Hey Lovely People!! Hope you are enjoying a great summer 🙂

I recently purchased a couple of Zara perfumes during the recent sale. Most of these perfumes are known to be pocket friendly yet good dupes for some very luxury and popular scents. Also, I was quite surprised to find out that Jo Malone collaborated with Zara and created several EDPs under the Zara Emotions and Zara Olfactive range. I did not waste much time and picked up a few based on my testing at the store. Let’s find out if I like them or regret my purchase.

My first purchase was the Zara Fleur d’Oranger from the Zara Emotions range, a collection created by Jo Loves. So, actually Jo Malone, the original creator behind the famous fragrance brand ‘Jo Malone’, sold her company to Estee Lauder long back and after that she came up with a second one named as ‘Jo Loves’. If ‘Jo Malone’ is for more matured customers, ‘Jo Loves’ targets younger ones. I loved Jo Malone’s Wood sage and sea salt eau de cologne(EDC) and I simply knew that I have to buy a few from the Jo Loves X Zara collection for sure because the nose behind both of these brands are the same and I quite liked it.

Price:

The original price for the 90ml EDP version of the Fleur d’Oranger is Rs 1990 in India. I got it at a 50% discount. The UK version retails for 25.99 GBP. They also have it in a travel size(40 ml). While writing this review I could not find it available in the Zara India website but it was available in the store. In India I don’t see any other ecommerce websites selling Zara perfumes. You will have to get it either directly from the Zara website or from the store. Also, be mindful that if you are ordering it from the Zara website they charge a shipping charge of around Rs 290 unless you are purchasing full priced items and the total cost of your purchase exceeds Rs 2999.

Description:

As Jo Malone notes, “Royal and regal moments should always be celebrated with orange blossom.” This is the motivation behind this creation. The fragrance reveals notes of orange blossom, neroli and ylang-ylang.

My Take on the Zara X Jo Loves Fleur d’Oranger EDP:

Packaging: The packaging is very minimalistic and classy, quite similar vibe that we get from Jo Malone’s original packaging. It has textured white outer packaging with a white simple box. Within the box, you will find a transparent glass bottle with a black cap. It reminds me of Jo Malone Cologne bottles but the packaging is understandably more minimalistic.

Ingredients: ALCOHOL DENAT. · AQUA · PARFUM · LINALOOL · LIMONENE · HYDROXYCITRONELLAL · GERANIOL · CITRONELLOL · BHT · CITRAL · BENZYL ALCOHOL · BENZYL BENZOATE · FARNESOL

It is made in Spain with a 5 years expiry date. For a 90 ml bottle this will go a long way and quite a pocket friendly option.

Fragrance: Now coming to the most interesting part. So, before buying the Zara Fleur d’Oranger EDP I saw in some Youtube videos that this is quite similar to Jo Malone Orange Blossom which is quite popular among the British Royals. Now I haven’t tried the original Jo Malone Orange Blossom but given that the nose behind these two are the same, I believe they must at least have some similarity.

Leaving the comparison part, if I evaluate this fragrance on its own, I quite liked the opening. It’s bright, citrusy, floral and clean smelling. It is more neroli and less orange. There is not much mystery to it, very linear and perfect for wearing in summer. You can spray it on after bath or wear it in the gym because of its very fresh and clean smell. It is not overpowering at all. Nobody is going to be bothered in your presence after wearing this. The dry down is simply soapy. If you like soapy smell, you are good. If you don’t like it, then it may be headache inducing after a while. The first 30 minutes can feel too much but after that its intensity goes down sharply. Perfumes obviously are very personal and what works for me may not work for anyone else. So, that’s why I am trying to be as objective as possible.

Performance: Its staying power is slightly better than Jo Malone’s colognes which stays on for only 1-2 hours. This one I would say lasts for 3-4 hours on my skin. Surprisingly it stayed longer in my clothes. I could smell it till the next day.

Did I like it? I expected a bit more citrusy punch but I still liked the opening. However, I am not too fond of the soapy smell. The first time I sprayed it on it felt unbearable and I had to spray some other perfumes to overshadow it. Now, I am quite used to it and I have figured the right amount to spray so that it does not bother my nose to much. I don’t think I am going to repurchase it. If I had to score it, I would give it a 3 out of 5.

Hope you found this review helpful 🙂 Let me know your views in the comments section.