Reviews of Kenzo Power (2008)
by Kenzo

I was reminded of Dior Homme's powdery, floral like accord (that smells like lipstick to me) when I first smelled Power. Doesn't surprise me that the same perfumer did both. Very soft (for a name like Power, don't let that blind you), and definitely floral. Not cloying. Some good stuff right here.

Kenzo Power opens with a blast of citrusy bergamot, but with the sharp tartness shaved off... a pinch of cardamon does well in diminishing the tangy opening accords, before a beautiful luminous floral heart shifts to the fore. I liken these lustrous accords to those found in Thierry Mugler's Alien... a radiant jasmine tippy-toes over sweet freesia and dusty rose to render this a rather remarkable (and wearable) floral for men. There is no surprise that Olivier Polge (the nose behind Dior Homme) is also the nose behind Power, as the perfume transitions again and a powdery orris-like note emerges... it seems Polge has borrowed from the success of this appealing accord in Homme. There are also fleeting moments where there is an interesting 'synthetic' feel to the fragrance, but that is not to say it is an undesirable quality. In fact, it can be likened to the pleasant rubberyness found in Bvlgari Black, or Malle's Musc Ravageur.
The heart notes eventually taper off into a warm woody ambery base of cedar and labadnum, which remain on the skin for a number of hours. I find the overall composition very appealing, and really rather removed from other mainstream men's perfume releases. Whilst Power can be likened in style to a number of other launches, it is quite unique, and marks a bold new direction for Kenzo. It is a sophisticated floral for men that should not be shied away from.

I bought this the other day (blind) based on the reviews here and so far am not disappointed. This goes on with the sense of bubbly lemonade which then settles to a fragrant image of Linen (as described by Beachboy76). It is floral in nature but not in a way that screams "bunches of flowers for the gentleman" but instead a very refined scent.

If you like the imagery that Dior Homme and Lagerfeld Classic project (soft, elegantly floral in a masculine kind of way) then this one might be for you too. The silver coated glass bottle is groovy too!

Smells excactly like a expensive red leather sofa!
Or dried linen on the shoreline an early august-morning.

Long lasting,not cloying,
and just about the perfect amount of Labdanum!

Enjoyable?
Yes very much!

This is a wonderful scent! Nothing ground breaking, along the lines of Fleur Du Male although more fizzy. I dont get any aquatic notes like the original Kenzo PH as stated below but I can detect a bit of L'eau Par in it. Wonderful fizzy floral, but do try before you buy as this one is not as "safe" as most of the new releases (thankfully!)

The girl in the parfume shop gave me a test-bottle of this last saturday.. I sprayed it on, and it was fantastic! I coud`nt get it out of my mind, so i know i just had to by it. It is amazing, and smells like nothing i smelled before.
It has a uniqe caracter, and it`s very soft,elegant and smooth. The bottle is one of the coolest i have ever seen! So strong and masculine. I think this will be my new signatur-scent, together whit Burberry Touch..
Congratulatjon Mr Olivier Polge! You`ve did it again! You`re one of the best.

Concerning about the previous fiasco launches of my favourite Japanese perfume branch, I was kind of a "scared soul" regarding of what I was going to get with this new perfume for the male, but I can only say now, after giving it a try, that could be easily, the male version of “Flower by Kenzo”, and I have a feeling that it will become quite successful in the market, asit has been the above mentioned version for the ladies.

We know that Kenzo always has been fond of flowers and that is why he has based his latest fragrance for men on their image. He has envisioned the abstract flower: a wild tulip and the idea of how could smell like, something that he tried with the poppy in "Flower", before.

Power doesn't actually smells massively flowery, as it just has the enough amount of a vague balanced dose of flowery smell that make it appealing.

It start fresh and greenly soft spicy with burst of coriander, cardamom and bergamot, with the synthetic hints of the aldehydes.
It quickly lays in pieces into a resinous, dark musky balsamic character yet oddly flowery.
The juice mostly show true colors and goes deep and hypnotic with the presence of the tolu balsam and the violet leaves. In fact all is a reminiscent of a mineral-slightly powdery-salty-ambery-floral scent. Rather unusual for a male perfume. I like it.
The musk here comes far prominent, could it be easily marked as pungent, a vivid animalistic note accompanied with the labdanum plus a soft note of iris that instantly reminds you “Dior Homme”. I can detect the soft rock rose floating ghostly around in a shy background.
In the dry down the scent loses the powdery accords and the mineral ambergris is more noticeable, although the whole juice remains dark yet resinous still. I can detect a cola like note (maybe is the freesia note blended with the cedar wood). Highly pleasant.
The final result is an impressive odd floral fragrance, being rather dark musky, kind animalistic than a clean wood scent that you could spect:
My impression is a long lasting deja vú of other flower for man colognes. It has hints of the successful “Dior Homme” iris, the “Lèau Bleue” deep-resinous-dark flowery accents, aldehydic notes like "Farhenheit32", the animalistic notes from “Charonge”…

“Kenzo Power”, brings back the excitement of the old time house references, nostalgia of well blended and peculiar previous scents like the original “Kenzo Homme” or “Jungle”, and, at the same time follows the new trendy generation of floral for men.

The long lasting is terrific and it has a distinctive projection.
A must have for dark scents fans.