I continue with my Zara exploration on today’s video with another handful of fragrances, this time all created in 2023 by one of my favorite perfumers, Olivia Giacobetti. I love that Zara has been recruiting high-caliber talent of late; it raises a keen eyebrow among fume heads on a budget. Ms. Giacobetti has created the likes of Diptyque’s Philosykos, Frederic Malle’s En Passant, L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Dzing! Tea for Two, Premier Figuier, Vamp a NY from Honoré des Pres, and a few more I have personally owned at one point or another in the past.
These four from Zara are musky skin scents targeting the male market, but honestly, they are all unisex. I did not expect amazing performance from any of them, and although one or two might last longer than the others, they are certainly more typical of Zara fare. I don’t know what the name of the collection is, but on the boxes or the full-sized 100 ml bottles, it reads “A perfume by Olivia Giacobetti. I purchased these 25ml sizes – great to bring on the go, and you’ll need to respray these for sure. All of them carry a theme of white musk, clean laundry, and aesthetic minimalism. I doubt any of them will be particularly original, given the budget and frankly – how saturated the perfume market now is. Amazingly, however, new fragrances do pop up and surprise. But how do these smell? Let’s find out!
Blanc Ensoleillé
First, we have Blanc Ensoleillé (Sunny White – sounds better in French) is a milky woody fragrance with three main accords, like all the fragrances in this collection, and they are bergamot at the top, coconut milk in the middle and musky woodiness at the base.
“In full sun or the middle of winter, the appeal of white jeans, indispensable, lighthearted, chic, unconventional. A milky, salty, sugary white. A soft and hypnotic white.”
White jeans are impractical for so many reasons. I recommend a hard pass next time you’re in the denim section. This fragrance, however, is lovely. It’s a very crisp, clean, and musky fig-like coconut fragrance that is very light and casual – yes, a jeans and T-shirt type of frag, I think. Which is appealing, and very much in the style of Giacobetti.
But you know, I can’t think of the last time I wore jeans, let alone white jeans, and a T-shirt. I do have a few cotton-esk-type Ts, but they are reserved for workouts. Jeans are hard to get in my size here in Japan, too hot for most of the year where I live, and too casual for work. Too limiting for me. Anyway, this fragrance is certainly not limited in use. You can wear this anytime and anywhere, as with all the fragrances in this collection. Well, perhaps on formal nighttime occasions, you’ll probably reach for something else, but you get the point. The only sad quality of this is the lack of projection, longevity, and sillage. You’ll have to reapply throughout the day to ramp up the lovely aura you’ll create around your presence with this one, as well as the others coming up next.
Blanc Ensoleillé is watery, a little salty, refreshing, slightly milky, and synthetically pleasing. I feel like I am in a beach house on vacation. It’s a cool morning and I’ve gotten up early and step out onto the balcony. I’m in the shade with the sun well behind the building that hosts me. There’s a strong breeze that slaps the sleep out of my eyes, and the ocean and the beach before me beckon me out for a morning walk.
It’s thirst-quenching, and when I think of it, this is a quality in perfumery that Olivia Giacobetti is known for. The is indeed a marine quality to this which would normally not be my thing, but probably thanks to the coconut, it works here. Thumbs up!
Vapeur Blanche
Next, we have Vapeur Blanche (White Vapour), an aromatic woody fragrance. The top note here is eucalyptus, the middle note cedar, and the base note musk. This is the most masculine of the bunch, I feel.
“The notion of a sporty but at the same time spiritual space. Like a cloud of warm vapor, water vapor, energizing, purifying, and spiritual.”
Vapeur Blanche is not that new or original in smell, and apparently, it bears semblance to a now-discontinued Bvlgari pour Homme, so if you liked that one, this might please you, too. This one also has an incense, vibe to it, like it’s been infused with a dash of Zagorsk from Comme des Garçons. Zagorsk is a Russian holy spot that oozes birchwood, pine, and cedar.
This one is cold, crisp, fresh, and a little harsh at the start. Sharp as the opening is with the eucalyptus, that minty crispness is the star of the show before it fades into a musky woody skin scent, like in Byredo’s super cedar, which I have and do enjoy. Minty or camphor-like notes in perfumery tend not to float my boat, however, although in scenting one’s room, that’s a whole different story. Bring out the peppermint!
But you know I don’t know why I should not be into mint in fragrance, because this one escorts me directly into a Japanese outdoor onsen (hot spring) in winter in a tub made of cedar with some light wind and even snowfall on my face. The tub is so new that there are wood shavings on the ground just out of reach. Snow is rare in the part of Japan where I live, but does happen from time to time, especially in the mountains in January. This scent is uplifting, camphoric, and inoffensive – great for the office no doubt, but at the end of the day, it’s not really that exciting. It brings a bit of Vic’s vapor rub to mind. I wonder if that is intentional with the name. In any case, this fragrance is not only the strongest but the one I like least. Pass.
Popeline Blanche
Fragrance number three is Popeline Blanche (White Poplin in English).
“The simplicity of a musky cologne. Like having fine cotton next to the skin. A white shirt, elegant and timeless.”
The top note here is Bergamot, at the center we have washed cotton and neroli, and at the base there is musk. This one is a classic Italian cologne with shower-freshness, and clean, citrusy bergamot and neroli. It’s a clean thick, 100% cotton white Hanes T-Shirt washed with fancy detergent and left out to dry under the sun with a light breeze. It’s warm and slightly starchy when you take it off the line a few hours later and lovingly put it on.
Nothing unlikable here – slightly peppery citrus sprays suspended in a fluffy fog of musks. Something like Acqua di Parma’s Colognia, Mugler’s Cologne, Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino, or that German cheapie 4711. Something I’d like to smell on my guy on a spring or summer morning. Even though I like the green edge it takes on with what is likely galbanum with the neroli in the heart of the fragrance, I do think it’s a little boring, and you’ll need to spray every hour to make it work as well as a more expensive cologne does, which is intrinsically below average. This scent profile has difficulty lasting a while, regardless of the price tag.
Livre Blanc
Last of the four is Libre Blanc (or White Book), which has cotton, white wood, and musk in its composition.
“A blank page, a pause, a parenthesis, or a punctuation mark. A washed cotton, a clean, soft, and light white.”
This fragrance projects the least but smells just lovely. It’s airy, soft, fresh, and papery. I almost get a papyrus note, but not quite; it moves into the musky cotton territory. It’s cool and breezy and puffy – the cotton explodes like popcorn out of its bud, popping off the plant and into the air, landing onto bleached driftwood to sunbathe at low tide on a random beach. Soft and dry as that may feel as an image, it’s also very creamy. Maybe that driftwood is sandalwood. Or it could be the texture of the sand.
Imagine that feeling of getting into freshly laundered bed sheets after a long bath, earlier in the evening. You’re completely dry, though – no wet hair on the pillow! It feels like you’re snuggling into a cloud, not to go to sleep, but just to snuggle while you tuck into a good book, glasses off with your nose near the paper. It’s a Friday afternoon and you may get out of bed to do something later, like a night walk in the fresh spring air, but you could also stay in bed with a book. This one is pleasant. I just wish it were stronger.
I think I like Libre Blanc best of the lot, even though it is subdued. Despite its marine saltiness, I like the gentle coconut of Blanc Ensoleillé, so I place it second. I think many people would rate Popeline Blanche 1st, as it is lovely, but too much of a classic men’s cologne for my tastes. Vapeur Blanche sadly dug its grave for me with the eucalyptus. Good effort, though!
Have you tried these Zara frags by Giacobetti? How do you rate them?
Hats off to perfumer Olivia Giacobetti for working so well within what is undoubtedly a restrictive Zara budget, ingredient-wise. I am no perfumer, but I can only imagine that creating four distinct but cohesively light, bright, and yes – white fragrances for Zara was unlikely an easy feat.