Tobacco Collection Rich Warm Addictive
Zara (2016)

I blind bought this after a friend told me it was nearly identical to Herod from Parfums de Marly. Herod is a bit on the gourmand side for my personal taste, but I still think it's a pretty solid fragrance with nice accords and an interesting dry down. Given how cheap this fragrance retails for (25 CAD), I thought it was worth checking out.

Tobacco Collection Rich Warm Addictive from Zara, to my nose, isn't much of a tobacco fragrance at all. What I really get is a blast of honey and coconut notes, that end up smelling like a blend of cocoa and honey, with barely a hint of tobacco leaves when applied to the skin. While this might sound like an interesting combination for fans of gourmand fragrances, I have to say that there is a warmth and richness to this scent that I find very off-putting, maybe because the notes come off as quite synthetic, muddled and heavy. Or maybe because I'm just not a fan of the honey note, which is definitely dominant in this scent.

To anyone about to purchase this and expecting to get a Herod clone for only a few bucks, you will be disappointed. Herod has that beautiful vanilla base note, which is nowhere to be found in Tobacco Collection Rich Warm Addictive. Herod also has this very nice drydown where spicy accords get into the mix, whereas Zara's fragrance is a linear and weak performer.

Really not my cup of tea, but if you like a dominant honey note, this is a safe pick, and a cheap one too. They list this as a men's fragrance but honestly, it comes off as very feminine to me.

No tobacco at all. Just a (very) youthly sweet generic scent.

I don't love this, but it has a definitive draw.

It is a smoky vanillaic creamy fare that is 100% unisex. Smells better on women from my experience actually.

As with other Zara offerings, sillage and longevity are not the best, but because this is mostly linear, you can overspray (circa 20 sprays for me) and get better performance.

Works better in cooler weather.

Guys, one of the best cheapies you can get. Trust me. The quality is outstanding, it does smells expensive. I have close to 100 Niche fragrances on my shelves and this can compete with them. Bang for your buck .com

Oh, and did I mention that the ladies love it?

His Excellency
Saint Tommy Bahama Ford
Tobaccoconut

And Her Persistence
Lady Amber Funk-Vanille
Of Suntan Worship

Smoking After Sex
And Daddy's Pipe Tobacco
Most kindly request

The pleasure of your
Presence at the wedding of
Their loving daughter

Neeshawna Budgette
To Sir Rich Warm-Addictive
Most loving child of

Zara Brownbottle
Of Sevilla, España
And her late husband

One More Zara Frag
Discontinued The Moment
That It's Discovered.

In lieu of flowers
Please send your kind donations
In the couple's name

To Scammers, Shills and
Speculative Resellers
Of your loving choice.

Initially thought this was ok but it's pretty linear and quite cloying and overpowering. There's lots of hype around it (or was at one point) but don't get sucked in - it's cheap but really smells it after you try the better options on the market - Atkinsons Odd Fellows Bouquet, Histoires Ernest Hemmingway, Aramis Tobacco Reserve, Phaedon Tobacco Rouge, eau duelle etc. All these are much more interesting and wearable over and over again. RWA just gets sickly after about an hour - I've decanted my bottle, watered it down, put some wooden diffusing sticks in it and turned it into an air freshener for the toilet - it's absolutely indiscernible from the vanilla air fresheners you get from the supermarket. It works well in that context.