Imagine my surprise when visiting my local Zara today and finding this long since discontinued hype monster on the shelf. "Awwwwww," I thought. "Isn't that cute? They brought it back. Good for them. Good for them."
The original RWA was just too sweet for my taste. I know people say coconut lotion, but to me it was just way too feminine.
In an attempt to refresh my memory, I had a spray from the tester bottle. Whoa. Immediately - this smells different. The opening smells like WINE!!! Literally like some kind of booze. Ten minutes in, a dark chocolate started coming through with a far more subdued vanilla. I couldn't believe what I was smelling. They definitely changed something...
It's like they took all the good stuff from the original and cranked it way up, while getting rid of that shuddering sweetness. The overall feel brings to mind having dinner at a fine restaurant. Imagine the brighter cousin of Black Vanilla Absolute by Perry Ellis but without the oud. I hastily grabbed the last bottle off the shelf. Nobody seemed to have touched the other frags (including its' #tobacco brother, which I'm now regretting not smelling) but RWA was just sold out, thanks to me. Crazy how popular this is going to be.
I had a look on the website and the new notes are Rum, White Peony and Vanilla Bourbon. Now tell me that doesn't sound delicious, right? And I literally get all of it - the booze, that awesome vanilla, and some kind of pleasant floral in the background. Very well blended, more masculine and with decent performance. Such an improvement over the 2016 version and just in time for fall.
So yeah, if you didn't particularly enjoy the old formulation (like me), definitely give this new one a sniff. To my nose, the change is remarkable. Wine, chocolate and vanilla - Mi Amor - Valentine's Day, in a bottle.
Hi Mr. Honest,
I also have a bundle from last year and due to your review I ordered another bundle. I hope to be as satisfied as Elysium (or more).
Thanks a lot for the tip.
Hi MrHonest, your review is a spot on. After reading it I immediately went to a Zara shop and bought the bundle with RWA and IDE, disregarding whether I had both nearly new in my wardrobe. Surprise... even IDE has been reformulated, it's back for good, strongly aromatic and spicy! I will review both soon! Thanks buddy, I've really appreciated your hint ;)
I also have a bundle from last year and due to your review I ordered another bundle. I hope to be as satisfied as Elysium (or more).
Thanks a lot for the tip.