Beauty

Florabotanica by Balenciaga

Florabotanica perfume review

Ever since I can recall, I have been obsessed with perfume.  I still remember my very first bottle of “real” perfume; it was “Miracle” by Lancome and I got it as a gift from one of my aunts. She was always so chic and elegant, I loved chatting to her about makeup-usually behind my mom’s back, as I wasn’t really allowed to even touch makeup at that time- she was actually the one who introduced me to lip-liner as well. You can imagine how ecstatic I was when at the age of fourteen, I was gifted my very own bottle of perfume. I guess it’s safe to say that my life has never been the same since that moment.

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 One the first things that I noticed about my husband when I met him, was his smell. I honestly feel that even  if he was missing his two front teeth, I’d still go out with him, just because of the cologne that he used. Once we started dating, I’d steal his shirts so I could smell them at home. Is this a bit of a TMI? I get a feeling that I’m starting to sound like a psychopath or someone who had suffered from a bad case of  an obsessive attachment disorder. Point is, I’m obsessed with both perfume and cologne. Whenever I smell a certain fragrance, it always brings back memories and takes me back to specific moments in my life. (So now, whenever I smell that same cologne on Mark, I always close my eyes and see myself sitting on my bed with my face covered with his shirt, whispering “precious….. precious… my precioussss” in that Gollum voice.)

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I have a few “signature” fragrances that I always re-purchase (“Miracle” is still amongst them) but I also love trying out new ones. I think that whenever I change up my perfume, it sort of feels like I’m getting a mini-makeover. It’s not as drastic as changing your hair color, after all, the scent washes off with the rest of the bits of the day each night in the shower, but whenever I do use a new fragrance I feel that it just adds that extra “pep in my step” ;) . “Florabotanica” by Balenciaga is one of my newest additions and it has been on my wish list since last year.

florabotanica perfume

“Florabotanica is the fragrance of the Balenciaga botanic garden. It instills the brand with modernity and colors. While Balenciaga Paris paid tribute to the genius of Cristobal, this scent celebrates Nicolas’s [*Ed. note.: Balenciaga’s then creative director] futuristic perspective. The various facets of Nicolas’s inspiration are reflected in the bottle and outer box. The rich and surprising mix match of architectural lines, vivid colors, and venomous floral prints recurrent in Balenciaga’s fashion are translated into Florabotanica’s unique packaging.”

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It includes notes of Carnation, Wild Mint, Turkish Rose Essence, Hemp Leaves, Vetiver Roots and White Amber. This scent is absolutely unique, sophisticated and I think that it’s just one of those fragrances that not everyone will like as it may be a bit too bold. In the sea of overly sweet, juicy and citrus-y fragrances, “Florabotanica” definitely stands out with its strong, fresh, floral notes. It’s mellow, but lively at the same time, sophisticated and elegant. It’s long-lasting and very potent so I know that it’ll last me a for a while. I also have to mention the bottle design, how fab is it? I actually used to collect empty perfume bottles (God knows what was the matter with my late-teenage-self) and I could see this one being a gem in my old-dusty-empty-perfume-bottle collection. If you know what I mean. ;)

What scents do you go for? Sweet and girl-y or bold and floral?

19 Comments

  • Reply
    Melissa
    July 17, 2014 at 1:22 pm

    Oh I love the bottle of it and the package as well! I haven’t heard of this perfume before (I should be ashamed ;P ). I mostly go with soft scents since I often get headaches from them.

    By the way, I tagged you in the Liebster award on my blog :)

  • Reply
    BerryBloomXO
    July 17, 2014 at 1:52 pm

    The story with your Aunt is so cute!! I can image little Paula being soo excited! hehe!
    The packaging for this bottle is beautiful! I was drawn to it as soon as it showed up on my blog readers list! DKNY Be Delicious would be my signature, repurchase perfume. I loved reading this post and I would go for Bold + Floral scents! <3
    xoxo,

    BerryBloomXO.com | Beauty & Lifestyle Blog 

    • Reply
      Paula
      July 21, 2014 at 7:38 pm

      Hehehe ;) Aww thanks Puja <3

      I love pretty much every single DKNY perfume <3

  • Reply
    Vanessa
    July 17, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    This perfume smells sooo good. ;-)
    Lovely greets Nessa

  • Reply
    Christel
    July 17, 2014 at 9:29 pm

    I love the packaging of this perfume, that would be the first thing that would attract me to this perfume for sure and I also used to just let empty bottles of perfume rest on top of my dresser when I was younger, I just couldn’t make myself throw out such pretty bottles, girl problems haha ;-)

    floralconstellation.com

    • Reply
      Paula
      July 26, 2014 at 3:38 pm

      Hahah, I know, right? ;)

  • Reply
    Liee
    July 17, 2014 at 11:00 pm

    It sounds like a lovely perfume! How much did it cost?

    Good luck with your blog xx

    • Reply
      Paula
      July 21, 2014 at 7:39 pm

      Thank you! The big bottle that I have was $130.00.

  • Reply
    gail
    July 18, 2014 at 3:23 am

    Hmmm I really wanna try Balenciaga’s products as well! However, I still have bottles of perfume to use! I have to wait I guess hehe xx

    • Reply
      Paula
      July 19, 2014 at 4:41 pm

      Haha, I know I used to have way too many perfumes, but for the last couple of years I’ve been really good about not buying too many. ;)

  • Reply
    monique
    July 18, 2014 at 6:08 am

    Sounds amazing. The packaging looks adorable :) I love the stripes.

  • Reply
    Sophie Sierra
    July 18, 2014 at 12:27 pm

    I loved reading a bit of history about your love of perfumes and make-up Paula, your Aunt sounds like one classy lady! ;) You have a magical way with words :) It’s lovely how “Miracle” is still a favourite of yours to this day. It’s mad how scents can linger so much, isn’t it? I loved your story about Mark! :) Only once you start going out with someone meaningful, do you realise the importance of keeping an item of their clothing due to their scent… it’s not psychotic at all I promise you, but if it is then we can be cray-cray together as I did the same with Graham’s t-shirts haha :D On the other hand, it can be so off-putting as well, so many teenage boys drench themselves with cheap aftershave around here and boy is it enough to put a girl off for life! Hehe!

    My first perfume was Ralph Lauren’s ‘True Romance’ — my Mum passed it down to me as it was a bit too light and floral for her, but I thought it was perfect. My strongest memory of it is managing to drop the glass bottle onto the bathroom floor on holiday when I was 15! Well done me! ;) I can still the scent so strongly, and a few years ago I bought True Romance once again, and still love it just as much. Light, floral and girly is usually my go-to :)

    “Florabotanica” sounds so dreamy, the gorgeous packaging and design is enticing enough, but to hear it has notes of wild mint and white amber really sounds incredible, a real summer-must of a perfume! :D
    I like that it’s versatile too, as you say; mellow but not too lively. What a treasured find! :D

    Sophie xo

    • Reply
      Sophie Sierra
      July 18, 2014 at 12:28 pm

      *mellow but lively :)

    • Reply
      Paula
      July 19, 2014 at 4:40 pm

      :D:D Wow, thanks so much Sophie <3

      That's definitely something I would do! I did the same thing with a pricey bottle of perfume once and was so upset! I don't own True Romance, but I used countless samples and absolutely loved it <3.

  • Reply
    Steph Greenwood
    July 18, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    Hey I nominated you for a Liebster Award you can find more about it here! http://stephsheloves.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/liebster-award.html

  • Reply
    Ali
    July 29, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    The bottle is gorgeous, and now I want to buy it!

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