WO/01 Somewoody

SOMEWOODY or VERYWOODY ? This is a truly sumptuous fragrance! Zara is not usually associated with heavy fragrances or high prices. But every now and again, we may be surprised by this designer with an extra-concentrated blend of essential oils and bold olfactory notes. With WO/Somewoody, Zara has undoubtedly challenged more expensive brands. My first sensation was of a non-sticky sweetness that had been blended to produce a delightfully pleasant and enticing oriental perfume. I would briefly describe the fragrance pyramid as starting with notes of lavender, cinnamon, rose water, nutmeg and allspice. The resulting aroma is a sweet, slightly fruity, spicy, woody and aromatic blend. Yes, there’s a spicy, powdery and slightly sweet touch from cinnamon, but mostly I detect aromatic lavender alongside a fleeting apple note. The lavender note is herbaceous and natural. It blends gracefully with the spicy cinnamon. The scent is fresh and uplifting initially. However, don’t be fooled by this initial freshness, as it will soon become floral, musky and woody. The heart phase features notes of rosewood, cedarwood, palisander and sandalwood. It's all about musk and powdery flowers. To my nose, the scent appears now as a heavy musky cologne. It has both animal and clean musk. There is also a fine rosy, dusty dew. The powdery part must come from a hint of iris, orris, or violet leaf. This must be secretly mixed into the blending. The presence of a floral and powdery musk accord is notable here, accompanied by dry woods and salty amber, contributing to its distinct character. The base is woody, balsamic, and subtly creamy with notes of amber, benzoin, vanilla, musk, oud, and a hint of tobacco. The oud note is barely noticeable and would not lead anyone to believe that it originates from the Middle East. The same applies to the vanilla note. Rather than standing out as a gourmet flavour, it is more of a supporting powder. As far as the amber is concerned, I think it smells more like cedar with its characteristic pencil shavings nuances than it does the opulent resins used by the good quality ambery essences. However, the overall effect is very pleasant. Such a rich assortment of notes from a Zara perfume is a new experience for me. THE INSPIRATION When it comes to producing reasonably priced, small-scale copies of popular products, Zara is really good. This scent starts in a very similar way of Alexandria 2. When I first tried it, I was blown away by the similarity, even though I had been informed of the resemblance beforehand. My first thought was that it would be amazing if it lasted another four or five hours. And it did, it really did! Of course, the Zara scent lacks the depth, complexity and incredible sillage of the original. But paying less than 5% of the price of the Xerjoff creation will certainly allow any discerning perfume consumer to make some forgiving concessions. As far as I am concerned, this perfume far exceeded my expectations. MY OPINION: You'd better make a quick decision and take the blind plunge. The sooner you decide, the better, because Zara stock doesn't last long. MUSIC: Will Smith singing "Prince Ali" (From Disney's "Aladdin") (published in: https://www.facebook.com/groups/733041855168347)

Somewoody To Love What a bizarre name, Somewoody, something between some woody and somebody. When I tried the new WOODS collection dedicated to woods, of course, I never expected to find the amber and musky accords that I will describe to you shortly. Unlike WO/02 Wood Street, pompous with peppery wood, or WO/03 Café Et Cèdre, rich in powdery wood. I admit, WO/01 Somewoody surprised me because I was expecting something very woody, and varied, with floral and vanilla touches. On the packaging, ZARA emphasizes the notes of lavender, cedar wood and dry amber. And yet behind this perfume lies something tender and magnetic. Somewoody comes out with a sweet, slightly fruity, spicy, woody and aromatic accord. Yes, there’s a spicy, powdery, and slightly sweet touch from the cinnamon, but mostly I get the aromatic lavender along with a sort of ephemeral apple crunch. Lavender flavouring is not the chemical aroma we find in fabric softener or laundry soap but is more herbaceous and natural and blends gracefully with the spicy cinnamon. It’s fresh and uplifting in the initial phase, but don’t let the fresh entry fool you as it becomes floral, musky and woody. Moving forward, the heart reveals a plethora of musky and powdery flowers, and the white flowers mentioned have too much in common with the lily of the valley. To my nose, Somewoody appears as a heavy, really heavy musky cologne, with animal and laundry musk, and a fine rosy, dusty dew. For me, even though lavender is listed as the top note, I can smell it in the background throughout the entire wearing experience. And powdery, as if a hint of iris, orris, or violet leaf was secretly mixed into the formula. Floral, powdery musk is a well-known accord available in many fragrances; here however it is accompanied by dry woods and salty amber which make it a little special. It reminds me of some other musky and floral scents in my collection, but they escape me at the moment. The oud is tame, almost non-existent, not animalistic or barnyard, and nothing that leads to the lands of the Middle East. I’m used to the smoky, medicinal oud I can get from the ZARA Oud series, for example, and there’s no clear hint of that here. The same goes for vanilla, more of a powdery support than a notable gourmand note. I think there’s more on the cedar side, with its characteristic pencil shavings nuance than the opulent, medicinal oud resin. Musky and musty, like the scent of a musty old paper book. The base is centred on amber, earthy, musky and powdery woody nuances. I can mostly pick up the salty ambroxan and clean white musk. Somewoody is easy to wear, can be used both day and night and works best in autumn, winter and spring. The fragrance stays for quite some time and projects moderately. Surprisingly, thanks to ambroxan, the perfume lasts longer and stains clothes. The next day, it was still on the cuff of my jacket. Suitable for both men and women. I find it quite intimate, and also pleasant to wear at home, for the office. It’s not so overbearing and annoying. I'm basing my opinion on a test I did on the paper strip and my skin in December 2023.

Wearing it side by side with Alexandria II, just for the funsies. They have their similarities for sure. The opening to Alexandria II is more complex, and more woody than in Zara's version, which seems to go to the mid-creaminess of Alexandria with little hesitation. Those mid parts are very close, almost indistinguishable - Alexandria is a bit denser, richer, and feels oilier if that makes sense, but, and it's a big but, not to the extent that the price difference would suggest. Smelling one then immediately the other they do overlap sometimes, and sometimes I get minor differences. Few days ago I wore Somewoody and it wears beautifully, I kept getting whiffs of it loooong into the wearing, and could easily smell it the next day on my arms without burying my nose into them - easier than a lot of designers etc I own - not to mention the clothes that still smelled strongly of it, so in terms of performance I feel like this is a great performer, and in terms of Zara's performance, this might just be their strongest perfume I tried.

I get sweetness from vanilla at the first whiff. Lavender, cinnamon, cedar and musk accords are working together to make "baby powder"-esque smell. I haven't smelled Alexandria II by Xerjoff, nor Ormonde Jayne, but I am quite familiar with other "smell alikes" listed. This is way sweeter than Le Male, and with Le Male I imagine older crowds, and with more aromatic lavender forward. For Armani Code (I have one from 2007), I get more leather with that with powderiness from Tonka beans. I usually don't get good performance in general with fragrances but Zara's been hitting home-runs recently.

At first I thought that this is just another generic, Iris based Zara fragrance. But, as it dryed down, it become a fantastic fragrance. I couldn't help but smell my wrist because the drydown is mesmerizing.I never smelled Alexandria II by Xerjoff, but this is really nice. For the price, it's a no brainer, I think I'm going to back and buy a bottle of this. Performance is average, on the other hand though, I could smell it 7-8 hours after only one spray on my wrist. So perhaps, the longevity is really good but it's not a big projector.