05/30/2025

ClaireV
958 Reviews

ClaireV
1
An unusual (and unusually lovely) take on gardenia
I have a horror of gardenia, finding it usually too bleu-cheesey (Dame Perfumery’s Gardenia soliflore) or too fruity-candied-tropical (especially the tiare variety, the kind used here), but I really like Cuir de Gardenia.
Two reasons, really. First of all, there is an intense, earthy note headlining the scent, with the sort of dark, cereal-brown bitterness usually found in buckwheat or chestnut honey. This forms part of the leather accord that tames and anchors the fruity gardenia, making it seem more serious and darker. Although the leather accord is castoreum-driven, it is not overtly animalic at all, only appearing as part of the overall musky, leathery aromas in the background. It is, for example, 100 times more subtle than Mona di Orio’s Cuir. (The castoreum used is partly from antique perfumer’s stock of the real stuff, partly from castor pods, for people wondering about the ethics of using real castoreum).
Second, despite lingering in a fruity, creamy gardenia (tiare) mid-section for a while, it dries down to an indolic jasmine that is either identical or similar to the jasmine tincture/enfleurage included in the Fragrant companion testing kit. This might be a disappointment to someone looking for a gardenia soliflore, but the truth is, I prefer jasmine. The jasmine used here smells great and dirty in a very natural, unassisted way, kind of like in the triple extract of Santa Maria Novella’s Gelsomino. This type of jasmine has a sort of lank, sweaty horsiness about it in the far drydown that I really like, although some might interpret this as leathery or sour. Overall, a very subtle and natural interpretation of the most difficult of white flowers (for me), and a million miles away from the shouty, cheesy gardenia or tiare perfumes that I’d tested previously.
Two reasons, really. First of all, there is an intense, earthy note headlining the scent, with the sort of dark, cereal-brown bitterness usually found in buckwheat or chestnut honey. This forms part of the leather accord that tames and anchors the fruity gardenia, making it seem more serious and darker. Although the leather accord is castoreum-driven, it is not overtly animalic at all, only appearing as part of the overall musky, leathery aromas in the background. It is, for example, 100 times more subtle than Mona di Orio’s Cuir. (The castoreum used is partly from antique perfumer’s stock of the real stuff, partly from castor pods, for people wondering about the ethics of using real castoreum).
Second, despite lingering in a fruity, creamy gardenia (tiare) mid-section for a while, it dries down to an indolic jasmine that is either identical or similar to the jasmine tincture/enfleurage included in the Fragrant companion testing kit. This might be a disappointment to someone looking for a gardenia soliflore, but the truth is, I prefer jasmine. The jasmine used here smells great and dirty in a very natural, unassisted way, kind of like in the triple extract of Santa Maria Novella’s Gelsomino. This type of jasmine has a sort of lank, sweaty horsiness about it in the far drydown that I really like, although some might interpret this as leathery or sour. Overall, a very subtle and natural interpretation of the most difficult of white flowers (for me), and a million miles away from the shouty, cheesy gardenia or tiare perfumes that I’d tested previously.