Woman in White by Zara

For me, this isn’t what they describe under the concept of clean girl (what I expected), which one associates with something contemporary, even though musky soap-and-detergent-type perfumes aren’t exactly from this decade or anything new. I would define Woman in White as a clean leaning classic, that is, a floral-green musk with reminiscences of aldehydes. I wouldn’t say it’s a vanilla oriental as this page says. Why? Because at first sniff it reminded me of many things in a second: Chanel N°5, Toque de Amor by Avon, and First. And what do those have in common? A somewhat powdery, aldehydic feel, accompanied by a thousand more notes, of course, as was the style when they were created. In this Zara perfume I sense that DNA, but simplified, in the sense that it doesn’t have an endless list of notes, perhaps with the intention of modernizing that style. In my imagination, which is not small lol, I expected the image of a relaxed, minimalist, luminous woman. When I smelled it, I got the opposite impression: an impeccable woman, dressed to the nines, elegant, and very polished. Both wear white, but one conveys comfort and the other classic sophistication. That’s when I understood this wasn’t the modern clean I expected, but one with a much more classic air. When I smelled it, I got another vibe: a woman in white from head to toe, impeccable, in a dress or suit with perfect cuts. Nothing beachy or too casual, rather semiformal, with simple but not small gold accessories, heels, and perfectly styled hair. Both women in white, but with different energies and for different occasions. I’d say it’s a daytime fragrance, sophisticated, not beachy and not evening either. The opening smells like a forest full of greens, pleasant herbs, a little citrus, and just a hint of small flowers peeking through the green, similar to the smell of herbal shampoos. The citrus feeling fades after a while, and then the watery lily of the valley note appears (predominant note), pretty and enjoyable on spring and summer days, accompanied by that clean, green feeling. To me, it gives an aldehydic impression, not as pronounced as in the classic perfumes I mentioned before. I admit it reminds me of that feeling of having smelled things like that in the past, and it wasn’t what I expected. I don’t like using expressions like “old lady smell” because they’re often used in a derogatory way. Personally, I really enjoy classic perfumery and I don’t consider a perfume with references to other eras to be negative. On the contrary, my mom’s perfumes were the beginning of this taste and love for fragrances. Then I started wearing my own in the ’90s, so they bring memories, they marked stages and moments. I don’t only enjoy perfumes that smell like little desserts, which are often associated with a more teenage trend. It’s not a perfume with many notes. After the opening and the citrus, it stays fairly linear; it’s not one of those you discover over time. Its opening is strong, it doesn’t go unnoticed, and it has character. It didn’t overwhelm me, but my mom commented after a while: “that’s strong!”, not very pleased with the smell. So I said: ok, this doesn’t smell bad, I don’t have anything similar in my collection, so it’s a contribution and I don’t mind that it reminds me of perfumes from other eras. BUT, with that opening and presence, you think it’s probably going to last well… and no. That’s the negative point. The projection isn’t huge, more like about a meter, at most. I don’t think it leaves a trail after 20 minutes of application, and that’s fine; I like intimate perfumes that don’t invade others, but that last at least a little. And I didn’t expect that from Zara, because all the ones I have in these tall bottles last brutally on my skin and clothes. Woman in White, after an hour, is almost not felt on my skin, and on clothes I have to stick my nose to it to perceive it. For now, that makes me conclude: ok, it smells good, it’s a contribution to my collection, but I wouldn’t buy it again. I’ll look for something with that vibe, but that lasts at least a couple of hours. I should clarify it’s winter where I live, not extreme; it’s about 17 °C. Maybe in spring it will behave better, and around 22 °C will help it project a bit more (if anyone is wearing it or tried it in warmer weather, let me know how it went). On the other hand, I perceive it differently on my skin than on fabric. I like how it feels on fabric better, so try it before buying and, above all, on your own skin, because these perfumes change quite a bit from person to person. Although it has a hint of body-care product, I’d describe it more as a high-end body cream; not an innocent baby smell or a clean, soft little soap. I don’t know how much it resembles Pure Musc Blanc by Narciso Rodriguez, because I haven’t tried it. Based on the declared notes of the Narciso and what I smell in this Zara, I’d say they don’t go the same route. In fact, here I find it hard to find the vanilla. It’s not a literal dessert or sweet vanilla, but there is something slightly sweet behind it, well in the background, almost imperceptible. What predominates is lily of the valley, with a watery, ozonic character, loaded with green, musk, and a light incense, which together give me that aldehydic feeling. Anyway, it didn’t drive me crazy. In my personal taste, I feel it might be missing a little more flowers (the box mentions jasmine, and yes it’s there, but very low), a slightly more perceptible vanilla, and a touch of white peach or plum, so it doesn’t take you so much to the past and has even more creaminess. All in minimal amounts so it doesn’t break the clean aspect, but only adds a little more sweetness without completely turning it into a fruity floral. I’m going to try layering to see how it goes, and I’ll update in a few months about its behavior when the weather starts to change.

I didn’t like it. Lily of the valley is very predominant; it feels like a vintage perfume of a very elderly lady. Bad, bad, unless you like smelling like a little old lady—I say that with all due respect.

I didn’t like it. Lily of the valley is very predominant, it feels like vintage perfume of a very elderly lady. Bad, bad, unless you like smelling like grandma, I say that with all due respect.