Velvet Shadow (Into The Gourmand)

I like this! Like most other reviews mention - this is similar to Oriana and LDBS, but not the same IMO. Whereas LDBS is more syrupy and rich, the similarities to me between these two perfumes is more so in their dry downs. LDBS dries into a beautiful orange, vanilla marshmallow and this dries into a similar albeit more faint scent. Oriana is a very airy, creamy perfume with a more rounded profile. While these two are almost spot on upon first spray, Velvet Shadow has a good amount of jasmine in the middle note. I’m not sure if its because I use LDBS and Oriana very regularly and love them, or if it’s because I truly don’t like it, but this jasmine feels very misplaced to me and makes the perfume almost across as screechy to me...it’s just a lot. I’ve found that I really enjoy layering with Coco de Lait by Le Monde Gourmand and that it helps round out the profile and make it more creamy and wearable for me. Overall, this is one of my Zara fragrances where I do feel the scent projects fairly well and lasts ~4 hours on my skin. I think this is a good blind buy for jasmine and/or marshmallow lovers. If you’re buying because you love Oriana or LDBS just know this is not the same.

My skin has a tendency to devour perfumes and I find it strange that people seem to find this weak. I tried this at Zara for about two hours ago - only two spritz. It has a huge scent bubble and very much projects. In my opinion it smells very much like PDM Oriana and even though I love PDM Delina for its silage and longevity, Oriana literally only lasted two hours on me. Had a very shy silage which lasted barely an hour. I was extremely disappointed, to say the least. Therefore I must say, this Zara dupe is outstanding considering the price. It has already lasted longer than Oriana and doesn’t seem to weaken. Not yet at least. Very impressed and regret I didn’t buy a bottle. Will go back tomorrow and stack up, because this is good. Really good. Edit: Bought it. As far as longevity, this is a winner. Projects for at least 4 hours and still smell it on my skin after 8 hours - and that’s without putting on lotion beforehand. Got three compliments from strangers yesterday. Only other perfume that has done that for me, is Amouage Guidance. Well done Zara.

I liked it at first sniff. Familiar type of scent but it didn't remind me of anything immediately. Then I checked Fragrantica's comparisons to Love, Don't Be Shy and I could not unsee the similarity. I own LDBS and they're almost the same. If you don't know LDBS, and you like fluffy, sweet, cozy, enveloping, and a bit powdery, dense scents, you could blind-buy it. I like the bottle design. It's my favorite scent from this line. Overall, many scents from this line are quite good, modern and interesting. Zara did a good job again.

I don't own any of the "dupes" but I went ahead and bought the smaller bottle. I am in love. Been spraying it non stop for a day. It's a lovely experience of a fragrance and I find it sits really close to the skin. It's something for you to enjoy for yourself and less about projecting your personality onto the world. It is very powdery and girly. At times, it could almost veer into the grandma powdery scent and sometimes it gives me slight Chanel No. 5 vibes. It's a little treat that is worth the price.

I came back to say although fragrance is a bit relative anyone saying this doesn’t smell like Kilians Love Don’t Be Shy is literally just lying atp 🤣. I smelled them side by side there is literally no significant difference in these fragrance profiles. Like none. I wore each on my my skin at the same time and smelled them throughout the day. It’s the same with such subtle differences between them that no regular perfume wearer would know the difference. Stop the cap! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Love, love, love! Such a feminine scent. Doesn’t last on my skin but it stays on clothes for a long time. In my opinion it suits for both daytime and nighttime, it used to be my go to clubbing perfume since it always got many compliments. Someone said it’s been discontinued? Not sure if that’s true but Lattafa’s Ansaam Gold smells exactly like this(a bit stronger) and performs a bit better too. Love them both and I think they’re both blind buy safe for a floral lover.

This is a spot on dupe for Oriana. This is not a dupe for love don’t be shy. They are totally different. Velvet Shadow (and oriana) gives smarties candy vibes: a little powder with a fluffy, playful, candy scent. LDBS is much thicker, stickier, deeper, less powdery, more sexual, and animalic. If you’re looking for a LDBS dupe, this ain’t it. That said, for anyone who likes lighthearted candy-like powdery scents, you’ll probably like this!

I own Love Dont Be Shy and heard this was a dupe. I bought it hoping I could use it to top up my Kilian scent when out and about. It's not a 100% dupe by any means but I do notice subtle similarities. Imagine if Love Don't Be Shy mixed with febreeze and a "fresh laundry" bath and body works candle. It may not be the dupe I was after but I actually find myself really enjoying it and wear it day to day when I want to smell clean and fresh.

What a surprising love! I would never thought that I will enjoy wearing such a sweet, fluffy, floral-marshmallow scent, and yet I find it so pleasing, so cosy, especially for the cold days spent under a blanket with a tea and a book. I have a happy memory with this scent and with Love don't be shy - something joyous happened when I wore both - and this association makes me reach out for it more.

Well as someone who just own this and isn't comparing I can say that it smells good. My aunt gave it to me and it's perfect for fall. Sweet spicy and fresh but not too much and it lasts long. cute for everyday wear and even date nights. I think it's a really balanced fragrance perfect for libra season

Oriana is not like Killian’s love don’t be shy! Both beautiful in their own right.However Velvet Shadow is a great dupe for the very expensive Oriana the only real difference is Velvet Shadow is more synthetic but has better silage. Very happy with it soft creamy love it! Zara you nailed it again.

For me, this smells very similar to Narciso Rouge. Only, less sweet and without rose. 🌹 A welcome surprise. Definitely smells like it cost much more than it did. 🤐 Good projection, demure character, not too sweet. A touch of Habanita. 🕊️🕊️🕊️

Very similar to Oriana. It is beautiful and lasts a very long time on my skin and clothes. Didn't regret buying it, and only decluttered as I bought a full bottle of Oriana.

Fell in love with this perfume! the sillage and longevity is good for its price. Doesn’t smell cheap at all, very elegant and sophisticated

I didn’t have a chance to try Oriana, but I have LDBS and see a lot of similarities while VS is more work appropriate and less animalic.

So underrated! Velvet Shadow reminds me of Oriana with less sugar and a tad bit of citrus. Really good, especially for the price.

I tried it today and its Oriana but better...also is similar to the scent of Davines OI range

As much as I really wanted to love this scent as a cheaper alternative to Oriana, I have to agree with a lot of other reviewers here—Velvet Shadow just smells noticeably cheaper. It was hard to pick up in-store, but in a side-by-side comparison between the two scents, there is a certain synthetic almost-plasticky scent in Velvet Shadow which isn't present in Oriana. Obviously, the difference in price will get you better quality, but with so many other Oriana dupes on the market, it just isn't worth it to pick Velvet Shadow in 2024. While Oriana has a sweet, fluffy, marshmallowy base with bright citruses in the opening, Velvet Shadow loses its citruses within the first 5 minutes and dries down into a very sweet orange blossom perfume. While the quality and scent of Velvet Shadow isn't bad by any means, I'm having a hard time believing this is the best deal for the money with so many middle eastern brands putting out other dupes (Ansaam Gold, Destino, and Reyna being a few). The lack of complexity in Velvet Shadow unfortunately turns this candied floral scent into something bordering on cloying while the fresh citruses in the real Oriana help brighten up a very indolic and sweet base. In my opinion, just choose a better dupe from a middle eastern house. It might cost you a couple months of maceration, but it will be worth the wait and will give you better quality for your money. The linear scent profile and lack of complexity in Velvet Shadow unfortunately turns this fragrance from a "love" to a "like" at best.

A lovely spring perfume. I often find Zara fragrances smell great initially and then the lack of sophistication of the perfume comes through on the dry down, however with this one I enjoy the smell all the way through. While this is still a cheap perfume in the way they water down the fragrance with alcohol, I allow myself to have body mist expectations for this perfumes longevity. Initially the fragrance is fresh, light and sweet, I smell the bergamot at the start, its great to spray during the day and easy to throw on, I find I am reaching for this often this spring and I get the yummy sweet marshmallow in the dry down. I can’t pick out the mandarin orange and jasmine necessarily, but I like both of those notes so I think it enhances everything overall for me. Got a 30ml and have contemplated getting the 100ml, but based off reviews think I’ll get the real love don’t be shy next time.

This smells almost exactly like Love Dont Be Shy by Killian. I first bought this fragrance for my sister who loved it, and only just got the chance to try LDBS the other day. I am shocked by how similar it is throughout. I might actually prefer the Zara one. Longevity and sillage is great for a Zara perfume. Very sweet, very fluffy and vanillic while also somewhat dark. Balanced by orange blossom, which I dont really like to feature prominently in perfumes but I dont mind it here. My sister is 18 and loves this perfume, but I can see more grown up women wearing this scent as well. Works for a wide range of ages. I would avoid wearing this in hot weather. I find it as great for date night as for an office party or work event, but definitely somewhat of a 'dressier' fragrance. Makes me feel very attractive, rich, and put together.

never tried oriana or killian ldbs, so i cant say if this is a good dupe for either. i think this is a good slightly floral marshmallowy gourmand with a hint of citrus. to me it is quite a heavy marshmallow scent though, rather than a light and fluffy one. not necessarily a bad thing though. imo it would be more suitable for autumn and winter and MAYBE spring. where i am right now (uk) it’s been pretty hot this week and it’s just too cloying and heavy for this weather. but if it’s milder spring weather then maybe it would be alright. longevity and sillage are surprisingly decent and better than i remember. i had the old bottle and ive just recently bought the newer one, and to me this smells the exact same but with just better projection lol. overall pretty decent gourmand but it is just quite heavy imo

I bought this for 590 yen at 2023 winter sale. This year's winter in Japan was quite cold, with temperatures below freezing every day. Throughout the winter, this perfume smelled like "cheap marshmallows full of artificial sweeteners ". It was quite monotonous, synthetic, but it was a just right flat scent to use layering with other perfumes. I didn't like the scent, but it was so cheap that I didn't regret buying. However, when I use this when it started to get warmer in spring, the perfume suddenly said, "Hey! I've been hiding it, but I actually have lemony scent !" I was surprised. That's because it became a so pleasant, well blended scent. I thought it was a winter perfume because of the marshmallow note, but I actually think it works best when it's warm.

This is beautiful, just like Oriana (which I love) but in a weak body spray. I love this DNA, it's a fun, sweet, feminine joyful scent. I wouldn’t repurchase cause this is WEAK. Great only for the first 2-3 hours. Bottle is trash. The nozzle is cheap, it opened once and I got perfume all over the place. Atomizer is stiff with short spritz. The mini size bottle is wonderful though, spray is smooth with cloud-like longer spritz. Keeping it to refill other frags when it’s used up. Too bad this didn’t come out in in their chapter collection with better lastingpower.

For me, it's a spot on fragrance from Zara. I'm not familiar with Oriana, but despite not saying that is a dupe, it does resembles LDBS, a less intense and syrupy version. For me is an adult sweet scent, a good stater for what I believe of gourmands. Since I'm wearing today, I'll try to update later on longevity, the sillage is good, thought. Edit: 10am, I could still feel a bit on my arms, a bit stronger on my clothes, so around 3 hours. I decided to reapply, because the exit notes are really the greatest of this perfume.

I like it especially in lower temperatures. It's a bit heavy but trust me if outside is -5°C it's amazing. I wore it in fall as well but when the weather is a hotter above 10°C it's not the same too heavy. Very sweet, creamy, long lasting for tha price. I agree they have similar DNA with LDBS but overall very nice perfume. Recommend if you are into gourmand fragrances. Overall 7/10.

The soft, powdery orange blossom and marshmallow scent everyone described it to be, another one of Love's cousins, pretty and easy to wear. I spent a few hours with her while lounging at home, I sprayed myself abundantly but her sugar fluff wisps left me much too soon. Sillage and longevity are distant dreams, but there is a time and a place for an easy, fleeting treat.

To me this smells a bit like Oriana, but nothing like Love don’t be shy or Barbie. LDBS and barbie have some sort of screechy note, it might be Licorice - which is absent in Velvet shadow and Oriana. However, I’m surprised more people haven’t clocked how much this resembles Narciso Poudree. It’s has the same beautiful soft sweet powdery profile.

The marshmallow makes it fluffy sweet, but it’s not cloying or candy-like. I thought I detected a teeny bit of berries in the opening, but I think it’s the powderiness combined with the citrus and marshmallow which may give me that olfactory sense. It is slightly sweeter than I like, but this is still quite pleasant and enjoyable. Well blended.

I got this after hearing it is a dupe for my beloved LDBS, and though I can smell some similarities, the citrus is stronger than the sweet marshmallow, so it feels like a "shadow" of LDBS. It's ok for the price, and I will use it a lot, but I would not say is a dupe of the Killian perfume as Red Temptation is a dupe of Baccarat Rouge 540

I used to love marshmallows as a kid, especially toasted marshmallows!! Ha ha This fragrance is definitely for you if you’re into those fluffy delicious candies. As for me I kinda grew out of it and prefer a nice citrus lemon meringue tart now instead. If Velvet Shadow had more bergamot & mandarine then it would have been great...

Opening is identical with love don’t be shy but it last only for couple of minutes. A cleaner and floral transition which may be compared to pdm oriana last for 10min. Later it closes with a straight clean almost musky finish. Sillage and longevity is very weak but looking for the price tag it is totally understandable.

Lovely floral marshmallow scent, dusted with cornstarch and hit with a twist of bergamot zest. Unfortunate that there is zero longevity. It’s gone in 20 minutes, even with a generous spritz over well moisturized skin. At the rate of reapplication necessary to enjoy this, it’s cheaper to buy Love Don’t Be Shy.

This is a fluffy, feminine winter scent that brings to mind sparkling Christmas lights and intimate conversations over a bottle of champagne. It’s cute and lasts forever, and is a winner on date nights. To me however does smell kind of toothpaste-y, which isn’t necessarily bad, just distracting.

Reminds me of Narciso Rodriguez Poudree. A soft slightly sweet powdery cloud with that almost animalic indolic jasmine underneath. Not a gourmand vanilla in my perception but more of a powdery boudoir skinscent. If that makes sense.

Very similar to LDBS but much weaker and more transparent. Lasts for few hours and doesn't project. The scent is nice though, I would wear it in Summer

Definitely a Parfums de Marly Valaya dupe! Smells so similar! Very strong just like Valaya. 8/10 - powdery yet sweet

Similar to D&G pour femme and oriana. Nice, but nothing special. It doesn’t get better for the price tho.

A powdery marshmallow. Not the fluffy warm toasty marshmallow I like. It's a cold and dusty marshmallow.

This smells similar to Parfums de Marly Oriana and NOT Kilian Love don't be shy

reviews that just compare perfumes to other perfumes are not always helpful but let’s be real this is zara so if there’s any place it’s here. love don’t be shy/floral marshmallow is my favourite scent of all time, so i was curious to try something else that came up in frequent comparison. in my experience those two smell virtually identical, but velvet shadow is not the same to my nose. they share a similar floral sweetness and i can definitely understand comparisons, but with the edited notes velvet shadow comes across more like a ldbs flanker than a dupe. the jasmine is understandably a lot more prominent and it dries down to whispers of bergamot and powdered sugar vs the crystallized caramel marshmallow eternity i love about love. i’ve never smelled oriana so i’m not sure how it compares there. i’m going to give it some time to see how i feel about it on its own, but regardless, i got a discounted 30mL and the analysis was fun.

I appreciate Love Don't Be Shy for its power, sweetness and class. That being said this Velvet Shadow by Zara is well... just a shadow of the original scent. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice scent, fruity and vanillary. But LDBS is a complex, sweet Neroli, Orange blossom caramel bomb that suits women in all ages especially from their mid 30s to... infinity :) This one is just nice, I would recommend it to someone very young, with a limited budget. While it's certainly better than a lot of typical mainstream perfumes, I cannot call it perfume, it is rather a cologne to me. You can smell that it lacks sophistication. Also not sure when I personally could use it. Too weak for Winter, too floral for the Autumn, too sweet for the Summer and not fresh enough for Spring. Too playful for the office, too loud for the gym, too quiet for a date...

I thought I didn't like this fragrance in the beginning when I bought it. It was last winter. I loitered round Zara and saw they launched a new collection, this perfume was one of them. I then came to this page and saw that it was "categorized" as a winter fragrance, so I went back the next day and bought it. it smelled like nothing but something synthetic that coils. I hated it so so much. I kept the bottle in my hiding spot. Then summer came around. I was to clear out those perfumes I don't wear, and I was reintroduced with this fragrance. It smelled differently! In fact, it smelled great! I think, at least, on my skin it's a summer fragrance! I love the opening, love, love, love! Unfortunately, it lasts only for 15 minutes or so. The dry down is ok, nothing special.

When I saw the pyramid of new ZARA perfume series, I immediately went to store and bought Velvet Shadow and Blanc a Porter. Its great Barbie ZARA dupe for those who missed it. Velwet Shadow is very light powdery version of LDBS or BARBIE with an accent on bergamot. Unfortunately lasting power compared to BARBIE is veeery weak.

This is PDM Oriana dupe, this is not Kilian Love Dont Be Shy dupe. This is more lemon candied, powdery perfume. LDBS is sweeter with sugary vibe while Oriana is more powdery. Stop saying this is LDBS dupe. Worth the money even when it smells a bit synthetic, the longevity is more than 5 hours and the scent bubble is moderate.

This DOES NOT smell like By Kilian Love Don't Be Shy. I wish it did as that's why I bought it and Zara Ruby Infusion, which also doesn't smell like Love Don't Be Shy. I'm a huge proponent of dupes when they're good. Alas, these are not.

Zara sales started, and this fragance is now 5.99 for 100ml and 2.99 for 30ml If you like it or wanted to know what it smells like without spending too much, now it's the right time. I've ordered a 100ml, blind buy - let's see

If you're expecting this to smell just like LDBS, you're going to be disappointed. This compares more to Oriana, but nowhere near as good. The jasmine note in this one is just too strong! Makes it smell kind of sweaty.

I was expecting it to be sweet and delicious, but to me it smells really medicinal, like a throat spray. I don't know if it smells like Oriana, but it is similar to Love don't be shy.

I'm trying my sample of Oriana It smells just like this and others of the same family. Not my favorite that dust smells annoys me.

Aggresively synthetic, but does capture marshmallow well. The hint of bergamont definitely saves it for me.