A Flower in the City (Kenzo: Flower by Kenzo, Eau de parfum)

Member Name: zebra

Product:	Kenzo: Flower by Kenzo, Eau de parfum
Date:	19/07/03 (1320 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sensuous City Chic in a pretty bottle

Disadvantages: none

Understanding the dream behind a perfume may help in deciding whether you might like it. This is one of the rare occasions where I think the packaging is important for in Flower it is here the dream finds its visual expression.

At the beginning of the dream we find ourselves in a modern cosmopolitan city. Tall, glassy skyscrapers gleam in the sunlight. The various shapes of modern architecture starkly compete for attention against the cloudy sky. The city is full of modern, busy people doing their modern, busy things. Noise and bustle are the order of the day and there is no time to stand and stare and nothing to stare at. Some of these busy people feel a sense of loss - a feeling that something is missing but are unaware of quite what.

She sees a single, scarlet poppy emerging from a small crack in the paving. Her heart soars at the simple beauty that the one simple flower can bring to the high tech surroundings. One single flower is all it takes to bring the inspiration and poetry of nature within one's grasp.

The perfume bottle is intended to celebrate this feeling, the union of flower and city. The simple sleek line of the bottle is charming. It is a tall, slender curved glass and has a single flower, a poppy, embossed upon it. It is reminiscent of a bud vase but yet not. There are three versions of the bottle, depending on the size and each represents a different stage in the growth of the flower. At present I only have the smallest bottle but I hope to capture them all in the future. It is simple and elegant and a joy to behold. The tall white skyscraper box also shows the different stages of development.

I think it is a quite stunning concept.

The poppy is a strange choice of emblem for a perfume because it does not have its own scent. Kenzo chose the poppy as a symbol of optimism and poetry in an urban landscape and then had a perfume created for the odourless flower based on its other qualities. Above all in
Flo
wer is captured the contrast of the delicacy of the papery petals with the strength of survival and optimism that the poppy represents.

The dream as a perfume

With Flower as its name and a poppy as its emblem you will probably guess that this perfume falls in the floral perfume family.

When you first smell Flower you will have no idea of the perfumes that it contains. It is rather a strange scent but it certainly does have hints of, delicacy and strength, ancient and modern, natural and synthetic. The ephemeral top notes include wild hawthorn, cassia and hedione. Wild hawthorn is not a scent you may be familiar with but you will recognise it instinctively embedded within your memory from ages past. Hawthorn blossom has a strange musky perfume which is said to represent female sexuality. Being a top note this will not last long but its raw sensuality is echoed in the base notes. Another top note is hedione which gives in a light yet radiant way a jasmine flavour of the floral delights to come, and cassia gives a hint of cinnamon spice.

The middle notes, usually floral or fruity, are the heartbeat of the fragrance and it is these that determine the perfume 'family'. These take up to 20 minutes to fully develop and last for about an hour or so. The middle notes of Flower include two 'old fashioned' scents of Bulgarian rose and Parma violet combined with modern vivacious cyclosal which provides the amplification

Like jasmine, Bulgarian rose is a classic of the floral perfume world. It offers the intense power of the European damask roses. Violets are an ideal combination of delicacy and toughness and for this reason well represents the poppy. The perfume is sweet, warm and romantic with the scent of the Parma violet being the sweetest of them all. In traditional lore violets represent humbleness and modesty combined with joy, reminiscence and reflection. With these middle notes Kenzo creates a trans
ient medium betwe
en past and present.

Underpinning the fragrance are the base notes which are the heavier spicy or woody scents which linger for several hours. In Flower these are powdery, opopnax, more commonly known as sweet myrrh, white musk and vanilla. With myrrh and musk underpinnings it is surely a sensual fragrance. I think it is the base notes that let the perfume down a little. They are a bit overpowerful in powderyness. I like the beginning and middle stage of the perfume far more than the end.

I think Kenzo probably had young dynamic city dwellers in mind when he created this perfume but I think the result will appeal to women of all ages. I tried it after reading an opinion on it and in spite of having a streaming cold at the time decided to buy some. I have lived with it now for about six months and like it enough to buy some more. No one has ever commented on how nice it smells on me which I regularly get with my usual perfume but I like it. I can't say that I love it but it can have third place on my dressing table after Chanel 19 and Fidgi even if only for the simple elegance of the bottle.

Summary: