The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Released in 2020 as part of Zara's Emotions collection, Cherry Watermelon Ice emerged from a creative partnership between the Spanish fashion retailer and British perfumer Jo Malone. Jo Malone's involvement shaped the collection with her sensibility for playful, modern compositions, and Cherry Watermelon Ice sits firmly in that lane. The opening is green and aqueous, more melon rind than ripe flesh, with that cool, almost mentholated snap of cardamom arriving within minutes to give the first ten minutes a chilled-cocktail quality. Around the 30-minute mark the watermelon sweetens, softens, and the composition settles into something quieter, the fruit losing its watery edge and becoming jammy.
What makes the structure interesting is the restraint. Two named notes, cardamom and watermelon, do most of the work in the middle. Most fruity fragrances lean on a fruit salad approach, layering strawberry, raspberry, peach, and a floral to sweeten the edges. Here, the perfumer bets everything on a single fruit and a single spice. The cardamom does the heavy lifting, providing the green, slightly peppery snap that keeps the watermelon from collapsing into candy. It is a minimalist architecture disguised as a cocktail.
The evolution
The opening is green and aqueous, more melon rind than ripe flesh. Cardamom arrives within minutes, not sharp but cool, almost mentholated, which gives the first ten minutes a chilled-cocktail quality. Around the 30-minute mark the watermelon sweetens, softens, and the composition settles into something quieter. The fruit loses its watery edge and becomes jammy, almost bubblegum-adjacent if you're close enough to catch it. By hour two the cardamom is mostly gone, and what remains is a faint melon sweetness with a whisper of green. The drydown is where honesty matters. This is a 3 to 4 hour fragrance on most skin. It fades to a skin scent, intimate and close, more like a memory than a statement. Reapplication is part of the deal. Spray it on a summer afternoon and expect to refresh after lunch. On fabric it lingers slightly longer, but on skin the clock is short.
Cultural impact
Cherry Watermelon Ice wears its references openly. Wearers describe it as a watermelon bubblegum scent, a Trident chewing gum comparison, and a minty watermelon daiquiri, all of which tell you this is a fragrance that doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is. It doesn't reach for prestige or mystery. It reaches for summer and fun, and lands there with enough specificity to stand out from generic fruity florals. The watermelon note leans rind rather than flesh, and that crisp green character combined with the cool snap of cardamom gives it an almost edible quality.
The House
ZaraZara is a Spanish fashion retailer headquartered in Arteixo, Galicia, operating under the Inditex group. Founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera, the brand evolved from a single store into a global fashion powerhouse with over 2,000 locations across 90 countries. Zara entered the fragrance market in 1998 through a partnership with Spanish fragrance house Puig. The brand gained significant attention in the fragrance world through its 2019 collaboration with independent perfumer Jo Malone CBE, founder of Jo Loves. Zara fragrances are available through the brand's own boutiques and online store, positioned alongside its clothing, accessories, and home goods lines. The brand's fragrance portfolio spans diverse styles, from gourmand favorites like Delicious Peach (2024) to timeless classics such as Zara Man 2000, with recent releases including Vibrant Leather Summer Breeze (2025).
The Creator
Jo MaloneMalone's signature lies in unexpected combinations that somehow cohere into something coherent. She layers bright, sharp top notes against warm, creamy bases, creating depth without heaviness.
