Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb - Scented Review

Flowerbomb, a floral explosion, a profusion of flowers that makes everything more positive. A thousand flowers rise to an ultra-feminine, delicious and sensual fragrance. The official description on the Viktor&Rolf Official Website. 

Name: Flowerbomb

Brand: Viktor & Rolf

Concentration: Eau de Parfum

Year of launching: 2005

Production: In production

Parfumeurs: Olivier Polge, Carlos Benaim and Domitille Berthier

Persistence: Great

Sillage: Great

Notes: Tens of Cattleyas, Hundreds of Sambac Jasmine, Thousands of Freesia, and Millions of Rose petals enriched by an addictive scent of Patchouli and Vanilla *The perfume notes have been written as described on the Viktor&Rolf Official Website.

While being cleverly named "Flowerbomb", our Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb is far away from an actual flower bomb or a floral bomb.  At first sniff I do not think many people will have this reaction: “Oh my! Those pronounced floral notes, I can really smell a garden filled with flowers!” but more on the lines of “Oh dear! BubblegumCandybomb in a bottle!” Probably, not many at first sniff are going to tell you that it smells like a flower or even say that a distinct floral note is present.

After using it for some years now, I started recognizing some floral notes that stand out from the whole bubblegum-candy sweetness. I can distinguish Freesia and a little bit of Jasmine. To my nose, Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb is a sweet Bubblegum with very few glimpses of the floral notes that are completely overshadowed by the Vanilla-Patchouli duo. One might find Flowerbomb's Patchouli very friendly and wearable compared to the usual earthy, stingy Patchouli. The Vanilla softens the Patchouli to the point of total submission.

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The exact duo between Vanilla and Patchouli is the gene from Thierry Mugler Angel’s DNA. Flowerbomb is heavily influenced by Thierry Mugler’s classic gourmand. I believe Viktor & Rolf wanted a perfume along the lines of Angel but a perfume but much more versatile. Upon smelling Angel the usual reactions are between Yes or No with a rare in between. Well, that is exactly the space that Flowerbomb would fill, the middle ground. It catered to the undecided "Maybe", instead of being just the solid "Yes" or the hard "No”. Thus Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb compared to its ancestor Thierry Mugler Angel is a lot tamer, friendlier and much more inviting.

Flowerbomb was and is wildly popular, there has been some backlash about it being overhyped and overrated. Personally, I don't think it is necessarily overrated, it is a crowd pleaser nonetheless, but it is that kind of fragrance that is so cute and fuzzy that makes hard to dislike it especially because it's not extremely heavy or extremely sweet. It is sweet but sweet enough, it is cute but cute enough and it is not overdoing it or trying too hard. Certainly, in terms of sweetness, one's personal taste and opinions will influence how high or low the "sweetness" level is, and how much sweetness one can tolerate. 

Let’s talk about the packaging:

The bottle resembles a hand grenade and is somewhat controversial because it is shaped like an explosive device. While “No harm, no foul” was intended and the intention was to suggest something positive like a flower explosion (in this case a bubblegum and candies explosion). The connotations of the words "bomb", "explosion", "grenade" and the symbols associated with these words are very much grim. A long history of wars have left their mark on humanity, I can understand why some might not like the concept of the bottle and even the name. On a brighter note the bottle and the name are consistent and a good fit for each other.

What I really love about Flowerbomb is the refillable bottle. I am an advocate for refillable bottles, so Kudos to both Thierry Mugler and Viktor & Rolf. I do plan on buying a refillable bottle because sadly when I got mine, the refillable bottle was not yet available. The Refillable bottle is easily recognisable because it has a Pink Viktor&Rolf seal, unlike the non-refillable bottle with the Black Viktor&Rolf seal.

I highly encourage everybody to choose a Refillable bottle over a non-refillable not just for economic purposes but also for ecological purposes. 

For those interested to read more I also wrote a Flowerbomb Nectar Scented Review.

If you are still wondering "Where are you, Flowers? Where can I find you?" most probably you are looking in the wrong place. I am pretty certain Flowerbomb was never intended to be faithful to its name, but I must admit the name is rather catchy. For example “Candybomb” or how I lovingly like to call it “BubblegumCandybomb” does not sound as appealing.

I must admit Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb does have that positive effect they claim in the official description. For me, Flowerbomb is joyful, fun, relaxed and does put a smile on my face. For an optimistic perfume, I could only choose an optimistic, enthusiastic song.

Oh Wonder - Ultralife

Further reading: This Blog Really Stinks

In the end, I would like to add a small advice to my Dear Reader. Perfume is like a work of art, it strikes different chords within each individual. The interpretation of a work of art is very personal, profound and unique for each and every human being. If possible, test a perfume for yourself after reading a review. Also, do not forget to Love, Enjoy and Wear your Perfume of choice Proudly.

What are your thoughts on Flowerbomb? Let me know in the comment section.  

Thank you for reading this Scented Review and I wish you a Beautifully Scented Day! 

Disclaimer: My own scented opinion. Review based upon a bottle from my own collection.

SOURCES:

Images:

Amazon.com [Accessed 23th December 2017]

Viktor&Rolf.com [Accessed 23th December 2017]

Information:

Viktor&Rolf.com [Accessed 23th December 2017]