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Vibrant Leather Summer 2020

7.7 / 10 100 Ratings
A popular perfume by Zara for men, released in 2020. The scent is fresh-citrusy. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Fresh
Citrus
Fruity
Floral
Green

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Mandarin orangeMandarin orange GingerGinger BergamotBergamot
Heart Notes Heart Notes
LotusLotus NeroliNeroli
Base Notes Base Notes
CedarCedar AmbroxanAmbroxan Blond woodsBlond woods

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
7.7100 Ratings
Longevity
6.697 Ratings
Sillage
6.495 Ratings
Bottle
7.5105 Ratings
Value for money
9.158 Ratings
Submitted by Elysium · last update on 09/27/2024.
Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Vibrant Leather Cologne by Zara
Vibrant Leather Cologne
From Paris to New York by Zara
From Paris to New York
Jimmy Choo Man Ice by Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo Man Ice
Mercedes-Benz Cologne by Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz Cologne
Dior Homme Cologne (2013) by Dior
Dior Homme Cologne (2013)
Vibrant Leather Summer Breeze by Zara
Vibrant Leather Summer Breeze

Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Elysium

915 Reviews
Elysium
Elysium
3  
Dior Homme Cologne Dead Ringer
First thing first, this is not a Vibrant Leather flanker, yet a new edition repackaged of From Paris to New York, then repackaged as Vibrant Leather Cologne. I'd like to express my real impression of this brand-new Zara's release. Albeit the name and the box look different, the smell and the description on the box are the very same. The opening is strongly citrus and closely akin to Zara Blue Hole, as many reviewers stated, yet they take separate ways as soon as the heart starts beating and the dry down approaches. Definitely, BH has a clear heart floral note, bright jasmine that turns to an earthy and woody accord akin to patchouli and cedar, it reminds me of CD Homme Sport 2008 to be exact. Instead, Vibrant Leather Summer is more seasoned, the ginger is hot and chilly in the heart, and it turns into a neat musk, this one evoking me of CD Homme Cologne 2013, they are remarkably similar. Since I own both Zara's and CD's fellows, I had an opportunity to study all of them side by side on my skin, they all smell quite apart as both CD Homme Sport and Homme Cologne do. Often times, people are too hasty, they quit and conclude on the first impression, but scents are alive and take their time to develop and reveal their heart and base.

Going back to Vibrant Leather Summer, the opening is a punchy strong citrus fruits accord right in the face, and once the intoxicating fresh grapefruit juice calms down, a sweeter and smoother mandarin rises, I get it decidedly strong in the opening next to the lemon and a bitter note of grapefruit, perhaps not from the juice or peel but from the flower or leaves, there is a leafy accord of herbs and leaves, a kind of like grapefruit petitgrain. The opening is so cool, so manly. I love its bitterness when the lemon finally sits down. I absolutely love it. Fragrant, refreshing, and brilliant perfume in the style of Dior Homme Cologne and Chanel Allure Homme Cologne. Just a hint, if you're not familiar with mandarin, you should try this one. Nowadays, people prefer the seedless mandarin orange in place of the seed-full mandarin. However, the two of them have a totally different smell and taste, and mandarin has something tangy, harsh, sour, and powdery that is not part of the mandarin orange kind.

In the heart, both sparkling ginger and a kind of soft lemon-like greenish herbal are very present up close but from arm's length ginger really dominates. It is spicy, sharp, bracing yet light, and pairs well with citrus notes. This heart aroma lasts quite a few hours before flaunting the backbone notes.

The dry down has woody, spicy and citrusy nuances, the zestiness lingers in the base with the musk and a nice ginger kick, though the gingerness tones down at this stage. Despite the dominance of the musky accord, I notice a sense of vetiver, rather creamier, lemony, and greener than earthy or rooty, which reminds me of Cacharel pour Homme, the vetiver vibe and trail is similar, but not the overall cologne scent.

I am really glad to have this one in my collection, you can't go wrong with it. Performances are awesome for this kind of EDP. The bottle is also very nice, heavy and has a light green cap. It is fresh yet elegant, positive, uplifting, bright, sparkling. For more or less any event when you just want to smell nice and clean. You'll get compliments with this one, seriously. I can imagine this fragrance would perform fantastically well on hot and sticky summer days and evenings out. A fantastic cheapie, out of the shower summery fragrance. Surprisingly it doesn't have a purely synthetic nature and that's what I would expect for quality from Dior or Chanel.

This review is based upon a 120 ml (4 fl oz) I own.

-Elysium
Updated on 06/23/2020
0 Comments
MrHonest

118 Reviews
MrHonest
MrHonest
2  
The REAL ginger lover.
Dirt cheap pickup on clearance. Expected something a bit closer to DHC 2013 if I'm honest. Instead, what you get here is Zara's synthetic take on Dior Homme Sport 2008 with some DHC facets.

Starts off with a super zingy, lemony bergamot rind - not necessarily the juice - and orange TANG powder. You read correctly. The same one the astronauts used to drink. Literally within a minute, the ginger is POPPING, to the point where I get strong whiffs of orange tang flavoured ginger ale. It's actually kind of cool how Jerome recreated that crystalline fizzy soda-like effect, because it's definitely in there.

A few minutes in, the ginger is so prominent that it begins to remind me of Orange Zest from 2016, albeit an updated version. Can't believe that nobody has mentioned the similarity before. Unfortunately, something in the base of that one really turned my stomach, so I much prefer VLS. Blue Hole vibes too, but this one is much woodier in the base, less lemony and with a stronger ginger.

If there's any lotus in here, I'm certainly not getting it. What does happen in the mid though, is that the powdered orange rind opens up a bit to reveal some floral bulk. That might be the neroli, but it's easily overshadowed by the gingery orange and woods. Ambrox gives it some lift, but it's barely there to my nose so no worries about it coming off as the next blue doom-bringer.

Overall though, it's important to emphasize that, like DHS 2008, VLS is predominantly a GINGER fragrance on skin - especially in the sillage - so if you don't like ginger or want more citrus, I might advise you to look elsewhere - perhaps Vetiver Pamplemousse which is a fantastic woody grapefruit. That one is also CONSIDERABLY more natural smelling than VLS, which has an obvious synthetic vibe to it. Not complaining considering the price, but it's good to know. Longevity is 4-6 hours TOPS, as can be expected with most citrus freshies.

One more thing I'll add is that the sheer potency of the synthetics at the top are not to be underestimated. With the magnetic cap firmly in place, I can smell froot loops right through the bottle (something that DHC 2013 and VLS have in common) and if I take the cap off and smell it, it's straight-up bergamot and lemon juice heaven. In fact, it's so addictive that I sometimes find myself pulling off the cap several times a day just to get a massive whiff of that sweeeeeeet like I'm some sort of bergamot addict. Can't rule it out I suppose. But BE CAREFUL if you choose to overspray. The first few minutes might not so much repel insects, as choke them out until they DIE. Otherwise, spray liberally and enjoy!
1 Comment
Landshark321

770 Reviews
Landshark321
Landshark321
1  
Nice Dior Homme Cologne clone, very affordable (when it was still in stock)
Zara Vibrant Leather Summer is a 2020 release that’s more or less a clone of Dior Homme Cologne and does a pretty good job in that effort. It’s not very much like the original Vibrant Leather (or a number of its flankers) is based Creed Aventus. It’s a fresh, citrus, bergamusk-type cologne with vague hints of dirty neroli, plenty bright but with a bit of a wild side. Not a huge performer: DHC certainly performs a bit better while not being outstanding itself.

It looks like it’s no longer available but luckily, Dior Homme Cologne itself is still available, even though Vibrant Leather Summer was cheaper, probably $30 or so, if memory serves correct. I imagine there are other clones out there too, but if you come across this one, it’s pleasantly passable albeit a bit fleeting.

6 out of 10
0 Comments
LFGold04

2 Reviews
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LFGold04
LFGold04
10  
Amazingly good!
I simply ordered it from Zara and bam, I had a really good summer fragrance that is unmatched in terms of price-performance ratio. First, about the bottle: Simple Zara design, nothing extraordinary but also nothing bad. What certainly stands out positively is the magnetic closure.
About the scent: The mandarin is very prominent, rounded off by a hint of ginger. Fresh and clean describes it best. Perfect for everyday wear and definitely doesn’t need to hide.
Longevity: Better than some big names, about 6-7 hours.
Of course, the scent is not a perfume wonder and can be a bit monotonous for some, but for those looking for an everyday/leisure fragrance for summer, this one is a great choice. With 120 ml for around €15, you can't go wrong.
2 Comments
Thommy208

3 Reviews
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Thommy208
Thommy208
5  
A Holiday Scent...
So, summer is over and it's time to dedicate a little review to my holiday scent.

After reading and watching various posts and videos about the similarity of Zara Vibrant Summer to Dior Homme Cologne and Mercedes-Benz Cologne (which I also own), I decided to buy the fragrance for my trip to Croatia. I consciously chose a scent that wouldn’t be too disappointing if it faded after a swim in the sea. With a price of €7.99 in the Zara sale for 120ml, you really can't go wrong here. Even at the non-discounted price of €19.99, it’s still worth the money.

The scent starts off citrusy-sharp with a clear ginger note. By sharp, I mean nothing negative in this case, but the positive aspect of the ginger root. After the initial burst, the fragrance doesn’t change direction for a while, but remains citrusy-fresh.

Compared to Mercedes-Benz Cologne, the composition is not quite as soft. The floral note that Mercedes-Benz Cologne carries after its fresh opening is not present in Zara Vibrant Summer, or if it is, only very faintly. As the citrus notes fade a bit, light notes of "light woods" join in, bringing a pleasant yet still fresh drydown. The longevity on my skin is slightly better with Zara Vibrant Summer than with Mercedes-Benz Cologne, which is probably due to the somewhat "more aggressive" presentation. The scent is best suited for temperatures above 25 degrees.

The so-called "successor" Zara Vibrant Cologne, by the way, starts even sharper, which is a bit too much for me personally.

Especially for the price in the sale, I give it an absolutely unrestricted purchase recommendation. However, one should not expect any "miracles" here.

This scent will always remind me of Croatia...

P.S. The bottle has a magnetic closure.
Updated on 09/03/2021
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Statements

31 short views on the fragrance
6
A Dior Homme Cologne with better performance and at a fraction of the price. Very pleasant for hot weather.
0 Comments
3 years ago
3
Almost 1:1 copy of Dior Homme Cologne. Side by side you may notice minute differences as the Dior is a bit more zingy and natural
0 Comments
3
1
Sorry i can’t share people’s enthusiasm on this.not the best render of gingerSomething very synthetic about it.i guess you get what you pay.
1 Comment
2
Performs better than current DHC releases, 10 sprays-3 on each hand 2 on my neck and 2 on my shirt.My friend could smell me after 5h from 3m
0 Comments
1
Unexpectedly good realistic citrus scent for scorching hot days.
0 Comments
7
5
Lemonade scent!
Sweet, sticky, and too much of a good thing. Underneath, there's a synthetic note that really puts me off.
Thanks, but no!
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5 Comments
7
3
Very similar to DHC, unfortunately again with that cheap, annoying undertone after 10 minutes on my skin. The ZARA disease?
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3 Comments
5
5
I'm not a fan of the brand,
but they've really done a great job here!
Light, refreshing, clean, transparent, and affordable!
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5 Comments
6
"The same procedure as every year, James" Another DHC attempt but still usable! H/S on my skin is okay, but good on clothes!
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0 Comments
6 years ago
6
4
After Zara spent several years mainly producing Invictus clones, it's Dior Homme Cologne's turn since last year. Same old.
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4 Comments
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