MrHonest

The fact that you can still get this stuff in 2024 for so cheap is frankly mindblowing. Granted, it's not a top-10 best panty whatever according to the interwebs; but if I wore panties, and I'm thinking about it, they'd probably be across the room by now. Or I dunno, on fire.

Honestly it really isn't difficult to pin this fragrance. Those who have made the correlation with Beau de Jour from the talented Maisondieu are bang on. Of course, I haven't yet sampled the newest formulation of Zino, but my vintage edt screams BdJ in the opening. Very aromatic lavender, with that tangy clary sage greenness you can expect from many soapy vintages, yet smoothed out perfectly with a rather bulky vanilla. You'll recognize the barbershop genre immediately, but more importantly, there really is nothing animalic about it - an undercurrent in many modern reviews that held me back from acquiring this one long ago.

No, what scares many young guns away from this one methinks is the distinctly floral heart. And herein is where the references to animalic indoles come in. Because it's the jasmine. And patchouli. And rose that take me back to the accord built upon Gillotin's original Noir edp for Tom Ford, and imo, perfected in Botanicae's Matin a Mogador. What can I say, it can easily come off as bad breath from an old lady wearing too much flowery perfume; BUT, in Zino, it combines seemlessly with the barbershop opening to mask it in the most beautiful way. And before you know it.....

.....transition number deux, into what can EASILY be recognized as the drydown of Guerlain's Heritage edt. Yes ma'am, sir....ma'amsir. It's a creamy, woody and vanillic patchouli alright, but so well done, that it could almost pass as Heritage to the untrained nose at a distance. Bye bye indoles, hello goodness. And this is probably my favourite part - one that easily lasts a full work day on me. So to summarize, it's barbershop heaven in the opening, a sultry floral mid and a Heritage finish? HOW?? HOW is this still so cheap??

Once again, I need remind the reader that I'm smelling from an old 75 mL edt splash, but can the newest version really be that different? The quality is just off the chart for such an affordable fragrance, with the only caveat being an appreciation of floral barbershops. Personally, I can't say that Zino goes overlooked since it did used to get a bit of mention in "gentlemanly" lists, but to be so quickly shunned and overshadowed by today's nose cringing woody ambers and flavour-of-the-week clones seems almost criminal. Anyone else?

So to all of those on the fence right now like I was, perhpas wondering if it's too old manish or mature, or hairy chested, or well endowed, or whatever, just look at that price. LOOK AT IT. Now shut up, and get it. How's THAT for an ad eh? lol Nah, I'm kidding of course. But not really. I guess I'm just sad that I don't smell this on more people these days. Because as much as I am a fan of Almairac's cedar-laden fragrances - and they effing rock - this one might just be one of my favourites from him. Such a great scent. And that's all I have to say about that.

Not sure when it happened, but the brand turned into a cloner so quickly that I barely even noticed. Saw a few reviews here and there on some of the earlier releases like L'homme Suavage and Anima Nera and they were very complimentary so I thought I'd give this one a go.

Right from the first spray, it's obviously Aventus - you'd have to be living on Saturn not to tell by now - albeit giving it a minute or two to settle in and the difference in quality compared to many of the other popular clones becomes obvious. It's less synthetic, less harsh, more fruity and farrrrr better balanced - something perhaps closer to the 2015-2017 batches. Epinette's first take for Zara - Vibrant Leather 2016 - also comes to mind, a distinction that earns its own page here on Parfumo rather than grouping it with its somewhat less worthy successors (a decision that I can definitely support).

In the mid, I was actually VERY surprised that I could notice the rose material too, as well as a tiny hint of vanilla in the background that so many clones miss. It's so subtle that most people will probably overlook it, but to me, it makes a world of a difference. It turns the scent away from being a straight up fruity dihydromyrcenol bomb and more toward a balanced woody floral. Can't say that I pick up on any outright greenness like many others have mentioned, but that's certainly not a dealbreaker. We have Loewe's Esencia edp for that. I will say that it's also significantly less synthetic than something like MB's Explorer, a fragrance that I originally found rather offputting when it was first released, compared to some of the earlier clones.

And honestly, there really isn't much more to say other than the projection and longevity from my fresh bottle are average at best. I'm sure a mounting sum of people out there will use that as an excuse to pass this one up, and that's fine by me because that'll keep the price down. lol But it's their loss. You just need to spray more and on clothing to help it carry. Sure, the box, bottle and cap are all disappointments (the cap neither clicks or fits snuggly), but the atomizer is just fine so there's no reason not to go heavy on the trigger.

Personally, I still have original bottles of Armaf's CDNI edt and RT's Insurrection Pure II - I've even smelled the original L'Aventure - but this one trumps them all. And it's not even close. Costs less too. In fact I packed those away years ago because they just didn't get any use. THIS ONE however, absolutely will. And even though I don't count myself as an Aventus fanboy (I much prefer Spice and Wood), I'm actually very glad I picked this one up before it got any hype. Then again, at this point, the sheer amount of Aventus clones out there is so vast, that choice doesn't appear to be an issue. But in terms of VALUE, this is the best one by far. Shame it's not more widely available in the west, but I suppose those are the breaks. Solid find.

So like many others, I jumped on the gift set when it suddenly popped up on the site discounted right before the holidays and was delighted to see this included with the 100 mL edt re-release. Similar sets were issued for Vibrant Leather and RWA that sold out faster than this one - which magically reappeared during the end of year clearance at an even lower price than I paid. It is what it is.

Thought it was a pressurized can...nope. Although you wouldn't know it from the atomizer! Nevertheless, it's exactly what you think it is - an EDC version of the edt that sprays a remarkable amount of juice, and comes in an aluminum can that weighs practically nothing. In fact, I think the first words out of my mouth were, "whhhoa that feels like a Montale." lol Anyway, despite the practical presentation, the scent is actually not identical to the edt, putting less emphasis on the syrupy orange in the opening and more on the earthy cassis. It's simply better balanced imo, despite the sh*tty performance.

The weirdest part - the scent actually morphs when it's filtered through clothing. Couldn't believe it. Par example, if you douse yourself fully clothed, you'll get the super synthetic orange and gingery cassis to the point that you may even get rhubarb vibes. It's fresh, but more fruity, linear and fun. HOWEVER, if you douse yourself naked and THEN put clothing on, suddenly a wonderful black tea note magically appears in the mid. Don't care what the notes say, it's definitely there. And here is where the comparisons to the LV come.

Despite the original edt getting compared with Imagination, imagine my surprise at discovering that this edc actually comes a bit closer (at the cost of having to douse yourself to get any longevity of course). To be sure, the magically appearing tea effect also occurs in the edt, but to a far lesser extent and feels incredibly syrupy by comparison. My diagnosis - I prefer the can. So much so, that I went through 50 mL in just a few weeks before finally deciding to give it away. My finger was just getting too tired. Plus I don't need any superfluous bottles lying around. But it certainly is an excellent exercise companion, featuring respectable projection when the body heats up.

Don't know if they'll ever bring the body sprays or gift sets back - because they literally came out of the blue and vanished just as quickly - but I'm glad to have had a go. Six sprays will get you 3 hours tops, so go double at least. Otherwise, I'd stick with the edts and edps. It's just a nice feeling when you get 200 mL of anything perfumey for half the price of 100. :) But I suppose value is what Zara's all about. Interesting stuff.

Tennis references aside, this fragrance is a journey down the hygiene aisle of Hy & Zels. Starts off with a brilliant blast of cheap green soapiness along with something rather sour and strange that I can only associate with overly damp clothing that's been left in a gym bag for a week. Not quite body odour or "old-man funk", but something in the ballpark. What's even more strange is that the accord only lasts for 2-3 minutes before literally breaking apart into a lovely floral lavender and what must be the lemon leaf material. It's an unusually fast transition for what I assumed would be a cheap, linear scent, so this was a welcome surprise. Ten minutes in, the magic begins.

Up to this point, my first impressions were, "ok, so it's another weird-ass bargain Italian-soap freshie", but just a half-hour in, I literally couldn't keep my nose off of my arm. The sweet musk combining with the lavender and rosemary were just fan-effing-tastic. Synthetic yes, but heavenly. True, I'm a child of the 80s so I guess there's some nostaligic influence at work here, but the scent instantly transported me back to simpler times when the height of designer perfumery was literally creating the impression of musky, yet luxury cleanliness. Truly an amazing base despite my initial misgivings, and one that ultimately made me fall in love with the stuff.

To be blunt, what we have here is nothing short a bar of green soap perfectly blended with sweet 'n' spicy man-musk, tailor made for the locker room of the 1980s sports arena or golf course. Moreover, the quality is about on par what you would expect from Azzaro, Lacoste, Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren at the time. And although the "For Men" or "Per Uomo" addage is missing, the implication is clear. This is the bathroom scent of a dude with dark hair, chest fuzz and a scraggly moustache - untamed, yet proper; rough, yet well-dressed; polite, yet cocky - the kind of dude that does business on the playing field; his giant Motorolla DynaTAC conveniently within arm's reach.

Longevity is surprisingly good for a freshie too, owing in no small part to the synthetic base materials. Projection is about average, especially since the atomizer gives out a healthy dose of juice with each spray. Really no complaints there.

So despite the uniquely peculiar opening, I can honestly say that it's quickly become one of my favourite soapy throwbacks in the last couple of years. Need to mention that I picked it up for dirt cheap from a bargain bin - which you might assume given the tacky, cheap plastic-adorned bottle, feather-light cap and mediocre atomizer - but the scent still gets a Fonzie thumbs up from me. Ehhh! Another wicked cheap time machine in a bottle. And sometimes that's enough to make me smile. :)

Although the presentation of many middle eastern clones surpasses that of most designers these days, this one is honestly on another level. Soft touch faux leather box that closes magnetically, a golden coloured inlay that reflects daylight towards the bottle, and an incredibly heavy glass bottle with a cap that outweighs the original. The gold metal plate on the top of the bottle (not the cap) is beautiful too, with a solid, albeit stiff atomizer - but that can be overlooked given the price.

Fortunately, the scent is about what you would expect. Take your standard caramely woody amber base, add the characteristic boozy apple from Angels' Share and surround it with a strange kind of woody muskiness that I can't quite place. No oudy funk, no sharp nose-tweaking isopropinol, just penetrating ambery goodness.

The opening is easily the best part. That quality boozy apple accord really kicks for a good hour but it's nowhere near as sparkly as the original Kilian. Not as much spice as I expected either. What really dominates the fragrance is that woody caramel base that literally goes on for decades. I haven't smelled Khamrah, but from what I've heard about its strength, I would imagine the two are not that dissimilar. In fact, it's one of those fragrances that, if you spray some on skin and immediately throw a piece of clothing over it, that piece of clothing will smell of it for weeks, possibly months. No jokes. Sillage and longevity are well above average, borderline nuclear with more than 4 sprays.

For anyone not familiar with the scent profile, it's in the same genre as PdM's Oajan/Habdan/Layton/Carlisle, as well as Ferragamo's Uomo or something from the Stronger With You line. Syrupy-sweet, but woody and fruity very much appropriate for the holiday season. In fact, combined with the stellar presentation, I can hardly think of a better gift for someone who loves sweet fragrances (perhaps even a drinker?), unless the recipient is dead-set on a designer name. It's strong, attention grabbing, inexpensive and cuts through the cold like most other nuclear syrupy fragrances. It's even double the volume of the Kilian so that's a plus.

The only con is that it'd likely be a redundant buy if you already own some of the more popular Angels' Share clones out there (with undoubtedly more to follow). Could use a bit more booziness on the back end too. But overall, it's a very pleasurable and well performing scent. Not quite a perfect clone, but close enough. Can't wait to give this one more wear in the cooler weather. Christmas time here we come!