Kenzo
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Violet emerges first, softer than expected, immediately joined by a burst of tart lychee that feels almost jammy against the cooler snap of ginger. The mandarin orange darts across the top, lending a momentary brightness before the composition settles into something noticeably powdery and considerably less fresh than the opening suggests it might be.
The florals knit together into an almost abstract powder, with camellia and mimosa supporting a rose that reads more like face powder than garden flower. Frankincense begins asserting itself here, adding an unexpected church-like solemnity that transforms the composition from simple floral into something altogether stranger and more contemplative.
The patchouli finally emerges fully, anchoring the vanilla and white musk into something that smells like warm skin dusted with old-fashioned talc. The synthetic musks dominate the final hours, creating a soft, vaguely soapy intimacy that clings precariously to the fabric rather than radiating outward—a whisper rather than a conversation.
Flower by Kenzo Kenzo arrives as a disarmingly gentle proposition—a fragrance that wears its floral heart with deliberate softness rather than proclamation. Alberto Morillas has constructed something almost diffident here, a composition where violet and lychee create an initial sweetness that feels closer to cosmetic elegance than natural bloom. The opening volley of ginger and mandarin orange provides a slight peppery counterpoint, preventing the composition from dissolving entirely into saccharine territory, though the synthetic accord (52%) does lend an unmistakably modern, slightly plasticky sheen to proceedings.
What's most distinctive is how the heart notes—rose, camellia, and mimosa—emerge not as distinct florals but as a unified, powdery abstraction. This is where that 88% powdery accord becomes apparent; the florals read less like petals and more like soft, talced skin, something vaguely nostalgic and retro-feminine. There's a peculiar charm in this restraint, especially when the frankincense and patchouli begin their slow emergence in the base, adding an almost ecclesiastical gravitas to what threatens to become merely pretty.
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3.4/5 (184)