Antonia’s Flowers Floret
Floret eau de parfum by Antonia’s Flowers is an apricot dominant scent. White florals hug this fruity note tightly, giving Floret a very soft, unsugared feel. Of these florals, sweet pea is what I notice most at the start. It comes across as a note that is remarkably lotion-like. With the drydown, what I primarily find is lily of the valley mixing with apricot before the fruit completely evaporates and leaves just flowers behind. This scent is incredibly gentle, and would likely appeal most to those who seek fragrances that soft pedal their potency. (Floret is also available in an eau de toilette, but I didn’t sample that version. Given how understated this fragrance is, I would personally just skip the lighter concentration.)
When Benefit Cosmetics introduced their Maybe Baby eau de toilette, I recall many people from the fragrance site boards remarking on how incredibly similar it is to Floret. I don’t feel it’s an unfair comparison. But where Floret is soft and calming, Maybe Baby is sparkling and champagne-like. The central character of the apricot in both scents is enjoyable, though I must admit Floret has the superior staying power by a long shot. However, I’m not sure most people would bother owning both scents. I will probably stick by Maybe Baby, as it is more affordable, easier for me to pick up, and frankly I am addicted to Benefit’s Touch Me Then Try to Leave cream which bears the same fragrance as Maybe Baby.
It’s a little tricky to nail down brick and mortar stores that carry the Antonia’s Flowers line, but thankfully it’s quite easy to order samples online.
Sorry for the brevity of this post. Last night I was twiddling with the template for my other blog, and then branches from the tree in my neighbor’s yard came cracking down, which needed to be cleared from the street. (They’re in their 70s, and it’d be kind of rotten of us to leave the job for them to handle on their own.) Both tasks ended up taking a bit longer than I thought they would.
November 2nd, 2005 at 9:17 am
Great review K, and kudos to you for helping your neighbors. Antonias Flowers is at Neiman Marcus, or most of them, anyway.
November 2nd, 2005 at 9:19 am
It sounds quite lovely, and I should definitely revisit it. The first time I tried Floret, I was testing so many different things that I could not have possibly registered a proper impression. Its sweet pea note piques my interest. Thank you for reviewing it, K!
November 2nd, 2005 at 9:55 am
K, this sounds pretty, lovely and very pleasant. I am glad it is not “sparkling”, weird as it sounds, I mostly dislike sparkling scents (like Maybe Baby). I should try this, I love apricot and peach notes in scents, when they are well done.
November 2nd, 2005 at 11:58 am
Thanks for your review. I have been wearing Floret spring and summer for 3 seasons now. I adore it, in both the EDP and the EDT. The EDT is worth trying, it is sooo creamy, and just like a bunch of sweet peas from the garden.
November 2nd, 2005 at 12:19 pm
Robin - eh, I wasn’t all that helpful. I’m still limping a bit, so I’m slow. And the debris was just pulled to their lawn, because neither they nor we have a chainsaw to break it up yet. I’m just glad no one and no property was hurt.
Victoria - the sweet pea is quite creamy, and while that is never a note that sticks to me for long, it at least lasted long enough for me to gain an impression of it.
Marina - the apricot is the same in both Floret and Maybe Baby, very light. I think you might enjoy this one just a hair more than MB actually.
Susan - that’s interesting about the EDT. I did wonder why there were two different descriptions on the site for the EDT and the EDP. I may have to try it out after all - thanks!