Lattafa Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition 100ml EDP – Marine, Cinnamon & Amber

Lattafa Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition is the 2025 follow-up to the original Asad Zanzibar, and it’s a different fragrance, not the same juice in a new box. It keeps the fresh lavender-and-pepper idea, adds a marine note, drops the coconut entirely, and goes clean and soapy before settling on warm tonka, amber and woods.

Asad (أسد) means “lion” in Arabic. The original Zanzibar was the lion on a beach holiday; the Limited Edition is the same lion fresh out of the shower.

It’s an original Lattafa composition, not an official dupe. Some wearers say it reminds them of fresh “blue” designer scents, and Rasasi Hawas and Invictus Parfum come up in reviews, but there’s no single, widely agreed designer twin and we won’t borrow a name to sell it. What we can tell you: on Fragrantica it holds a rating above 4 out of 5 from more than 400 votes, a lot higher than the original Zanzibar.

So this page is here to help you decide whether the clean, soapy direction is for you. At £17.99 it’s a few pounds more than the original Zanzibar, and if you actually want the salty-coconut beach scent, we’ll point you straight to it.

The Scent Pyramid at a Glance

Ten notes across three tiers — the full Lattafa Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition notes list, in the order you’ll meet them.

Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition — Quick Specs

The Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition Notes, Layer by Layer

Top — Marine Notes, Lavender, Pink Pepper. The opening is fresh and a little sharp: salt air, cool lavender and a bright crack of pink pepper. For the first half hour you’d call it an aquatic, and this is where it projects most. It’s the only part that really overlaps with the original Zanzibar.

Heart — Cinnamon, Soap, Cashmeran. The signature, and the reason people either love it or call it “laundry”. The soap accord is the star: clean, just-showered and very easy to wear. Cinnamon adds a soft warmth underneath rather than a spice-rack hit, and cashmeran gives it a smooth, musky-woody body. If you like freshly washed shirts and clean skin, this is the bit you’ll enjoy.

Base — Tonka Bean, Amber, Cedar, Sandalwood. The drydown turns warmer. Tonka and amber add a gentle sweetness, cedar keeps things dry and sandalwood makes it creamy. It sits close to the skin from here, clean and cosy rather than loud.

Performance, Measured

Who the Limited Edition Is For — and Who Should Skip It

There’s no designer bottle we can honestly measure the Limited Edition against. Rasasi Hawas and Invictus Parfum both come up in reviews, but opinions differ and neither is a widely agreed match, so we’re not quoting a designer price. The more useful comparison is its sibling, Asad Zanzibar (the original), because the two share a name and a lavender-and-pepper opening but little else. Here’s how to choose:

The soap note is the whole decision. If “clean, soapy and fresh” sounds like your signature, this is an easy buy. If it sounds generic, trust that instinct — some reviewers find it too close to other fresh blue scents. We’d rather tell you now than process a return later.

Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition or the Original? Check Before You Order.

Lattafa now sells two fragrances under the Zanzibar name, and they are genuinely different scents. We stock both, so there’s no incentive for us to push you either way — pick on the notes:

Short version: if you came here for a clean, soapy fresh scent without coconut, stay on this page. If you actually want the salty-coconut beach scent, Lattafa Asad Zanzibar is the one — see Asad Zanzibar 100ml EDP here →

The rest of the line goes in very different directions: Asad is the spicy year-round original, Asad Elixir is smoky tobacco for evenings, and Asad Bourbon is a cocoa-vanilla winter bottle. The two Zanzibars are the fresh ones. Compare the whole Asad collection side by side →

The Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition Bottle

The Limited Edition shares the heavy-glass Asad silhouette of the rest of the line, dressed in its own colourway, and it looks and feels a good deal more expensive than £17.99 suggests. It holds a full 100ml of Eau de Parfum, not a travel size or body spray.

Packaging is the standard Lattafa presentation — a printed outer carton carrying the official holographic authentication seal, which is what you should check first when it lands. It was produced as a limited run and Lattafa hasn’t announced a restock, so we can’t promise it’ll always be available; we list it while we have it.

What Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition Reviews Say

Reviews are much warmer than for the original Zanzibar. On Fragrantica it holds a rating above 4 out of 5 from more than 400 votes, and plenty of wearers call it the version that “fixed” Zanzibar. Fans describe it as fresh, clean and soapy, a safe blind buy for the price. Critics say the soap can read synthetic or “laundry detergent”, and some find it too similar to the many fresh blue fragrances already out there.

On performance, reviewers commonly report five to eight hours on skin, with strong projection for the first hour or two before it settles into a close, clean skin scent. Most place it in spring and summer and in the daytime, with some wearing it into autumn and the evening. The price is the one thing almost everybody agrees on.

Good to Know Before You Buy

• It’s a clean, soapy fresh scent. The heart is soap and cashmeran with a touch of cinnamon, not a spicy or gourmand fragrance.
• No coconut. If you liked the idea of Zanzibar but not the coconut water, this is the version built for you.
• Best in warmer months. Spring and summer, daytime and the office, stretching into early autumn.
• Marketed for men, wears unisex. The soapy, woody drydown suits anyone who likes clean scents.
• Two or three sprays is the sweet spot. The opening projects well, so there’s no need to overdo it.
• It’s a limited run. Lattafa hasn’t announced a restock, so availability isn’t guaranteed long-term.
• Also listed as “Lattafa Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition Eau de Parfum”, “Asad Zanzibar Limited Edition by Lattafa for Men 3.4 oz”, “Asad Zanzibar LE” and “Lattafa Asad Zanzibar Eau de Parfum (Limited Edition)”. Some listings write the heart as “black soap” — same fragrance, you’re on the right page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tap a question to open the answer. The eight things people ask most before buying this bottle.

Written by Shaheen Shah Abrar, Founder of Royal Scents. If you like clean, soapy fresh scents and never got on with coconut, this is the Zanzibar to buy.