I promise I won’t spend the whole month of May dissecting Zara Emotions fragrances, but here’s another one: Bohemian Bluebells. I like it very much and it’s certainly affordable! Also truly unisex, I think it would smell wonderful on a man as well as a woman. Its listed notes are lavender, sandalwood, and musk (nothing to do with bluebells). If you can imagine a warm lavender, that’s what it smells like to me. I do tend to associate lavender with bedtime, given its soothing properties, but I don’t usually associate it with warmth in spite of its cultivation in hot, sunny climates like Provence (there are also famous lavender fields in England and other parts of the UK). Sometimes I crave Jicky eau de toilette at bedtime, if I’m going to sit up and read for a while, but Jicky feels cool to me somehow, like the clean sheets that have been newly put on a bed, with their crisp, unwrinkled surfaces.

Bohemian Bluebells feels warm but light, like one of those silk/mohair blended yarns knitted in an open, lacy pattern into the kind of shawl one might wear over one’s shoulders to add just a touch of warmth. I expect the warmth comes from the listed sandalwood note, followed by a soft musk.

There’s an unlisted citrusy note in the opening that I can’t quite identify. I can say what it isn’t: it isn’t bergamot, lemon, grapefruit, or the dreaded yuzu (one of the only notes I dislike). It might be a touch of sweet orange, though very faint. Unlike some of the other fragrances in the Zara Emotions line, Bohemian Bluebells does not seem to come in other formats like shower gel, body lotion, etc., but one could layer it with those in one of the other fragrances that do. I think it would smell lovely with Amalfi Sunray or Vetiver Pamplemousse; it comes in a layering set with Ebony Wood and Fleur de Patchouli. (Ebony Wood is another in the line that I liked very much). I think I’ll also try it with one of the “filters” from Maison Martin Margiela, Glow.

This is a light fragrance; it won’t project far, it doesn’t have a lot of sillage, and it lasts only a couple of hours on bare skin, without a boost from anything else. But at this price, it’s a true bargain beauty, and it would be easy to spritz again as needed! Also, since it does appeal to me as a bedtime scent, it doesn’t need to last very long.

Do you have any favorite lavender fragrances?