Zara Emotions N°02 - Waterlily Tea Dress Zara 2019 Eau de Parfum

The longevity is not there unfortunately, but oh! I am (was!) always looking for the 'perfect' v hot weather perfume - and have purchased many trying for the elusive 'something' I look for, for very hot weather wearing. I'm not a huge fan of 'very fruity' but I think Dolce & Gabbana L'imperatrice is lovely, but needing to spray it literally every hour on the hour (bc it barely lasts 49 minute - obv I checked bc argh!) really does annoy me - yes, I love the watery nature, and the beautiful base notes which don't add any heaviness, but don't smell 'cheap' either, but although you can find it relatively inexpensive, it is not a cheap 'bodyspray' and the lasting power is completely atrocious - nb, I still wear it, bc I love it (unusual for me, it being all fruit!) - but there it is. And ofc, I have always loved 'green' - even now, I still love Chanel Cristalle (which I started wearing age 10 - it was a vintage perfume then!) always the eau de toilette (the eau de parfum is NOT the same thing at all!) and though I dislike Tom Ford perfumes (not great quality and hugely over priced imho,) I fid buy Vert Boheme - at slightly less than retail, bc the current Cristalle formulation is a shadow of the nineties version, obviously. & in saying ALL that - here it is! The most perfect green perfume, fresh, but balanced, present, but not 'too much' in v hot weather - although v important! Do not overspray, due to the unfortunate (not nearly as bad as L'Imperatrice) longevity problem. Technically it's an edp - hm! & 2/3 sprays is plenty - repeat those every 2 hrs (less often than L'Imperatrice) and it's just beautiful. I hv never purchased Zara perfumes (I bought this + Mochi Atelier - honestly, I couldn't resist - Park Jimin is my favourite! Ahem.. & Sweet Pastry A Paris, after recommendations from 'Arlene' - one of only 2 perfume bloggers I like) - & THIS is just something that really stands out as being the perfect summer perfume. I love the mint in it, the airy freshness, and the 'can't put my finger on it' perfect blend of notes - it is the best thing perfume I have purchased in 12 months of ridiculously rampant perfume buying (during the pandemic and horrendous lockdown restrictions, only 2 things have made me feel better - one is the lovely PJM (I honestly cannot help myself ;) ) and the other, has been buying loads and loads of (100ml) bottles of perfume. It's been a bit rubbish, lockdown etc, and Arlene (etc) don't help, bc I think, when watching them, my purchase ratio to months in lockdown is not completely ridiculous - & then when I actually stop and work out just how many bottles.. Hm - if I didn't completely hate being 'on cam' I could rival many perfume bloggers for variety of bottles - the sheer number is a bit naughty, but I am promising myself after the next 6 (6?!) or so on my list, that I will calm down. Hopefully I am in good company here, and some will understand my perfume obsession. Or not! As said, I always thought, Zara, - No! (I cannot bear cheap perfume!) But - this was Jo Malone, so like many ppl, I thought, 'well that's different!' And I completely love it - not too floral, sweet (in a different way,) but not too sweet. I have purchased mutiple matching body lotions & body wash - and I have bought backups, bc am v worried they will discontinue this but.. Just perfect, a stunning (& stunningly simple blend) - with a beautiful base, which is an even better (summer) base, than L'imperatrice, a soft, musk base, light but present - with nothing too woodsy to overtake the perfection of the whole. I read the notes on Fragrantica and thought maybe there's something similar with better longevity - but no - although with similar notes in mind, I purchased the newest Armani 'Acqua Di Gioia' - which I hadn't tested - 100mls - bc if it's lovely then I like to hv a large bottle, & it's brown sugar note is way to forward - and it's not bad but nothing like this - tbh, I never have found an Armani perfume I particularly like - that's about the best, but more mint (& less heavy brown sugar) would have helped. I also, (after buying Vintage Green & Linen Vetiver,) bought 'Windblown Vert,' from Banana Republic- & WV was a real mistake. Here we see, what Jo Malone could have gotten wrong - dreadful over use of Lily of the Valley' which I simply cannot stand - and which tips it into 'teenage' for me - it's a really nice summer perfume, but Lily of the Valley' is a note I do NOT like - it ruins a 'green' perfume, I think - but in WMTD I don't smell any - though it is 'sort of' floral, it isn't that heavy or 'good girl' floral, that I would never wear - honestly, I cannot think if anything else to say but how perfect and hos lovely it is. I also feel v English wearing it (though I have always loved french perfumes, I like that idea, too) and nothing could be more perfect for that extremely hot weather we now seem to get in England, which we didn't, when I was a child. Bc of the pandemic, I am living back in the UK - hoping that next year, I can be overseas, and I plan on wearing WLTD this summer (in the daytime, anyway. As you can no doubt see, I love it v much and am v taken with how wonderfully blended it is - but as said 3 sprays maximum. Overspraying does NOT make it last longer - but it does make it too heavy for warm weather - it is delicate if you spray less - but more sprays overtip it into 'too heavy for v hot weather.' Use a light hand and you literally think, dappled sunlight shining through the trees, and perfect English summer days.

(NB I like Oscar de la Renta Intrusion sometimes, but much as I love all things Issey Miyake (those 90's pleated bags & long skirts I used to swoon over when I was very, very young - age 9/10 reading endlesscopiesof Vogue - precocious only child, etc, etc) L'eau D'Issey is something I have never liked - & myself I see no similarity between it, and this green, airy, perfection in a bottle. Some on Fragrantica seem to think so, but I certainly don't.) This is Jo Malone (with the usual longevity issues) but at a better price - that's all - anybody who has doubts about 'Zara perfumes' don't be silly enough to not try this bc of the Zara connotations. The packaging is plain enough, although I don't like the paper label, the bottles are okay enough. Just beautiful