4
Uninspired
What a shame, what a shame. I had high hopes for this fragrance, as I was hoping that the combination of freshness and warmth would finally be united in one of my favorite perfumes. While all A*Men up until the Pure Malt Creation in 2013 have been very distinctive scents for me, connected only by the typical base, I was unfortunately disappointed with the last Pure Wood regarding originality.
Ultra Zest starts off citrusy fresh, with tangerine and blood orange dominating in a fruity, bitter, and fresh way like candied citrus fruits. However, the development of the fragrance feels very one-dimensional or predictable to me, especially if you know the other A*Men. The typical A*Men DNA overpowers this innovative opening in less than a minute. That alone wouldn’t be so bad, after all, that’s exactly what makes A*Men A*Men. The problem is that there is no smooth transition between these two worlds - at least in this fragrance - but rather it feels to me like a caramelized orange is hanging from a cotton candy tree...: bizarre and synthetic.
After about 5 minutes, the fruit falls from the tree... and lands squashed in vanilla coffee. For some reason, this results in the fragrance having less sillage and longevity compared to the other A*Men (excluding Pure Shot). If only those aspects were right, one could still see the fragrance in line with the other variations. The bottle, in its bright orange, also looks like it was pulled from a gumball machine, but okay, that’s the case with many other fragrances from different houses as well.
For collectors, Ultra Zest certainly belongs in the lineup, but if you want a blood orange summer scent, I would recommend Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine. If you want a good A*Men, I would recommend A*Men :-) ... and if you want blood orange and A*Men together, then it’s best to spray Orange Sanguine and A*Men over each other, then you’ll probably have more sillage, more longevity, and more quality. I’m disappointed.
Ultra Zest starts off citrusy fresh, with tangerine and blood orange dominating in a fruity, bitter, and fresh way like candied citrus fruits. However, the development of the fragrance feels very one-dimensional or predictable to me, especially if you know the other A*Men. The typical A*Men DNA overpowers this innovative opening in less than a minute. That alone wouldn’t be so bad, after all, that’s exactly what makes A*Men A*Men. The problem is that there is no smooth transition between these two worlds - at least in this fragrance - but rather it feels to me like a caramelized orange is hanging from a cotton candy tree...: bizarre and synthetic.
After about 5 minutes, the fruit falls from the tree... and lands squashed in vanilla coffee. For some reason, this results in the fragrance having less sillage and longevity compared to the other A*Men (excluding Pure Shot). If only those aspects were right, one could still see the fragrance in line with the other variations. The bottle, in its bright orange, also looks like it was pulled from a gumball machine, but okay, that’s the case with many other fragrances from different houses as well.
For collectors, Ultra Zest certainly belongs in the lineup, but if you want a blood orange summer scent, I would recommend Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine. If you want a good A*Men, I would recommend A*Men :-) ... and if you want blood orange and A*Men together, then it’s best to spray Orange Sanguine and A*Men over each other, then you’ll probably have more sillage, more longevity, and more quality. I’m disappointed.
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