Unusual Flower

At first burst it's floral then it becomes green, herbal, clean, neat like minimalist architecture. And then this scent tickles your nose into a hint of citrus, it's a gorgeous intoxicating scent. Then the florals come back in, soft, delicate but in tandem with the lush green stems - the part of the flower between root/wood/herbaceous and the flower. A floral lime verbena but with a classy sharp beautiful edge. This is a beautiful perfume that smells modern and smart. It does smell rich. I wish that it lasted longer. Sillage and longevity are both moderate. It's reminiscent of my first ever (when I was 14) cream deodorant by Elizabeth Arden. My beautiful mother bought me a Clinique roll on antiperspirant and the deodorant since, unlike her, I know how to generate aromatic body odour. So I don't forget that smell - was it green tea? Might have been.

Unusual Flower is herbal green sharp and peppery acrid, like the med-mist spray of Bactine, the chemical weirdness of insect repellent, and the mineral UV filters of sunblock, along with both chlorinated pool water and salty ocean air. It sounds awful, but you know what, I love it. It reminds me of childhood summer vacations with my family. The sharpness dissipates and it becomes a combination of a sort of cottony crisp linen spray and the classic late- 90’s early aughts omnipresent ubiquity of a certain scent: that sparkling grapefruit, watery cucumber, sweet honeydew melon spa water fragrance that I’m sure some amongst us recall vividly. I do, because it’s the fragrance I associate with my best friend’s townhome, where I housesat for a week, while they were visiting Japan. It’s a fragrance that makes me think of Neon Genesis Evangelion marathons, Soma FM’s Groove Salad downtempo electronica radio station, and oversized cargo pants that unzipped at the knee to better allow for flailing to bootlegged Japanese copies of Dance Dance Revolution. This scent is not "good" (just my opinion, man) but this is an instance where the heart tells the brain “you know nothing,” because friends, I love this perfume.

Surprisingly green and 'unusual'. :) It gives me Cacharel Eden and Balencia Florabotanica vibes. Tried in-store, and was able to smell it on me after 3-4 hours, so it has decent staying power.

There's a new version of Unusual Flower, a 2025 version, Zara mentions “fig, sage and driftwood" definitely different from this, I can't wait to try

The new 2025 version comes in a lovely green/blue bottle and has bergamot, orchid and musk listed as the notes.