Flowerbomb by Viktor&Rolf

I ordered this blindly at an official perfumery and can’t even say if I like it because I can’t smell it at all. It makes no sense; I’m furious.

I never liked floral scents, or at least I thought I didn’t until I tried this at thirty. I fell in love just by spraying it. Yes, it’s overwhelmingly sweet, but every time I wear it, I get a thousand compliments and I just love smelling it; I never get tired of it. Clearly, it’s not for everyone, but if you know how to appreciate it, you’ll be dazzled.

I bought this blindly based on the reviews and the hype on social media. I didn’t like it. It’s extremely sweet, and I don’t smell any flowers, just vanilla and sugar to my nose. Youthful. Medium longevity. Overhyped in my opinion.

I received my Flowerbomb today, and honestly, I expected it to be more floral. If it’s true that it’s very similar to Jimmy Choo, as one comment said, it’s quite generic. I thought I’d find a floral bombshell. It’s not a bad perfume, but it’s just Meh. I’ll wait a few months and see if it improves. For now, I only like it, but it doesn’t make me fall in love.

The opening is a potent, sweet patchouli, like Lolita Lempicka. My expectations were for a floral bombshell like Chanel, but that’s not what it is. It was a blind buy, and I have no regrets. After a while, the flowers timidly emerge, along with osmanthus and vanilla, creating a somewhat ‘whimsical’ aura that gives it a mysterious, slightly witchy vibe.

I own it in my collection, but it’s not one of my favorites. It smells a lot like La Vie Est Belle, just less potent and with more patchouli. It’s elegant, sweet, and super floral as the name suggests. After that initial floral impression, there are powdery and delicate notes, but without losing its punch. Too bad that strong patchouli gives me a headache for the first hour, so I don’t wear it.

More than a bomb of flowers, it’s a bomb of resins, oils, and essences. It’s thick and very aromatic; I see it as a mature, warm, and spicy perfume, definitely for cold weather. It’s not unpleasant and very well crafted, but it has nothing to do with flowers.

This perfume is like walking into a florist shop, opening the door, and smelling freshly cut flowers. Not one specific flower, but all of them at once. It makes you feel fresh and clean. More than one person has asked me what I’m wearing.

It starts with a potent, pungive olive note; the opening is loud and green, then dries down to patchouly and powdery with quite a bit of tea in the dry-down. Even though they shouldn’t match, it reminds me of a cheaper, airier version of La Vie Est Belle, though they are different. Be careful, they aren’t the same but share that patchouli that makes them similar. It’s a patchouly flower bomb with tea.

I expected something super girly with high expectations, but it smells loud and like an fennel infusion (no, I didn’t confuse it with Good Fortune, that one smells much better). It also smells like anise, like Anís del Mono. And a nasty patchouli, the trendy kind like in LVEB. I don’t know what it has to do with flowers to carry that name. On top of that, it doesn’t last long (thank God I sprayed it on my skin by mistake).

Flowerbomb and its derivatives are too simple, sweet, and floral. I’d wear it at 15, but at 20 or older, it has zero charm. There’s way too much hype for what it actually is, and in the end, it’s not worth it.

Calling this ‘Flowerbomb’ is disrespectful because the flowers are completely absent. It never appealed to me, especially with so many clones that I never liked. I was given a sample and, since it was spring, decided to try it. What a mistake I made. There’s a tiny citrus note at first that smells like alcohol, just for fifteen or twenty seconds. I guess it’s supposed to be tea or bergamot, but since I drink green, white, or black tea, I can assure you this doesn’t smell like tea. After those few seconds, it jumps straight to sweet notes that remind me of a macaron. There’s no jasmine, rose, freesia, orange blossom, or osmanthus. Just hyper-sugared vanilla with a touch of floral air freshener. It’s not loud, but it lacks elegance and class. It just evokes a dessert, which isn’t bad, but it is generic. I don’t get how it’s still on the market since 2005 when other beauties like Shalimar Parfum Initial failed to pull that off. Presentation: 4/10 (the bottle looks ugly and boring). Longevity: 3/10 (lasts about three to four hours on skin). Sillage: 3/10 (stays right on the skin; I can’t even smell it on myself). Originality: 2/10 (there are hundreds or thousands of shameless copies). Versatility: 5/10 (I wouldn’t wear it, but it’s wearable). Season: Autumn and mild winters. Personal taste: 1/10. Would I buy it again?: No.

Another perfume that holds a special place in my heart. When I was little, I had an ‘aunt’ who seemed super cool: beautiful, elegant, dressed well, and lived surrounded by luxury. She always smelled like expensive perfume and cigarettes, and I wanted to be like her when I grew up (though I now know cigarettes are bad 🤣). One day she visited my mom, arrived as imposing as always, surrounded by a delicious, feminine scent. Even though I knew nothing about perfumes as a child, I asked her what she used so I could smell like that when I grew up. She pulled a small Flowerbomb bottle out of her bag and showed it to me; I fell in love. Years later, as an adult, I got my own bottle. It’s bottled femininity, super elegant. The years pass, and this perfume never goes out of style. A masterpiece of perfumery. For me, it has nothing to do with LVEB; that other perfume is a disaster.

It’s beautiful, very feminine, a sensual and lovely scent for spring. Its longevity and projection are good, and it’s not overwhelming.

I’ll never understand the hype for this perfume; it just seems sweet with no real change or evolution in its scent. It’s quite basic and could easily be replaced by many others. That said, saying it’s similar to La Vie Est Belle is sacrilege for Lancôme, because it could never match it in anything: not longevity, not sillage, not even the scent.