I heard LV will be reformulating Imagination and figured it was now or never. So I sold a bunch of bottles that I wasn’t reaching for anymore, called the nearest LV boutique to make sure they had it, and snagged their last bottle of Imagination. And… I *might* have figured out a hack to get it at a discount. The LV boutique downtown is in a Nordstroms, and I apparently had a $10 Nordstroms reward that I was able to apply to the purchase price then and there. But even better, my Amex card is having a promotion of $50 off any purchase of $200 or more at Nordstroms, and the LV boutique in Nordstroms bills through Nordstroms — so hopefully I’ll get $50 more off on this purchase. I’d call $60 off my LV purchase a big win if it actually works out. But either way this is a fantastic fragrance, I burned through several decants and samples and I’m happy to finally have a bottle in my collection

SOTD — Memoirs of a Perfume Collector Tales from Zanzibar Today I’m wearing Tales from Zanzibar, and this is exactly the kind of tropical fragrance I like because it doesn’t smell like the typical coconut suntan-lotion scent. Right from the opening I get a big blast of juicy fruit, especially guava, mixed with lime, mandarin and this cooling mint that keeps all that sweetness from becoming too much. The guava is really what separates this one for me. It gives it that exotic tropical-fruit smell instead of just another citrus freshie. As it settles down, the coconut starts showing up, but it stays more in the background rather than taking over. The drydown gets sweeter and slightly musky with the candied fruits, ambergris, moss and that very transparent oud underneath everything. I really wouldn’t call this an oud fragrance at all. It’s there more to give the fragrance some depth and keep all those fruits from smelling too simple. What I really like about Tales from Zanzibar is that it smells like a tropical vacation without smelling cheap or juvenile. It’s bright, sweet, fruity and refreshing, but there’s enough weight underneath it to make it feel like an actual niche fragrance. Definitely one of those fragrances that gets your attention when you first spray it. Tropical, juicy, different and extremely easy to enjoy. Tales from Zanzibar is a winner for me.