FlowerbyKenzo (2000)
by Kenzo

An aldehydic, musky floral typically has an implicit sweetness. An interesting perfume will play against type and either downplay or compensate for the sweetness. Flower learned compensation and a sort of misdirection from White Linen, which it smells like, and Tommy girl, with which it shares a conceptual similarity.

White Linen’s trick is to redirect the composition’s sweetness with a peppery rose that doesn’t so much diminish the sweetness as steer it toward sweet/tart. From Tommy Girl, Flower learns the lesson of astringency. Sour, as opposed to bitter, is a hard effect to pull off in perfumery. In Flower, the sweet, powdery melon-like tone is highlighted by a slightly vinegary note just as actual melon would be by a splash of lemon juice.

3rd November, 2011.

It's been a while since I first reviewed Kenzo FLOWER, my memory of which is best summed up as : vanilla baby powder. I fortuitously received a fresh sample in the mail just this week, and as I am attempting to understand Caron ROYAL BAIN DE CHAMPAGNE, it seems an opportune time to take up FLOWER again.

The opening of FLOWER holds lots of promise for this lover of violets—whether from Parma or elsewhere! Upon initially dabbing the fragrance all over my arms and décolleté today, I began to wonder whether my “vanilla baby powder” memory of FLOWER was really all wrong. Had I reviewed the perfume on a humid day, or irresponsibly allowed my blood caffeine content to dip to a dangerous low before brandishing my pen? Who knows? In those opening minutes, just enough time, coincidentally enough, to make the big sell at counters all over the world, this perfume seems like some sort of dream come true, a rich floriental with seductive appeal, clearly comprising top-notch notes which wax and wane in a lilting, lyrical way.

Alas, the drydown commences shortly thereafter, during which everything flattens out and begins to smell progressively more synthetic until, at last, I recall why my memory of FLOWER as “vanilla baby powder” was right all along. Certainly not a bad perfume, but rather blunt and banal in the final analysis, when all is said and sniffed. Rather like a marriage which may endure for years in a stagnant state after an initially exciting but short-lived romance.

Would poppies smell like vanilla baby powder, if they had a scent? Sure, why not? (if pigs could fly)

5th September, 2011.

I think MISSSPRING's review really hit the nail on the head. She wrote:

"If Flower by Kenzo were a blind date, the evening would evolve like this:
He arrives and is better looking than you'd hoped, he has sex appeal and he is so incredibly charming. At the beginning of the date you are in heaven. Then he quickly starts to lose his allure and you begin to feel let down. "Is it me?" you wonder, as you are still hopeful. But after a short while, you find him definitely dull and even slightly annoying. "

When I first put this on I really liked it -- almost as I do my beloved Shalimar. And then it turned to powder - nothing but poweder - and it won't go away.

This is definitely not for me.

19th August, 2011.

There's nothing I can add to the reviews of this fragrance. It's a powdered spring sweet violet and mixed floral. It keeps you and the mood at that level, and doesn't seem to go 'deep'. So it has it's place, and works as a loudly quiet innocent seeming floral, powdered and light. A nighttime or sultry fragrance it is not, and doesn't need to be. I don't hate or love it - I can see wearing it in mixed social situations, church, etc. That being said, as with all fragrances with sillage and powder, this is best worn very lightly, as it will easily cross that line of intruding on another's space. It is also slightly sneezy, and that must be kept in mind when using it around crowds. If used with restraint, this exhibits the sweet innocent powderedness of a lingerie drawer. If not used with restraint, the insincere sweetness of an ambitious southern belle running for beauty queen.

22nd July, 2011.

When you first smell Flower by Kenzo you will most likely recognize the scent as something that you're familiar with because you have at least known one person that wears this fragrance.

This perfume is quite distinctive. It's not an overly unique or ground-breaking scent, rather it is a safe clean-smelling, powdery floral.

I'll be honest and say that I hated this fragrance when I first sprayed it. It was strong, bitter and not at all flowery and sweet like I'd imagined it to be.

It took some time for those top notes to disappear, but when they eventually did, I came to like this scent a little better. The violets are surprisingly the strongest and most dominant note throughout this composition, however they are powdery and slightly synthetic.

Overall, I don't mind the freshness and subtlety that Flower by Kenzo creates, but I'm really not crazy about this scent. To me it's just a common soapy/clean fragrance that hasn't pushed too many boundaries.

4th June, 2011.

On first spraying this, my thought was "Springtime!" but within seconds it morphed into a cloying, green-melon-shampoo smell on me. l couldn't pick out any floral notes, & certainly no opoponax; nothing remotely oriental here. Within the hour, all l could smell on my skin was sugar water. This stage lasted for another 3 hours before it disappeared. l'm not sure who this fragrance is aimed at, but l'd say very young girls might love it. l don't.

21st February, 2011.