Today I am looking at the newer fragrance from Balenciaga, Florabotanica. I have heard very mixed reviews of this fragrance and initially ignored it when it was first released. I really like the first fragrance from this line but this one left a bad taste in my mouth when I first heard about it. I think that I was most turned off by the fact that Kristen Stewart was the face of this fragrance, I couldn't stand her when she was in the Twilight series and her overall style and the why that she carries herself does not appeal to me. Using her as the muse of this fragrance immediately put me off of trying it and I went right by it for several months. I don't think that I ever would have tried this fragrance had it not been a Sephora free sample and I decided that I really had nothing to lose by trying it for a few days...
I think that I ordered this sample when the choices were not the best and I really had next to nothing to lose with trying something very new and different. I will admit that this is the first sample that tried when I got my package because I was so curious to see what a fragrance that had Kristen Stewart as the face of it would actually smell like. This sample came with one of the first orders that I made for new skincare and I put off reviewing it for so long since I was somewhat divided on what my thoughts of it were...I hated it at first but then liked it more and more each and every single time that I used it. This is one of the few times that I used through an entire sample without coming to a full conclusion as to what my thoughts were on it.
The stars must have been shining in my favor because soon after this was listed as one of the large VIB samples from Sephora and I have a good sized vial of it and have used it enough to come to a conclusion. My conclusion - I freaking love this fragrance but have a feeling that my love could turn to hate very quickly. And then vice versa as soon as I don't use it for a few months. I have never smelled anything like this before and I find this to be a harder fragrance to wear...so I have a new favorite!
"Florabotanica evokes ambivalent bewitching beauty. Velvety and thorny, flirting with hemp and vetiver roots. The scent is flowery, developed on a rose note with a narcotic hemp twist. The wearer is beautiful but dangerous, like some rare botanical species. Florabotanica is the fragrance of the Balenciaga botanic garden. It instills the brand with modernity and colors. While Balenciaga Paris paid tribute to the genius of Cristobal, this scent celebrates Nicolas’s futuristic perspective. The various facets of Nicolas’s inspiration are reflected in the bottle and outer box. The rich and surprising mix match of architectural lines, vivid colors, and venomous floral prints recurrent in Balenciaga’s fashion are translated into Florabotanica’s unique packaging.", states the Sephora website.
The notes of the fragrance are: Carnation, Wild Mint, Turkish Rose Essence, Hemp Leaves, Vetiver Roots, White Amber.
When this fragrance is initially applied to this skin, it is nose burning strong. It literally gave me a sharp headache the first time that I used it and my first thought was how fast could I get this fragrance off my skin. The Mint and Carnation burn my nose and the Hemp notes only add to the effect...thank goodness that this initial effect only lasts for about two minutes and then begins to fade and settle down very quickly. The initial notes remain and then the Rose and Vetiver notes come out and then fragrance develops in a full and unique floral fragrance. This is when I fell in love with the fragrance and wanted a bottle of it for myself. This fragrance took me several tries to fall in love with it and I will be investing a bottle very soon.
As much as I love this fragrance at the moment, I know that I will fall out of love with it very soon and I will find it overwhelming and it will begin to give me headaches. I will stop using it for a few weeks and then as soon I try it out again...I will be in love all over again! This is a unique fragrance and I am on the fence as to whether or not it could be used in a professional environment, I am leaning on a "yes" since once it calms down, it is much less strong than the original burst of Mint and Carnation.
I still don't like Kristen Stewart but I do have a new love for the fragrance that she is the face of. This will be a fragrance that I buy a full bottle of but I still feel that I will buy more than one scent. The fragrance is best for spring and then the fall and winter, I cannot see myself wearing this fragrance in the heat of the summer as I think that it will get too strong to stand and my love will turn to dislike very quickly.
photo courtesy of Sephora
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