Flora by Gucci.

Gucci Rush is ok. Gucci Eau de Parfum 2 is lovely. Gucci Rush 2 is amazing. So I guess it is fair to say that I am quite partial to a perfume from Gucci! I lusted after the latest addition to their perfume family, Flora, for what felt like the longest time. The name Gucci was enough to draw me to the perfume counter within hours of hearing of the perfume for the first time (I do like my perfume!) and once there, I had to literally shake myself to walk away from the counter empty handed. The little gold bottle with it's cute little bow sat there tempting me, calling to my hands as the fresh, pretty, floral scent filled my nostrils. It smelt lovely but then most perfumes do at the counters and I did have more then enough perfume so with heavy feet I dragged myself away from the beckoning bottle. However, it was impossible to forget this perfume. The tester that I had squirted lasted all night and made me feel like a lady. So all I could do was add it to my birthday list and yay, Mum read the list and a few weeks later, the fragrance was mine. Thank you, Mum and Dad! I wore it straight out to b'day dinner and maybe once or twice after that. It smelt gorgeous. Almost too so and I started saving it. It became 'My Special Perfume' but with few days special enough for Flora, I instead found myself wearing Princess, Diesel or simply body lotion instead. However, I have now ran out of Princess and as Diesel is not so summery, I've found myself wearing Flora a lot again. Every day is special, right?! I really like Flora. It contains Sandalwood, Patochuoli and Pink Pepper (I think!) but it is different from the other Gucci perfumes which I would say are maybe slightly younger and more casual. Flora is not purely musk but there is a certain tinge of darker, heavier notes intespersed amongst the floral flashes and the more subtle hints of fruit. The perfume has something of an assurance about it. The scent lasts a long time and does not really change much over time. Maybe in the first five or ten minutes, it settles down a bit but after that it stays pretty much the same. Sometimes I think a perfume that only smells good when you've just sprayed it cheapens itself when the good has worn off and you are left with the cheap undertones. I would prefer a perfume that only lasts 2 hours if it remains true over that period then one that lasts a whole day but 22 hours of that is just cheap smelling residue. Nothing about Flora is cheap and I'd imagine most grown up girlies would be comfortable wearing it. It seems to muster some class about it in the way that Chanel No 5 does but it is more contemporary and subtle. I actually prefer it to how I remember my New York scent, Chanel Allure, used to smell. Flora is a very, very pretty scent which I find hard to imagine could nauseate or offend anybody but hey, tell me if I'm wrong. We are all different. Of course, perfumes come in bottles of all shapes and sizes. Well, the prettiest perfumes deserve the prettiest bottles and I do think Gucci have delivered here. The bottle is simple and rectangular with a nice little Gucci tie around it's neck. This is very fitting as Flora is actually named after a very popular Gucci print. The design was used to produce a custom scarf for Princess Grace (the Princess of Princesses) of Monaco about 50 years ago. The design was so loved by Princess Grace and ladies everywhere, that Gucci have produced many other Flora products such as handbags and glasses over the years and now we have the Flora perfume which does it predecessors more then proud. I think if you look carefully, you will see the pattern in some of the ads for the perfume. And yes, I am still very curious about some of the summery scents springing in to the shops at the moment-Daisy In The Air, Ghost Captivation-but I'm also really, really enjoying my Flora (and of course, Stunning is still on stand by) so just maybe I will be able to resist. Er, yeah . . ! 30ml of the Eau de Parfum currently costs £35 from Boots online. So Girls, what scents am I missing out on? And, don't forget the details. I could talk about perfumes for hours even though to talk about it in a way that makes sense to others is quite hard to do. I hope you  have got something out of this post. In my long winded way, I guess I am just saying Flora is certainly worth testing next time you are at the perfume counter and from there on in, it is up to you! X