Zinnia by Antonio Puig

Just picked up a bottle of this classic. My mother used to put it on me when I was little; it smells green and lasts a long time. Nowadays I detect it as more herbal-aromatic with citrus notes barely floral. It’s fresh and lovely.

I went to my father’s sister’s house and it smelled different because I had just done the shopping. I asked what she was using. Zinnia was her favourite perfume in her years as a teacher and upon seeing it again at El Corte Inglés she bought it to ensure it remained the same. The stereotype of teachers’ woody scents is true and very appropriate. It’s dusty clean but with depth. It leaves a good trail and lasts an entire afternoon. It’s halfway between green and citrus and reminds me a lot of Eau de Rochas. It belongs to that group of perfumes I know beyond the primary note; my exaggerated response to smelling it again is because I recognised the scent I wore when playing with me years ago. I wish Eau de Rochas had resisted reformulations as well.

I’m writing this with the perfume on. I had a bottle tucked away for a year and rediscovered it this summer of extreme heat. It’s the only thing I can wear although I prefer potent perfumes. Refreshing to the point of no return; reapplying it is like taking a shower again. On my skin I find it green dry/rubbery aromatic floral and very fresh. It has a slightly spicy or piquant touch that makes it addictive. I detect it for about five hours not bad for an EDT. A total success for spring/summer for little money. I will certainly repeat.

Given the official notes (Bergamot Neroli Mandarin; Jasmine Rose Lily of the Valley; Patchouli Amber) it seems curious that they emphasise the florals while here freshness is highlighted. Did the formulation change? I will acquire the old and current versions to compare. Edit: The original vintage sealed one has arrived. A triumph; I miss the old practice of ingredients that gave longevity and intensity. I start by being obvious: it resembles Eau de Rochas especially the 90s formula but Zinnia has a more complex body herbal animal sharp austere and strong accompanied by a subtle flower and green notes like a macerated aquatic green mossy and wet. The notes are very rare I can’t decipher them. It’s a mix between green citrus not hyper fresh with a vintage touch (misnamed dusty) and a fleeting minty burst. Could it be unisex? It’s rare personal strong; taking away the neutral would remove the sense of its sensuality. It lasts on the skin especially at the hairline and temples until the next day passing the sleep test. It’s not hyper sexy but interesting attractive and with strong personality. Edit2: I now have all three versions. ANTONIO PUIG PLEASE STOP REMOVING FRAGRANCES. Is the original very similar to the next and the last reformulated by De Ruy? Yes but the last one not so much. They removed the kind floral base note so I stick with the first two from Puig. It’s not worth the last one unless you can’t find the originals. This review is for the nostalgics because it’s no longer sold and you have to resort to the De Ruy version. Edit: They are very similar but the GOOD one is the first the 80s one with dark green flowers. The others have more of a fresh citrus vibe and remove the vintage feminine floral although all smell vintage. I would choose the first one; it smells more mysterious attractive pure and suggestive. I don’t know why they reformulated the second; that sting is more tiring. On paper the difference is tremendous on skin it’s not so horrible but the essence that makes it unmistakable is in all three.

Tremendous Eau de Toilette a fragrance from another era where EDTs were more potent had the performance of an EDP and a distinctive personality. After more than 30 summers I have it anchored in my memory with affection and it’s appreciated that it has returned without reformulations. Its launch in the 90s was a success for being modern natural and elegant. Today I smell Estivalia to Marlen Don Algodón to Marta Colours by Benneton to Belen Eau Jeune to Titi Chanson d’eau to Mar and Zinnia was my daily wear; for special moments I used Eau de Courrèges. After Josenna’s review I think everything has been said: it’s a Citrus Fougère Animal I would add green because it’s bitter woody and earthy; it’s the scent of the most hidden corner of a Mediterranean forest in spring full of moss wet plants green rocks and waterlogged paths. It’s sophisticated and lasts like the women who wore it: big girls university students and mothers always put-together. It has a citrus exit of sour lemon mandarin neroli and white flowers perhaps jasmine; I bet on cardamom coriander oakmoss and wood. It’s very similar to Eau de Rochas although I like it more; this one is mass-produced and Zinnia has a certain something that makes it special more aromatic and less feminine without that musky and sweet base it could be unisex. It has the longevity and trail of a perfume it could cost a hundred euros and I would be fine with it but it’s by Puig and within everyone’s reach. It’s a classic a jewel of Spanish perfumery humble shining with its own light and has returned to stay. I am happy to use it again just as I left it.

I was greatly disappointed as a young girl when I bought it; they told me it was the same as Eau de Rochas and it didn’t seem so. Recently I smelled Eau de Rochas Fraiche for the first time and that one is it; upon smelling it it reminded me totally of Zinnia.

The first fougère I can truly recognise as such. It brings back memories of my teachers when I was a child, while I smelled of puzzle pieces. It’s green, fresh, with a small, precious elegance. Thanks to it, I learned to appreciate green scents, later choosing Houbigant’s Jardin Secret. It will be a classic; I’m glad it still exists.

ZINIA, a beautiful name for this great cologne. Good morning, undoubtedly it has many more components, as Josesan says, than those highlighted by Fragrantica. Magnificent review by Josesan! It smells of orange blossom, citrus, and green notes; it’s more ‘green’ than citrus or floral. It has good longevity, gives a sensation of freshness, and is pure joie de vivre. I’m surprised there are only 2 reviews before mine. It’s not a generic smell, although it has a certain air of ‘Eau de Rochas’. It used to be much cheaper than the latter, but in my opinion the quality is similar. I used it a long time ago (I like it a lot) and I would notice it when I saw it on supermarket counters, thinking ‘well, I’ll buy you one of these days…’. Have you ever happened that, to buy anything, you go to other neighbourhoods of the city, bypassing your own, because you think you’ll find better products and it turns out the best was right next to you? Well… this happens in all fields, even in love. Well, that happened to me with Zinnia. I left it ‘gathering dust’ while enjoying other more mediocre aromas. Now that I decided to buy it to use it this spring/summer, I can’t find it anywhere. I had to order it from eBay. This morning it finally arrived. Welcome back! I put it in the bathroom to ‘bathe’ in it after a shower. Perfectly unisex. Greetings.

Zinnia is an annual plant of Mexican origin, with flowers of all colours. ZINNIA by PUIG is another work by Rosendo Mateu, a drastic aroma. Its official notes are bergamot, neroli, and mandarin, but they are not the only ones nor the most defining. Like Estivalia, it doesn’t play games. It shows that intense fougères are Mateu’s speciality. How were the women of decades ago who used such resolute fougères? ZINNIA has more animal beginnings than Estivalia. It is not floral, but Citrus Fougère Animal. It includes moss, caraway, sage, cardamom, vetiver, lavender, and dense extracts of lichens, ferns, and fungi. This opening pulls back due to its visceral herbo-animal intensity. It is a prodigy of imagination. It is not a perfume for love at first sight nowadays. It needs time to settle into this proposal. It evolves into simpler, calm citrus notes, without sweetness or romanticism. It is a perfume of character, with a marked personality. In its dry down, anise and menthol notes are perceptible. PUIG didn’t make fresh citrus waters; its strength was the rugged and wooded. A school of potent fragrances for seasoned fighters and workers.

A less astringent and velvet version of the seventies’ citrus. Neither sweet nor cloying like the new batches I’m trying (the Atelier Cologne ones stick a lot). Zinnia was the lost link between those green waters and the later classic citrus; it wasn’t harsh, but had a very nice crunchy and earthy touch. My mother loved it; she used it with Estivalia, which, by the way, was a work of art compared to this, which is more generic. It wasn’t bad; it recalled Rochas water, but with that characteristic wet and crunchy aftertaste. Absolutely unisex and with personality, it wasn’t a family cologne in a bottle. I’ve seen comparisons with Azur and Agua de Luna by Puig, but to me, they have nothing to do with it; these have bergamot and fruit flesh with an unbearable dirty freezer aftertaste, just like the Loewe water from 2000, which is the most fetid thing I’ve tried. If I saw it in an old perfumery, I would buy a bottle and be enchanted.