Tag Archives: white musk

Kenzo Flower

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Kenzo Flower

Flower_testata1

Created in 2000 by Alberto Morillas, Flower by Kenzo appears to be undergoing a renaissance as of late. The folks over at LVMH have created a lovely new ad/commercial for a flanker known as Flower in the Air (seen here and here), which emphasizes the fragrance’s special character. While I have yet to get my hands on a sample, I thought it a perfect time to review the original Flower. Although it is a clearly contemporary creation in terms of its structure, Flower has one foot squarely in the past, paying deference to some of the great perfume classics.

Flower was  styled as a poppy fragrance, meant to represent the scent of this supposedly scentless flower (though a fellow collector friend tells me the plants have a sharp green scent). Press marketing aside, Flower is a soft powdery violet with aspects reminiscent of L’Heure Bleue and Royal Champagne de Caron.  While the most recent sample of Flower I picked up seems reformulated and less brilliant than I recall, it is nevertheless closer to its happy, carefree self than either of its forebears.

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Flower’s fluffy violet is grounded by hints of vanilla, musk and opoponax, all of which are painted in soft brush strokes keeping the fragrance light throughout. While the fragrance has fairly good lasting power, it never feels heavy, and manages to convey its message in whispers. Flower is a lovely, relatively affordable choice when one needs the singular lift only a fragrance can bring. Perfect for a younger woman just venturing into fragrances.

The Flower line was expanded to include body products and though I have not seen it in person, the Sephora site claims that the new flacons are now re-fillable!

Floral

Notes: Wild Hawthorne, Bulgarian Rose, Parma Violet, Cassia, Opoponax, White Musk, Vanilla.

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Hermes – Eau de Gentiane Blanche

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Hermes – Eau de Gentiane Blanche

gentiane blanche

It’s hard to imagine that summer is just a few months away and that we will need to go digging into our fragrance wardrobe to pick out those warm-weather staples, beauties that are light enough not to become cloying when the temperature rises. I had read mixed reviews of Hermes Eau de Gentiane Blanc, which many had dismissed as a clean laundry scent. While I did not hold out great hope as I am not a lover of the “clean scent” genre, I was intrigued by the smoky blackness of the bottle, and felt I had to test for myself.

Eau de Gentiane Blanche exceeded my expectations. A prototypical Jean-Claude Ellena fragrance, Gentiane Blanche is both complex and diaphonous, audacious and delicate. Gentian root was traditionally cultivated gentia08a-lfor use in various tonics and medicinal concoctions and this was my first experience with it in perfume. The fragrance has a slightly green, herbal opening which has all the bitterness and milky unctuousness ofdandelion stems. While iris lends a powderiness to the fragrance, it is devoid of sweetness and could be carried off beautifully by a man.


The sillage is fairly light, true to its cologne composition, and yet Gentiane Blanche has suprising tenacity, escpecially with liberal application. The warmth of the musk is tempered by a light incense, which keeps the fragrance dry enough for even the most humid summer days. With the exception of vintage Guerlans flacons, I am not typically swayed by bottle design and yet the stately Hermes bottle rendered in smoky black crystal looks positively elegant and mysterious.

Green woods

Notes: gentian, white musk, iris and incense

 

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