Flowerhead
Byredo (2014)

Top note combo was nice, but brief. Had a touch of green - again, brief. Then jasmine and tuberose just totally took over... Gentle rose moves up. It seemed to tame the previous flowers. I get a kind of lipstick accord.

Suede moves in. Still some pale rose remains. This is a "fast moving" fragrance, that doesn't last very long at all. If it weren't for that fact, I'd give it a better rating. Nothing overly extraordinary here.

This smells like shampoo, which is not normally something I dislike, since I am a rather huge fan of things which ring true a vintage shampoo accord, like Samba for Men by The Perfumer's Workshop (1990). However, if we're going for drugstore comfort smells, it had better be within a drugstore price range, which unfortunately Byredo is not. So in essence, you're getting a quirky $20 smell for nearly $300 instead, which shoots Flowerhead (2014) right in the foot. Byredo is already annoyingly dipping into "hipster tastemaker" territory with its painfully droll minimalism and gimmicks like limited unnamed scents, so Flowerhead doesn't do them any favors. I like what's here, I really do, but in no way does this style of chemical floral cleanliness even come close to representing the kind of niche elegance house Byredo claims to offer. Tsk tsk tsk...

Flowerhead opens with dry lemon and a rather loud jasmine with some chemical floral musky notes in vein of something like galaxolide super. Supposedly lingonberry exists here but I get none of that personally; it's akin to cranberry, so if lingonberry was present in Flowerhead, I'd have it adding body to the lemon, which instead just evaporates once the florals emerge. A tuberose note dominates the heart, and the floral "Salon Selects/TRESemmé" shampoo main accord emerges, joined with galbanum. A late-stage ambroxide base emerges to hold Flowerhead to skin alongside the galaxolide musk, but what you sniff in the beginning is basically what you get for the whole trip until you scrub it off. This is a very light yet tenacious perfume, so expect all-day presence but without much sillage. I think clean scents like this serve best after shower or before bed, but I see Flowerhead serving well as spring daywear too.

If you like something such as this and money is no object, go ahead and grab a bottle, but if smelling like late 80's/early 90's shampoo brands is your schtick and you don't want to pay much more than the bottle of the actual shampoo, get the Samba for Men instead (regardless of your gender), trust me on this. Byredo is sort of hit or miss as a luxury niche house anyway, but with the upscale floral genre, you have to either go all-in with expensive absolutes and impeccable note separation, or just go home. Anything that smells even remotely artificial at this price point, regardless of how charming, will get picked apart and laughed off stage by the "connoisseurs" who spend as much time waxing about their knowledge of how flowers smell as they do perfume. This is saved from a thumbs down because I love shampoo accords, but I can't really get a lather from Flowerhead. Neutral.

Oh yeah...the name says it all...conjures up visions of walking into a flower shop or opening the door of one of those flower coolers at a grocery store...there is lemon , but it's cleverly hidden and provides a weird sort of mellowing effect that keeps the flowers from going over the edge...a little touch of green to add to the freshness and gardeny effect...what makes me chuckle is that I seem to be one of those noses that gets an occasional whiff of bubble gum when smelling white type of florals , and I get that with this fragrance...not something I would wear , but I can see this being a fine choice for noses that like this kind of fresh and fruity flower...over time , mellows and dries down nice and smooth...

Flowerhead blends together beautifully as it settles on your skin - authentic rather than synthetic, a beautiful bouquet of white florals, fresh greens and sweet complementary berries & fruit. If you dig white florals, do yourself a favor and check this one out. If you find white florals offputting - well, go on... get outta here! =P

A shrill bouquet of floral aromachemicals put together without much callibration. If you're familiar with higher quality more accomplished floral arrangements you'll know this Byredo comes across distinctly amateurish and cheap.

Lots of sour synthetic tuberose. Heady stuff.