As a perfume-obsessed beauty editor, I can’t believe it’s taken me 25 years to try this classic Y2K scent

Like almost every beauty editor I know, my fascination with beauty products started young. I’d spend hours poring over the Avon catalogues that came through the front door while I was still in primary school and, if I were lucky, my mum would let me pick out a fruity body mist or a tinted lip balm as a treat. Once I hit my teenage years and could buy my own magazines, I’d cut out pictures of colourful eyeshadows or body shimmers and stick them into wishlists in my scrapbook. As for perfume? Well, I was utterly obsessed. I’d tear out the fragrance samples that you’d find inside the pages of the monthly glossies and save them for special occasions (aka a friend’s bowling birthday party) and every birthday and Christmas, I’d ask for a new scent. And since I came of age in the noughties, when beauty brands had started to target a younger demographic, there was no shortage of covetable perfumes. Yet, for me, Kenzo’s Flower by Kenzo wasn’t one of them.

From Ralph by Ralph Lauren (my very first “proper” perfume) to DKNY’s iconic Be Delicious, the fragrance choices of my youth were light, bright and juicy. Yet, it seems that like many of my favourite nostalgic fragrances, they were united by one thing—being undeniably fruity. So while I vividly remember seeing countless adverts for Flower By Kenzo and even smelling it on the fragrance counter in Boots it never made my personal perfume wishlist. I can only guess that, at the time, I deemed it far too sophisticated a scent for me. Not only was the elegantly-shaped bottle with a single red flower encased inside so much more pared-back and minimal than the vibrant colourful bottles that cluttered my bedroom shelves, but the perfume itself was decidedly more grown-up.

However, when a bottle landed on my desk recently, 25 years since it first launched, I was bowled over to discover that Flower By Kenzo is now entirely up my street. Yes, now that I’m in my mid-30s, this soft and powdery floral totally appeals. And if you’re thinking that’s because it sounds as if I’ve described something of an outdated fragrance, then think again. Despite being a quarter of a century old, Flower By Kenzo smells impressively modern and holds its own against the best new fragrances of 2025. Plus, I’m amazed at how many of its fragrance notes are ones that I have continually gravitated towards in my perfume choices over the last decade. Perhaps, Kenzo has unconsciously had more influence on my taste in scents than I realised? Let’s get into why it’s finally converted me…

First launched in 2000, Flower By Kenzo was created by master-perfumer Alberto Morillas—the man behind iconic 90s and 00s fragrances like Calvin Klein CK One, Estee Lauder Pleasures and Marc Jacobs Daisy. Unlike the aforementioned scents, however, which are quite clean, sparkling and bright, Flower By Kenzo has a quiet and unassuming presence. Which perhaps is why, despite being something of a modern classic, it’s rarely raved about like other perfumes of the time. The idea behind the perfume was to create a new floral for a new millennium—an idea of a bloom rather than a homage to a specific floral.

The result is a soft and pretty perfume that contains the green freshness of a garden rose with the subtle sweetness of violets. And while this all might sound rather powder room, the thing that keeps this Flower By Kenzo feeling contemporary to this day is the way that it leans into skin scent territory. There’s musk and pink pepper (such as you might find in a modern icon like Glossier You), which lend it an almost baby powder edge that lingers with your skin. And if you find that kind of softness can be cloying, then the addition of juicy blackcurrant and vanilla adds a dash of sweetness that brightens the whole fragrance.

It might have taken me 25 years to own a bottle, but I can imagine myself wearing this for a further 25. To me, this is the perfect easy-to-wear perfume—it’s lightweight, soft and cotton-fresh. Plus, the parma violet powderiness and skin-like musk mean this has an almost nostalgic comfort. The notes can be found in so many of my most-worn scents in my collection that it already smells like me.

More Kenzo Flower perfumes

Since its initial launch, the Kenzo Flower lineup has enjoyed many new iterations. Whether you want a fruitier cocktail or a new floral twist, there’s a whole host of Kenzo Flower scents for every taste.