Flora Bella (2005)
by Lalique

My neutral rating of Flora Bella is not a true neutral. I both like it and can't stand it. The drydown of a light dose of FB is a metallic, Forbidden Planet flower---from the tropics of Altair. Enticingly alien in a 1950s, sci-fi modernist sort of way. More metal and form than flower.

On the downside, every moment until the drydown is tinged with cheap pina colada mix and an air-freshener style caricature of a pan-tropical floral note. Smother that in fabric softener and you have an overview of Flora Bella.

29th August, 2011.

Have you had yourself a Powdermilk? Have you had yourself a Powdermilk?...”

Sorry. The fictional Prairie Home Companion sponsor’s jingle bounces through my head whenever I spray Flora Bella on. What can I say? It’s powdery. It’s milky. It’s an extremely soft-textured lactonic floral custard of a scent that I might best describe as “cuddly.” Flora Bella seems an odd fragrance to have come from Bertrand Duchaufour, master of austere incense and dry woody compositions, but it does represent the earliest instance I’ve found of the steamed milk accord he’s since employed to great effect in more exotic florals like Amaranthine and Fleur de Liane. In those later scents the cozy warm milk stands in compelling contrast to prevailing animalic indole (Amaranthine) or fruity aquatic notes (Fleur de Liane). Here, amidst vanilla, almonds, and mimosa, it sets the tone for the entire piece.

The olfactory equivalent of a pink cashmere cardigan, Flora Bella straddles the line between comfortable and insipid. What tips the balance in its favor is a very faint background dissonance of over-ripe fruit and spice notes that could have wandered in from Edmond Roudnitska’s classic Diorella. Flora Bella’s potent sillage presents a surprising paradox in light of its soft texture and gentle demeanor, so don’t be fooled: this is in fact a powerful and lasting fragrance. It’s still a touch bland for my taste, and I think Duchaufour has gone on to do more interesting florals, but I won’t deny Flora Bella’s fundamental quality.

31st May, 2010.

Lalique Flora Bella

Notes: vanilla, almond, amber and musk notes (from fragrancenet.com)

To my nose, Flora Bella smells like a cross between Dior's Poison and Lancome Hypnose. The light tuberose note in the top and mid notes reminds me of Poison, while a vanilla powder and clean vetiver combination is evocative of Hypnose. It is pleasant, although FB certainly does not have much to distinguish itself from the huge field of soft and sweet modern feminine floral-orientals. Since both Poison and Hypnose entered my consciousness long before Flora Bella, I must give them the proper due. Having said that, FB is a very well constructed fragrance--it is balanced, subdued and modern, and is certainly not the worst offering of its kind. Flora Bella is probably one of those fragrances that will appeal to individual tastes rather than have broad acceptance or widespread buzz. It is definitely worth a try for lovers of the milky vanilla over amber, clean floral-oriental genre, or anybody who wants a toned-down tuberose fragrance.

11th October, 2009.

Very pleasant scent for the Summer, it smells natural, fresh....not many mainstream releases that smell like cleaning products...a must try for summer, it has a unisex vibe to me

20th February, 2009.

This scent is by Bertrand Duchaufour and bears his weird stamp. It's a delightful, unusually cold white floral with his trademark pepper and musk. Comes across as more of a tropical night fragrance than a sunny beach fragrance. It's not sweet on me at all, the vanilla is light and the overall effect is Tropical Island by Tim Burton. A must try for fans of Duchaufour's work.

16th July, 2008.

This is a floral-oriental that's a bit too sweet. I believe it's the tropical island , more party going sister to Eau de Lalique. It' very sunny and very fruity. The lasting power is great as many of the laliques i have tested, men's and women's. The bootle is very heavy and very elegant, similar to eau de lalique's, great to look at. The scent is just not for me. It's still much better than the Escada limited editions -wich i think are tropical-sweet floral orientals too- so this one is the Better much more elegant version of those.

5th February, 2006.