Vibrant Leather Zara 2018 Eau de Parfum

Vibrant Leather Eau de Parfum was created by Jerome Epinette and was launched in 2018 by Zara. This release was the turning point for the brand, often ignored in the fragrance community until then.

Normally, I’m done with all the clone perfumes, being the cheapies or expensive variations on the popular DNA. Yet, Vibrant Leather from Zara is such an affordable scent that I had to give it a fair chance at least.

So, what does Zara Vibrant Leather smell like? The first thing that comes to my mind from the initial spray is the fresh and clean properties of Explorer and the heavy and thick accords of Club de Nuit Intense Man.

All of this combined, yes, you are reminded of Aventus, but in a more watered-down reinterpretation. The fragrance itself wears more like a light Eau de Toilette, rather than Eau de Parfum.

As for the official notes, they get you an idea of what the fragrance should smell like, but don’t tell the real story. The scent opens up a zesty combination of bergamot, lemon, and sweet lime.

This is where the fragrance is the closest to the original. As the scent dries down on your skin and gets mellower, the initial freshness loses its steam quite quickly, and what you are left with is a woody/musky scent trail.

The leather accord is barely there, and if it wasn’t listed as an official note, I doubt anyone would detect it.

Even with all of these shortcomings, I have to say that Vibrant Leather is probably the best bang for your buck Aventus clone, recommended for those who want to save money, and check out what’s all the fuss about the Aventus.

Check out my Parfumo profile to find out how can you read full reviews on my website.

Leather is the main protagonist here! It's good to see that Zara's perfumes have more attention, due to the visibility of their advertisements, as seen, the improvement applied to each release that has been appearing on the store's shelves!

Vibrant Leather is well constructed bringing an immediate fresh feeling! It has citrus touches and a bittersweet aroma reminiscent of tea infusion, but all well combined and in the right measure!

The Bamboo here is dry and resembles places decorated with wood, but the refreshing feeling of tea still remains, leveraging the feeling of comfort that it expresses right from the first spray on the skin!

Being a fragrance that refers to immediate freshness, it is necessary to reapply it with some frequency, as it has a relatively weak fixation and projection, something the brand needs to improve. Although we cannot demand everything, since the price is low!

Perfect for the office, family lunches, meeting friends, or even just to impress someone on a spring/summer day! I use it more frequently at higher temperatures, blending well with the climate.

So we’re standing in this Zara store, right? I went there to actually try an other perfume, but that didn’t cut it for me. So I thought what the heck I’ll try some more. I’m already there anyway.
So I sprayed on this one. What the heck that smells familiar!

A bit moldy, a bit dirty, but very nice in the end. I couldn’t really guess what it smelled like. But as soon as we got out of the store it hit me! This is exactly like Aventus! I had a sample lying around which I like, but boy are those Creeds expensive. I’d never buy that.

It kept ringing in the back of my head. It’s Aventus but 20x cheaper! But how can I justify buying this? It’s basically a blatant copy. But that’s the thing. It’s a nice smell but not something I’d pay through the nose for. It doesn’t have that grandeur smell.

So I went and bought it. Even though the packaging mentions something like being authentic and different or something. It’s a guilty pleasure now. Sorry Creed.

Vibrant Leather has that vibe to me. Or a quick walk at a mossy forest after a rain shower. A splash of freshness at a sultry summer afternoon. It's a discrete and low-key one, ideal for being an office scent.
[ A secret hint: It's so bracing that this my an anti-hangover elixir ;) ]

Compared to Rich Leather N°1555 of Zara, Vibrant Leather is more fresh, more invigorative. They have the same DNA, but Rich Leather is a more smoky, more Aventus-like scent, similarly to Armaf CDNIM.

This one smells just right if you fancy the (fruity) Aventus DNA. I do own a 2017 bottle of Aventus and that one is much fruitier than the one my friend has (from 2011). Vibrant leather is a nice scent on its own tho, even if it is pretty close to Aventus without “being Aventus”. I like the smell a lot and I don’t mind the very soft sillage. Not every scent has to project like crazy if you ask me. But the longevity is about 2-3h on me and then it’s gone! Zara Rich Leather (which I also own)last a bit more, but that one is a bit mor woody and more zesty/harch in the opening.

Compared to CDNIM and l’aventure, I prefer the smell of Vibrant Leather edp. But my absolute favourite one that is NOT a clone of Aventus, yet similar vibe has to be Mancera Cedrat Boise! And Vibrant Leather reminds me a bit of Cedrat Boise in the drydown.