Making my way through Covent Garden after a sneaky trip to Bloom, I passed by ‘a new concept in fragrance’ – Floral Street.
Ok, ok, so I went in cynical.
The ‘new concept’ is eight eau de parfums, ranging from London Poppy at the light and breezy end to Black Lotus at the ‘dark and challenging’ end, all of which can be tried at ‘experience stations’ – platforms with testers laid out. They’ve got shower gels too. And floral lino.
But the staff were warm and welcoming. And on request for samples, were quick to offer me whatever I fancied, as 1.5ml tester sprays. Nice service.
I picked a couple I thought would be most interesting – Ylang ylang Espresso, from the middle of the range, and Black Lotus from the far end.
Ylang Ylang Espresso
Ylang Ylang Espresso has the perfume world’s worst name (I’d rather boast of wearing Zoologist’s ‘Beaver’). But its mix of tangerine, sichuan Pepper, rose, jasmine, tiramisu accord, patchouli, ylang ylang, espresso beans, cocoa beans and guaicwood ain’t all bad. The coffee is rich, creamy and chocolatey, without being too sweet. It’s got a rough edge that occasionally stops it going into pudding territory, and longevity is excellent. It’s best during drydown when an extra soft muskiness emerges every now and then. It’s a nice one to catch a whiff off, if too poorly-blended to wear.
Black Lotus
Onto Black Lotus. This one has an ok first-spritz appeal – a quick blast of spicy fruit. But things go wrong almost immediately. It does a quick pass through generic blokes’ aftershave territory, then heads straight to Horriblesville. It’s musky, peppery rose with a hint of saffron. But above all – ashtray.
Jeez, this stuff is rank. It’s palatable on a strip, but spray it on your skin for the full horrorshow. This reeks like a Friday night in Bromley Firkin pre smoking ban – sickly sweet Impulse body spray mixed with 10 ex-Marlboro lights. ‘Narcotic flowers’ my arse. This perfume’s like going twos on a fag with a cheerleader and stubbing it out in a cherry jelly.
No competition for the challenge of the indies, the decadance of the luxuries, or the pure choice of the High Street, I’m not really sure what Floral Street’s USP is. Fun lino can only get you so far.
Ylang Ylang Espresso and Black Lotus are available for £55 for 50ml eau du parfums from floralstreet.com. Or from the Floral Street store in Covent Garden, which is on King Street. Not Floral Street (SMH).
Nose Dives 