I am back with a review of a wee Zara trio from the Chapters collection. I went overboard with Zara at the end of 2023 with all the sales they were having, so you are going to see a few more posts yet about Zara frags. Little did I know they would be discontinuing so many of them so quickly. C’est la vide d’audjourhui!
Fortunately, you’ll probably be able to find a lot of them on the second-hand market if retail is now a no-go for you where you live. But this collection shared with you here does not consist of fragrances I can recommend. I speak of the oud collection that came out less than 6 months ago, and they appear to be gone already!
Inexpensive and necessarily synthetic oud is rarely a good thing in my opinion, unless, perhaps, in small doses. Zara originally came out with four oud fragrances, but that soon whittled down to three, and I don’t think it was because one of them was so good that it sold out. No, I suspect it was pulled because it was so repugnant. Endless Oud is the one I am talking about, and though I’ve had the “pleasure” of sniffing it, I’ve heard it was kind of like a sweaty old man wearing an unwashed leather jacket, sitting on a petrol container with a rubber lid, with his hairy butt hanging out of his old pants. He’s probably recently farted. He’s got a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth while tending to a festering wound on his foot. He smooths strong medicinal ointment onto it and then slaps on some old plastic-y Band-Aids on top. That is the type of skanky imagery that doesn’t sound particularly enticing to me. And it is not even my imagery, really; it’s a collage I made based on others’ reviews. The notes in it were bergamot, pink pepper, cedar, floral notes, orange blossom, amber, vetiver, patchouli, and oud. Bergamot, vetiver, patchouli, and oud with Zara-level ingredients? I’ll bet it was indeed polarizing. But there are a few people out there who adored it.
Bohemian Oud
Among the three I do have, the first one I purchased was Bohemian Oud, which came into my hands before the 30 ml size options were even a thing. There is so much liquid not present in my bottle, but that doesn’t mean I love it. I’ve been using it to freshen up cheap clothing that I regret buying from ultra-fast fashion label Shein. The clothing is mostly made of plastics and seems to melt a bit whenever I wash and dry the pieces, and since the clothing still stinks when warmed in the dryer, I spray them down with Bohemian Oud. Yes, chemical warfare in my bathroom, friends. My mistake for buying cheap rags, but I will use the clothing until it falls apart. Waste not, want not.
Anyway, Bohemian oud has no trace of oud in it to my nose. I smell mostly very sickly-sweet melting marshmallows that have been unnecessarily dipped first in syrup, then in vanilla and cocoa powder, and then set on fire with a cheap lighter leaking butane, and tossed atop a piece of leather on a plastic kitchen counter to melt. With a name like Bohemian you would think to expect florals or at least patchouli or something natural and joyous, but no. This smells juvenile and gross to me. If you like marshmallows at a Zara-level price point, might I suggest others from Zara, such as Velvet Shadow which I reviewed a while back? – or even Red Temptation Winter, which I will be talking about shortly? Both of those are also too sweet if I am honest, but better than this one.
- black pepper, immortelle,
- vanilla, leather,
- incense (which I wish I smelled more of), cacao, oud
If it doesn’t give you a headache, you might think it cozy and snuggly. Perhaps, but no, not enough for me. Instead, I get cheap aroma candle vibes. Thankfully, the smell disappears in just a couple of hours. I have read people compare this to By the Fireplace by Maison Margiela. “WTF!?” is all I can say to that. There’s a strong rubbery vibe in Bohemian Oud that I do not object to, though, and if you, too, like rubber in fragrance, might I suggest that hockey-puck fragrance from Bvlgari – Bvlgari Black. It’s very affordable and very good.
I thought I had the worst out of the way and went on to purchase the other two in their smaller sizes when on sale. I was wrong – well, partially wrong. Hipster oud is worse than Boho oud. (And there is a bit a naming trend here, it would seem).
Hipster Oud
Hipster Oud is also too sweet and sticky-icky. It has a light and girly rose opening with fruity notes, including orange blossom and blackcurrant, and evolves into a a very different, soft, sweet fragrance with lots of warmth.
- orange blossom, black currant,
- lily of the valley, red roses, pink pepper,
- saffron, amber, musk, oud
That sounds like a great combination, but honestly, it would be much better without the oud. It’s too scratchy and cloying and does nothing for me. Cheap vanilla birthday cake with those silver edible metallic balls sprinkled on top. Again, not really what I would call oud, nor is there anything hipster about it. I’d add a coffee note for that. Pass.
Perpetual Oud
Finally, Perpetual oud – a synonym of Endless, by the way – title desperation, Zara? This is the least cloying of them all – or of all three I can say with certainty. Perpetual Oud is noted for its spicy opening with black pepper, sweet deep red rose, patchouli, vetiver, saffron, and a smoky, powdery vibe in the dry down, recommended for those who enjoy a dark but sweet rose-oud combination. I am a fan of the traditional rose-oud combo, unoriginal as it might be. This one is not as sticky-sweet as the others, so that is probably why I like it best. Like it best? Dislike least is more accurate. I guess this is like Zara’s Rose Gourmand, which I love, but it’s been ruined by the addition of cheap synthetic oud. Like a beautiful, intelligent young woman who gets in with the wrong crowd and started taking meth.
Perpetual Oud is bold and daring. It’s a harsh, sharp, woody and oudy rose.
- oud, vetiver, patchouli, amber, pepper, saffron
This one, like the others but more so, is not ideal for office or gym due to its potentially offensive nature. It’s also got a metallic opening but that disappears by the time the dry down hits. People have likened this to MFK’s different oud perfumes, but that is nowhere near a fair comparison. I will say that if you enjoy rosy ouds which tend to be so expensive, maybe this is worth a try?
You know, one of my more successful childhood friends became the CEO or equivalent of a chocolate company. The lucky woman is now retired. I remember her always saying, “Life is too short for bad chocolate.” I think that applies here. Rather than Perpetual Oud, if I want a rose-oud done right, I’ll pull out Dior’s Oud Ispahan, which is stunning. It also gets the most compliments from strangers when I wear it, and I Iive in Japan, where strangers tend not to banter so much with one another.
So yes, I am getting rid of all three of these Zara fragrances.
I’ve been pretty hard on these poor old oud attempts from the big fashion brand, but one thing I will complement the brand on is the fact that they are at least willing to push the envelope a bit when it comes to scent profiles. I don’t think designer houses would as readily do that. Niche and Indie houses? Sure – they aim at more segmented markets, but mainstream designer perfume houses just rinse and repeat flankers of the stuff they know sells best to the mainstream. So good on Zara for blurring the lines and introducing a wide audience to more alternative smells. For many, oud is a polarizing ingredient, or note I should say in this case, and very hard to do well in the best of situations.