Zara Just Dropped 7 Expensive-Smelling Fragrance Edits That Could Easily Pass for Designer
Out of all of the brands that offer high-street fragrances, Zara perfumes are the best around, in my opinion. From the TikTok-viral Red Temptation fragrance (a dupe for Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge 540) to its other perfume dupes that smell suspiciously designer-coded, you can count on Zara to offer a luxurious scent without the designer tag. Coming in at £36 and under (many are actually under £20), not only are Zara perfumes very affordable for their generous sizes—which average around 100ml—but the bottles themselves look pretty chic too.
So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw that Zara now has perfume discovery sets of its best-selling fragrances, allowing you to try several of the brand's most-loved perfumes at an even more affordable price. Available in 7.5ml discovery sets and larger 30ml sets, these are ideal if you want to try a mix of Zara's best perfumes that you can then easily pop in your bag or carry-on luggage if you're headed on holiday. They also make a great gift for a fragrance lover.
Scroll ahead for the best Zara perfume discovery sets.
The Best Zara Perfume Discovery Sets, Ranked
1. Red Temptation Discovery Set
Zara's Red Temptation fragrance has become well-known for smelling very similar to Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge 540. Since taking off on TikTok when users realised it was £222 cheaper than MFK—not to mention how expensive it smells—Zara has since launched flanking versions of the scent, including Red Temptation Summer, Red Temptation Winter and Red Temptation Elixir.
This discovery set allows you to try all of them in rollerball format for just £16, and the 7.5ml vials are ideal for popping into your bag or carry-on luggage if you're heading on holiday. If you love warm, woody amber scents, you have to try this quartet.
2. Chapter Discovery Set
If you want to try some of Zara's other best-selling perfumes, this discovery set has a selection, including the much-loved Red Temptation with its luxurious notes of amber and wood. Inside this set, you also have Golden Decade, a fruity floral with hypnotic jasmine, orange blossom and juicy mandarin; and Hypnotic Vanilla, a sweet and mysterious scent that TikTok says is like Dior Hypnotic Poison, but to me, it reminds me a little of Byredo's Vanille Antique.
My favourite from the set is Rose Gourmand, which I recently experienced on a friend who smelt absolutely incredible, and I demanded to know what it was. Think velvety rose and peony petals laced with caramel with a hint of musk. It's a divine evening scent if you want compliments left, right and centre.
3. Chapter 1 Discovery Set
This set has four 30ml travel-sized versions of Zara's Chapters scents—can we take a moment to talk about how cute these miniature bottles are? Inside you get Red Temptation, Golden Decade and Rose Gourmand as in the above set, but with the addition of Sublime Epoque, a heavenly mix of creamy tuberose, jasmine and vanilla. This is the ideal discovery set if you want to try some of Zara's most-loved fragrances without committing to a full-sized bottle.
4. Chapter 7 Travel Set
If you're the mysterious type when it comes to fragrance, this discovery set has your name written all over it. It centres around the addictive vanilla note and includes four varieties to discover: Hypnotic Vanilla, Supreme Vanilla, Angelic Vanilla and Sensual Vanilla; and each is as delicious as the next. Hypnotic Vanilla is the ultimate smooth vanilla scent, Supreme Vanilla smells a lot like YSL Black Opium and Angelic Vanilla has been compared to Beyonce's favourite perfume, Kilian Angels Share. On the other hand, I've heard Sensual Vanilla has similarities to Kayali Vanilla 28.
5. Chapter 9 Travel Set
The Chapter 9 set contains four 30ml versions of fragrances that are ideal for summertime, including Juicy Infusion, Pistachio Infusion, Ruby Infusion and Secret Infusion. Juicy Infusion smells like a holiday in a bottle, with ripe pear, creamy jasmine and juicy blackcurrant, whilst gourmand fragrance lovers will adore Pistachio Infusion, with its delicious nutty combo of green pistachio, powdery iris and sweet tonka bean. If you want something like Rihanna's rumoured favourite scent, Kilian Love, Don't Be Shy, then Ruby Infusion will be right up your street with its heavenly sweet marshmallow, cotton candy and blackcurrant. Finally, Secret Infusion is a pretty woody-floral scent, with pear, violet, peony, musk and cedar.
6. Emotions Vibrant Cities Discovery Set
I'm so pleased these scents created by perfumer Jo Malone CBE are back in the form of a discovery set—and new chic bottles—as each is incredible. I'm willing to put it out there: these are Zara's best perfumes, ever. Many of these are inspired by cities around the world, there is something for everyone in this discovery collection, including Fashionable London, Elegantly Tokyo, Energetically New York, Ebony Wood and Fleur d'Oranger. You get five designer-smelling scents in 7.5ml sizes for just £36, which is great value for how beautiful these perfumes are.
Fragrance lovers say that Fashionably London is a dead-ringer for Parfums De Marly Delina (one of the most sought-after luxury perfumes right now) and Energetically New York is a sandalwood scent that gives a little nod to Le Labo Santal 33. Ebony Wood will appease sweet-woody lovers and both Fleur d'Orangeur and Elegantly Tokyo are a floral-lover's dream.
7. Emotions Fragrances Discovery Set
Also created by Jo Malone CBE are the Emotions scents, and you can try a handful of these in this discovery set in 7.5ml form. Inside, you have Ebony Wood, Amalfi Sunray, Vetiver Pamplemousse, Waterlily Tea Dress and Fleur de Patchouli. Ebony Wood reminds me a lot of Jo Malone London's Pomegranate Noir, and Amalfi Sunray transports you straight to the Italian Riviera, with sun-drenched orange blossom, mandarin and bergamot. Vetiver Pamplemousse is an aromatic and fresh take on grapefruit and woody vetiver, and Waterlily Tea Dress will transport you to summer picnics with a gentle breeze in the air. Finally, Fleur de Patchouli is a sophisticated take on earthy patchouli with peonies and guiac wood. This is such a chic edit of fragrances.
Eleanor Vousden is the beauty editor for Who What Wear UK. She was previously deputy editor at Hairdressers Journal, health writer at Woman & Home and junior beauty editor at beauty website Powder. She has also contributed to Wallpaper and Elle Collections with written and styling work.Working as a beauty journalist since 2015 after graduating in fashion journalism at the London College of Fashion, she has been highly commended at the BSME Talent Awards for her work on Powder and also contributed to the title winning Website of the Year at the PPA Awards.Eleanor’s journalistic focus is to provide readers with honest and helpful beauty content. Through words, video and live broadcast, she has interviewed several celebrity makeup artists, hairstylists and top dermatologists throughout her career, as well as celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Scarlett Johansson. She has a particular interest in finding solutions for acne and eczema, which she has experienced firsthand. She has also amassed a large collection of fragrances and can never say no to a new candle.When she’s not writing or testing the latest beauty product or treatments, she’s on the seafront in her hometown of Brighton and Hove, where she lives with her partner and her miniature dachshund.
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