Unique Leather Nº 2444 Zara 2016

This Zara perfume department has really clever employees in the fragrance section. But they have even more resourceful little guys in the marketing and ideas department!!
In 2016, they launched this "Leather series," named "Gourmand," "Unique," and "Rich" Leather. Recognizable by the pseudo-leather bottles. Although it's a pseudo-leather soft-touch, like in cars that pretend to be real leather.
A little more about the design:
I really like the bottles, as I already mentioned in my "Gourmand Leather" comment, and they don't just differ in color. Unique Leather, which I now also own, has softer honeycomb leather, with a seam at the top to make it look even more authentic. But it's imitation. (I'm not sure if I should be happy about that; with real leather, the animal would have suffered, and with synthetic leather, it will just float around in the ocean for 50 years until it's eaten by a poor sperm whale... or something.
But the tactile feel is right, and the design is really cool, I have to give them that.

Now to the perfume itself.
As already hinted, Zara has clearly decided that you can also have a nice life without reinventing the wheel, and why should you, - the top designer labels dictate every year in rapid succession what is currently in and hip!
And while I wasn't sure with Gourmand Leather whether it was intentionally a knockoff, I am now very sure that both were calculated with Unique Leather.
It immediately shot into my head when I sprayed it, "I know this..."
I searched for fragrance twins here and on other perfume forums... nowhere was what was floating in my head. What doesn't surprise me is that the original that UL is based on never became as popular as they probably hoped.
It is Abercrombie & Fitch - First Instinct.
To prove it, I further compared the scent notes of this fragrance with those of the culprit.

Both have violet, (wild) leather, musk, amber, and something citrusy/fruity in the top notes.

An A/B test on my left and right hand clears up any doubt: Unique Leather is a clone of First Instinct!

As luck would have it, I prefer the clone to the original again. Because the original, with its kiwano top note, feels so youthful, it has such a tropical touch that I can't identify with, - even if well done!
Since Unique Leather is a bit more trivial, with only bergamot as a freshness provider, I somehow like it better.
Paradoxically, UL has taught me what FI is about, which allows me to appreciate it a bit more than before. If you think of the admittedly tame wild leather accord while "tasting," it stands in a somewhat better light, I think.

That's why I also think Unique Leather hasn't received much love here, because if you just test it quickly without engaging with it, it only seems sweet-fruity, and you might quickly put it down again. You don't quite grasp the interplay that's happening here.
I, on the other hand, let myself be seduced by the dream of pseudo-leather and waited comfortably until the drydown, even sprayed again, and I must say I find Unique Leather really cool to wear when you want something leathery with freshness in spring/summer. And not just the usual citrus-woody interplay, as is the case with most fresh fragrances.
It has little in common with "real" leather scents like Tom Ford & Co; it's more of a hint of leather, to avoid creating false expectations. It's very well woven and just enough that you notice it, but rather when you know. For that, it's also easy to wear and won't offend anyone.

It could well be that my rating for this fragrance fluctuates a bit in the coming days/weeks, but I definitely find it quite good. As I said, I like that it feels less youthful than the A&F, but still remains quite dynamic and young.
Really nice for spring.

And for the price of €28 (including shipping) for 100ml, there's really nothing to complain about. :)

In this sense, stay fresh! (And leathery) ;P