In this article, we are going to talk about the best perfumes that smell like Gardenia.
- Crystal Noir by Versace
- Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia
- Petales Chantecaille
- Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia
- Florence Tocca
- Divine Decadence by Marc Jacobs
- Gardenia by Demeter
- Gardenia by Elizabeth Taylor
Love, Harmony, and Grace
Gardenia, it is the flower that symbolizes love, harmony, and grace. The famous jazz singer, Billie Holiday, has been known to wear gardenia flowers around her head in her performances.
Gardenia is a gorgeous white flower that is native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Madagascar, and the Pacific Islands. It belongs to the coffee family of plants, Rubiaceae.
The beautiful flower has an equally lovely floral scent that’s delicately sweet and smooth. Many perfumes have aimed at the elegant sweetness of gardenia. Because of the scent’s robust but silky quality to it, it has become a classic fragrance for women. Gardenia as interpreted in perfumes is often feminine and fresh with a certain brightness as it opens and a sustained creaminess towards its wear.
The Elusive Flower
The alluring scent of gardenia is actually quite difficult and, therefore, expensive to produce. Gardenia absolute, or true gardenia oil, takes a lot of time and resources to make. It takes about 10,000 pounds of gardenia petals to come up with only 2 pounds of gardenia absolute.
Many attempts at recreating the elusive scent have been done. Today, the commercially known fragrance of gardenia is mostly a blend of other florals and synthetics that try to mimic the famous scent. Jasmine, tuberose and orange flower are popular accompaniments to this quest of achieving the velvety floral fragrance of gardenia.
What Perfume Smells Like Gardenia?
As mentioned earlier, Gardenia represents love, harmony, and grace. Let’s break down our top list according to those three things.
Love
The first set of favorites will show just how alluring and tender the gardenia scent can be. They are all passionate gardenia perfumes in their own rights. These three perfumes will make you feel like your laying on a bed of white gardenia flowers and the scent gently envelopes you.
Crystal Noir by Versace
Because of the buttery quality of the gardenia scent, it blends quite smoothly with the creaminess of coconuts. Who else can better fuse these two notes together than the House of Versace?
Antoine Lie is the perfumer behind the sensual scent. Launched in 2004, it is the first exquisite bottle belonging to the Versace Crystal Range.
The perfume comes in an intricate amethyst bottle that perfectly embodies its mysterious and seductive fragrance. Crystal Noir opens up with top notes of ginger, cardamom, and pepper. At the heart is where the coconut and gardenia notes meet along with orange blossom and peony. The scent gracefully sits on an amber, sandalwood, and musk base.
Performance and Occasions
The EDP version has great sillage with amazing longevity that has about 8 to 9 hours of wear. The Eau de Toilette would have a weak staying power so you’re better of going for the Eau de Parfum.
Crystal Noir is a heavy and warm fragrance that will be amazing for date nights and formal gatherings. It is enticing and bold so flaunt this scent if you want to make a statement.
Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia
Estee Lauder has come up with glorious scents and is one of the most established brands when it comes to perfumery. Tuberose Gardenia is part of their Private Collection range of perfumes. Aerin Lauder created this fragrance as an ode to her grandmother.
The Estee Lauder brand has always celebrated simplicity as the purest form of luxury and elegance. White flowers tuberose and gardenia signifies this ideology quite well. Gardenia with its velvety sweetness and the sophistication of Tuberose come together in this lush fragrance. Top notes of neroli, lilac, and rosewood greet you as the heart notes of tuberose and gardenia takes the spotlight. You also get hints of jasmine and white lily in the middle and carnation and vanilla bourbon at the base.
This is a statement perfume that evokes pure sophistication for strong, confident women.
Performance and Occasions
Tuberose Gardenia is very long lasting. You’ll still get whiffs of the fragrance after long hours of wear. Use this perfume sparingly as it can be quite dense and too overpowering to some.
It is great for warmer weathers, perfect for spring and summer.
Petales Chantecaille
If you want a dewy gardenia scent that’s almost a soliflore, then Petales Chantecaille might be the white floral for you. Perfumer Pierre Negrin was inspired by the charming and stylish Grace Kelly in the making of this fragrance. Petales Chantecaille was released in the market in 2010.
It is a delicately balanced arrangement of freesia, gardenia, jasmine, tuberose, and violet leaves accompanied by a subtle orange blossom. As the perfume dries down, cedarwood and musk make its presence known.
This is a luscious fragrance that’s sensual and sophisticated. It is quite a heady scent that leaves quite the impression so don’t be too generous with the spritz. It does tend to give everyone a headache when worn too much.
Performance and Occasions
It can be a perfect bridal scent or a show-stopping perfume you can wear for formal affairs.
The fragrance has great longevity and you can count on it lasting for up to 10 hours before it becomes unnoticeable.
Harmony
Harmony doesn’t mean you should be like everybody else. In fact, being in harmony entails having your own character while being complementary to others. Gardenia as a scent is able to thrive on its own even when accompanied by a variety of other elements. Here are three fragrances that showcase gardenia as it blends with other notes.
Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia
A more modern take on a gardenia fragrance is the Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia. This one shows how gardenia can blend smoothly with a variety of notes and provide both balance and lushness at the same time. Gucci launched this fragrance in May of 2012 as part of their Flora collection.
The floral scent starts with fruity notes of red berries and pears. At the heart of the fragrance is its main star of the show, gardenia, accompanied by another white flower, frangipani. It sustains the floral freshness with its patchouli base. These notes work well together to create a light and enticing fragrance.
Performance and Occasions
This one is a versatile fragrance. It is well-balanced and light enough to wear on almost any occasion and any season. Since it is quite soft and airy, it wouldn’t be a showstopper. It doesn’t have much of a projection but it remains lovely and pleasant.
You can expect some moderate longevity from this, around 4 to 5 hours on the skin.
Florence Tocca
Ellen Molner was the nose behind Florence Tocca. Launched in 2006, it has top notes of grapefruit leaf, bergamot, pear, and apple. At the heart is where all the florals (iris, gardenia, jasmine, tuberose, and violet leaf) blend in harmony with each other. Everything lies in a base of musk and white woods.
As the scent evolves, the citrus notes fade, and the florals persist. The fruity notes are the first act and the main event is a beautiful floral arrangement. This is a refined take on gardenia and it perfectly shows just how gardenia can shine without overtaking all the other notes within the perfume.
Performance and Occasions
A medium sillage remains even after 4 to 5 hours of wearing Florence Tocca. You’ll definitely enjoy this fragrance for a good amount of time.
This is more of an evening fragrance for formal gatherings and even a first date. It’s both sensual and refined.
Divine Decadence by Marc Jacobs
Divine Decadence will go down in history being one of the most intricate, beautifully designed perfume bottles. Just look at how luxurious that bottle is. It radiates confidence and indulgence. Master perfumer Annie Buzantian was responsible for this sparkling fragrance. The scent is introduced by top notes of orange blossom and bergamot. In the middle, you’ll find notes of gardenia, hydrangea, honeysuckle, and iris. The silky base is a combination of vanilla and saffron.
This one will knock everyone’s feet off. Expect to get compliments when you’re wearing this seductive scent. It just screams glamour and indulgence. For a white flower such as gardenia, this isn’t something you will expect but it works amazingly well in this concoction.
Performance and Occasions
This is a scent you can definitely wear on a night out. It’s a compliment monster and the large sillage will draw everyone’s attention to you. Good thing it lasts amazingly long on the skin.
Grace
Just as soft and sweet the flower is, its beauty lies in its elegance and simplicity. It doesn’t always have to announce its presence. It is felt and has a quiet but powerful charm to it. The next few fragrances leave a subtle yet captivating impression to anyone who gets a whiff of it.
Gardenia by Demeter
Demeter has found a way to perfectly replicate the scent of freshly picked gardenias. It wanted to embody the unadulterated scent of the actual gardenia flowers instead of the oil. They have recreated the delightful experience of going through a garden of fresh gardenias.
Gardenia by Demeter takes on more of the green tones of gardenia at the start. As it dries down, you get that sweet, buttery creaminess of gardenia.
Performance and Occasions
If you want a simple and soft gardenia scent, this would be a nice, uplifting fragrance. It’s a light daytime perfume that can give you instant freshness. This has a nice sillage to it. You get that burst of fresh floral fragrance right away.
Unfortunately, like most fragrances from Demeter, this doesn’t last much. It fades pretty quickly so you might need to reapply several times to keep the scent going.
Gardenia by Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor was the epitome of beauty and elegance. One of her most iconic images was a scene from her movie, “Suddenly, Last Summer”. She was wearing a stunning green dress that complements her alluring beauty and famous purple eyes. Launched in 2003, Gardenia by Elizabeth Taylor comes in a gorgeous emerald bottle with an elaborate gardenia cap.
It is a mesmerizing fragrance that carries on the legendary beauty of the actress. Gardenia by Elizabeth Taylor made sure it stays true to the feminine elegance of gardenia. The green notes of lily-of-the-valley at the top gently introduces middle notes of gardenias, peonies, and orchids. The perfume rests in notes of white musk and carnations at the base. As the gardenia note blends smoothly with all the other floral notes, it shows just how gardenia became a symbol of love, grace, and harmony.
Performance and Occasions
The green notes of the lily-of-the-valley come through to make the freshness quality of gardenia take center stage so this is a perfume that’s perfect to wear during the daytime. It’s subtle and not too overwhelming with a pretty decent sillage.
The perfume stays on the skin for quite some time but I wouldn’t say it has great longevity. It will last about 4 to 5 hours on average.
Final Words
Gardenia is a classic beauty in fragrances. It is a scent that is timeless because of its lush sweetness and delicate velvety touch. It deserves a spot on any perfume collection.