Today is the third episode of the collaboration of six bloggers: Portia (A Bottled Rose), Elena (The Plum Girl), Sheila (Alembicated Genie), Daisy (eau là là !), Old Herbaceous (Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities) and Undina (Undina’s Looking Glass).
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This month’s word is: LUSCIOUS
I read the word. I listened to my inner voice. Nope. Nothing. I don’t think I’ve ever used this word. So, not a single association, if not to count the name of the online perfume store – Luscious Cargo, but I’m not sure I’ve ever bought even samples from them. I decided to try a more straightforward approach: dictionary.
Let’s see what can be applicable to perfumes: “highly pleasing to the […] smell, richly adorned; luxurious and sweet to excess.”
This is something to work with.
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Created by Alienor Massenet in 2018 for Floraïku, I Am Not A Flower fits well that description. According to the brand’s site, I Am Not A Flower includes main notes of Ginger oil, Amber oil and Sandalwood oil, as well as additional notes of Rose, Vanilla, Sandalwood Essence and Patchouli Essence. Several other sites, including all major perfume forums and Harrod’s, list also “white oud” and do not mention the additional notes. Either they all got a wrong list from the same source or the brand has changed the description, but I can’t smell agarwood. And since I usually do not like it in perfumes, I assume I would have noticed its presence.
I have previously complained about Floraiku’s minimalism when it comes to revealing notes, so I feel strange complaining now about having “extras,” but I cannot smell either rose or patchouli. Why would they mention or use rose in perfume with the chosen name is puzzling. Maybe they were afraid it wouldn’t smell as sweet?..
I Am Not A Flower is quite pleasing to the smell; its packaging is luxurious and richly adorned; it is sweet; and in the drydown one could probably add that “to excess” part.
I always thought that Floraiku perfumes were overpriced for what they were, so I didn’t really plan on buying any when I stopped by the brand’s booth at the Harrod’s Salon de Parfums. I tried the only two perfumes from the line that I hadn’t tried before. I Am Not A Flower was one of them, and I liked it immediately. At that time, it was “Harrod’s exclusive,” so for a short period of time I considered purchasing it as perfume from that trip. But it was more than twice as expensive as the “regular” Floraiku perfumes, and I couldn’t justify that price.
I Am Not A Flower would have stayed just a pleasant memory of that trip if it weren’t for an unexpected find: one of the perfume sites had it listed, probably by mistake, for the same price other Floraiku perfumes were sold, and I got a significant discount on top of it. I couldn’t pass on that deal.
I Am Not A Flower is luscious woody amber perfume with almost caramelized ginger. It is sweet and rather feminine. And it stays long on my skin, though close to it.
What Floraiku does perfectly is packaging: it is beautifully made and very luxurious, as it should be with expensive perfumes. I know that some perfumistas questioned that massive cap, so I want to clarify that it doesn’t have to be used on the bottle: the set comes with a replacement regular cap, and the one that you see on the picture above becomes a holder for the included into the set 10 ml travel spray with its own cap (see the picture below).
I Am Not A Flower is pleasing to all senses, I do not have anything else that smells similar, and I enjoy owning and wearing it. But it is not phenomenal, so I would have never paid full price for it. In general, I think that it makes sense only as a luxury item for consumers who habitually buy those for $600+ for yourself or as gifts. But as luxury items go, in my opinion, Floraiku perfumes are impeccable.
Images: my own
Undina's Looking Glass 
OOOH! Undina, what lavish presentation and the colours!
Having recently spent a LOT of money on a Guerlain, then splitting off a large percentage of it to make it affordable, I said to myself, “No More!” So I’ll not try this exquisite beauty but your story of how lucky you were to get it at that price makes me really happy for you.
Everything about this says LUSCIOUS to me.
Portia x
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I don’t think you’re missing out on this one. I mean, if you ever see it at a store, please try – just to know what I was talking about. I doubt you’ll be in any danger of breaking your “No More!” decision :)
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Thanks. XX
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I can totally agree that Floraiku (as well as Memo, since owners are the same) pay a lot of attention to the looks of their fragrances. I love the metallic plaques on Memo bottles and Floraiku bento boxes are pretty as well. As for Floraiku perfume I only tried 2 or 3 I got samples of from you and they didn’t impress but I Am Not A Flower sounds to be better.
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Well, for a twice higher price tag it should have been! :)
I think that Floraiku (the “regular” line) is a perfect line for people who want to smell “fresh” or “clean” but do not want to buy something ubiquitous. Memo’s perfumes are more complex than Floraiku, but I still haven’t bought a single perfume from Memo. I might though go for one of their 10 ml bottles at some point.
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That sounds lovely. I have smelled a few Floraikus, but none of them wowed me, the packaging looked awkward, and the price was prohibitive. But it sounds like you got a great deal on something you enjoy, which is always a win. :-)
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I loved the experience with their discovery set, but the bottles seemed strange… until I split that top from the base and used it for the purse spray. But in general, yes, those are too expensive. I would have probably bought one or two more but for not more than $120 a bottle.
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It does indeed look “pleasing to all senses”, and I rather like the monster top! And the sound of the perfume itself. Am a sucker for all things ginger at the moment. Glad you were able to pick it up for a relative song!
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Those tops are even more beautiful for some of their “regular” perfumes. Now I need to find another place that loves songs ;)
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Always happy to hear of a perfumista friend getting a good buy! And thanks for showing how the big cap works, that is very cool. I don’t recall trying any Floraiku fragrances, I will see if I have any samples in my growing stash. This one sounds very nice! I wonder if “white oud” is just one of those made-up phrases meant to appeal to customers; I firmly believe in your nose and I think you’d know if there was any actual oud accord in the fragrance.
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Most perfumes with announced “oud” that I liked didn’t have any natural agarwood, so I think that I’m right about this one. Besides, why wouldn’t the brand mention one of the most expensive ingredients had they added it to their perfume? So, yes, I would suspect marketing department of Harrods embellishing the description to play on weaknesses of their clientele and other places picking it up, or the other way around, someone making a mistake on Fragrantica, Basenotes or Profumo, and then others repeating it.
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I was curious so I did a little searching and found this information: https://www.theperfumist.com/blogs/news/white-oud-the-white-agarwood-oil-is-it-real-agarwood-oil
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A-ha! I knew it! I mean, if I like it, it isn’t real agarwood :)
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Glad to hear that you managed to score it at a discount! It’s a great feeling when you find a lucky score like that!
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Yep! I think that finding something you wanted at a deep discount is even more satisfying than getting it as a gift.
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Hi stranger!!!!!
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Hooray for good deals!!
I used my Floraiku sampler as part of your advent event and as we already discussed nothing that I felt compelled to buy.
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Money saved! :)
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