Gardenia
Musk
05/20/2025
ClaireV
958 Reviews
ClaireV
1
Mahoosive gardenia
The namesake fragrance of the Olivine range features the note for which the brand is most famous – gardenia. Let me warn you, however, that Olivine’s opening showcases all the aspects of white florals that the white floral-averse usually find challenging, namely the rubbery, fuel-like twang of tuberose and the decaying tinned-fruit-and-moldy-cheese honk of gardenia. It is a mark of naturalness that all the confrontational bits of these flowers have been left in their raw state and not ‘prettied up’. For those who love the fertile smell of tropical white florals in bloom, the opening will simply smell authentic. For others, it may be a bit of a trial.
But bear with it and your patience will be rewarded by one of the truest gardenia notes in modern perfumery – milky, slightly nutty, and with the soft bleu cheese notes that distinguish gardenia from other tropical flowers. The drydown is thick with a salted butter note that is also a line on this flower’s calling card. The saline creaminess quickly tamps down the metallic, fruity screech of the topnotes, so that one may proceed now without fear. It is pure comfort from here on out. Heady and natural, this is a gardenia to gladden the heart of anyone frustrated with the lack of real-smelling gardenia accords in modern perfumery. Wait for the pungency of the tuberose-gardenia tandem at the start to subside before judging. The gardenia in the drydown is so good that it may convert even those who profess to hate gardenia.
But bear with it and your patience will be rewarded by one of the truest gardenia notes in modern perfumery – milky, slightly nutty, and with the soft bleu cheese notes that distinguish gardenia from other tropical flowers. The drydown is thick with a salted butter note that is also a line on this flower’s calling card. The saline creaminess quickly tamps down the metallic, fruity screech of the topnotes, so that one may proceed now without fear. It is pure comfort from here on out. Heady and natural, this is a gardenia to gladden the heart of anyone frustrated with the lack of real-smelling gardenia accords in modern perfumery. Wait for the pungency of the tuberose-gardenia tandem at the start to subside before judging. The gardenia in the drydown is so good that it may convert even those who profess to hate gardenia.
