Another Perfume Blog writes about Zelda
Although I have spent most of my life in dry climates, I love gardenias and magnolias. I’m especially fond of the magnolia grandiflora, pictured below.
I seem to recall reading that it is difficult to extract essential oil from the fragrant species of magnolia that thrive in North America (e.g., grandiflora, virginiana), and so the scent is reconstructed from flowers with similar odors, like magnolia champaca, lily, or gardenia, with notes added to create the lemony sweetness and rosiness of the other species. (1)
Zelda, by Envoyage Perfumes, has come closer than any other perfume I have tried in replicating the feeling of the magnolia. It focuses on the lemony vanilla aspects of the flower, with a dusting of spices. I smell a distinct note of pineapple and a hint of rose in this recomposition. It’s both sunny and dusky, appropriate for day and evening.
In writing this post, I resist mentioning Zelda Fitzgerald herself. Because I have so much love and respect for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work, and because both of their lives ended so tragically, it’s hard for me to approach products named after or inspired by them with lighthearted enthusiasm. For me, it’s like talking loudly or making a joke at a funeral. But then I think, if anyone was going to appreciate all the complexities and intertwinings of commercialization and artistry, it might have been F. Scott Fitzgerald.
So. Zelda is a great perfume. I recommend you try it.
For a review of Zelda by Envoyage Perfumes, check out Smelly Thoughts.
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Sample was my own acquisition. Reviews are never compensated, and posts are never sponsored. See my Media & Disclosure policy for details.