10 perfumes in similar style to Golden Decade by Zara

Perfumer: Alexandra Carlin

An ambery floral universe carefully put together with stunning night blooming flowers.

The formula features an accord of Galant de Nuit, also called night blooming jasmine (technically not a jasmine, but a plant closer related to potatoes). This gentle flower cannot be distilled, but its captivating fragrance has been recreated for Bloomastral with the help of a very specific jasmine variety. The perfumer used a particular jasmine which can only be harvested in Egypt within the space of two weeks in August. There is also a delicious, fruity and honeyed osmanthus theme. Finally, the oud oil adds extra mystery and darkness to the story.

Peek into the formula:

Verdello lemon 5%
Madagascar Mandarin 2%
Paraguay petitgrain 0.5%
Mandarin blossom 1%
Triplal (spring green floral nuance) 0.15%
Leafovert (fruity green nuance) 0.1%
Timur pepper 0.5%
Ethyl acetate (fruity odor) 0.5%
Osmanthus Guilin 0.5%
Ethyl decadienoate (pear odor) 0.5%
Davana 0.05%
Prunella base (dried-fruits odor) 0.5%
Bourgeonal (an aldehyde with odour similar to lily-of-the-valley) 0.5%
Florol (a fresh, soft and natural floral note similar to lily-of-the-valley) 7%
Ethyl linalool (bergamot like aroma) 7%
Linalool 5%
Night blooming jasmine accord 5%
Egyptian jasmine absolute 0.7%
Jasinthaflor (sensual jasmine/ylang-ylang aroma imitation) 0.5%
Benzyl acetate (an essential component in jasmine/gardenia notes) 2%
Hedione 14.4%
Jasmolactone (a milky fruity element of the jasmine aroma) 0.2%
Cis-jasmone (jasmine/tuberose element) 0.1%
Indole 0.1%
Madagascar ylang-ylang 0.2%
Citronellyl acetate (fruity, floral, fresh element) 0.5%
Geranyl acetate (fruity rose element) 1.5%
Damascenone 0.1%
Methyl-ionone alpha 0.5%
cis-3-hexenyl salicylate (a green floral nuance) 5%
Ethyl malthol (candy floss nuance) 0.1%
Madagascar vanilla absolute 0.15%
Vanillin 0.5%
Cashmeran 5%
Cedramber 8%
Iso-e-super 10%
Oud essence 0.1%
New Caledonian sandalwood 0.3%
Javanol 0.5%
Ambrocenide Cryst. 0.2%
Ambroxide 4%
Globalide 6%
Galaxalide 5%

Sunlight was commissioned by Brocard to Bertrand Duchaufour. It is their first experiment in the luxury segment and an approach to perfume making as conceptual art.

To understand this perfume you need to go back to those physics lessons at school when they explained the nature of light. That light is actually a wave of particles, a flow of energy and that we can only discern the separate colors of natural light with a prism.

The second thing to consider before you approach Sunlight is to think how we experience light and sunlight in particular. We register it around us, we can tell if there is more of it or less around but it’s a phenomenon on the verge of comprehension and conscious perception and in the past the Sun and its manifestations were worshiped as source of life and something divine bestowed on us.

In Sunlight the perfumer used exotic spices, juicy citruses, Mediterranean flowers, some gourmand accords such as marron glace and benzoin resin. However, they all merge into an omnipresent uniform wave of particles around you which you can only perceive as a whole perfume, same way we perceive sunlight. The perfume is also as pleasant as warm rays of the Sun thanks to the subtle gourmand touch, sweet citruses and gentle flowers.

The choice of materials is not random, the sun brings orchards to life, sweet aromas attracting busy bees, the golden round citruses resemble mini Suns and precious benzoin resin represents warmth earth might exude when heated with sun rays.

The bottle deserves a separate mention, it's heavy crystal with exactly 57 facets, the same number you have in the classic diamond cut, the perfect number to capture light inside the stone and make it pulse within.

You can actually spin the bottle (the base has been cut in a special way) to admire the play of light inside the amber coloured tincture.

A bright bouquet with a citrus woody focus. Bergamot, mandarin and ginger inject a full freshness effect while sunny floral notes of organge blossom, jasmine and rose meld with velvety notes of milk chocolate. This is an ode to the enigmatic power of white flowers in a rich and edible interpretation.

Perfumer: Sfean J.A.

Tsarina is part of the Four Corners of the Earth collection, and represents a romantic view of the Eastern lands known variously throughout history as Moscovia, the Russian empire, USSR, and now, Russia.

These fabled landscapes are the setting for Slavic folk tales about the cannibal witch Baba Yaga, the three headed dragons, and many brave maidens ruling over kingdoms. This region which is also the setting for beloved classic literature including War and Peace and Eugene Onegin.

Tsarina/Царица is an ancient title for a female ruler of these lands, whether imaginary or real. Tsarina the perfume has romantic references to fairy tales and the opulence of courts: delectable candied citruses, the waxy, melted candle-like nuance of sandalwood, and the fine leather/fur presence provided by orris and labdanum.

The elixir is also exceptionally concentrated, at 42% - hence the 'intensivo' in the title.

June 1660, the Isle of Pheasants, Basque region, French-Spanish border

Fleur de Louis is a refined and elegant imagining of the peace negotiations at the center of the marriage between Louis XIV of France and Marie-Teresa of Spain. A regal ceremony carried out with pomp and purpose against a newly built pavilion of cedar and pine which takes center stage.

Neroli, green galbanum, cypress and bergamot open, leading the way a heart of radiant orange blossom (a favourite of the Sun King), jasmine and subtly perfumed rose and clove water.

Powdery and clean orris contrasts with resinous white cedar. The charismatic beginning of a new era.

A sweet fragrance with floral and balsamic notes that comforts, transports and illuminates. Its exceptional bouquet envelops us in softness and transports us to an eternal summer.

Perfumer: Serge de Oliveira

"I wanted to imagine the quintessence of floral elegance. This precious flower opens with a radiant freshness, before revealing a smooth and delicate heart. Over the hours, the note becomes comforting and enveloping, an invitation to savor each moment of calm before the world comes alive."

May 1899, Foyer of the Opera-Comique, Paris

A dignified and refined celebration of masculinity, Boutonniere No7 opens with fresh aromatic notes of lavender, bergamot and a subtle note of mandarin.

During the intermission 7 men gather in the Grand Foyer seeking new flirtations and encounters. A heart of crisp and green gardenia is a nod to the considered gesture of a single gardenia bloom, worn in the boutonniere (buttonhole). Indolic tinged petals jasminoides (star jasmine) mingle with the gardenia blooms, heightened by an animalic note of genet (broom shrub) absolute.

Labdanum, oakmoss, vetiver and castoreum lend salty soapy facets that contradict the smooth polished gardenia.

A genteel bouquet.

The Mediterranean freshness of the essence, whose citrus notes are accompanied by the sensuality of damask rose, sublimating in sinuous oriental echoes, is inspired by the colour that has made the frescoes of Pompeian domes famous and unmistakable all over the world.

The pigment obtained from the mineral cinnabar, Rossopompeiano, emblem of a part of the history the perfumer Agatho’s city, becomes a perfume.

A challenging complex perfume with a core created around 5 different types of lavender. It's not a lavender perfume though. The purple flowered herbs are combined with absolute of Damask rose and jasmine grandiflorum together with ylang-ylang. This floral mix encounters a bizarre malt note, some Bourbon vanilla and a large group of resins and herbs. The Himalayan cedar-wood adds a bit of smoky woodiness and together with grapefruit creates a fizzy honey feeling and almost fruity edge.

MEM comes from the Indo-European word root that is at the base of many words linked to the idea of water, liquid, sea, fertility. In the Hebrew alphabet is the thirteenth letter and it means water with further meanings such as chaos, mighty, blood. Plus it has a beautiful sound and it's a palindrome word, same reading from left to right and vice-versa. This is somehow the effect of the perfume as well, really circular with no real beginning or end, masculine and feminine, dark and light, open and close...

Castoreum and civet in the formula are natural.

The absolutes are Jasmine grandiflorum from Egypt, extracted in France, Jasmine Sambac from India, rose Damascena from Bulgaria, lavender (lavandula augustifolia) from France and vanilla from Madagascar.

The other natural ingredients are ylang-ylang extra, signature Bogue’s benzoin from Thailand, Bourbon geranium from Madagascar and lavender AOP from Haute Provence.

A full-on fruity floral goumond. Radiant goosbury and ylang-ylang work in harmony for a delightfully delectible effect. Shavings of sweet woods is created by cedarwood and jasmine which are encased in honeyed amber. A background of vanilla enriches the oriental effect with hints of leather giving a rounded diffusion.

Perfumer: Sfean J.A.