The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Lychee & Lemongrass is part of the Zara Seasons collection, a line designed to capture moods and moments rather than seasons in a traditional sense. The brief was simple and specific: lychee and lemongrass, with myrrh as the unexpected anchor. The composition plays on contrast, the bright, almost cocktail-like fruit top against a resinous base that grounds it. Jo Malone is credited as the perfumer on this release, and the name alone signals a certain level of compositional ambition behind what could have been a simple fruit-forward scent. Released in 2026 and marketed through Inditex, the fragrance represents one of the more distinctive entries in the Seasons range, a scent that treats accessible pricing as a vehicle for ideas that would normally live at much higher price tiers.
What's interesting here is the restraint. Three notes, no floral scaffolding, no woody architecture underneath. The lemongrass and lychee carry the opening, and myrrh is the only base. Myrrh is an ancient resin, sweet and slightly bitter, with a caramel-cola depth that doesn't announce itself loudly. The effect is a fragrance that smells simple at first, then reveals more complexity as the fruit fades. The lychee and myrrh together produce a sweet resin drydown that shifts the entire character of the scent from bright to brooding without ever crossing into heaviness.
The evolution
The first ten minutes are all juice. Lychee, sweet and slightly skunky in the way good lychee is, with lemongrass pushing through as a green, almost herbal edge. After the fruit starts to retreat, what replaces it isn't a new note so much as a shift in texture. The composition turns denser, warmer. Myrrh takes over, and it doesn't do it gradually. It arrives, and suddenly the fragrance smells like something else entirely: a sweetened resin musk with caramel-cola undertones. This middle phase is where Lychee & Lemongrass earns its longevity. The base holds close to the skin through the late afternoon and into the evening, never projecting widely, never demanding attention, but refusing to disappear. Hours in, what's left is a faint trace of warm resin, almost amber-like, soft and skin-close. The fruit is gone. The myrrh remembers everything.
Cultural impact
Lychee & Lemongrass sits within Zara's broader Seasons collection, a rotating series designed to capture moments rather than traditional seasonal categories. One reviewer has drawn parallels to Aedes de Venustas Corfu Kumquat and Diptyque Lazulio for the shared sweet-resin drydown, noting how the myrrh in this composition carries similar warmth to those more niche releases. The fragrance also nods to the trend of tropical fruits for summer 2026, with lychee stepping forward as a top note that's less common in mainstream perfumery than mango, pineapple, or passionfruit.
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.
