Kenzo

[725] Kenzo is a remarkable perfume, complex yet classic; bold and of its era, yet timeless. At face value, it is a bright floral scent, but Kenzo is multifaceted, populated with rich spices, sweet fruits, woody notes and a classic chypre base. It resembles a luxury bar of soap at times, but is so much more than that - full-bodied and dense, yet radiantly bright. I have a vintage miniature, and the odd bottle design doesn't reflect the beauty within - it reminds me of a Glade air freshener - but I would love a full bottle regardless. Kenzo opens with bright citrus notes alongside a light, soapy orange blossom note that is less cloying here than in almost any other similar scent. It is lightweight and clean, given sweetness as it progresses by some juicy peach. As it develops, a creamy white floral bouquet emerges. Muted, clean tuberose is evident, bolstered by light, creamy gardenia. I get green lily-of-the-valley initially too. Ylang ylang adds some sweetness while remaining light and airy. A beautiful sandalwood note provides a nice counterpoint to the florals, forming that classic woody-floral accord in a muted but high-quality way without relying on aldehydes. Soft spices add a warm edge as it develops further. The florals become powdery, with a nice rose note emerging, complemented to perfection by peppery spice. The fruity notes remain, creating an interesting dialogue between the elegant florals and sweet youthfulness of the fruits. I get plum here, reminiscent of the likes of LouLou but smoother and more subtle. The drydown is mossy and earthy, with a beautiful chypre accord developing on my skin. It is the perfect progression from the woody florals, with the sandalwood bridging the gap beautifully. Patchouli becomes quite prominent, and is used to perfection here, enhancing the earthiness in the manner of a modern chypre, but bolstered by vintage-style oakmoss. It becomes musky as it fades, with creamy, tropical ylang ylang remaining until final fade. Sillage is strong and longevity is long-lasting. Transeasonal and feminine, it is wearable despite being creative and unusual. Bold feminine elegance in a (questionable!) bottle, this original Kenzo scent paved the way for the consistently excellent Kenzo scents to follow (hello, Ça Sent Beau, Jungle et al.). High-quality and timeless, Kenzo is a beauty that deserved more success. An underrated gem. 4.5/5.

I wish they would still make this. Ca Sent Beau is NOT the same; I’m so sad. This was the most beautiful fragrance I have ever had. CSB is lovely to, but a bit sharp I think, unfortunately, and the soft caramel note in this is missing in that new variant, which can never be more than a sad substitute for me. I still have Ca Sent Beau - because it is better than nothing. But I wish they would start making this one again. I was wearing it when I got married the second time to the same man. Sweet dreams are made of THIS. Only one perfume is equally good to me so far: Lou Lou by Cacharel, and maybe Anais Anais. And a couple of Chanel perfumes, but I have never been the happy owner of these, yet. I am a hopeless romantic. (Or hopeful? 🤗 ) k Edit: Unbelievable, but true: if I layer Ca Sent Beau with a small amount of Britney Spears Fantasy, or Fantasy Intimate, the result is very close to the original Kenzo Kenzo! Don’t know if it will work for everyone, but I am happy with the result!! Worth a try? 😃

This perfume is simply gorgeous but so hard to find. I was lucky to find a 4ml mini, boxed and in the dusky pink tissue paper. Opening it I was so excited and the scent did not disappoint! It's so rich, full florals with warmth - amazing sillage. If I could describe it I would say it's a big, decadent, indulgent, very boozy trifle but instead of chocolate flakes on top you get a big wallop of rain drenched summer flowers! I wish I could find a big bottle of this. I bought Eden today as people have said it's similar. I can see the similarities but Eden is sharper, more peppery, less sweet. I'm thinking Kenzo is Eden with Balenciagia Rumba in it! I'm going to try layering Eden with Rumba - that should be an interesting experiment! In the meantime Ca sent Beau is on order! Please let me find a big bottle of Kenzo Kenzo!

Finally, it seems like Fragrantica got the notes right: proving that Ca Sent Beau is NOT the same as the wonderful old Kenzo Kenzo. I have Ca Sent Beau; when I bought it I was so happy and thought they had brought my old favourite back, with the lovely soft flowers and subtle notion of caramel somewhere... and I try it sometimes, but I always get disappointed. That newer version is alike at the very first moments, but then it reeks of the worst kind of patchouli (like the one in Cacharel Eden), and it is just too strong and annoying. I can never stand a full wear of it - I almost always wash it off. And remembering how I loved the old Kenzo, and comparing with that one, just makes me so sad. I don't understand how they could make the decision to change it like that. Please, please, Kenzo, take it back!!!

I love this juice, I have my eyes on 2 vintage bottles, I hope so I will win them. I really want a stash of this- at least for my taste- eighties powerbomb, love...adore it. I don't know what I have with the eighties, early nineties perfumes but my favourites come out of that period, poison, kenzo, amarige,Boucheron, angel...for me the new ones ( there are exceptions that I also love) are so quickly not noticeable anymore. And yes I have to admit it is pleasant to look for vintage, I love the search and than the tense bidding...the last seconds..did I win it...hope I will win one of the 2... Updat I have won them both and weanwhile i have also 3 mini's i am soooo pleased, i am wearing it right now, i enjoy THE smell so much

Oh my. I went to a thrift shop today and guess what I found! The original Kenzo in its beautiful light green box, and inside, the bottle still wrapped in powder pink silk paper. The liquid is almost red in colour, but the scent has remained gorgeous. This was a steal for 18€! Now I can finally compare it with Ca sent beau. I sprayed Kenzo Kenzo in one arm and Ca sent beau in the other, and all I can say is, the original Kenzo is 10/10. So beautiful, balanced, soft. I'm afraid Ca sent beau pales in comparison. It's sweeter, greener and more artificial, and in half an hour it's almost gone, with nothing remaining but light citrus and soap like scent, whereas Kenzo original is a charmer. Oh la la....

kenzo...a statement, a true perfumers perfume... unique..strong.. mellow ..lovely.. a connection between old school and a tench of new ,in a wonderful melody of heavenly scents...kenzo is like a dream between the orient and the rest of the world.. i feel it has a note from every part of the globe..maybe the best note from every nation..its a beautiful harmony that unites contradicting scents ,yet like Mozart or Beethoven come out with a timeless ,race less, gender less, beautiful connotation ..its one of those scents that you should have in your collection as a timeless treasure, that will surely be appreciated a hundred years from now, and still be adored by millions.. rating 4.3 out of 5

Let this be my first review, for Kenzo Kenzo was also one of my first perfumes. My dad, who has excellent taste in perfume, gave this to me when I was a child. It was the first version, with the pastel green box and the silk paper inside. I was crazy about it from the start and used it with relish. A few years ago I bought two vintage bottles of Kenzo Kenzo, only to end up disappointed. The smell is not the same. Similar: yes, but with fewer top notes, and not as sweet as I remember it. The version I remember from my childhood is one of the most amazing scents I have ever smelt. Complex and utterly gorgeous. If you can get a bottle with the smell intact, you are one lucky bastard.

One of my favourites ever!!! I still have the old bottle, I often take a sniff and still smells gorgeous! Six months ago went to the store to meet again with one of my first perfume loves. I asked for KENZO FOR WOMEN, I even had the old bottle with me just in case, and the woman gave me Ca Sent Beau. Its not the same I told her, no its the same she told me..I bought it and OMG the big disaster. Sorry but this perfume is nothing compared to the ORIGINAL. I hope one day I will find again my beloved bottle somewhere in the universe..... I 'm still looking for it desperately!!!!!

Like most other comments, this was then scent of my real first love, the smell of my last teens, of summer and warm kisses. I got hold of an original a month ago, and although a little beat powdery for me now, is still beautiful... The white flower aura and the warm sweetness is like a sweet peach in high summer, refreshing and comforting at the same time.

Perhaps my favorite. I splurged and wore some to work today. I am loosening up my death grip on the remains of an original bottle from the late 80s or early 90s. I have high hopes that a recent e-bay purchase is a full bottle of the real thing. I love hoarders!

I have a tiny few drops left in the mini I was given by the legendary perfume shop in Turin, sadly most of the bottle leaked in international transit. It's warm flowers and soft animals on your lap on a warm day. I love it.

Why do they always discontinue the best fragrances?! I love this. I got a 100ml bottle on 2003 I think. I still have it. Hasn't gone bad. I only wear it on special occasions tho. It smells of the best things in life.

Hi, In my opinion it is a must for orientel lovers. Very spicy, long lasting, Amber, Moss, Musk, Patchouli, Vetiver, base is unbeatable by any of the currenly available oriental perfumes.

Como una sesión de yoga para mí. ¡Lo he adorado! sin embargo, como invade espacios, otros lo rechazan porque lo sienten muy fuerte.

My mom's signature fragrance! <3 Strong. Heavy. Epiphanic. It's like the romantic fascination with the Orient in a bottle.

This is also one of my most beloved perfumes, I have used a lot of bottles of it, I just can't get enough of it!

It's the 1st fragrance by Kenzo. It's floral oriental. Very heavy, creamy. I consider it one of the classics.

Lo más glorioso: the oakmoss and sandalwood in it. It seems to me that neroli is there too, but it isn't...

I love it. It was my signature and I'm still looking for.Can somebody tell me where can I find it?

In my opinion, the best floral scent for women!

I was recently cleaning out a drawer and stumbled upon this bottle of perfume that I'd almost entirely forgotten about. It was given to me back in the early 90's by a Pakistani man I dated casually in college. At the time, I didn't fully appreciate the depth and complexity of this perfume. I rarely wore perfume, and had very little sense of smell due to undiagnosed allergies. I found this too strong and overpowering, and was afraid to wear it. I didn't feel it suited my very light-hearted personality. I'd put it on when I was going out with the man who gave it to me, but otherwise rarely wore it. Once the relationship ended, the bottle was relegated to a drawer. Now, 20 years later, I came across the bottle, and figured it had probably turned bad, or whatever perfumes do as they age. I sprayed a bit into the air, and was surprised to discover how much I like it now, as a more mature woman. It has real depth and layers of many different elements, unlike so many of the "fresh" and "clean" scents that are so simple and linear, which are enjoying such popularity now. I was surprised when I came here to look up this fragrance, and realized just how many essences are in it. To me it smells warm and somewhat sultry, spicy and woodsy, with an intense white flower scent on the initial spray. I don't catch much of the fruit in this one, though there is a certain creamy sweetness to it, something that reminds me of real vanilla cream, not the nondairy creamer. I don't catch much musk until well into the dry down, and the patchouli is fairly understated. I'm not a fan of patchouli with my skin chemistry, but this one doesn't seem to "turn" on my skin like some others with patchouli in the base notes. Overall, not a scent I'll wear often, and I can see how it might be a bit strong and overpowering for day time use. I'll save this for evenings when I'm going out, or when I'm in a darker mood.

This was my mother's signature fragrance. She consistently chose this one over her chanels and diors, and Kenzo will always remind me of her. I used to wrinkle my nose at the idea of wearing it because it was *her* perfume, but now that I revisit it, I appreciate Kenzo for its own right. Linear spicy floral. There's a little swirl of plum in the opneing before the fragrance takes a plunge into spice-carnation-patchouli territory. Not for the fainthearted, but never ever overwhelming. There's enough white florals and vanilla in there to add creaminess and depth; otherwise I would compare Kenzo to Coco Chanel. I find the Kenzo smells sweeter and creamier on my skin than it did on my mother's, which leads me to believe that skin chemistry is important for Kenzo. Nevertheless, I can't imagine this combination of notes ever smelling outright *bad*. Kenzo is a gracious lady fragrance. As Mellyhelly says, a strong floral bomb, with pinache and elegance. Passable during the day with a light hand, but I'd rather spray this all over for a high-energy but sophisticated night.

This perfume has a citrusy, light spicy scent. It smells very old-fashioned and contains ingredients that you wouldn't find today. One of the reasons why it isn't sold in stores anymore is because of how tuberose has been believed to have gone extinct and gardenia is an endangered flower. I'm thinking the tuberose is what gives off the 'light spicy' element to this perfume - but I'm unfamiliar with this plant because it was extinct before I was born and the perfume was discontinued before I was born as well. However, my mother still has a bottle from before tuberose had gone extinct, so maybe I wasn't able to get the full scent of a fresh, new bottle but the perfume still smells quite fresh to me. I really do like this scent but without the tuberose, I would think that it would just give off a plainer citrus scent which I wouldn't enjoy as much.

i found a mini bottle at an antique store, but not sure of the year. it starts off floral, a bit green and slightly fruity. it's pretty and diaphanous, though i sense something deeper coming to the fore later. i smell a powdery gardenia with vanilla at first, and it's gorgeous. i sense peach in the background but it's surprisingly subtle. soon it gets a bit greener but remains fairly subtle. i can see the resemblance to eden, but it is a bit more soft around the edges, which i think comes from oakmoss and musk. very pretty and glad to have a little bit of this. it gets better and better over time, and the spicy notes get more pronounced.

Strong, strong floral bomb! I used to like it back in time! It's extremely feminine and elegant too! At that time Kenzo hadn't switched for plasticky smell, awful Kenzo Flower was still far to come, I was young and radiant at university and wore original Kenzo! I liked so much I guess I wore too much of it at certain point... someone complained, ghgh! I don't wear it anymore, still I love it as a scent of my past and its floral peppery warmth is still very clear in my mind. I have a bottle from that time I treasure in its box for its utterly poetic beauty.

A divine scent of drooping and drowsy flowers under a big red sun. Unacid agrumes, unaggressive spices. Nectarine, sugary, but light, luminous, shining, almost fresh into its warm hold. To me is a melody of nectars and I don't find it so potent, so bomb, so tuberose as other readers does. It is unique. Perfect balance, wave of unidentifiable notes. A real masterpiece. When it came out on a magazine I well remember was written "Well, when Japaneses decide to make a perfume they are able to do it very well!"

I have worn this perfume since it came out. I love it and will never be without it. It is creamy but it is also very complex and seems to smell different on my skin each time I wear it. There are a lot of notes here but somehow they all blend together perfectly. Remains on the skin for a long time but is never overbearing. I agree that it is truly one of the best floral perfumes. Beautiful.

This is a gem. Truly. A good mix of white flowers, peach, amber, plum, woodsy notes and oakmoss. Could be far away related with Eden, but Kenzo doesn't smell like Eden. I get Caron-wibes here, in a good way. Born -88 and still modern. Super female'ish, chic, always in style. I found a vintage bottle and I'm soooo happy.

It's beautiful scent, remind me 80-s, when I was a baby. Like my mom's old perfume.

The most delightful, charming oriental floral ever. My first love. Enough said.

This was the scent that one of my best friends used to wear. I remember it blended with the smoke of her cigarrettes and sometimes with the smell of holm oaks, pines and rosemary that came from the outside to the inside of the car, when we were travelling near the beach. It was a wonderful scent then, but now that I smell it on my skin, I cannot understand the previous reviews: I can only find it very agressive, artificial, maybe too modern and complex for me.

I found an old Avon bottle at parents from the 70's. It is amazing how this Kenzo bottle is so similar but squat compared to the long Avon. The lid is nearly a replica. Am keeping the Avon bottle it's beautiful.

I am enjoying the very last drop of my vintage bottle of Kenzo EDT, and this is likely going to be the last time I smell this exquisite fragrance. In a similar vein to Cacharel's Eden, Kenzo EDT is a green, mossy chypre with dominant notes of peach, carnation, sandalwood, oakmoss and tuberose. Like many fragrances from this era, the scent composition is very complex and full-bodied. Although the scent is rather dated and is no longer what would be considered trendy, I can't help but appreciate the bold and daring perfumes to have emerged during the 80s. Kenzo as a perfume brand doesn't have the same standing that it once did, which is a shame as several of their now vintage perfumes were spectacular and should never have been discontinued. Kenzo EDT was a fragrance I enjoyed wearing during Spring and Autumn, as the fruity facets of this white floral centered chypre truly blossomed in slightly warmer weather. Although an EDT, Kenzo had excellent projection and longevity, and the more natural components used in this fragrance's scent pyramid is obvious, (vastly different to the synthetic-heavy fragrances that line the department store shelves in recent years). This fragrance also represents tuberose in a very different way. Modern perfumery focuses on the indolic, creamy and lactonic aspects of this white floral accord, whereas Kenzo EDT and other well-known 80s scents like Dior Poison and Annick Goutal's Passion explore the richer, dense and green aspects of this floral note. I admittedly like tuberose in all its varied forms, but have a soft spot for tuberose centric scents of the bygone era.

Yep... it's the 3rd vintage serge as i expected! i was trying so hard to fight it but i couldn't... Here we go again... Bittersweet symphony... and no it's not the song by Verve Mildly bitter fruitti blend with that caraway, spices, & sandalwood mixed up with sweet floral. I get peaches, plums, gardenia, orange blossoms, bergamot, & patchouli. Weirdly, as much as it settles (cools down) the blend riffs between harsh spices & sweet floral which makes my senses quite confused & kind of in ecstasy. It's quite an impressive blend for a first launch for Kenzo! & although i don't like to classify blends according to gender but this blend is leaning toward feminine than masculine. Very beautiful. Edit (29th Sept 2020) I believe the cooldown shows the mango note quite clear! roses fruits and clear mango! very interesting indeed.

I don't quite know why, but this reminds me of EL Beautiful: maybe it's the fruit and the orange blossom? I received a small sample in a tiny adorable bottle just like the large one in the photo. I had thought I was receiving Ca Sent Beau, but it seems to be the original Kenzo. It is floral, strong and insistent, very sweet, yet sophisticated. The initial fruitiness dries down to a vast bunch of flowers: orange blossom, tuberose, jasmine and rose. It is not an airy flower scent. It is more oriental, like a heavy brocade. I don't detect the carraway. The musk and amber are becoming apparent after 3 hours. This perfume should be used with care in the day--a little will go a long way. At night it will make a statement: ritacha is right--it is not for the fainthearted.

My first real more expensive (not supermarket) perfume 1991. How can I forget! I am a different person now, and would not wear this anymore, it has probably been altered since. But as a true nostalgic I sniff it in the store when I see it and I understand why a 18-year old me loved it. The peachy quality makes it more exotic than most flower bombs are. Fruity and sugary in a good way. Cheerio young me! You were alright! Update october '15: I got myself a mini to get to sniff it properly. Yes, this is awonderful, youthful fruity flower that has a feminine musky base. I shall try to wear this. Reminds me a lot of Eden.

Most of the listed notes for Kenzo are similar to Rumba by Balenciaga/Ted Lapidus.Top notes for that one are Plum, Peach, Mirabelle, Orange Blossom, Basil, Bergamot and Raspberry; middle notes are Honey, Marigold, Carnation, Tuberose, Heliotrope, Jasmine, Gardenia, Rose, Magnolia, Orchid and Lily-of-the-Valley; base notes are Leather, Oakmoss, Plum, Ambergris, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Styrax, Musk, Tonka Bean, Vanilla and Cedar. Does anyone here have both these frags to perform a comparison? I have Rumba but I can't find Kenzo anywhere.

Incredibly clean and bright spicy, mossy on the edges. Perhaps the fruit and white floral tone it all down and make it as palatable as it is, but I would not say I detect any individual notes of these. Absolutely nothing sweet about this, so if you're looking for an antidote to today's all cake everything, a great option. With the hindsight we now have in perfumery, I would also say almost unisex. I would wear 365 days a year. Very cool in a 90's sort of way, when no one cared about who was looking and "liking".

I have just purchased a 100ml bottle with which i am going to buy blind with your reviews i just hope i wont be disappointed, i love coco, (not so much mademoiselle but original) i love opium, cinnabar and the spicy heavy perfumes, not so much youth dew etc,... fingers crossed i love this as much as my other ones, i loved 8e jour too but missed out on a 50ml bottle on ebay by £1,,, grrr but never mind fingers crossed guys

Got a 30ml bottle of this unsniffed at a thrift shop mainly for the beautiful bottle. For the scent, it has the 80s-90s powerhouse floriental signature all over it. Think White Diamond type of floral. It smells quite dated and very familiar IMO. On my skin the amber, vanilla & iris helps soften the floral sharpness quite a bit but the 80s-90s signature is still very dominant.

If memory serves, one of the most beautiful perfumes I've ever smelled - I had a replica mini back in the early 90s that I adored. I was not comfortable enough with myself to wear it out, I was still constrained by the 'but its a women's perfume!' gender roles and rules. I regret that. Anyone know of a good dupe? I'd love to have something like this again.

Oh the perks of living in the Philippines. Scored an unboxed 100 ml. for roughly about US$9.00 from a very outdated mall south of Manila and now I'm wearing it to bed! It's still as sweet as I remember when I used it back in highschool in the late '80s! What I wore sparingly in my teens, now I wear extravagantly in my 40s. The bottle is divine. x

Actually a great summer fragrance for the real vintage queens. A kind of 90s glam that is still unique in the 90s revival. If anyone is looking I am selling my 2 vintages of this, pristine condition one in a box, on Mercari. I offer reasonable prices, not looking to rip anyone off for hundreds of dollars!

Mandarine + tuberose + scent of an adhesive tape (something plastic). Similar to Eden Cacharel. Rather sultry, tuberose scent, very "eighties". Sweeter, much more "naive" than Eden, Eden is more watery, green, depressive, sad and anxious.

My first great love. Fruits, warm, powdery, musky, heavy swallowing me up. Classic, maybe a little dated. I still adore it, can't find it anymore, but I'll buy it again at any cost. I would not recommend a blind buy .

Guys: They do carry Kenzo Kenzo 1988 on e-bay, I've seen it yesterday. It's pretty expensive - from $55. I was in love with this scent in early 1990, but not anymore - too heavy. I prefer L'Eau par Kenzo.

This would be a pretty, strong, creamy and very nice flowerfragrance if it wasn ́t for the plums. I have some difficulties with plum in perfume. It get very strong, sweet, syrupy and to cloying on me.

I bought this perfume several times in Paris but last time i was in France I understood it was no longer available, so I settled for Ca sent beau instead, which I also love

I still remember it when I bought it to my mum back when I was 8, it's very floral I smell it and I can still remember the old days.