Zino Davidoff (1986) Eau de Toilette

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8.1 / 10 741 Ratings

Zino (Eau de Toilette) is a popular perfume by Davidoff for men and was released in 1986. The scent is spicy-woody. The longevity is above-average. The production was apparently discontinued.

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Perfumer

Michel Almairac

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Bergamot, Lavender, Clary sage, Rosewood
Heart Notes	Geranium, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Rose
Base Notes	Amber, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Tonka bean, Vanilla, Cedar

Ratings

Scent

8.1 (741 Ratings)

Longevity

8.1 (551 Ratings)

Sillage

7.6 (538 Ratings)

Bottle

6.4 (529 Ratings)

View Video of Zino (Eau de Toilette) (YouTube)

Submitted by MartinGE, last update on 09.10.2019

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Reviews

09/08/2019

6.0 8.0 8.0 9.0/10

KimJong
26 Reviews

KimJong

Helpful Review 3

Masterpiece.

Because of many tributes to Zino, I bought this blindly. Thank you to all the reviewers for letting me know this beautiful fragrance. I think I'm in a lucky environment. The country in which I was born and raised up, rejected perfume as an extravagance until the early 1990s. So people in this country have images of old men in the 90's colognes that they experienced for the first time, such as Boss Bottled, Polo Sport, Bvlgari Blv, etc., while there is little social memory for the 70's and 80's colognes. therefore I feel a cologne like Zino like a latest work.

For me, this is an image of a very neat and vigorous young man, much better than most of the colognes produced in the 2010s (no need to consider the price). Though not elaborate, herbs that start like soapy water, the scent of rustic flowers, and the scent of patchouli that remain ecstatic after drying all feel like a niche fragrance. Although there are rough textures that don't suit urban life, nevertheless I'll buy more bottles of Zino. If anyone feels that Zino is an old-timer's scent, I hope you'll throw away your prejudices and try again. This is a real masterpiece.

1 Replies

09/06/2019

6.0 9.0 8.0 8.5/10

Norleans
0 Reviews

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Norleans

Very helpful Review 12

Softer than feared

Fished by the numerous positive comments here I have made a blind purchase in the online trade. Although Zino is no longer to be produced, there are still numerous orders for it and it is also very inexpensive. Nice.
The parcel reached me in the office, I got myself a kitchen paper, tried to roll it so nicely into a flower and fold it like the ladies with the turquoise "D" (with me it looked more like a mixture of leek and dried parsley) and sprayed a few strong strokes on it. I thought it was good, threw the parsley in the trash and gave my wrist a little splash. I'm lucky to be sitting in a single office. In this case it was lucky for all the colleagues who don't have to sit with me, but more about that right away.
I read in a commentary the impression of an old gentleman with bad breath. Having this comparison in mind, I have to agree with the commentator in the first two minutes. Maybe I wouldn't feel that way if I hadn't read this comparison...

But what remains from the heart note is a classic, not old-fashioned "freshness" with all its spice and wood nuances that one can only wish for. The SIllage is very strong, but not as brutal and armor-piercing as feared - at least on the body. Because there was still an attempt at a paper blossom in the wastepaper basket. And the scent does not seem to calm down at all on paper and filled my office with a wall of scent. That was then too violent for me and the waste basket was filled into a lockable garbage can.

I wore the scent last Wednesday at an open-air event in Berlin, at a surprising 25°C. I was able to see Zino all evening, but he never smelled obtrusive or overpowering. Whereby I can imagine that shortly after the spraying on in the hotel (1x breast, 1x neck) the hotel elevator still smelled some time after use after the good Zino.

I'm just sniffing through the good old Powerhouse scents and find Zino really great, masculine, but not "kitschy" at all. For me, it still fits the times. But I can also understand when friends of the lighter fragrances don't react here with enthusiasm. Zino doesn't have what it takes to be used in the office every day, but in his free time and at evening events, whether it's warm or cold, he actually always goes. A Propos Powerhouse: I find the Azzaro pour Homme a little too soapy (I love actually soapy scents), and a little more monotonous
In summary, I can say that Zino is not a filigree scent for "beauty spirits" who spray themselves only to scent their own nose. But the Davidoff perfumers of the 80s succeeded in creating a solid, timeless and powerful creation, which you can still wear today just as you did in your Hawaii shirt on the Miami Vice Speedboat.

Thanks for reading

7 Replies

08/29/2019

7.0 7.0 8.0 9.5/10

Nordique
0 Reviews

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Nordique

Gone with the Vintage

This is how Diggi-Dendemüller titled the musical arrangement of his second studio album in 2010. And in one way or another, this title is already guaranteed to be found above numerous perfume commentaries, blogs and statements from this wonderful community, this playground for those people for whom the second sense at an imaginary sausage specialist's shop got a particularly big slice on their noses (to all the young mothers and dads out there: Is something like this still being done today? A window on the counter for the little ones? Or is this vintage too? Oh, to be young(er) again ...)

I don't know what the above fact (I've only been able to evaluate a fraction of all the comments, blogs and statements available here so far in the course of my research - and then at some point simply gave up) about the popularity of the word acrobat with the grater's voice and his musical work with above-average active Duftaficionados says. Rather I attribute the popularity of this title to its wit and catchiness ... and of course to its intertextual homage to Clark Gable and Co. - it's obvious, it's vintage!

One thing that my time at Parfumo has taught me is the distinction between vintage and retro. If you believe a certain minnesing quintet from Karl-Marx-Stadt, an essential skill if you want to consist of hipsters and digital nomads in the contemporary urban jungle. Short, lurid PR statement for the clicks: I like Berlin. Hamburg but still much, much (much!) better.

Until a few months ago, I admit, I smiled a little at both batch discussions (in their most absurd outgrowths, mind you!) and vintage talk (not the powder - and certainly not the fat) on this platform. For the former, this is still partly the case - while the latter unexpectedly and impressively taught me better.

So it came, as so often, to an exchange of samples between another Parfumo member and myself. Unexpectedly, and so it is actually always with the RIGHTLY great fragrance discoveries, the sample of a fragrance so knocked me so out of my olfactory socks that I had to immediately communicate my enthusiasm to the noble exchanger - in the hope that he could take away my doubts about the general availability of this creation. Because it was about - guess what? - for a VINTAGE rehearsal. Davidoff's "Zino", to be exact.
A fragrance that is now available on the lowest drugstore shelf for the much-quoted Appel un' Ei. A fragrance that I always associated with paternal, even grandfatherly stereotypes.

And now this. I am not (any longer) easy to impress as far as new (!) fragrance experiences are concerned. And I have to admit that I don't really like many men's creations of the eighties and seventies (green-wood-fresh-powder on the left, on the right and with a stick again!) But this one? 1986? I wasn't even born then, the HSV still won the title and Chemnitz was still called Karl-Marx-Stadt. And was certainly not as hip as Berlin (controversial once again, I know).

So it happened that the noble perfume-exchanger and a lucky, proven Zino connoisseur urgently advised me not to give even a single spark of my enthusiasm to the version of the little water to be found in the drugstore at the bottom. I should just test it in parallel - Zino versus vintage Zino. Still carried by a certain vintage skepticism, I almost hoped that the version available in the drugstore would appeal to me as much as the exchanged sample.

Relatively sure of victory I walked to the test.

Pustekkuchen. No talk. But with proper sugar.
The current version could at best be described as retro. But vintage - that ... yes, that is something completely different. Full-bodied, persevering, fine. Of pallor no trace.

The piggy bank lost all its shape in no time - and thanks to another perfume, I can now identify myself as the proud owner of a VINTAGE bottle.

Well. And now, at the latest, it is high time to admit to ourselves what must be admitted: One of the most beautiful and, who would have thought it, timeless (!) fragrances I know - for over thirty years on the run from me. I finally caught up with him.
And I'm not a father or a grandfather right now. Can everything still come - with Davidoff's eighties draft horse I feel well prepared, at least olfactorically ;)

But - of course - ONLY in the vintage version! Stay away from retro, Davidoff!

Thank you for reading, dear community!

1 Replies

07/21/2019

6.0 7.0 7.0 8.5/10

Konsalik
0 Reviews

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Konsalik

Greatly helpful Review 16

A dying noble beast

First test runs could not completely convince me of Zino. In retrospect it can be assumed that it must have been undisciplined "I'll try everything out of this shelf today" test runs, as you would start them regularly as an enthusiastic new perfumo in the first few months, no matter whether the nose can still distinguish anything at all after scent number five. Because after a spontaneous purchase in view of the leaked information about the attitude of this modern classic I can only say: What a noble beast!

While many contemporary Oriental warm-beans are in comparison rather unflattering monsters (e.g. RoseHarzHolzTonkabohne turned to 10), Zino takes a more difficult approach and adds a good dash of barbershop classic to Oriental elements (Rose, Patchouli, Amber): discreet citric, lavender and sandalwood or Cedar wood counteracts the wide screen exoticism and creates distance and tension - and it is this gateway to imagination that turns an erratic, iridescent olfactory image into a perfume. It remains to be clarified in which direction Michel Almairac wanted to steer our imagination with his creation. Well, the name "Zino" is suitably chosen, the fragrance - especially in head and heart note - reminds me not only of tobacco, but rather of a (unburned!) cigar, or more precisely: of a walk-in humidor!

Those who have already had the opportunity to visit one will perhaps remember the completely unfamiliar and even surprising scent that strikes at the visitor. Lighter than assumed, somewhere between pale green and pastel yellow, caused by the strongly ethereal (!) depth of smell of high-quality cigars on the one hand, as well as the cedar wood boxes on the other hand, which also clearly project in the air humidity, which is always kept constant. And at the same time cool (lavender) and humid-pressing (oriental potpourri) - that's how Zino smells to me. An atypical representative of his kind and also in the current (last!) iteration still radiant and present enough to do justice to the name of the "king of cigars", Zino Davidoff, although the comparatively long durability of the average user rating is likely to feed largely on experiences with vintage versions
Be it as it may: Whoever does not know it and is open to original, old scents, may buy it as long as it is still available and affordable.

9 Replies

07/16/2019

7.0 7.0 8.0 7.5/10

DrGourmand
0 Reviews

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DrGourmand

"the good old days" - childhood memories and much, much more...

Maybe one or the other has already read a comment from me and knows that I like Orientals. But above all, as a long, long, long-time wearer of Lagerfeld Classic, I focus on so-called "oldschool" fragrances, forgotten perfume pearls and alleged "classics". In this context, I noticed Zino by Davidoff about half a year ago.
I hardly dare say it, but I didn't know Zino until then. So I also have no idea of the reformulations described or the scent chords of earlier Zinos. Mine comes from the big online retailer and is about six months in my possession. There it rested, until two/three weeks ago, at about the same time as my start on Parfumo, Zino's fragrance portal opened for me. And what a portal that is - truly!
Of course Zino impressed me. This is what this fragrance certainly does for everyone, positive or negative. For me the first time with Zino was a nice experience, a good feeling. So the fragrance was reapplied on the following days, calm down, feelings and thoughts ordered to reflect on which memories or emotions were addressed.
I grew up near an old Wehrmacht airport. In the meantime the runways, halls, squares etc. which had been blown up years ago were partly overgrown and our play and adventure meadows were overgrown. There were dark, small caves, wild dumps, wet bomb craters, hot gravel and stone surfaces and an infinite amount of herbs, weeds, grasses, mosses, berries and wild spices, all growing wonderfully on the barren surfaces. Hardly noticed at the time, it was this childhood scent that streamed out of Davidoff's Zino bottle for me. Together with the fresh, balsamic mint scent that floats everywhere, which escaped the typical peppermint fields of the area, especially on hot summer days, the makers of Zino have safely bottled this aroma and preserved it for me and today! A very nice emotional experience to a childhood and adolescence almost without caution, fear, rules, etiquette, time pressure, simply to a happiness on earth!
As the fragrance evolves, so did I. The first smoky tires of bicycle and moped, the first leather jacket, first attempts with cheap tobacco and rum and of course the sweet temptation of the first kisses and aromas of strange girls on old wooden dance floors in stuffy cultural houses and pubs. A time of very positive expectations, hopes and impatience - until the end!

02/16/2019

9.0 9.0 9.0 10.0/10

JoePit
0 Reviews

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JoePit

Character

Zino Davidoff, THE fragrance with character par excellence. For me it is still the best fragrance ever on the market, even after the reformation. We're all getting older, losing a little power and strength, and so is Zino, so what? He can do it. Whoever does not still value him very much after the reformation was never worth wearing him. Period. I still give him a 10.0 in all categories, that's not quite objective, but Zino is a total work of art, and that includes his courage to imperfection, especially his casual imperfection makes him perfect again, which he certainly doesn't want to be. But it's not for everyone either. In order to wear Zino, you need above all what makes Zino special. Character. That's why not everyone can wear it. And that's a good thing

2 Replies

02/08/2019

6.0 8.0 8.0 9.5/10

Stinki
0 Reviews

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Stinki

Greatly helpful Review 26

one

In the summer evenings of 1987 I - I was very young - walked very late at night alone through a completely unknown medieval small town in Lower Saxony, where I had taken a holiday job. I wore a whiff about the way I spread marmalade on toast, and it was. After midnight this town was completely deserted - only I was there and Zino Davidoff, whom I had bought brand new. At that time there was only one bottle, which one used up and then bought a new bottle of water, which was newer on the market. The only word that probably describes it best is shrouded, even though I was never the type to apply scents in excess. It just sparkled out of me in brown - purple, velvety and at the same time sparkling colours towards the clear stars of the blue-black summer night. A peculiar and sublime feeling of uniqueness arose, my entire aura seemed to change with the fragrance. One of the strongest olfactory impressions I have ever had in retrospect.
32 years later, I bought it again, the years of rapture are long gone, only today I rave and then you just lived and I can say that this scent has hardly changed. Surely the quality of the oils has decreased a lot, or they have simply been replaced by artificial ones, but this special mood indigo feeling he still has full inne.

10 Replies

10/13/2018

8.0 8.0 8.0 8.5/10

Saadi
0 Reviews

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Saadi

Greatly helpful Review 17

Fragrance for personalities

I can say little about the individual scents, as I lack the practice and knowledge to do so. I am impressed by the differentiated way in which some noses in the community can recognise the individual fragrances. While trying it out I first thought of Amber and later I smelled the rose. Overall a fragrance for more mature personalities, it is a heavy fragrance with depth. The fragrance reminds me of the scent dealers in the Great Bazaar in Istanbul who trade in scented oils. Amber, Oud, Patchouli, Musk,... The scent is through and through an Oriental. For followers of this fragrance is definitely a sample worth. I've taken a liking to it, and now it's in my collection

2 Replies

07/28/2018

6.0 4.0 6.0 5.0/10

Gekko
0 Reviews

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Gekko

Greatly helpful Review 24

A shadow of himself, or of the execution of perfume classics

With the early 50's and a long-standing madness of fragrance, one can look back on a respectable olfactory window of time and memory. The days I ordered over the bay one of my absolute favorites of the late 80's, early 90's: Zino. The fragrance was unique at the time and certainly one of the best ever from Davidoff. Spicy- woody with a creamy, vanilla elegance that was unique. Durability and Sillage exorbitant, you had to dose it carefully, otherwise it became crowdunpleasant. I bathed in the scent at the time. Other favourites with corresponding consumption were Daniel Hechters Caractere and Jil Sander Man. The latter I bought recently for horror money unfortunately tilted, while you can still buy the Caractere in the old glory. The name is program.
But when I hung up the Zino, I was almost scared. My ancient olfactory memory reported: false bottle, fool. I looked it up, nope, it says Zino.
If you know the old smell, you notice immediately that the start is completely different. Formerly from zero to one hundred, instant volume, top dog. Now it looks almost aquatic, thin, shifted, the components are probably the same, fresh bergamot and I smell strongly lavender. But the old Zino feeling stays away. The flower bouquet doesn't really reach me either, the later wood vanilla base is conciliatory.
However, the irritation remains. Paradoxically, the whole thing is even better than many others on the market, but it makes it all the clearer to me what a giant Zino was at the time.
It is certainly howling to the moon when lamenting that hammer scents have been discontinued and you have to struggle for the remainder, degrading. But I personally can deal with it better than with a reformulated shadow of myself. The list of such candidates is long ( YSL la Nuit, Trussardi Uomo, Fahrenheit, Azzaro Homme etc. etc. .....
The underlying strategy is not accessible to me. Production costs? Not really, please!! It would be so easy to stay in the market with constant quality and when the life cycle has reached the end, to release a completely new fragrance with a new name. Would be a pity for the old, but at least consistent! But this irritating fledderei has fraudulent traits.

PS: before there are any questions about the rating, the old Zino would get a smooth 10.

10 Replies

05/06/2018

6.0 9.0 8.0 6.0/10

Farneon
0 Reviews

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Farneon

Ginger Leather Monster

When I was young at the end of my forties, my perfume cupboard finally needed a refreshment. For a long time I hadn't really cared about supplies and was busy putting on my Ultraviolet from Paco Rabanne and my Givenchy Play Intense. Now something new or old was supposed to remind me of the beginnings of my daily "oiling" about 25 years ago. Unfortunately most of my favorites of that time are no longer available: no Bogner Man, no Lagerfeld Photo, no Davidoff Good Life.

So via this forum I came across Zino, which I didn't know from before, and which can be bought for 20 Euro for 100 ml at Amazon. I don't know if it's the original or a fake. I ordered blindly and was surprised by a Sillage, which looks for her equals and which I still noticed even after showering.

But let's get to the most important thing: the scent itself. In keeping with the year of publication, I have to use old-fashioned words and film quotations here. Davidoff Zino is a real, rude roughneck. "Yippie Ya Yeah, Pig's Cheek" you'd like to shout, because I think that's the same smell. A shrill performance that I associate with the color squeaky yellow.

Which brings us to the problem. I'm not an olfactory expert, I don't smell the finest nuances of any essence, on the contrary: What Zino reminds me of the most is ginger, although it's not even on the "list of ingredients". Since raspberry aroma for the food industry nowadays is mostly made from cedar wood, that doesn't necessarily mean something, does it?! Two splashes were enough and I felt like I was bathed in ginger lemonade. Later leather and vanilla were added (for me personally, mind you). In the first moment I was very taken by this scent cocktail, but in the course of an evening in the club I couldn't smell myself anymore.

What I would like to say to Zino is that his uniqueness is far removed from the mainstream. It fits very well into the popcorn cinema of the 1980s and when I think of the right guys, Bruce Willis and Terence Hill come to mind very quickly (for whatever reason). For me, however, this is nothing: too shrill, too unbalanced, too penetrating. And while I'm about to embarrass myself: Where is the ginger freshness, which is not mentioned anywhere here, but which I can smell above all else?

2 Replies

04/09/2018

6.0 8.0 8.0 8.5/10

Carlitos01
236 Reviews

Carlitos01

Greatly helpful Review 8

Thirty year old Zino is here to stay

Michel Almeirac is a very competent nose and signed hits for Montblanc, Hugo Boss, Joop, Bodega Veneta, Azzaro, Bond n.9, Burberry... besides this Zino gem for Davidoff.
Bare in mind that this fragrance was launched in 1988. For a very good reason so many people keep using Zino since 30 years ago.

My ratings:
Longevity - 8+ hours
Sillage - 8/10 (big in the first 3 hours, regular till the 6th hour and faint for the remaining hours).
Weather - spring, autumn, winter (day and night)
Age - 30 ~ 101
Compliments - from people who like a good intense woody/oriental masculin scent.
Scent - 8.5/10 (Yes I do like Boss number 1, Tuscany, Essencia de Loewe, Azzaro for Men, and some other classy old timers).
Presentation: old fashioned, but please don't change the bottle and reformulate at the same time.
Price: Currently less than 20 Euros online for 125ml. My bottle costed me 25 Euros more than one year ago.

Main Notes According to me - It is a complex scent very well mastered that has a:
Strong opening with rosewood and lavender + strong closing with immense patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla and cedar.
In between some flowerish scents like rose can be detected.
Feelings - oriental, dark, classy, elegant, a bit beasty and a bit sweet.

It does remember me Encre Noir specially in the dry down. Regarding the emotions that this scent creates it remembers me Pure Malt.
The woodsy combo I get in the dry down has a peculiar type of woodiness melted with patchouli. The combination is a real headturner.

This fragrance is devoted to amplify the charm around men between 30 and 60 years old, using jeans, aviator leather jackets, signed cotton shirts and stylish moccasins.
GREAT FRAGRANCE !!!!

08/16/2017

Sergio80
4 Reviews

Sergio80

Just not for me

I just bought a 125ml flank...blindly but have to admit I should have tried it first. It is definitely not a fragrance welcomed by everyone, you either love or hate it. I bought it because after reading the reviews and realizing that it has a strong sillage and longevity, I could not let a 125ml flank go for just 15EUR!!But it is just not for me, it has something I would define overwhelming(perhaps I am not the biggest fan of vintage fragrances). It reminds me the Givenchy Oblique, unisex fragrance. Probably because too powdery on the dry-down. Now I have to find out what to do with a 125 ml bottle!!

11/11/2016

9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0/10

Hitchslap
94 Reviews

Hitchslap

Very helpful Review 2

For the gentleman.

Two thumbs up!

It's November as I write this, this is the type of weather, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, for this fragrance.

Go out and try it, dark and rich.

Goes well with that extra layer of clothing, good friends, nights out and enjoying their company!

You feel more mature and as if people take you a little more seriously with this great aroma around you.

09/25/2015

RhythmnHues
21 Reviews

RhythmnHues

Greatly helpful Review 6

Crème de la crème

Nothing moves me like Zino. The sensation I experience is something I only encounter when I'm listening to a very emotional piece of music by someone like Rimsky-Korsakov or Khachaturian. It's 'the' best fragrance I have ever worn, so far. It's the perfume I wear for all the 'special' occasions in my life. And it's also what I wear when I'm just chilling, by myself, at home. If I had to choose only one fragrance from my entire collection, it probably would be this.

It opens with a sharp pungent herbal accord with Geranium, Sage, & Bergamot supported by a nice round Rosewood note. After a short while the Lavender peeps in, soft and powdery. And it smoothly moves from there to a beautiful, creamy, sweet rose-patchouli-sandalwood accord - and pretty much stays there for the rest of the show. I do get strong whiffs of tobacco and subtle leather but neither of these are listed. The tobacco must be the Ambergris. That's the beauty of it. The ingredients are top notch. Nothing smells cheap or synthetic. Projects beautifully and lasts all day. It's not overpowering in anyway. Perfect for all occasions. Especially for intimate moments - she will want to eat you up with a spoon.

This is pure genius. Classy masculinity in a bottle. Crème de la crème.

10/10

08/30/2013

7.5 7.0/10

Apicius
220 Reviews

Apicius

Very helpful Review 8

Still dangerous?

So, it is still around? Shortly after its release in the Eighties I got my hands on a miniature of it. It was a great fragrance, and it impressed me much. Zino was deep dark and opulent due to lots of patchouly – it reminded me of strong black mocha, cognac, whiskey and other less healthy things. Zino was the A*Men of the Eighties, its direct predecessor in style and character. No other perfume that came from Davidoff ever fit better to that brand. Remember: Davidoff stands for high-class cigars that may cost a little. Zino was the only Davidoff perfume that fit into a smoking room. It could stand up very well against the odour of cigars and pipes and complement it in the most pleasant manner.

I wore it a few times but suddenly I had to cough and my chest became narrow. It took a while until I related this to Zino, and enthusiasm turned into aversion. I avoided contact to anybody who came along with that Zino fume. With ostentation I would leave the room: Talk to me after you have taken a shower and changed clothes!

A while ago, after many years, I have cautiously taken a sniff of today's Zino – out of nostalgic reasons. Well, it did indeed resemble the old scent! But it is in no way the heavy juice that it once was. Like Paloma Picasso's Minotaure or Givenchy's Gentlemen it is strongly reformulated. The unique smoking room character is gone, and it is much less opulent. Although it is still something good I wouldn't protest any longer if I sensed it – and it is by far not that recognizable any longer. Also, I don't have to cough.

Regulations about perfume ingredients may play their part when it comes to reformulation. They are the reason, but also sometimes the excuse for the substitution of ingredients. You never know if a particular fragrance could not have been reformulated with more caution. Today's Zino plays a tribute to today's trends in perfumery. If you talk about it, you will have to explain if you refer to the vintage or the current fragrance.

Be that as it may, the new Zino is no longer dangerous and fits perfectly to today's smoke bans.

01/17/2013

5.0 5.0 2.5 5.0/10

Drseid
671 Reviews

Drseid

Swimming Against The Tide...

Zino opens with a smooth bergamot and rosewood tandem. The rosewood hangs around into the heart joined by a somewhat synthetic supporting rose and wormwood duo that begins to turn powdery later-on driven by an artificial smelling vanilla rising from the base. The scent becomes a slightly sweet sandalwood and powdery vanilla double feature in the dry-down stage, with remnants of the rosewood remaining and a just slightly dirty patchouli underpinning the starring notes late. Projection and longevity are both average, with the scent lasting 6-8 hours on skin.

Zino has quite the cult following and while I first tried it when it was released over 20 years ago and disliked it back then I hoped to have changed my opinion after all the high praise lauded on it over the years. That said, I am afraid my opinion hasn't changed one iota. Something about the powdery vanilla, rosewood and sandalwood combination just does not sit well with me (most likely the powder is the culprit). I did like the bergamot and rosewood open that for just a moment had me thinking I might change my mind, but alas Zino is just not for me and I can't force myself to like it no matter how far in the minority I may be. Zino is worth a sample if you can still find one to sniff for yourself, but I cannot recommend this 2.5 star out of 5 discontinued release, especially as it now commands relatively high prices on the resale market.

1 Replies

08/02/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

herbal floral

With Zino, I felt for the longest time that I was missing something. I don’t find it interesting or appealing. It’s a bit of a stew. The balance is off. In particular there are too many other broad, rich notes (rosewood, sandalwood, amber, patchouli, vanilla) that are somehow reduced to a flat sweetness. The Guerlain-style trick of salting a vanillic amber with herbs really fails here. (Funny, then that Zino is often compared to Heritage, one of few Guerlain amber-oriental that doesn’t use the Guerlinade trick.) Whether it’s the sweet but flat backdrop, or simply the wrong rose I find the combination just uncomfortable. Perhaps this type of aromatic woody rose masculine just isn’t my bag. Zino reminds me a good bit of Ungaro III, another fragrance whose critical success evades me.

Actually both Zino and Ungaro III bring home an important point for me. I may not like them myself, and what I buy and wear will be guided by my own pleasure. But critical discussion of perfume will involve our preferences as well as objectivity, analysis and imagination.

1 Replies

06/22/2012

5.0 8.0 8.0 8.0/10

Gold
468 Reviews

Gold

Very helpful Review 5

The suave charmer

Zino Davidoff means business and it ignites and pounces on my skin. Under its breath with a bed of patchouli, moss, tobacco leaf, forest woods and leather this scent really means it. A former boy-friend called it "his lethal weapon". In spite of the many reformulation Zino suffered, it is still very sensual and too passionate for the office. Zino is a super-suave charmer. Since I like it so much, I sometimes wear it myself (being a woman). Maybe I am a little eccentric, but I feel like "Puttin' on the Ritz" in this gorgeous scent. I feel very confident wearing it, because it imparts me with a kind of "gentlemanly brilliance". Warm, refined and urbane - when worn by a woman, this one is for ladies with quite definite ideas about themselves who like to add a touch of mystery to their life.