Sunday, March 17, 2013

Flower by Kenzo Eau de Parfum review


          I first sniffed Flower by Kenzo Eau de Parfum a few years ago. To be honest, the scent wasn't for me, but I was entranced by the stunning packaging: an impossibly tall glass vase with a sprightly red flower sealed within. For a long time, I assumed the red flower in Flower by Kenzo was supposed to be representative of the scent, but it turns out that the fragrance's inspiration, the poppy flower, is scentless.

          This poppy-inspired perfume features rose and violet choices that seem to draw from visual cues.  Roses share the poppy's bright, unapologetic crimson hue, while violets mirror the poppy's delicate petal structure and slim stalk. I'm a fan of florals, so I figured Flower by Kenzo might work for me the second time around. Today's sniff and scribble is devoted to my (re-)examination of Flower by Kenzo Eau de Parfum.

Notes: Parma Violet, Wild Hawthorne, Cassis, Bulgarian Rose, Vanilla, White Musk, Opoponax.
          Flower by Kenzo Eau de Parfum is a sweet and fanciful concoction of powdery violet, rose, and vanilla. The first fragrant act opens with the dense fleshiness and delicate tartness of hawthorne fruit. The choice of fruit is clever--- Hawthorne evokes the familiarity of berries, while adding the unique intrigue of an uncommon fruit. (For the record, candied hawthornes are quite scrumptious!) The fruit is quickly joined by a slowly sashaying skirt of rose, whose fragrance spreads like plumes of mist across the floor. After the hawthorne and rose dance comes to a close, cassis appears to add its dewy sweetness to the mix. Then, in the second act, enter violet! The violet doesn't have much depth, but has a significant presence in the scent. It shares the spotlight with a doughy, powdery vanilla. The combination is simple, sweet, and thick.

           After the over-indulgent opening, there's a slim silence in Flower by Kenzo--- an intermission if you will --- where the scent retracts and I can barely notice the airy whispers of vanilla, violet, and hawthorne behind the curtain. At this point, I'm lost above the clouds on a sugar high, grasping at air in hopes of finding an anchor or base to the scent. However, as with Flower by Kenzo's suspended poppy, I can't find its root. Our theoretical poppy is a clipped stem, floating, no longer connected to earth. For the final act, the doughy vanilla returns, slightly abetting the sugar rush. A white musk (read: a very light musk) is barely present and does little except to smooth things. The saving grace of the Flower by Kenzo is the very late appearance of a light opoponax; its tendrils of dark wood and incense intertwine with vanilla for a more balanced and grounded finish.


           Flower by Kenzo Eau de Parfum smells of powdery, candied violets and rose petals served with a generous drizzle of warm vanilla creme. A light, woody incense tempers the sugar high. It's a dulcet scent with a sense of innocence. That said, Flower does run the risk of coming across as too sweet. It's a bit overwhelming for me; perhaps this perfume would work better on those whose skin chemistry better enhances the opoponax base.

          Though the perfume's moniker may be Flower, it doesn't really celebrate florals. Theoretically I should have enjoyed it since I love violet and rose, but the fragrance lacks both the voluptuous character of the former and the earthiness of the latter. All in all, Flower by Kenzo ironically seems more appropriate for those who enjoy sweet gourmands rather than floral lovers like me. Perhaps this was to be expected; after all, its inspiration, the poppy, is a flower without a scent!

        Thanks for reading! Have you tried Flower by Kenzo? Do you like sweet scents? What perfumes have you been wearing lately?

Love, Dovey.

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review, Dovey! I actually enjoy sweet scents, so it sounds like Kenzo Flower might be for me! I've been wearing the new Miss Dior EDT. It doesn't stray far from the older Miss Dior Cherie version, though they definitely aren't identical. I am not too adventurous about perfumes, but the whole Miss Dior line has been my go-to for many years now :)

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    1. Hi Sunny, Thanks so much for the comment! AH, I really really want to smell the new EDT version of Miss Dior --- I've been seeing ads everywhere :)

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  2. I'm not a fan of sweet scents, but I like Kenzo Flower. But that's because it doesn't pull sweet on me at all-it's quite a powdery clean floral on me. One of my faves. I really like all of his scents! Huge fan here!

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    1. Hi Tracy, Oh very interesting!! Powdery clean floral sounds awesome--- I'm all for that :)

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  3. Have always loved this, but for whatever reason never got around to buying it for myself. Onto the Fragantica wish-list it goes!

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    1. Hi Aerialgrrrl, I tend to hold onto fragrance wishlists for quite some time too! I should probably start a physical wishlist as well.

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  4. This is one of the classic perfume that I love but I never buy. I like the sweet scent of this and the bottle also looks pretty. My current perfume is Burberry Body :)

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    1. Hi Memoiselle,

      Sounds like the love from afar kind --- I know what you mean! It's been some time since I tried Burberry Body. I think I need to sniff it again, especially since the a new variation is coming out!

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  5. The Kenzo Amour, orange bottle, is one of my favorites, it has that orange dreamsicle smell but lightly so. I am grateful that you do fragrence reviews, in a normal language not a perfumers language/vocab. I would say that in general Estee Lauder fragrances are my fave. The Bronze Goddess one on display now at EL counters has a ceder wood undertone..

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    1. Hi WHTLS, Thank you so much for the nice comment! It's wonderful to hear feedback. I've tried only a limited number of Estee Lauder fragrances, (i.e. Tresore), however I should sniff more--- after all EL has some of the top selling fragrances in the US!

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  6. I have been following your blog since I read about it in Allure and this is one of my favorite perfumes so you can imagine how excited I was to see it reviewed here today! I have been wearing it since I was thirteen and it was the first review on my own blog. It is a great scent but I agree that it is a bit strange and may seem contrived, though I find a lot of the Kenzo scents are that way.

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    1. Hi TF, Thank you so much for the sweet comment! I'm so glad you took the time to write a note about Kenzo; it's a special scent to be sure. It does seem to inspire love / hate, but I think that ultimately means the scent has character!

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  7. I think you're right and this leans more gourmand than floral. I expected a bright, crisp floral from the bottle and the packaging, but since I do like the soft violet musk, I'm okay with it!

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    1. Hi Larie, yes! Expectations did not meet delivery, but like you said that's not necessarily a bad thing :-)

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  8. I love how you took these shots, Dovey. :)

    Funny how until a week ago, I had no idea that poppies had no scent. You and Larie taught me. I like the look of the Kenzo bottles too but never really felt captured by the scent. But I'm reassessing all my perfumes and try not to write anything off permanently.

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    1. Hi Liz, Thank you so much! The no-scent was new to me too, as I don't really 'interact' with poppies often! I like your philosophy of not writing things off--- I've definitely found that my taste changes over time.

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