Zinnia Floris for women

Sigh! Broke the cardinal rule and bought this unsniffed and am now paying the price. I have a big 3.4oz EDT and it wasn't cheap and I can't return it easily either. Oh well, maybe I have to learn to try and like it.

Actually, I had a tiny soap sample of Floris Zinnia and loved the way the soap smelled so I took the risk with this one but on me the EDT does not improve much on drydown. Agree with Leesee's review.

Updating a couple days later - I think this might grow on me. It still will not be a favorite but I must admit it is different from my usual perfumes and quite interesting. Maybe something I could wear in a rotation.

This to me isnt an oriental at all but a heavy musky floral with great sillage.

Upon drydown it really warms up, in fact to be honest it really heats up rather than warms up. Pure animal attraction happens when i wear this.

Im a huge fan!

I bought this for my wife, however, I wear it more often than she does and enjoy it immensely. Spicy and greenish with a longlasting drydown on my skin. I'm not a big fan of carnation, but, somehow that note seductively floats around in the late stages and seems to say, "Hmmm, I thought you didn't really like carnation?" Nothing else that I own is quite like it . . . a very pleasant surprise.

I don't know if I would classify this as an Oriental but maybe a soft woody floral almost a rosey vanilla. It is very feminine. It reminds me of Eternity by Calvin Klein but with more staying power and more mature. Which is an element of Floris I am growing to appreciate. I am very sensitive to fragrance and I had no problem. If you are wearing perfume for yourself and not the world to smell this is a good match. Good for the office or church.

Zinnia is one of the strongest Floris perfumes I own - normally their sillage is minimal even if their longevity is good (for florals). Zinnia has much more guts & strength whilst retaining its true, delicate floral heart.

On first spritz you are greeted with a full-on green & alcoholic bitter burst - do not be put off by this! Persevere & you will be rewarded by an inviting warmth & delicate spiciness.

The opening moments are fleeting & the bitter green leaves are quickly balanced by a sweet rose & lily of the valley. The violet is quite prominent & reminds me of dappled light playing in a glade on the forest floor although the general theme of this floral is sundrenched & dry. The iris cools the ever-increasing floral heat & within half an hour you have a very well-balanced sweet & creamy floral bursting forth from your arm.

There is a certain glow about Zinnia - my bottles are peachy orange - & this comes out despite their being no fruity notes. The base notes only fully develop after some hours. As a lover of more depthy oriental perfumes I would have enjoyed more oriental & less floral: perhaps more sandalwood & heliotrope for a smoother, richer base with an inviting fluffiness. Instead I am left with a very pleasant creamy floral musk with an emphasis on the rose & lily of the valley.

I really cannot imagine this as a masculine scent despite the delicate bitter-green undercurrent - on my skin it proclaims (quite loudly) about its sweet femininity & link to mother nature.....but then the beauty about perfumes is that, on different skins, they disclose different stories.

A bitter violet with an undercurrent of dirt and leaves, Zinnia softens and sweetens only ever so slightly in the drydown. This might make an exceptional masculine.