Wood Noir

Just like Oud Exlusive as Ambré Noble, Wood Noir has, compare to most scents of Zara, an extreme long longevity. For all three scents I was most impressed with Ambré Noble, still my favorite of all three of them, I bought that one just after it was introduced, almost 9 months now. I just recently purchased Exclusive Oud and last Sunday Wood Noir and a spare bottle of Ambré Noble. At start I thought that Exlusive Oud was a scent made for older men and not young enough and I thought that Wood Noir would not have the longevity the others have but I was mistaken, Wood Noir has a long longevity, just to test I sprayed some on my wrists in the early evening and next day after a hot shower, I could still smell a little of the scent I sprayed on my wrists the day before. I paid for all three of them just €17,95,- ( my older Ambre Noble was at €25 a bottle ) each which is for a descent scent like these a bargain, similar scents from luxurious brands with similar sillage and strong longevity are way more expensive. I just started buying again scents from Zara, refused to buy them for years because of poor longevity but recently the quality has improved a lot – it feels like Zara is changing its market to slightly higher clientele and implementing other brands like Berschka and Stradivarius for the lower quality items. Beside these three, I love the “clone” scents as well, Vibrant (and Rich )Leather, Aromatic Future and Gourmand Leather, 9.0 and one of the tobacco Zara scents. If Zara keeps introducing more of these better quality scents I’ll need to buy a larger wash table cabinet to stock all of them

I finally picked up my bottle of Wood Noir, I had no idea what to expect but considering the quality of Oud Exclusive (in the same collection), I was not worried at all. On first spray I was blown away! I get the woods (obviously), and then the florals, particularly the lavender, which softens things up (not sure what sage smells like yet so I cannot identify with that note). Great masculine scent that isn't too hardcore woody. The florals give it some gentleness that i think ladies would find appealing on a guy. In the first few min, I kept asking myself "how the hell is this 100ml bottle only $30 bucks!? It does not smell synthetic at all, and it has designer quality written all over it." I've been testing it on my skin the past fews days and am thoroughly impressed with the performance. I put 2 sprays on my arm at 9pm and it was still detectable at 8am the next day! You cannot say the same for some designer releases. Hands down, this is the longest lasting Zara fragrance I own, I have yet to test Oud Exclusive. But guys, this is a no brainer blind buy at $30 if you guys can find it. Glad to have this in my collection. Zara is making quite the statement with this release! Update: went back to Zara and grabbed a backup bottle

I was blown away by the other scent from the collection, Exclusive Oud. Naturally, I was very curious about Wood Noir but I was very disappointed after weeks of hopeless searching. It was discontinued and nowhere to be find. I was very happy when I find out that Zara reissued this fragrance. So I got it instantly! OK, I didn't know exactly what to expect, because the note description is quite non specific and I didn't tried Splendid Wood. To my nose this smell exactly like I would expect The One Royal Night to smell. A more oriental and rich The One. Performances are still solid, even if is very probably reformulated now. I will update this review after few weeks, but for now I'm very impressed. Rich Warm Addictive is nice but Exclusive Oud and this one, Wood Noir are by far my favorites fragrances from Zara.

@albkelly99 To say that they don't share similarities is quite a misrepresentation of reality. In fact, after having used both for a couple of times, and even having them on both my arms to compare at the moment of typing, I must admit that "toned down version" of Ambre Noble is quite a good description of the smell. Ambre Noble is very opulent and not for the faint of heart, so for all of those who maybe prefer shorter sillages, like myself, Wood Noir is a better option. In fact, you coudl say that Ambre Noble has a top layer which is what makes it different from Wood Noir when you smell both at the same time. Next time, rather than saying that I am "tripping" you could just give your opinion on the smell so people can get a proper mental image of what you mean.

My opinion completely changed about this after using it for a couple of months, from being my least favorite of the line to becoming my favourite out of the three. Its versatility is what sold it to me in the long run. While maybe Exclusive Oud or Ambre Noble are more of a shock at first sniff, Wood Noir is a slow killer, which becomes an acquired taste and one that usually becomes an option in those colder environments in which you don't want to be the center of attention, but still want to smell like class in a bottle. Think of a fireplace and people drinking hot chocolate around it, and you'll get a quite perfect representation of this smell. Warm, comforting and sweet, but not too sweet. 9/10.