Flora Bella

I bought a nearly full (unboxed and with a missing lid) 100ml bottle of this blind from a seller on eBay for £25 sterling a couple of months ago. It's Lalique (haven't tried a Lalique I haven't liked yet) and by Bertrand Duchaufour, who I can rely on to be entertaining if nothing else. The only Duchaufour perfume I've tried so far which was a complete scrubber is L'Artisan's Skin on Skin. Flora Bella arrived when it was cold (snowing). I sprayed it on the back of my hand, sniffed and recoiled. There was a horrible - metallic? - chemical note which repulsed me. I thought the perfume in the tube may have oxidised, so tried spraying 30 times or so to clear it and then tried again. Nope. Still smelled awful. I thought the perfume may have turned (it had been stored without its box, after all) as it's purplish-brown - not the pretty, clear-blue of the liquid pictured above; I checked pictures online and those showing the bottle all depict a brown liquid. I put it to one side for a while, until tonight, when curiosity got the better of me. It's been unseasonably warm here for the last few days; whilst it's a little cooler tonight, I am still warm - certainly far more than I was when I first tested FB. I sprayed a little on the back of my hand again, cautiously sniffed... And tonight I am smelling a totally different perfume. It smells just like a florists - that fresh, green smell you get on first walking into a florists; this is flowers, stems and leaves, the whole plant! It reminds me of Roja Dove's Lilac (which I loved but found the sillage and longevity desperately lacking, particularly given its price). On me, the loudest flowers are lilac, mimosa, carnation and freesia. Tuberose is behaving herself for a change and the exotic flowers, orchid, frangipani and tiare are waiting politely in the background with the spices and amber. I can't smell them at all yet, to be honest. I sprayed about two hours ago now and there has been little, if any, progression, other than a reduction in sillage - which is absolutely fine by me, as I am thoroughly enjoying my bouquet, flowers, leaves, stems and all. Highly recommended for warm summer days - it's quite delightfully fresh. If you've bought this and dislike it, give it another chance in different climatic conditions; you may be pleasantly surprised. I've just upgraded this to "love" - a remarkable turnaround from "bin it". ETA: Longevity is outstanding, particularly on my dry skin - still can be smelled over 12 hours later (although very much a skin scent). I'm not sure about clothing, as I haven't tried it - but perfumes always last longer on cloth. Edited again to add: I've spritzed this again, to compare it to Penhaligon's Ostara (also by Duchaufour) and today I am detecting a much stronger tuberose note. Interesting. Hmmm. 16.08.2018

Flora Bella was a blind Purchase for me. Knowing how strong Lalique parfümes can be I was hesitant. But, After reading the notes and the review from Miss J. I decided to purchase a bottle. The bottle is GORGEOUS of course. The first spritz I did panic a bit. It was strong and sort of harsh. But, it faded quickly. It blended into the most intoxicating scent. Dense, Rich, Wet, Luxurious florals. I wouldn't say so much tropical but exotic. Not over sweet at all. Immediately I can smell a rich vanilla. The best way I can describe it is.... A vanilla tapioca pudding warm in the slow cooker with beautiful fragrant exotic flowers garnishing the sides. The heat releases the vanilla, sweet almond, mild spices and the aroma of exotic florals. The flowers in this are cool smelling. The vanilla is warm but NOT sweet. It's rich and creamy and floral... But not hot and, harsh. However due to it's floral density and vanilla-almond richness. It actually makes a great winter floral fragrances. It has good silage and the longevity is average (on my skin). On clothes and hair it lingers longer. I get about 5-6 hrs. That others can detect. I however can't detect it after about 4 hrs. All in all. A great buy. I really like this one. It's interesting, mature and sophisticated. Definately not old lady. I couldn't see a Tween to Twenty something going for this either. Its certainly a sophisticated scent. Addition; FYI This perfume liquid has always been Amber in colour. The box is periwinkle. The liquid periwinkle colour is in photos only. It was edited/altered. I assume it was done for advertising, perhaps to match the box.

I noticed they left out the almond note that's very obvious in this perfume. This is one of my favorite all time fragrances. Such a shame this nice thick winter floral and almond perfume is no longer on production. It's a personal perfume. Something you wear just for yourself. The vanilla and almond on this is not Gourmand.. It is more of a raw vanilla and almond. That blends well with the other flowers. Which are also so well blended it's difficult to pick out any one flower.

Icekat, your review nails it! This perfume is really special. Lalique was one of the houses I was never really fond of, but I am loving them more and more!! For example my favorites so far: - Nilang - Lalique Le Parfum - Flora Bella And I also learned to love the original Lalique, and I am CRAZY about the vintage formulation pure perfume! So all in all, well worth your time and money!

Oh and I forgot to mentoin, it belongs to the fragrance family of Kenzo Summer, as already mentoined by Maki, the yellow bottle. Only is this perfume stronger. Quite great, because I always used to think that I loved Summer but I always found it a bit to weak. So this is the upgrade on that concept! WONDERFUL!

This is indeed Bella! My newfound love...what a beautiful floral!Sweet and fresh at the same time...and very deep and complex. The sillage and longevity are really admirable...lasts for hours and hours. The more I discover Lalique the more I love this house. Didn't get disappointed once with their fragrances.

I had it on yesterday and it kept smelling ALL DAY! Wonderful tropical perfume! A LOT of fragipane and Tiare in this one, also a combining banana perfume! It is like a sister to sira des indes. Wonderful tropical perfume with gorgeous staying power and sillage!!

FRAGRANCE NOTES; TOP NOTES; Bergamot, Mandarin orange, Rose, Violet. HEART NOTES ; Lilac, Frangipani, Freesia, Cassia, Mimosa, Carnation, Orchid, Daphne, Raw Almond, Tuberose, Vanilla BASE NOTES; Amber, Spices, Vanilla, White musk

Wanted to add that Flora Bella falls into the same category as Echo by Davidoff and L'eau de ST. Dupont pour femme. Very long lasting and natural smelling...loving it!

I love this fragance for summer days.It ́s very intense and longlasting.I find it very tropical and sweet.Beautiful.

This opens w/ wet lilac then continues in that same wet vein and mimosa shows up w/ a wet just mown grass smell. This is a very wet, green, white and yellow floral perfume. I get the plumeria as the perfume develops, a slightly spicy orchid comes calling and is softened by vanilla and musk. This is a very wet perfume. I know I keep mentioning that but I cant' get over how much it smells like flowers that have been heavily rained on. Very unique. I heard it was discontinued so I was interested since I buy a lot of discontinued fragrances. It does reminds me a bit of Jean Patou's Vacanes Heritage Collection which I already own. Very green, lots of yellow florals as the fragrance develops. Almost a bit overpowering but still pretty.

I am so glad I own Flora Bella. This is is a lush, slightly sweetish and dense bouquet of florals that is a delight to my nose. It's like standing in a tropical garden and the flowers give off their heady aromas after it has rained, but it is not a headache inducing headiness, because FB is actually moderate in projection. It just feels moist, dense, really tropical - just beautiful. I think another reviewer wrote along those lines and that's what I get, too. Maybe the scent comes to life more in a tropical, humid climate...it has decent longevity on skin and lingers softly on clothes into the next day. It's not a run of the mill scent and definitely worthwhile checking out when you live in a tropical or sub-tropical climate.

Lalique FLORA BELLA opens as a lush and creamy floral fragrance, rather reminiscent of FRACAS, in fact, given the hefty dose of tuberose. The subsequent development of this high quality edp might be summed up in a phrase: FRACAS goes to Tahiti. Frangipani and tiare definitely dominate in the mid-stage, taking over the tuberose and giving FLORA BELLA a decidedly monoi-oid edge--although there's no coconut here. Because of the vanilla, the drydown is, however, slightly sweet, albeit still floral. FLORA BELLA is a sumptuous oriental floral which I'd like to add to my collection. Great staying power and somewhat less all-enveloping sillage than FRACAS, which could be an advantage in some contexts...

Ah...the curse of the blind buy... This is a very strange perfume. Bear with me, but it struck me that it's like a woman in a painting by Delvaux. Beautiful, sensual even, yet mysterious and somewhat distant and expressionless. You want to get to know her, but she's too aloof, looking through you towards some inanimate object. There's something off putting here. I like Delvaux, but I wouldn't want one of his paintings in my house. I'm not sure I'm going to wear this one too often either, but I've given it a 'like' for its clever execution. Sans arty-fartiness, it's a lush, tropical floral with a jarring note.

Flora Bella opens with a beautiful and strong bouquet of flowers. I definitely get lilacs, freesia, orchids and mimosa. Then the perfum transforms into more subtle earthy sweet tones. The florals also remain but not as strong as in the opening. I did not get much spice in the base notes but there is definitely strong vanilla and amber. This perfume reminds me of a bright sunny summer morning that slowly progresses into warm summer evening. The staying power is great. It is perfect for spring and summer anytime of the day.

This scent is like a bouquet of lilacs- warmed up by amber and other floral notes, into a sumptuous, complex arrangement- I definitely smell roses, too, although they're not listed. Strangely enough, I'm also picking up a dark chocolate/orange note- makes me think of those little Droste chocolate oranges that you break open into little sections... Reminds me of Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria Angelique Lilas and Ineke's After My Own Heart- Potency and longevity are outstanding!

This is quite the floral! And it is quite rare that I 'd say anything like this. Happily, Flora Bella is not from the sharp floral type screaming 'beware i am classy b.tch' or one of those boring florals ' I just as simple and innocent as these flowers' Quite strong indeed - I mostly get mimosa and lilacs. A very clean yet creamy fragrance. If you like FM Une fleur de cassie or Donna Karan Gold, I think you will like this too. Longevity is great, I can confirm that too.

My first thought is I've smelled this before...tea and flowers, ho hum. But then it begins to unfold into a slightly tropical bouquet with a touch of clove (carnation?) which I enjoy very much. Even though tea is not a note, I still pick it up, coming through so the scent is not overly sweet and cloying. It is definately not ground breaking by any means, but it's pleasant enough for an afternoon tea party or a friends wedding. A slightly formal fresh floral.

This is a rather exquisite, yet happy, summer scent. Very heavy on the frangipani – sweet, wet and thick. Amongst the sweet and tropical flowers lies a classy comfort of amber and musk. A smell of paradise with its honeyed flowers and warm vanilla. Not a light summery breeze by any means – this lady wants all the sun and all the beauty of the nature summer can offer. No northern, fragile summers, but a hot and humid, tropical afternoon.

I love it instantly after the first spray! It's not overwhelming on my skin "the perfume absorber". It's tropical foral, longlasting I can still smell the sweet trace the next morning, not a sillage bomb but will be noticed. Can't wait to wear it again! Great blind buy!