I like to get to know colognes that receive controversial ratings, like this contended one, for instance. You may see, some people rated it from 0 to 2 and some others from 8 to 10. That's life, in matters of taste, there can be no disputes.
Unexpected Fresh Spicy comes approximately two years after the other two #Tobacco Collection's siblings, namely Intense Dark Exclusive and Rich Warm Addicted. Whiskey, tobacco, cinnamon, patchouli, sandalwood. Oh boy, this is impressive! A blast of goodness. It smells like bad intentions, bad decisions with a good time. Think rich fruit cake, delicious, served after dinner, and this cologne is brimming with honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and nutty flavors. It includes an artful painting that takes both of those distinctive notes and places thoughtful flourishes of booziness, spicy reinforcers, and a group of classic base note ingredients that come together into a smoky, warm, and sweet composite.
Unexpected Fresh Spicy welcomes you with a blast of boozy liqueur. It opens, including toasty notes from the oak and distinct aromas of candied fruit and golden syrup, rich, but still clean and precise, with an appealing nuttiness. It is a big-hitting bourbon sweetish tobacco, with broad brushstrokes of honey, cinnamon, countered by punchy, peppery notes, some numbing clove notes, and toasty oak. Right of the bat, the boozy accord present in the opening reminds me of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey. A blast of spices, mostly cinnamon, and a dash of honey soon join the fray, and I have to say it's very nice, an apple pie type of vibe. The boozy note is excellent within this composition and adds to the character of the scent. ZARA could have called this fragrance Unexpected Boozy Spicy as the freshness disappears not long after the opening, and the pleasant whiskey note lingers on throughout the life of the scent.
The heart beats around sweetish tobacco. I've never been enticed to smoke, but I adore the smell of tobacco. I like to smell unique, and I also love the aroma of tobacco and this one is different tobacco. This accord is less of mellow pipe tobacco though it retains the delectable almondy inflection of tonka. It's sweet bourbon tobacco mixed with flowers, herbs, spices, or fruits. Often when tobacco is a note in a fragrance, it smells nothing like it; this does. Broad strokes, it just feels like a dude smoking a pipe. Up close, and broken down: it's got a boozy bourbon accord. The tobacco is audacious, with a round woody whiskey note in the background that amps up the weed without taking the lead, played out over soapy musks instead of the classic sweet vanilla.
It goes on dusty, dark, boozy, there's a whiskey accord, and then dries down a bit spicy, woodsy. After an hour or two, the fragrance smells much more ambery, a wood-shot amber. A touch of amber and vanilla keep the scent from being too sharp.
It lasts half a day on me. It's a thick fragrance, but it stays within a few feet of my skin. The longevity is excellent, and the projection is large. It is not a subtle fragrance. It wears well in colder weather, cause the warmer it gets, the spicier it gets actually. It seems somewhat uncomplicated. Despite being dusty, it's still a very safe scent.
It is delicious smelling tobacco, the sweetish smell you get when you put your nose into a packet of Amphora Vintage Malt Whisky tobacco, it feels well done. I glad I got my bottle before the train gathers steam.
A compliments getter.
-Elysium