Perfume Review: Zelda

Let's do some reviews. Perfumer Shelley Waddington has a line called "En Voyage" perfumes, so let us take a voyage through her art. There is nothing more pleasurable than a fragrant trip.

Zelda is a gasp-worthy scent. When I first smelled it, the boozy spicy magnolia made me clutch the sample to my chest and close my eyes with a sigh. I never want to let go. And I don't even like white flowers!

The copy goes like this: Inspired by Zelda Fitzgerald, America's first flapper and the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, ZELDA's bright beginning, full heart, and dark base evoke the story of Zelda's bright life and tragic descent into a final heart of darkness. Jazzy and contemporary, ZELDA's Art Deco signature exalts the precious naturals, resins, and tinctures found in famous vintage perfumes of the '20's.

ZELDA, a neo-Oriental perfume for women

TOP NOTES: Spiced Italian Bergamot, Spices, and Iranian Galbanum

HEART NOTES: Creamy Magnolia Blossom and Garden Florals

BASE NOTES: Smoky Amber, Vintage Musks, Vanilla, Balsams, Sandalwood and Vetiver, Cedarwood, and Mousse de Chêne

Can one smell these individual notes in Zelda? Yes, we actually can. The opening is spicy and citrusy but tempered by the galbanum (I LOVE galbanum!) It's spicy darkness makes the opening unlike many other perfumes. It is as though the heart and the head melded together.

The boozyness is not far behind. The magnolic sweetness swirls with the rum (why is that not listed?) and envelops the wearer in something extraordinary. It is unlike other perfumes in it's development.

The 20s style bottle is also exquisite and adds to the sense of the past with this perfume. Sillage and lasting power is a sore point, but I guess when it's a natural perfume, this is to be expected.

$75 for 0.6 oz. eau de parfum via the En Voyage website. Photo of the Zelda bottle credited to the same.