gardenia

Perfume Chat Room, October 11
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Perfume Chat Room, October 11

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, October 11, and I’m still working my way through samples I got in London during our recent trip! Today I am enjoying Jo Loves‘ Golden Gardenia. It’s very intriguing, as it is a white floral, somewhat sweet and narcotic, but it has notes of suede, cardamom, incense, and elemi that spice it up in a nice balance with the white floral vibe. White florals aren’t usually a favorite category of mine, much as I love floral scents generally, as they often smell overpowering to me. And I think Golden Gardenia could smell overpowering if applied with a heavier hand than mine. That said, I’m really appreciating its lovely blend, especially as the gardenia opening doesn’t hang around too long. It doesn’t disappear completely, but it recedes as the spices and suede come forward. Very nice! I was also glad to find out that Jo Loves now has a US website and warehouse, so American customers can easily order from them.

Jo Loves’ Golden Gardenia

My return visit to the Jo Loves boutique on Elizabeth Street was a happy one, not least because I love Elizabeth Street. It is also home to legendary niche perfume boutique Les Senteurs, which any perfumista visiting London should not miss. Their staff are very nice and knowledgeable, and will happily help one try a number of the unusual fragrances they carry (for instance, Cloon Keen and Papillon creations, for which they are the only UK stockists). There is also an extremely pretty tea shop up the block, Peggy Porschen, where I fortified myself (again) during a day of perfume tourism.

Les Senteurs, Elizabeth Street
Peggy Porschen tea shop, Elizabeth Street

I can’t believe it has been a few weeks now since we returned from London, but those have been eventful weeks in the US, with Hurricanes Helene and Milton following each other in quick succession, wreaking havoc in the Southeast. We were lucky to have very little impact here from Milton’s visit a week ago, and Helene’s before that, but western North Carolina, western and central Florida, the northeast of Georgia, and parts of South Carolina were badly affected and declared to be disaster areas. It will take years for some areas to recover, which is heartbreaking.

My lovely hubby is away again for work, but we plan to take a short trip to the South Carolina coast next week, one of our favorite spots for over thirty years. Luckily, that particular area is unscathed; let’s hope it remains so!

Do you have any trips planned for this fall, big or small? Any new fragrances to report?

Perfume Chat Room, July 26
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Perfume Chat Room, July 26

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, July 26, the last Friday in July and the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris. Where has this month gone?? I’m watching the opening ceremonies as I finish this post, and they are AMAZING! I think Paris has truly outdone itself, with the boat parade down the Seine and the many performances along the way. Gotta say, I teared up when they rang the cathedral bells of Notre Dame for the first time since the fire that devastated it five years ago.

View of the Eiffel Tower and the Paris Olympics 2024 logo
Paris Olympics 2024

My garden looks as hot and tired as I feel this week; this is the period when the early summer blooms have faded and the late summer blooms haven’t really started. I do have one flowerbed that is still blooming with plants that appeal to pollinators and hummingbirds. They’re not particularly fragrant, though. The most fragrant plant in bloom in my area right now is gardenia. Heaven! Mine isn’t yet in bloom but there are many blossoming throughout our neighborhood, and the scent carries on the little breeze we’ve been getting.

I don’t have many gardenia-centered scents, but I do have a few, including Elizabeth Taylor’s Gardenia. My SOTD is Natalie, the gardenia fragrance created by Natalie Wood’s daughters, Cortney and Natasha Warner, to honor their late mother whose favorite fragrance was the original Jungle Gardenia. It’s very fresh and pretty, and it compares well to the scent of the actual flower. The structure is: top notes of Neroli, Bitter Orange, Freesia and Rose Oil; middle notes of Orange Blossom, Gardenia, Jasmine, Narcissus and Hyacinth; base notes of Woody Notes, Musk and Vanilla. The neroli top note adds the touch of bitter green that is true to the scent of the flower, underpinned by bitter orange and freesia with a hint of rose. The white flowers follow quickly, with the gardenia playing the leading role with a supporting cast of orange flower, jasmine, narcissus and hyacinth; these particular ones are some of my favorite floral notes. The base is pleasant but unremarkable, mostly white musk and a light vanilla, very suitable for a soft, light white floral. It’s a bit soapy, but I don’t mind that in the current heat and humidity — it’s very refreshing after a cool bath or shower.

What scents will you be wearing and/or what sports will you be watching this weekend?

Scented Advent, December 3
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Scented Advent, December 3

Well, what a pleasant surprise! The Guerlain sample I pulled out of my bag today was Cruel Gardénia, which hadn’t previously interested me much, although of course I knew it would be of the highest quality. I live in the Southeastern US, so I can and do grow gardenias in my garden. Billie Holiday famously wore gardenias in her hair when she performed. I love them as garden plants, and I love the fragrance of their flowers outside, but most “gardenia” fragrances don’t do much for me. Too artificial, too sweet, too narcotic. Cruel Gardénia is none of those, and I’m so glad the nice Guerlain sales assistant included it in my package of samples.

Top notes are peach, rose, and neroli. Heart notes are violet, ylang-ylang, and musk, combining to create an imagined gardenia. Base notes are tonka, musk, vanilla, and sandalwood. The opening has an alluring peachiness, supported by rose and brightened by neroli. The neroli also adds just a touch of bitter greenness, which cuts any tendency toward sweetness. As the top notes recede, the violet, ylang-ylang, and musk accords bring a pillowy, floral softness to the fore. The note I smell the most at this stage is the ylang-ylang, which I did not expect from a fragrance named for the gardenia. Here’s what the Guerlain website has to say:

Gardenia is a powerful, sensual white flower with fruity accents. Yet, paradoxically, it stays mute in the world of Perfumery, unable to offer up its fragrance through the traditional techniques of distillation or extraction. It must be written as an accord, as if composing a poem. For Cruel Gardénia, notes of rose, neroli, ylang ylang and peach recreate its trail.

How ironic, to claim that gardenias are mute, when they are so closely associated with one of the 20th century’s greatest voices!

Singer Billie Holiday with white gardenias in hair
Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday, of course, had a tragic life in spite of her legendary artistry. But what a great beauty she was, with the white gardenias in her hair. She has been a perpetual figure of fascination, inspiring movies and plays based on her life.

Singer Billie Holiday with gardenias in her hair
Andra Day as Billie Holiday; image from vogue.com

I am so happy to have finally tried Cruel Gardénia. It is a warm, sensuous, musky floral that dries down to a warm, musky sandalwood tinged with tonka. My husband liked it too! It just goes to show you that we should keep trying even the fragrances that don’t initially draw us. Have you had that experience?

May Melange Marathon: Lady Day
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May Melange Marathon: Lady Day

This week, all the gardenias in my garden and neighborhood seem to have popped open, and the air is full of their fragrance. The flowers themselves are, of course, lovely — some are like perfect little waxy white roses, others more like simple daisies, with fewer petals. So I thought I should look out a gardenia fragrance for a post this weekend.

The one that came to hand is Maria Candida Gentile’s Lady Day, which was named for the singer Billie Holiday, who regularly wore gardenias in her hair. I bought it some time ago when there was a big sale. It comes in extrait de parfum concentration. I like it, but for the life of me, I don’t smell gardenia!

The only notes listed are galbanum, gardenia absolute, and Peru balsam. I do smell galbanum, but it’s not the note I’m used to calling “galbanum.” Here, it is less green and more — I don’t know! There’s a strong herbal tone, but it doesn’t “read” as green to my nose. I guess the absence of what I think of as gardenia could be caused by the fact that the perfumer used gardenia absolute, not an accord meant to suggest gardenia.

I don’t know what to think about this one! Its overall scent reminds me of something but I just can’t remember what. Do you have any favorite gardenia scents? I keep seeing Elizabeth Taylor’s Gardenia at places like T.J. Maxx, but I’ve never tried it. Lady Day is nice, to my nose, but it doesn’t seem like a true gardenia. I’m stumped!