Flora Gorgeous Orchid Intense

What a little beauty. I was hoping not to love this because, well... to be honest, I don't need another perfume. But oh wow. To me, it smells like a cold vanilla and cocoa milkshake by the beach. It's creamy, airy, and just... WOW. I'm not so sure about the 'Intense' in the name, though. To me, this simply smells like the original should have smelled if someone had done their job properly the first time around at Gucci. I don't know what it is with perfumes these days. So many new releases are weak and lacking in projection, sillage, and lasting power. Then, a year or two later, brands release an "Intense" version. Don't get me wrong, most of these flankers are lovely, but they often just smell like version 1.0 should have smelled if someone hadn't misread the brief in the first place. Maybe there's more to it that I don't understand. I do sometimes wish I could peek behind the scenes of the fragrance industry just enough to answer my own questions!!

It reminds me of Atheeri’s opening with a salt note; the cocoa is there for depth but doesn’t really show itself until later drydown. The salt note is there but subtle. Interestingly I do think this could potentially be worn year round; the salt and ozonic notes do well in mildly warm weather. Would want to test more in high heat. Lasts significantly longer than the original on skin. There’s something here that hints at feeling more mature than the original, but just barely. I really like this! I have Atheeri and a dabber size of the original, so I am content to test this some more before purchasing. Would not be surprised if I end up buying a travel size at least.

I’m really surprised by the performance. Today I went hiking in the mountains, rode an open lift and 6 hours later a random man complimented me saying he smelled me from a far and he needed to know what I’m wearing. I had this layered with terracotta by guerlain. I feel they’re a match made in heaven and my current summer obsession! Btw I own all floras and my least fave is gorgeous orchid. Not because it’s bad, not at all, it’s just not a me scent. Orchid intense shares a similar dna but it’s different, the almost edible warm cacao note together with the ozonic note makes it an amazing summer scent. I’m very impressed by longevity on me

A sephora employee was sniffing a test strip of this and saying "this smells like cantaloupe," so I was like "what smells like cantaloupe 👀" and had to sample what she was smelling 😅 I can get a tiny hint of cantaloupe, which I absolutely looove the smell of. I kind of had to search for what she meant, but overall I did enjoy the fragrance on paper. I'd go back to test on skin - it was really pretty. The same employee recommended the papaya scent from the brand Clean after I told her I liked this one. I tried that on paper, and it was nice as well. Not sure I could pull it off on skin, though.

I went and tried it expecting something heavy and dense based on reviews. This wasn’t that. This is a SALTY VANILLA. For those of you who are big fans of that category, like myself, it’s nice!!! At first it smells very similar to the original. Just slightly creamier with the chocolate and just a hint of salt. But very quickly on skin it transforms to a salty vanilla. I smelled it for over 8 hours. It isn’t a sweet powerhouse like the original, and that sweetness from the chocolate does fade away rather quickly, so that’s why I think people are saying that it doesn’t last.