Zen (new) (2007)
by Shiseido

Sophistication and mystery in a bottle. A winter evening scent. It is described as a “fresh, floral woody scent” with notes of grapefruit, bergamot, peach, pineapple, blue rose, freesia, gardenia, red apple, violet, lily of the valley, hyacinth, rose, lotus flower, patchouli, cedar, musk, white musk, amber, incense and marine plant. I think this description makes it sound light and young…which to me it certainly isn’t. Zen has a much darker undertone.. the woody basenotes come through well over the florals. There is also an unusual note that adds dimension. According to Almairac this is the “blue rose”, which springs from the marriage of a rose and violet and has a very particular odor — a lemony note. On a side note, the bottle looks beautiful in my cupboard.. Apparently inspired by a Japanese tearoom. This one is a keeper.

11th February, 2011.

It works well on me, I am a scorpio with A+ blood type (Some say that matters). It hits all the right notes in all the right places, intro and middle is soo complex, and seems to be when I receive most compliments. Something about this scent reminds me of being in Marrakesh Morocco at a spice market, not that I've ever been, but I bet it smells great! There are many different notes at any given time depending on which way the wind and my hair blows. This is not a common or easily recognizable scent so for that reason alone I choose to wear it heavily in the fall and winter. I will admit on the intro, there are some similarities to chanel mademoiselle.

3rd December, 2010.

Intoxicating elegance in a bottle the notes are clean fresh ultra modern that reflects the chic and self assured young woman of the 21st century the notes as well as the smell are complex and this isn't your cliche run of the mill floral
fragrance are from that despite the simple
minimalistic design there are wonderful
complexities in one bottle.

A nice opening of musk that is deep and
woodsy mixes with sweet and not overwhelming note of pineapple and orange that is not cloying, the florals
in Zen are very light and don't stand out like the fruit notes but i notice
a bit of lily of the valley Hyacinth in
diluted form powdery lotus and sweet freesia, the drydown has a wet earthy
feel of patchouli after the night's rain
in the forest and finishes with a dry and mysterious note of incense.

9th October, 2010.

Shiseido Zen (amber cube-shaped bottle):

Top notes are grapefruit, bergamot, peach, pineapple and blue rose; mid notes include freesia, gardenia, red apple, violet, lily of the valley, hyacinth, rose from China and lotus flower; base notes include patchouli, cedar, musk, white musk, amber, incense and marine plant. The "blue rose" note is an imaginary abstract note based on rose and violet and freshened by a lemony note, as perfumer Michel Almairac explained for the original Zen. (from Scented Salamander)

The grapefruit is most prominent in the top notes--a clean, non-sulfuric citrus scent combined with a note that smells sort of like watermelon. I suppose the listed notes of peach and pineapple can evoke a watery, generic fruit note, but to me it still smells like watermelon! There is an ingredient in this fragrance which hints at woody herbs--in fact, it has a vague ammonia note, the one I often smell in fougeres. It is subtle here, thank goodness. The herbal note gives the fragrance a bit of a green, scrubby edge, but it is definitely not bordering on masculine by any means. As the mid notes develop, I also smell something slightly ozonic, and to my surprise, it is completely at home here, not off-putting in any way. What a difference it makes to have a note coming out right on cue and in a context that allows the note to actually WORK. For some reason, the sour, wet fruit notes combined with woody herbs and ozone reminds me of Chanel Allure Sensuelle, except that in the latter case, I feel almost as if the top notes were tacked onto a base that was developed for a completely separate fragrance. Not so with Zen, although I can't say that Zen's base is particularly special, either. Perhaps a comparison to Chanel Coco Mademoiselle might be a bit more apt, although I find that Zen is such a simplistic thing compared to Coco Mlle.

The middle development of Zen is long and linear. Most of the grapefruit is lost, but the anonymous peach keeps plucking away until the fragrance turns into a very high quality "dryer sheet" soap scent. Estee Lauder, eat your heart out--Zen is soft, pleasant, a bit boring, and it does not give me a headache like most of the EL white floral offerings do. It does strike me as strange that a fragrance containing so many floral ingredients can smell so much of soap, though. I'd say Zen is as soapy as Prada Infusion d'Iris but without the lovely refinement that I enjoy in the Prada fragrance. Longevity is surprisingly long--in a separate wearing, three sprays shared between two arms lasted all day and it was still strongly perceptible the next morning.

Shisedo Zen Summer (white cube-shaped bottle):

Top notes: lemon, cedrat, apple, grapefruit, peach, blackcurrant; heart notes: freesia, gardenia, blue rose, lily of the valley, lotus bloom; base notes: raspberry, cedar, musk, amber. The "blue rose" note is an imaginary abstract note based on rose and violet and freshened by a lemony note, as perfumer Michel Almairac explained for the original Zen. (from Scented Salamander)

The summer edition of Zen opens with a sweet fruit melange--I smell mostly peach (or nectarine) and grapefruit, with the emphasis on the peach. Because of the grapefruit, the peach does not become a sweet, fuzzy or ripe fruit, but rather smells watery, refreshing and slightly green. Compared to Zen, which puts less emphasis on the fruit and more emphasis on the woods and soapy florals, Zen Summer's peach fruit stays present through most of the development, even into the soft, soapy drydown. I was surprised that this fragrance actually reminds me of Shiseido's Energizing Fragrance which does not list any fruit notes (that I could find). However, Zen Summer is not as uplifting nor as complex as EF. This is not to say EF is terribly complex, but it is a bit scary that a fragrance I originally though of as straight-forward seems more interesting than this newer composition. Perhaps Zen as a concept is supposed to be minimal, but I hardly think that means the fragrance must be insipid. At any rate, it is enjoyable enough. I thought I would like it better than Zen (in the amber cube-shaped bottle), but it did not turn out that way. Regardless, Zen Summer is very fresh, light, makes very little statement, and lacks any semblance of personality. Longevity is excellent--two sprays lasted all day in a previous wearing.

2nd May, 2009.

I love this fragrance, it's heady and sweet and very long lasting, all of which tick my boxes. I find it less woody then most, and perhaps the Patchouli wood is what I find most dominant in the base, instead I find the Freesia and Hyacinth predominate. I also find a kind of tangy Incense odour remains on my skin and clothing for days even after only a small application. It interacts deliciously with other fragrances also, and i imagine this is because of Shiseido's commitment to such high quality materials. I can't believe how reasonable it is in price considering.

22nd April, 2009.

I'm a fan of woody and musk scent so i love this fragrance. It has nice woody, musk smell...so sophisticated. And it lasts for so many hours.

4th January, 2009.