Kenzo Peace Vintage Edition (2008)
by Kenzo

I have been thinking for a long time that this is a very close scent to Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess / Azuree Soleil (which I wore yesterday). After several back to back wearings alternating the two, my conclusion today is that they indeed have a very similar basic quality--a light floral over soft woods in the base. They even both have coconut. The difference is in the small details of the development. Azuree Soleil is coconut in the top notes, and dries to the white floral over wood with a touch of vanilla coconut. Peace has the same indolic sweet rice as Kenzo Amour in the top, dries to white floral over wood with a touch of vanilla coconut. Of the two, I think BG/AS is drier, but not by much. MPG Balenciaga was also very similar to these two, but had citrus and coconut in the top notes. For the price, though, Estee Lauder is the one that can't be beat. Still, if I didn't already have Bronze Goddess, I might rather have Kenzo Peace.

I always respect highly the Kenzo launches beacuse of its originality, the distinctive of its perfumes, but this peculiarities seemed to vanish, nor only in this company, as it looks like it is becoming a shared characteristic in the perfumists, like there's a crisis in the perfumery industry where all the recent launches exhudes lack of originality and they mute themselves into something more bald and mainstream.

Kenzo has decided to celebrate its 20th anniversary launching this fragrance as a reminiscent of the 70's when Kenzo just started his designer career in Paris. The perfume is claimed as unisex.
It smells subtle and nostalgic hippie, sweet and represents very well the whole marketing image and the color of the bottle. Violet and simple.
The formulation is centered in the cedar and heliotrope.
This is another orientated launch for the young public, as the previous fiasco called Tokyo. It’s a soft oriental woody, something like a dreamy material made of weaved milk, wood, and fruits.

Vintage starts fresh with a blast of mandarine and the introduction of the heliotrope.
The initial life of the scent it's kind of great and distinctive, where the flowery hint remains in the background but is noticiable still.

But after a little while the juice goes rather in a feminine side with the entrance of an oversweet cherry fruity note, that quickly reminds me loads of youth sweet girly perfumes in the market.
“Vintage” soon claims a prolongs previous olfactory themes as “Amour”, “Summer”, etc…
Soft powdery textures comes along and as the merges into a creamy wood touch, (tonka bean, cedar and vanilla).
The flower-power side: a deep, shy purple halo embraces it all in a fantastic cloud like recreation. It really has a patchouli character on it even that note never been mentioned.

The fragrance is marvellous, being kind of nostalgic, innocent but also naughty. I can picture out loads of young consumers using it on play out moments… But I cannot see many men wearing it.
With “Vintage” the Japanese company makes a clever step bringing to life the first suitable flowery for the men following the actual trend in perfumery, regarding the next step, “Power” the next proper serious flower-based masculine cologne from Kenzo, (a great one in fact), but there is another story...

Long lasting is average. 4 hours and become rather close to skin with not projection what so ever.