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
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Undina's Looking Glass 