Ore by Zents {Perfume Review & Musings} {Men's Cologne of the Week} {Holiday Gift Idea}

I have been wanting to review Ore by Zents for some time now and realizing that it would make a great gift for Christmas/the Holidays, I am finally making it happen.

My first encounter with Ore was in a store in Harvard Square that is now, alas, defunct but that was then chock-full of beauty and health products. It was called Harnetts. At one time, I am reminded with nostalgia, they also had a juice bar. Fast-forward to last spring. As they were liquidating their goods several months ago, I saw the industrial juicer amidst empty shelves and later even its future proprietor laying his eager and happy hands on it. Ah well, all this no more now....

They also had that nice perfume section supplied with unusual, less mainstream scent offerings, one of them being the Zents line of concretas. Concretas, if you are not familiar with them, are perfumes that are trapped in a base made of solid beeswax rather than liquid alcohol.

Another distinctive mark of Zents is the packaging of their scents which is just beautiful as they are contained in large soapstone perfume cubes that give them a natural authentic charm while being reminiscent of perfume containers from the antiquity. They look like sculptures on your vanity and each pot is different. I think that this stone is usually imported from Pakistan or India.

I was then one day visiting this haven of beauty and bath products when I happened on the most exquisite and seductive scent trail in recent memory. As you know, one then feels an urgency to know what that uncommonly good scent could be. Next, I was lifting all the thick heavy lids from the square perfume pots displayed in a row on a glass case as somehow (it's all in a daze in the interregnum) a staffer had directed me to them. Ah, the joy when I finally recognized it! It was called Ore.

Ore first struck me as an exquisite oriental scent. I did not suspect that it is considered to be leaning towards the masculine side of the population. Treasured Locks says that is unisex to masculine and is the most popular scent from the line with men. They describe it as a deep, spicy, and alluring perfume and I could only agree. According to Zents, Julia Roberts loves Ore and the Zents line is a favorite amongst celebrities...Elton John is a big fan of the whole line.

The concreta has top notes of orris and coriander. Heart is made of jasmine. The base is composed of bay laurel, sandalwood, and patchouli. The ingredients are essential oils put in a mix of beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil. It is a heady perfume and a little goes a long way, so dab carefully. You can also use it as a perfumed balm for the hair or alternatively, moustache or beard or massage it in the dry areas of the body like cuticles and elbows. It is good both for masculine and feminine groomings. It keeps very well; I've had my Ore for several years now and it is just fine, it got perhaps headier with time.

A 1.25 oz of perfume balm usually retails for $30. You can find them at Hampton Court (a treasure trove of gift ideas by the way), Treasured Locks and other locations as well. Addendum: I just saw it for $27 at AstonishingSkinCare. The line has several other solid scents but this one was my favorite amongst the ones I was able to smell.