First thing first, this is not a Vibrant Leather flanker, yet a new edition repackaged of From Paris to New York, then repackaged as Vibrant Leather Cologne. I'd like to express my real impression of this brand-new Zara's release. Albeit the name and the box look different, the smell and the description on the box are the very same. The opening is strongly citrus and closely akin to Zara Blue Hole, as many reviewers stated, yet they take separate ways as soon as the heart starts beating and the dry down approaches. Definitely, BH has a clear heart floral note, bright jasmine that turns to an earthy and woody accord akin to patchouli and cedar, it reminds me of CD Homme Sport 2008 to be exact. Instead, Vibrant Leather Summer is more seasoned, the ginger is hot and chilly in the heart, and it turns into a neat musk, this one evoking me of CD Homme Cologne 2013, they are remarkably similar. Since I own both Zara's and CD's fellows, I had an opportunity to study all of them side by side on my skin, they all smell quite apart as both CD Homme Sport and Homme Cologne do. Often times, people are too hasty, they quit and conclude on the first impression, but scents are alive and take their time to develop and reveal their heart and base.
Going back to Vibrant Leather Summer, the opening is a punchy strong citrus fruits accord right in the face, and once the intoxicating fresh grapefruit juice calms down, a sweeter and smoother mandarin rises, I get it decidedly strong in the opening next to the lemon and a bitter note of grapefruit, perhaps not from the juice or peel but from the flower or leaves, there is a leafy accord of herbs and leaves, a kind of like grapefruit petitgrain. The opening is so cool, so manly. I love its bitterness when the lemon finally sits down. I absolutely love it. Fragrant, refreshing, and brilliant perfume in the style of Dior Homme Cologne and Chanel Allure Homme Cologne. Just a hint, if you're not familiar with mandarin, you should try this one. Nowadays, people prefer the seedless mandarin orange in place of the seed-full mandarin. However, the two of them have a totally different smell and taste, and mandarin has something tangy, harsh, sour, and powdery that is not part of the mandarin orange kind.
In the heart, both sparkling ginger and a kind of soft lemon-like greenish herbal are very present up close but from arm's length ginger really dominates. It is spicy, sharp, bracing yet light, and pairs well with citrus notes. This heart aroma lasts quite a few hours before flaunting the backbone notes.
The dry down has woody, spicy and citrusy nuances, the zestiness lingers in the base with the musk and a nice ginger kick, though the gingerness tones down at this stage. Despite the dominance of the musky accord, I notice a sense of vetiver, rather creamier, lemony, and greener than earthy or rooty, which reminds me of Cacharel pour Homme, the vetiver vibe and trail is similar, but not the overall cologne scent.
I am really glad to have this one in my collection, you can't go wrong with it. Performances are awesome for this kind of EDP. The bottle is also very nice, heavy and has a light green cap. It is fresh yet elegant, positive, uplifting, bright, sparkling. For more or less any event when you just want to smell nice and clean. You'll get compliments with this one, seriously. I can imagine this fragrance would perform fantastically well on hot and sticky summer days and evenings out. A fantastic cheapie, out of the shower summery fragrance. Surprisingly it doesn't have a purely synthetic nature and that's what I would expect for quality from Dior or Chanel.
This review is based upon a 120 ml (4 fl oz) I own.
-Elysium
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
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