MaryAda

Zara has recently reissued some fragrances, including three from the Olfactive Collection. I had bought the Discovery Set back then to be able to test the 8 city fragrances extensively before making a purchase. (Why are these discovery sets no longer available for the current collections? A real shame.)
At the time, I opted for Fashionably London and Energetically New York. These two are among the fragrances that have now been reissued. The third is Elegantly Tokyo and I've now taken it out of the Discovery set again to see why I decided against it back then.

As soon as I spray it on, I don't like it at all. I smell a decaying bouquet of flowers. Not very pleasant. I have to say that floral fragrances are rarely my cup of tea.
After a few minutes, however, the unpleasant scent has disappeared and it is a very clear floral fragrance for me. My association is lilac. And I like it!
Yes, I really like the scent, although I'm not a fan of floral fragrances and probably wouldn't wear it because I don't think floral scents suit me. That was probably also the reason why I didn't buy a large bottle of Elegantly Tokyo. Nevertheless, I would like to acknowledge that I like the fragrance. It smells very natural to me. Whenever I sniff the test strip, I have lilac in front of my eyes (although it doesn't appear in the fragrance pyramid).
As the fragrance develops, it becomes spicier and a little woody. In any case, a very clear, clean fragrance for me.

I will probably not buy Elegantly Tokyo, even in the new edition, but I am currently considering whether I should buy the fragrance for my son. In my opinion, it would suit a young man who doesn't want to put himself in the limelight too much with his fragrance, but wants to smell naturally fresh without going in a citrusy or aquatic direction, but rather staying "grounded" with floral-woody vibes and a certain spiciness.

A rather "ambiguous" fragrance in my perception. On the one hand, sweet mango-tropical vibes, on the other hand, a bland woody floral. As if two fragrances had been mixed that are complete opposites and don't go together.

At the beginning, I perceive the mango with an underlying coconut-tropical note. Very tasty! I wish the top note would dominate permanently.
Very quickly, however, it is joined by what I would describe as woody-floral. I can't define it exactly. But I do know that I perceive cashmeran in other fragrances as woody and quite prominent. So it could be cashmeran.
My brain keeps jumping back and forth as I sniff and can't decide between the palm beach and the forest/meadow behind Gertrud's little house.
After about half an hour, a certain creaminess is added. Then I perceive the fragrance mainly as sweet-creamy and green. The fruity component has then faded into the background somewhat, but is still perceptible.

As I write this, I have tested the fragrance for the second time with a certain time gap. My nose likes the fragrance better the second time than the first. Perhaps I need to give myself a little more time to learn to understand this fragrance composition.
As things stand today, however, I have to say that I don't like it. For me, it's too "hot and heavy". As if there were two personalities in one fragrance.

I've owned this fragrance for two years now, love wearing it and love it even more than the first time!

For me, it is first and foremost a coffee fragrance, even if it is not mentioned in the fragrance pyramid. Yes, the coffee doesn't come through as strongly, but that's true of all the scents I detect here. That's exactly what I love about Rose Gourmand, that the fragrance notes are so beautifully intertwined and harmonize with each other. Coffee, rose, vanilla and caramel - these are the scents that stand out for me, but as I said, they are wonderfully intertwined. The fragrance is sweet, creamy, floral, has depth and warmth.

I bought Rose Gourmand blind because I had read that it was very similar to Intense Cafe by Montale, which I really like. Putting the two fragrances side by side, I can say that they are almost identical, especially in the first few hours. In contrast to Intense Cafe, however, Rose Gourmand is quite linear. For me, it smells so beautifully of coffee, rose and vanilla-caramel until the end. Intense Cafe, on the other hand, changes in my perception. The rose disappears, coffee recedes somewhat. What makes the fragrance so beautiful for me is then simply blown away. Rose Gourmand, on the other hand, simply remains so beautiful. That's why Rose Gourmand is the clear winner for me.

I hope that the fragrance will be available at Zara for a long time to come. I will definitely buy it again, because I wouldn't want to be without it.

A surprisingly fruity opening, which I hadn't expected from a 5th Avenue.
But pretty quickly we get to the flowers and unfortunately it gets a bit soapy. One look at the fragrance pyramid and my eye lingers on the African violet. Violets of all varieties have often caught my eye in fragrance pyramids recently and have never been particularly pleasant. That's why I attribute this slight soapiness to it.
But I like the other flowers and they take the violet into their midst so that it doesn't stand out too much.
Incidentally, the fruits have disappeared completely after a brief appearance in the top note. At least my nose doesn't pick up anything fruity anymore.
After about half an hour, a creaminess joins the flowers. And I can already detect the patchouli. The fragrance slowly turns in a slightly woody-floral-creamy direction.
Overall, I have to say that the fragrance changes very quickly and seems to have reached the base incredibly quickly. The overall longevity is okay, but by no means outstanding.

Although floral fragrances are not among my favorites, I have to admit that the scent is quite good. It certainly won't be one of my favorites, but it doesn't get on my nerves and I wouldn't have a problem with someone wearing it around me.

For the first two hours or so, the fragrance is simply heavenly. Fresh, with a fruity sweetness that is not heavy, but is carried by this citrusy freshness. Vanilla doesn't really come through for me, but that doesn't bother me at all.
I liked the fragrance so much when I tried it that I immediately put it on my watch list. After about two hours, however, my stomach almost turned when I sniffed the test strip. There was nothing fruity to be sniffed out, and the bergamot and therefore the freshness was gone. Instead, it smells kind of woody and earthy to me, but in a very unpleasant way.

I haven't read anything about this scent in reviews and statements. I am super disappointed that my nose apparently perceives it differently.
I have now taken the fragrance off my watch list again.