Gardenia

[eleventhousand]

In the vial it smells a bit overwhelming and with a faint chemical tang. On my skin this is lovely...sweet and heady and true to the flower, but with a faint buttery coconut note. A slightly wilting hot-house flower...

 

I love it!

[xoe]

I can totally see waht eleventhousand means about the faint buttery coconut note.

 

This is soooo beautiful. I just got a whole batload of imps today, and I've got teensy weensy drops of each of my single notes on my fingers. The others I'll try on their own before reviewing, but the Gardenia is just spectacular. I feel positively decadent wearing it. Decadent and Southern. Like a Southern Belle. And now I need a mint julep!

 

Seriously though, this is remarkably true to the flower. Amazing.

[Eris]

Alright, someone had to do it. The gardenia in Sacred Whore of Babylon was so strong that I just had to determine once in for all how different it and the single note are. I put SWoB on one wrist and the pure Gardenia note on the other.

 

The results? First sniff shows striking similarities. For those not familiar with gardenia, the previous reviews did an excellent job of describing it: it is flowery, but with buttery and nutty tones to it. In SWoB, there are some other notes added, making it turn spicy. The single note, however, fades into a creamy white floral, reminscient of flowers blooming at night, their scent lingering on the air. This single note is very true to the gardenia corsage I wore to my prom. Very very lovely and worth keeping around.

[Northernminx]

Very true to the real thing, a dead ringer for huge wilting, hot house gardenia blossoms. As previously noted a creamy buttery floral, almost cloying. This is gorgeous but really I got it for my mother who adores gardenias. This one ended up with her but I had to test it first

[darkitysnark]

Gardenia

 

I got a 5 ml bottle of this right after the big discontinuation announcement, and I'm glad I did!

 

This is actually for my mother-in-law, who has been on a quest for the last several years to find the perfect gardenia perfume oil.

 

Naturally, as a total (softcore) afficionado, I had to try some myself before sending it off to her.

 

In the bottle:

This is exactly what the flowers my mother would bring in from her crazily prolific gardenia bushes smelled like. Sweet, buttery, fresh. A little cloying for my tastes, but I'm not much of a flower person.

 

Wet:

Wow! This is so dead on. The MIL is going to love this!

 

Drydown and later:

All of the above reviews are right on the money. This is a hot house gardenia that's been floating in a water dish all day, slowly crisping up and a little brown on the edges. All at once creamy, decadent, and a little wistful.

 

My only fear is having to tell the MIL that this is a discontinued scent. She'll hoard it forever!

Edited February 9, 2005 by darkitysnark

[sophia_helix]

I've had a tarted, half-full imp of this lying around for a while, and finally gave it a try today.

 

It's soapy in the vial, but a beautifully true gardenia scent on my skin...for about three minutes. Then it's right back to super-soapy, just like most pure florals on me.

 

I'll probably let my mom try this, since she loves gardenias and florals work better on her, and then send it on its way to a happy new home.

[edenssixthday]

Single Note: Gardenia - Wow, is this ever strong, heady, and a very bitter floral. The instant I apply it, it reminds me of the very first BPAL scent I ever tried, and I realize that’s definitely the dominant note in Sacred Whore. I could never, ever wear this alone. While it’s a dead-ringer of a true, southern gardenia, it’s way too heady and strong for me to wear by itself. I like it in Sacred Whore because there are other notes that smooth and mellow it out. By itself, it’s just too overwhelming and I worry that I smell like old lady. It has incredible throw and it lasts all day long.

[sofiaviolet]

In the imp, there's a slight chemical tang. On me, it is scorched plastic. I am sad, and confused because Zero was so pretty on me but smelled like real gardenias. Oh well. I'll swap it.

[Blood onmy hands]

I've wanted to try the Gardenia singlenote for a while now, just because Sacred Whore of Babylon is one of my all-time favorite fragrances, and I don't really pick out any gardenia in it.

 

In the imp vial, this is a bitter and pungent floral, and I'm a bit afraid of it. On me, it quickly calms down to more of a creamy, tropical floral scent. Warm and a bit reminiscent of coconut milk. It smells nothing like what Sacred Whore of Babylon smells like on me (honeyed vanilla, almonds, and spicy-sweet dragon's blood). But this is pleasantly warm, sweet, and strong on my skin. I might get a 5 ml of this one if I could...

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet slightly soapy floral

 

On Skin: This is a very strong scent. The imp leaked in transit to me, and I left the envelope it came in in a collection of boxes I was going to take to the dumpster. That envelope has been scenting my house for over a week now. Wow, it’s got throw. It’s a pretty floral, with a soft warm feel. There is a slight soapyness to it, but not that aquatic/ozoney soap, more of a sweet pretty floral feminine dainty tea soap. That fades though and it morphs into something completely different. This scent is really pretty, and that means a lot coming from me because I’m not usually a big fan of florals. It does smell a little tropical, which is very nice since I love that feel. It has that coconut meat and overly ripe fruit tone to it which can be a little overwhelming if you inhale it for too long. I like when I just catch a whiff of it when I walk into the room and smell the envelope. I think that Gardenia may be one of the “milky blossoms” found in Chaste Moon because that came to my mind right away. Beautiful, I’d love a bottle of this. Super strong throw and long wearlength. A hit in my book for sure.

[wikkidraven]

ooh! this is heady and sweet and beautiful...like burying your nose in a bunch of tropical flowers. i'm really surprised by how much i like this.

 

agreeing totally with slave1's review: there is something milky and coconutty about this blend. it smells delicious!

[supremegoddessofall]

Rather chemically. Definitely gardenia, but I'm not sure this is for me.

 

Score: 2

[grashopper8]

I wish I wish I wish I had a time machine. Where's my flux capacitor?? Seriously??!!!

 

This scent is just delicious! Soft, pretty gardenia, and there is something a little coconutty going on, yesssss.

 

I won an imp from ebay, and I'm so sad that I can't ever hope to own more than the precious drops I have now.

 

I will save this lovely scent for a special occasion. Maybe I will wear it on my honeymoon....

 

5 out of 5 (as I expected)

[zankoku_zen]

For me, blends with gardenia tend to smell like wet wool. Hence, my assumption that gardenia will smell like wet wool. And it does, and then it becomes a bitter pungent floral. On further drydown, it is almost peppery. I never get the coconut, the creamy tropical, soft or anything like that sort. On me, it's harsh, bitter and with HUGE throw.

 

At least, it is nice to confirm that me and gardenia will NOT get along.