The essence of this column is meant to remind you there are some great perfumes of past years that are now available for a modest price. There is a rarer source of fragrance for this column which is produced at a modest price from the beginning. They are generally not found in the most obvious of places. To find this month’s pick you would have to walk into a Zara menswear store at the mall. When you find the shelf holding the fragrances you will have found one of the best Discount Diamond mines at the mall.
Zara has been making perfume since 1999. They have consistently worked with some great perfumers who have made excellent perfumes. I didn’t discover it until one day in 2010 when I tried Zara Man Gold. I found a fascinating gourmand in a place I didn’t expect, for a price I didn’t expect. It became a regular stop on my mall visits, for the perfume.
I don’t know what caused the change but in 2018 Zara began producing perfume at a faster pace. It has continued ever since. I was concerned that the quality would drop with the increase in quantity. To my delight it didn’t. There were still jewels to be mined. I found Zara Cool Heights on my first visit after the New Year. It is an example of what exists within the collection.
Jerome Epinette
The perfumer behind Cool Heights is Jerome Epinette. M. Epinette has been behind many of the Zara releases. He is a perfumer who effortlessly achieves interesting perfume even on a small budget. Cool Heights is a citrus leather amber beauty.
The top accord is built around the versatility of Szechuan pepper. M. Epinette uses grapefruit and rhubarb with their sulfurous aspect to create a unique citrus accord that is nose catching. The leather accord at the heart is that scent of leather shoes polished to a high gloss. Not quite patent leather or leather jacket but something almost halfway between the two. The base accord is a warm amber given some sweet through tonka bean.
Cool Heights has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.
Cool Heights has been great throughout the spring as I’ve worn it a lot. It is a great thought for the upcoming Father’s Day if perfume is on your list for dad. Or you can give him a Zara gift card and let him go find his own Discount Diamond. This is a great place to find one.
Disclosure: This review is based on a bottle I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
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