By Dane
I can't recall if I've ever smelled a live gardenia before, but it's a fairly common note in perfume these days. It seems as though most houses have a gardenia-focused scent. I've found most of them very cloying and unpleasant for one reason or another, namely Chanel's migraine-inducing rendition.
Tom Ford released a slew of upscale unisex fragrances in 2007. Some of them received less than impressive feedback (you can't release twelve fragrances and expect all of them to become classics), but many of those who tested Velvet Gardenia said it was the truest interpretation of the flower they'd come across, so I figured it was worth a shot.
Blue cheese. Literally, all I can smell is blue cheese. I cannot imagine who on earth would want to smell like a heady, pungent block of cheese. I've since learned that a cheese-like aroma is common when smelling a live gardenia, along with several other strange smells. You'd think, at the very least, that this type of stinky fragrance would have come from a French company, but alas, the Americans have paid due respect to the original, rank curd-lovers across the pond.
The strangest thing happened when I tried to wash VG off my hand though...I could actually smell a flower! A pleasant, sweet, and beautiful gardenia. I imagine if I'd waited through to the drydown of the scent, this is what I would have encountered, but the few hours I wore it left me gasping for air, so I doubt I could have made it that far.
I cannot tell you with certainty if Tom Ford has interpreted VG in its truest form, but I can tell you that I never want to encounter this flower in the wild. I'll admit that the fragrance itself is well composed and would remain my first recommendation for anyone looking for a "true gardenia", but I never want to smell it again.
Year: 2007
Perfumer: David Apel
Notes: Black Gardenia, Orange, Jasmine, Rose, Muguet, Tuberose, Dark Plum, Honey, Beeswax, Incense, Labdanum
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