Zdravetz FZOTIC for women and men

Reminds me acutely of summers at my grandparents' house when I was a kid -- citronella candles and dish soap. Smells better when not right up next to your nose but still an oppressive, syrupy floral.

As Spring is officially here, I like to wear rose centered fragrances and I find myself gravitating toward Zdavretz for its spicy depth and dimension.

I recently sampled Rose & Cuir by Frederic Malle/Jean-Claude Ellena because well, I wanted rose and leather, just as was advertised, and I found it to be likable but it seemed so airy and suggestive, rather than going for it and nailing it.

Zdavretz came to mind and after rereading the notes, and to my surprise, there’s actually some leather and animalics in there. Side by side, I actually prefer Zdavretz for its directness vs Rose & Cuir for its passiveness.

Zdavretz delights with its bright, citric opening, much like Spring does, but then it intensifies and deepens, getting spicy, woody, and even a touch barnyardy with leather. It’s like a full day of Spring in the countryside.

I acquired a sample of Zdravetz before I realized I simply don't like geraniums. I didn't like them in my garden, despite their distinctive leaves and bright flowers, and I don't usually like them in fragrance. I'm still glad I tried it :)
Zdravetz lifts up the geranium and air it out. What immediately comes to mind is the word 'effervescent.' It's a geranium-scented Fizzy Lifting Drink for the skin. There's also mild soapy rose and light zesty grapefruit. While not Earthy, it's bubbly & fresh & ozonic & clean, from a distinctly earthy perspective; @mlleghoul's story of the upwardly-mobile garden gnome encapsulates this perspective beautifully. On me it is linear and long-lasting.

It's a gorgeous, uplifting approach to a flower I regrettably can't stand. Even this carbonated love letter can't fix that. I would love for A.N.Y. other flower to be the subject of this perfume, alas... Geranium lovers: this is the one for you.

Thoughts on a sampling...

*Right away flowers come at you hard and fast but not in such a feminine way. More like industrial strength bathroom cleaner. I guess it has to do with the types of flowers and the way they are combined. I really don't know.
* The Industrial smell goes away within a few minutes.
* Then it goes slightly sweet but once again in a nice way. Not too sweet more like a flowery sweetness coupled by a mintyness that is not in the listing of fragrance notes.
* Finally the Maracuya (Passion Fruit), and Pomelo (Grapefruit) citric acids become noticeable in the background. Did not notice the Bergamot but I suppose it must also be in that mix.
* What a juicy freshness this has. Very nice.
* Will need more samplings to decide which way it leans on the Gender Scale. Not sold yet on it being Unisex as it could go either way.
* After my third try now I am really beginning to enjoy it in a playful childish sort of way. That being said I would say it is for a younger crowd say 18 to 30 year olds.
*For over 30 year olds it might start to lean slightly feminine. Feels like I can’t be taken too serious wearing this. In other words definitely not a manly red power tie scent.
* I am going to call this unisex. Because I like it! A lot!!
* I've tried it several more times now and I can't believe I'm saying this but I am going to add it toward the back of my “want list” for now. That could change either way though as I still need to test it some more.
* After a few more wears I am a little disappointed with its performance. The silage does not make it to 2 hours and becomes a skin scent and a ridiculously weak one at that. After 4 hours it is all but gone.

** Final thoughts. I think I am going to get this just that it will have to wait in the back of a long line of other future purchases. If the silage potency was there I would have purchased it this week in place of the Meander from Amouage that I ordered instead.

*** Well after several months I am finally rocking my new full bottle.
And am very pleased. Just wish that it could be more than a paltry 30ml bottle.

I am not typically someone who likes “crisp” or “fresh” scents. Those concepts and related notes conjure for me ideas of country clubs and corporate culture and sterile, blandly uninteresting environments as well as notions of conformity and impossible standards and expectations. Nope, no thanks. So when I first smell Zdravetz, it does seem like that’s what it’s going for. I believe this is supposed to be a rose scent, but I do not smell any kind of rose here. And Zdravetz is in the geranium family I believe. A sort of aromatic woody herbaceous scent, a little tannic like strong black tea. In the opening, I do smell something vaguely herbal and medicinal and a soft woody floral. But then it gets weird. Imagine fresh but you’ve never smelled what a 21st-century idea of fresh is. You’re just a garden gnome, dirt under your nails, moss behind your ears, sleeping in your earthen burrow, washing your tangled beard every morning in primrose dew. But you want to make your way in the world so you and your brothers spend every cent you have on a nice outfit and you all clean up as best you can with a grain of old-timey laundry powder you’ve been hoarding for 100 years and you interview with some start-up firms but you don’t know what it means to “fungibly innovate leveraged sources” or “synergize team building potentialities.”! And you don’t get any callbacks and you reckon the world of humans isn’t for you anyway and that’s a little depressing but you’d rather be who you’ve always been than three little gnomes standing on each other’s shoulders under a Burberry trenchcoat working on TPS reports.

I don’t really get what Bruno is getting at when he says “if you don’t have something new to say there’s no point in making yet another rose perfume” because this is straight up grandma water. Or great-grandma water if you’re younger than me.

Sickly-floral rose overpowers everything else in it. Like all Fazzos it’s quite strong with a lot of longevity. I like his stuff usually but this one just does not work.

Starts out medicinal smelling but in a good way - like maybe some medicinal ointment from long ago.... then it becomes the rose and it’s a pretty dewy rose. I like it a lot.

You're working in a quarantine room, wearing a latex bodysuit, washing down plastic tarps and equipment. With your comrades in tow, you squeegee the plastic walls and the plastic windows, removing all evidence of medical misfortune. Ahh! To be clean! Sterile. Squeaky. Squeaky clean. Zdravetz by Bruno Fazzolari.

Zdravetz comes across as a very watery-transparent geranium/rose with something that hints at green notes; no discernible leather or suede. Unfortunately it smells dangerously close to scented products (shampoo or dishwashing liquid). One positive aspect is that this doesn't seem to turn sour on my skin. Vanilla is listed but I don't get any, and this isn't sweet. Not much personality here, and not sure why anyone would get this instead of dozens of other fresh florals at one-tenth the price. Perhaps Fazzolari's weakest offering (and I've tried them all except Unsettled).

1/5

P.S. The other new release, Corpse Reviver, is a scrumptious grown-up gourmand. Strongly recommended.

Sampling Bruno Fazzolari Zdravetz, one of two new releases (the other being Corpse Reviver). The name refers to the Bulgarian geranium, and in that respect, is accurate, as the fragrance is quite floral dominant, also with touches of Bulgarian rose, grapefruit, bergamot, “velvet” galbanum, passion fruit, cedar, leather, and vanilla.

Overall, it’s a reasonably fresh floral experience with touches of fruit. Very pleasant and sophisticated, perhaps apt for those not looking for a floral fragrance that’s not too loud or stereotypically feminine. And particular with the citrus, leather, and vanilla supporting notes, Zdravetz is a fragrance that anyone compare. It’s much less challenging than the Slumberhouse-esque Corpse Reviver, and in fact is one of the most agreeable fragrances that he’s released, perhaps second only to Five in terms of ease of wear.

So I dig Zdravetz a lot and recommend that people try it out. I’m fairly picky about floral-dominant fragrances but Zdravetz is balanced enough that I can see it working in lots of situations. Still, I’m not sure it suits me personally enough that I’d need a full bottle, maybe just a decant to wear randomly.

The pricing of Zdravetz is the same as most of the house’s lineup, $125 for 30ml, and it’s sold at great boutiques, like Twisted Lily and Luckyscent, that carry the brand.

Again, I’d champion pursuing one of the custom sample palettes from the Bruno Fazzolari / Fzotic website as a way of acquiring 3 samples at once, well secured and displayed, with descriptive notecards. Really great sample presentation.

7 out of 10