 minutes I smell vanilla and something earthy, like soil or something, but it's not necessarily bad. And then comes my favourite! Burnt sugar. It smells so sweet, so good and tasty it makes me want to drink the perfume. Easily my favorite, I'm ordering another 2-3 bottles before Zara discontinues it 😀. Maybe it depends on the skin chemistry or it's different batches and I got lucky, but I don't get any old man, ashtray, cigarettes yada yada smell. I don't find it unisex either, tho. It reminds me a lot of a car/home air freshener byu Areon - vanilla black. I love that smell and Supreme Vanilla reminds me somewhat of that air freshener. And it projects good too. I'll give 7/10 for longevity on skin and projection.

Smelt this in Zara last week after hearing rave reviews on their fragrances. Went in and got overwhelmed by the array of perfumes being sprayed around me (unsure why Zara don't have paper testers to spray on like most shops selling perfumes do) so I didn't purchase any as they all smelt very sharp and similar. Then, upon smelling my wrist, was taken aback by how stunning one fragrance was when it had dried down. Couldn't for the life of me figure out what one it was as I had tried four on me but was desperate to get my hands on it - never in my life have I felt such an urge to buy one fragrance. Went back in today, sprayed two on me (Rose Gourmand and this one) and finally, finally! found it! To me, this dries down like a sugary, warm rosy fragrance. Don't yet understand how I get rose but I suppose it's the cedar? It smells very luxury, like a mature vanilla that's a big leap from my previous favorite perfume, Ari by Ariana Grande. I adore powdery scents, anything vanilla and rose and so, for me, this is the perfect scent. I do hope they don't discontinue this line as I'd be lost without it.