Flower by Kenzo Oriental Kenzo for women

Flower Oriental is a pleasant and girly winter fragrance that has an interesting evolution, a decent sillage, and a long-lasting power. After the first spray, all I could smell was the incense, but soon enough, the florals (especially the violet) pick up, softening it to a lipstick scent. The smokey lipstick aroma remains for a couple of hours until it starts to drift towards spicy vanilla. I was surprised the late dry-down reminded me a lot of Jungle l'Elephant (albeit this is violet-heavy and KJE is spicier) because both fragrances only have the Kenzo name in common. I suppose they use the same chemicals for the vanilla base. Though I can see KFO as a night's out winter fragrance for some, it's not my cup of tea (too girly). I'll treasure my decant and use it for the cold rainy days I stay home under a blanket.

7/10

Interesting scent.
Smoky incense vanilla, not overcomlicated, nothing sharp, nothing too sweet, suitable for everyday use and warmer weather as well.

It does NOT resemble the original Flower or its other flankers, not even remotely.
The performance, however, is POOR, sits too close to the skin and disappears too fast, unless I overspray and re-apply.
It didn't deserve to be discontinued anyway...

This perfume is the best flanker out of Flower range.

It smells like Flower mixed with Givenchy Encens Divin.

Very smoky but not enough to be unwearable. The incense here is the main player that overtakes the whole fragrance. It was very quickly discontinued which is often the case with perfumes destined for mass market that smell too niche.

I think it would work on a man too.

It's warm, cosy and ambery with meditative depth. it's autumn or winter fragrance. Wery warm and snuggly.

The bottle is beautiful and reminiscent of a katana.

well I'm getting patchouli and carnation with this one.
sweet, powdery and despite having a resemblance to flower, it reminds me of something else. can't think what right now. will edit later.
and there are shades of Agent Provocateur and of AP Strip.
im also getting amber more than incense.
lovely btw. excellent lasting power. distinct phases.
glad I finally found myself a bottle. i would recommend this flower.

My signature fragrance! Ever since I found it, I am always on the hunt for a fragrance that is both powdery and smoky (harder than you think.) The accords listed feel wrong here, this is first and foremost powdery, followed by smoky, warm spicy and vanilla.

Lots of other reviewers capture this fragrance well. The powder is soft and not overwhelming, the incense just lends a smokiness without suffocating you, the violets aren't sweet, the drydown is a subtle smoky vanilla. I feel calm when I wear this, there is certainly a meditative quality, which was the intent as this was designed to capture a Japanese ceremony of "listening to incense."

The bottle is gorgeous. Everything is perfection. The only fragrance I have a back-up bottle of. While I like the other Flower versions, I don't own any others, they aren't quite me. Essentielle is okay.

There is nothing in the “This smells like” section that comes close. Bizarre to me that no other fragrance in the world seems to share this DNA. The only fragrance that gives me the same feeling (though it shares none of the notes) is Annick Goutal Musc Nomade - which is like the smell of a purifying ritual. This is just about the vibe, not the actual smell. I also like to layer with the DSH lotion - Moon Rise Accord, a beautiful ozonic/smoky scent.

Just wow. At first sniff I thought I made a mistake with this perfume, but after several other tries I fell in love. This perfume was the one that made me start liking heavy scents. A lot. Before that I liked waterly/green/fruity scents, but after Oriental my tastes changed completely. I love heavy scents now, and various variations of florals and incense. I feel like I have grown up in a perfume world sense due to this perfume.

I tried this in a tax-free once, and to this day I regret that I didn't buy it! It was so much more interesting and individual than the original Flower.

Received this in a blind swap. It actually goes very similar to Dior Addict on me, extremely so, but this one has a giant scoop of sweet vanilla powder globbed on top. I prefer it to Addict because of this! I mostly get the sweet vanilla and powder combo with insense just touching the edges. It's very comfy cozy for fall and winter. I hate the original Flower, but it's faded into the background here and mixes well with the vanilla and insense so it's not prominent at all. Lasts a good while, 5-6 hours, and projects lightly but happily. Great blind swap, it's become a fave!

Powdery-soft, peppery floral oriental with a very true-to-life incense. The incense doesn't feel heavy but it forms more of a gauzy veil. The violet is the most prominent flower to my nose and is really lovely with the Sichuan pepper and vanilla.

I get an interesting suggestion of something green - almost as if I were inside but looking out a picture window at a tranquil Japanese-style garden.

Another site lists the wood note as Kyara. Apparently Kyara is the rarest type of agarwood and is the most expensive aromatic substance available. Bonus points for trying to capture it in a perfume.

I also feel the meditative aspect to this perfume. It may be that it's not my usual style, but it's not one that I could easily wear without being compelled to ruminate over it. A lovely experience though!

First things first. Could the bottle be any more elegant? I've been wanting to try Flower Oriental for some time. Thankfully, a lovely Fragrantica member sent me a decant. As soon as I opened the bottle I knew I was in love forever. And as luck would have it, I found a bottle at a decent price! This is a very ladylike and sophisticated flower of Asia. It has such a discrete, yet noticeable incense to it. A Geisha from a much more gentle time would wear this. As the Samurai lord in "The Last Samurai" movie says as he is dying (while looking at the cherry blossom petals falling) "It is perfect." Love it!

This perfume manages to be many things at once-soft, smoky, spicy, sweet...all in a mysterious way. It is far less floral and much more grown up than the other Kenzo Flowers. The original Flower can still be found in there, though I imagine its admirers might have a tough time with the addition of more "masculine" notes. This could easily be worn by men, in fact there are some "Men's" scents in this very vein: Caron Le Homme, Lanvin Avant Garde, and Herrera's 212 Sexy for Men. Highly recommended ans sadly discontinued.

Why is this discontinued?
I loved this perfume and have only a teensy 5 ml sample left.
Sexy, smoky and far from shy... I got a whiff of peppercorn and violet amongst the smell of expensive resinous incense. I adore it and mourn it's loss.

It reminds me of James Bond 'Skyfall' when he came to Chinese casino suddenly this gorgeous woman wearing oriental sexy gown appeared from nowhere. very classy, very sexy perfume. x

LIKE THIS ONE... MAYBE THE COLDEST OF THE 4 SCENT I LIKE, COLD FIRE. BUT THIS IS WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT. THIS IS POWER, COLD BITTER POWER. WEAR THIS WHEN YOU WANT TO BE STRONG, COLD AND WANT TO WIN THE DAY OFF-IT WILL BE YOUR SECRET POTION. NO ONE WOULD DEAR TO LOOK IN YOUR EYES-THEY'LL GET BURN, LIKE THE FLOWER ON THE BOX

I do not care for the orignal Flower by Kenzo and the Kenzo Amour is just meh-ok. I went to a Nordi's fragrance event and the Kenzo rep insisted that I try this LE. At first it was a flat NO! It immediately reminded me of a classic oriental (strong and spicy). She insisted that I wait it out and let it dry down and WOW, in about 10 minutes. . . it turned into this sensual sultry sexy deliciousness that says . . . "Come hither!" While I'm usually drawn to oriental scents, I prefer soft florientals. This is more of a powdery incense that makes it soft and "inviting". But disappointingly the staying power does not exist on me. Gotta fill a decant and take with me to touch-up. I'm searching for a backup bottle as this is am LE and now very hard to find.

For those of us who love a good rich, "stinky" oriental, this is a ghost of the classic stinkers. And I mean that in a good way.

I think this is a wonderful "summer" oriental. I also think this would make a perfect introduction to orientals for the newcomer.

This is beautiful. Soft. "Incensy". Ever so light musk. Has a hint of the ol' Opium/Obsession sort of scent but without the mega heavy duty bomb cloying impact.

I find this disappears on me all too quickly. But that is cuz I'm older, and my sense of smell has deadened quite a lot. So, I'm sure others around me can smell this, but I would say that it does not project more than a couple feet at best.

I kept an eye out on eBay for this. It was listed at a crazy price of $142.00 and I was planning on a blind buy~ SO I waited. I finally got a 1.7oz/50ml for $39.00 and now realize I'll want another to replace this.

If you LOVE orientals... and want one you can wear during the summer evenings without suffocating, please consider this beautiful potion.

Everyone has done a splendid job describing it, so I won't duplicate the positive reviews here...(Please note: I don't agree that it is synthetic smelling OR too sharp or harsh at the open.... it is heaven!!)...

Lastly, I'd like to say that this very much reminds me of Le Baiser Du Dragon Cartier for women.

First, dab sampling impression: This is very dense up top. If you can survive that, it does smooth out a little, and it lightens up as well. There is a bit of a woody/incense element, which cuts the heavy, powdery/vanillic quality, though whether it does that to a sufficient degree for you is something only you can decide. It's reasonably natural smelling, though the density might make it seem a bit "synthetic," at least to some people. I like these heavy/powdery fragrances so I look forward to wearing it normally, and even if it is too strong I will try diluting it to see if I can get it to be wearable, because I do like the overall scent. At this point, what I can say is that it reminds me of Amour EdP, though I haven't worn that one in a while so I may be a bit off on that idea.

UPDATE: A few hours in and the incense quality gets more prominent, and the balance is very good. It is dry at this point and reminds me of one from the CdG incense series. I look forward to wearing this one normally, and I'll report back when I do.

UPDATE #2: I just read that LT claims this has strong patchouli but I disagree.

the incense in this fragrance is derived, i was told, from the very same source from which japanese incense is made. when first i tried it, the memory of many a trip to buddhist & shinto shrines leapt to mind. it was like being there once again.
i love the first, evocative kiss of this fragrance for the nostalgia alone, but if i'd never lived in japan i would still find myself drawn to it. that said, i find that once it's been on for something like an hour, it settles down to a powdery scent that makes me wonder if i smell like old lady. i have never been complimented on it, or even asked what i was wearing, but then, how many people would even know what japanese temples smell like? i don't take not being asked as necessarily a bad thing, but it makes me wonder if people really don't like it.

I have a sample of Flower by Kenzo Oriental and even though I'm not an incense lover, I have to admit the fragrance is very good and interesting, because it paints a scene in my head. The first minutes after spraying it bring exotic, tribal celebrations to my mind and I feel as if I were in a forest where a tribe is giving their sacrifice to god of their beliefs, or even makes some magic to beg somebody they believe in to be good for them, putting wood in front of an altar and setting the wood on fire - that's the woody incense.

Flower Oriental is a dark fragrance, no wonder the flower in the bottle is burnt. It becomes brighter after some time and it is thick, spicy, good for cold days. Not exactly my cup of tea to be honest, but a great job was done. Thumbs up.

Fragrance: 4,20/5
Lasting power: good
Sillage: good.

It reaaally shows how to define a vintage in "Little China"! I remember the scene in the"Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" where the female heroine (Zhang Zhiyi) in traditional Chinese costumes playing a role of a young, aloof and demure warrior . A complete classique female figure with her Oriental mystique fits this fragrance very well. The older sister never got me so crazy like this. I miss this dark and mysterious beauty with Asian nuances. Oh how in vain I am yearning for its coming.

PavelHenry: they never correct anything[sigh]... but still are great! :)
I think this one should be relaunched as a separate fragrance, not a limited edition. First, the bottle. For me, ass-kicking. Second, it might be a variation on regular flower (you CAN smell it), still it's too good to be just a flanker, it stands out comparing to others. You have the same powder as in Flower, but it gets gray instead of white, this is not a clean scent whatsoever. It can be even a bit stale in the beginning. Pepper does it probably, as you can smell it clearly. In the heart stage violet appears, and I think hibiscus or maybe black currant and they give it a nice, dark sharpness. I would actually call it floriental rather then woody. The incense here is lovely, relatively delicate, but rich and sultry. The base is very sensual and orijental:D and it has drawn me many compliments.
Not an easy scent, though, I understand those who don't like it. But I still do.

I think it's a great mix between Le Baiser du Dragon x Strip- Agent Provocateur.

veeeeeery stron. I like it! my mother have it.

Beautiful and wonderful incense !!!! on the original Flower by Kenzo, but becoming different (the original is not quite like in my skin, I feel uncomfortable).
I love the different contribution that breaks a bit dusty tone original.

Truly appreciate this version you have to appreciate the incense, this time as a personal perfume. I think striking and something hippy :) evening or night.

Where can I find this? I only had a vial of 2 ml FbKO. Certainly I am always drawn into the oriental / oriental floral olfactory. What interested me the most in this is the incense. But I've heard this is discontinued. What a pity.........

It opens very, very sharp and synthetic, almost like hair spray. I do not get incense at all, but I do get synthetic violets. I usually adore violets, but in this one does not.
I've almost come to a conclusion that none of the Kenzo's work for me, they are too stikcy/synthetic. I thought that I might get this, but it's the same problem - weird scent, hair spray, maybe something appealing in the middle notes (violets for me), but that's it.

Kenzo Flower Oriental is very similar to the original Kenzo Flower, with the only difference being its spicy additives.

Opening quite strongly and indeed sharply, Kenzo Flower Oriental wasn't overly pleasant on the skin in the first five minutes of wearing it. It took a while for the scent to settle.

When settled, this fragrance became powdery, but not in a baby powder or a soft, flowery talcum powder way. Kenzo Flower Oriental smells like dirty powder. That's right, a powdery scent with an undeniable strangeness.

The smokey spiciness doesn't sit too well with me. It smells a little too synthetic for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big spicy, incense lover, but this fragrance just doesn't cut it for me.

The lasting power is very good. It lasted on me well into the night. The sillage is also very strong, so please spray lightly.

Flower Oriental is just amazing, beautiful. My mother uses incense every day, and I grew up with a japanese family that loves the smell. It's relaxing, I'd love to wear Flower Oriental and practice yoga at night, in a quiet environment.

For me, this incense smells like beeswax on the top. It smells smokey, spicy, like some organic product or something healthy. But then it gets more powdery like traditional Flower, and the incense gets more discreet. But this does not mean that the two fragrances are similar, each has its own characteristics.

The lasting power is not bad, but I can't say that is good. It's not as I expected, because I like perfumes that really set well.

I love this bottle. You can not see from the pictures, but the base of the bottle is black, and makes it appear that the transparent bottle is gray, or that the ink is deposited on the bottom.

I think that people can love or hate Flower Oriental. If you like incense and feel good, like me, probably this one could go to your collection!

If you are want a genuine exotic get-thee-gone-demon incense aroma this is a great place to start. After trying this on, I realised that that is exactly what I want. It is a counterfoil to all the sweet smells I usually wear. It is not an everyday kind of scent but it is novel & savoury.

Sadly, it doesn't stay this way for too long, it develops a supersweet pink musk smell which totally ruins the new found pleasure I had found!

It has however piqued my interest in trying more incense based perfumes.

this does not work with my chemistry in the same way hypnotic poison doesn't work. I get no flowers, just sickly sweet allspice on my skin

I love this scent on me. The spicey scent is very nice without being overpowering.

im on the fence with orijantal, i LOVE it soo much better then the original but if i read about the lasting power it seems that i have to bring the bottle with me for re applying it! knowing my chemistry this could be quite right... maybe its worth to do so..hmm tricky

I like Flower EDP and I thought Flower Oriental will be almost the same with a touch of smokey incense and spices. However, Flower Oriental is not much like Flower on my skin, actulally I smell only incense for quite a long while, than it turns into a warm, still smokey vanilla-base. Very little flowery notes can I detect, I wish i couls smell the violets more.
The lasting power is interesting: when spryaing on, i hardly smell anything, but it becomes more strong in a few minutes and I smell it all day.
Unfortunatelly almost every perfume that has incense note will smell almost the same on my skin, incense dominates the fragrance, so on me Flower Oriental's drydown is very similar to Velvet Hour's for example.

One of my favorites! It's incense and spices all along, but so beautiful and warm!.
I was badly impressed with Flower, but this one is so different!
The smell lingers and dances around me for quite some time, and as it fades it becomes more vanilla sweet. It is smooth and gracious like a flickering candle, very smokey, incense-y and aromatic. Absolutely recommended for the true oriental lovers!

I remember trying the original flower by Kenzo some years ago and I wasnot impressed at all, so when I received this sample from a lovely MUAer, I wasnt expecting much from this either. It does definetely smell similar to the original, but this has the addition of some lovely sexy smokey incense which gives it an edge and makes it likeable to me. Notes are: Bulgarian rose, violet, vanilla, musk, Sichuan pepper, and Chinese incense and kyara (which I think is some form of oudh). I can smell all of these notes, except maybe the violet. The only thing Im not sure I like is the powderiness of the scent, its not overbearing but its definitely there and I'm not 100% sold on it. It's probably not something I will go out and buy but I will use up my sample happily.

I don't like the incense notes...far too heavy ...the original Flower is more mysterious and exotic

Kenzo Flower Oriental is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. For a woody oriental, it's light - light enough that it can be worn anytime. The smoky incense doesn't hang heavy in the air, but instead dances lightly and quietly in sync with your movements. I detect a little bit of the steamed rice note from Indian Holi, mixed with pepper for some added zing. I like the way the smoke, floral notes and sweet vanilla blend together, giving it a distincly Asian quality that makes it unmistakably Kenzo.

The bottle is beautiful...delicate, graceful, and long like the neck of a giraffe. It seems to defy gravity with it's sleek gentle curve. A single black flower graces the top, with the stem flowing down the length of its curved body. The juice itself is the palest shade of grey...as though the smoke has permeated it ever so slightly. A beautiful presentation.

This is so much better than the original Kenzo Flower. I still get some of the powdery tones which I am guessing is violet but there is so much more. The incense adds a totally different aspect to the perfume which makes it more wearable on me. I love violet and its powdery notes, however in most of the flower series it comes off as fresh baby diaper baby powder than soft and sexy powdery on me. This is much much much better!! I still don't know if I am sold for it to be added to my wardrobe but testing it more will be the determining factor.

I like it only after a few hours after spraying.

Ponderous and even long lasting but it's not my coup of coffee.

I had a test in a boutique and i think it is a little sweet , plesant ...a nice perfume

The first time I tried, I just sniffed from the cap and considered it awful. But today I sprayed some on my skin and totally changed my mind: it is very good.
A good thing about Flower Oriental is that it´s different of Kenzo Flower and it´s powdery old lady smell. Oriental is warm and confortable, a bit sweet and spicy (it reminds me a little of Celine Oriental).

I don't get the unnatural part of the perfume. I think it just smells incency & musky, light not heavy. A 'warm' scent...

I used to love the original Flower but didn`t want to go back in the same waters, so I took my chances with the Orjental one.It is indeed different.There is this smokey note you get after burning Lakshmi incense.It dilutes the ultimate sweetness and innocence of the original one. It`s hard not to compare them, because there re so many similar notes - but I like the Orjental Flower better, it is like finding something totally unexpected in a person you knew for years.The only flaw it has is the lasting power is not as good...
I also think that the flower on the bottle is more becoming. It is, in my opinion,a black flower that should represent this kind of scent.

It is very much like Flower, but if I had to buy either one, I would go for this one. I like the 'darker' notes, the frangrance is heavier, suits me so much better that Flower... I particularli like the incense overtones...

I like Flower Oriental more than just Flower. It's warmer and spicy. At first it smelt like Flower (I got a little disappointed), but the more minutes passed, the more oriental it became ( then I got satisfied and enthusiastic). But it retains Flower's basic scent a little, of course. The only bad point about this perfume is its relatively poor lasting like takemyhusbandplease and Aeternitas said.

I LOVE this. It's incredible, and I don't find any similarity between this one and the original flower until this one dries down. It is definitely a new favorite, not sure for how long though ;p. I figured because I really disliked Flower by Kenzo that I would hate this one as well. I'm quite surprised! They are totally separate perfumes. While I found Flower to be light, fresh, and slightly powdery, Flower Oriental is spicy, smoky, and yes, very oriental. The violets are also detectable. I love violets. I adore Flower Oriental! This is my kind of perfume. Lasting power, however, isn't too good. After a while, you can still smell it, but it becomes faint. Probably best suitable for winter time.

I like the bottle and the package it comes in.. I only use it in the winter, it stays on quite long.