Zohar
Ayala Moriel (2006)

Many of the fragrances from this line end up smelling the same in the dry down and this one is no exception.

This has fresh neroli & orange blossom in the topnotes, warming into a woody amber as it dries down. lt's nice, but unfortunately the metallic note that l often seem to get from neroli kicks in, & like the other fragrances of Ayala's that l've tried, it all fades rather quickly.

Zohar starts out with a blast of bitter neroli, and quickly softens to a lighthearted orange blossom. This central note is tempered with jasmine and creamy tuberose to cut into the powder and citrus and smooth everything out. The amber is faint but provides an interesting golden undertone. It's a nice twist on orange flower, although it's a little too creamy for me, personally. The scent overall is certainly a success, though!

Zohar” in Hebrew means enlightenment, brilliance or glamour. “May Zohar,” “Zohar Water,” or “Glittering Water” are common names for orange blossom water in the Middle East, which is used in refreshing drinks and fancy confections.Well, I think the above is so interesting that I pasted it in from Ayala's site. I'll add that The Zohar is a beautiful series of books of Jewish mysticism, part of the Kabbalah tradition. In part, they speak of humanity in productive harmony with nature – a fitting connection for such a lovely fragrance. Zohar by Ayala is a gorgeous soliflore scent. That means that it emphasizes a single note, usually floral. It has other fragrance elements but these serve to frame and accentuate that note. So what we have here is a love letter to the orange blossom. The neroli scent, from flowers of the bitter orange tree, has been described as spicy, dry yet floral, fresh but with depth. That is exactly what we have here. Those expecting an orange fruit scent will only find a faint hint of it. I love the smell of neroli, and this is a delightful rendition. Tuberose adds an ethereal, expansive air to the dense orange blossom and jasmine florals. There is also a note that I struggle to identify… ‘brown' comes to mind. At times it seems like toasted nuts, or earth. It may be the honey absolute, or the type of amber, or it may be an indolic component which is a languid and somewhat pungent background factor typical of these florals. Zohar is a complex soliflore, and well worth trying.

This is heavenly - I can't comment with any intelligence on the flower combinations, but they're certainly the right ones! The scent of orange blossoms, but lighter and a little sweeter at the same time. It has a real calmative effect as you just relax and inhale.

A natural orange blossom perfume that wears well and never goes over-the-top. If Zohar were given the marketing campaign of Beyond Paradise, there is no reason why it shouldn't have such great popular appeal. This perfume deserves a bigger audience. The notes listed are deceptively simple and dominated by citrus, yet the cumulative effect transcends its own soliflore designation and is more interesting than a single floral note. This orange blossom fragrance does not broadcast "orange flavor" as distinctly as those by other (more well-known) houses, and for that reason, I like it better.